Chapter Six
Hunter
Oh shit. Why did I offer to give Kristi a ride? It was pure folly in the bright light of day.
Because my dreams had been filled with Dani. I couldn’t stop thinking about her generous curves, warm kisses, and beautiful brown eyes. What the hell? This was so wrong. She was twenty years younger than me, for crying out loud!
Slowly heaving myself out of bed, I dragged myself over to the shower. Fuck. The icy water hit my skin, making me wince and tingle. But it did its work, and my boner went down. Thank god.
By the time I was dressed, Kristi was waiting impatiently, tapping her foot in the marble foyer. “Let’s go,” she chirped excitedly. “It’s gonna be so fun today!”
I shrugged my shoulders and got into the car. “Where am I taking you?”
“Just to The Pavilion,” Kristi replied, blowing a bubble with the gum in her mouth. “We are going to walk around a bit. You don’t have to wait around if you don’t want to.”
I shrugged. “Would having me around make things weird?”
“You are being so strange!” Kristi said. “But no. It’s fine if you want.” She rolled her eyes. “It’s a public place, after all.”
“A little fresh air does sound nice.”
Kristi eyed me suspiciously. “Don’t you have a lot of work to do, Uncle Hunter?”
In truth, I did have a lot of work. I was swamped with proposals and contracts to review, but I knew my head wasn’t in it. Early this morning, I’d flipped through some emails on my phone, but my mind had started to drift.
And it was all because of Dani. I knew I needed to see her again. Shit. Maybe if I did, I could get the curvy brunette out of my system, once and for all, although deep down, I knew that getting an angel like her out of my system would be damn near impossible.
“Hmm,” Kristi said, looking out the window. Her blonde hair was tied in a bun, and she was wearing a loose shirt and shorts. Suddenly, her eyes snapped towards me, sparkling with humor. “So I heard through the grapevine that you had a fun time last night.”
I eyed Kristi cautiously. “And what makes you say that?”
“I have my sources,” she said, smiling mischievously. “I also heard a certain new girl left the party rather flustered. I wonder how she got that way?”
I shrugged. “I wouldn’t know. These are your friends, not mine.”
“You are a horrible liar,” she said, toying with the seat belt across her shoulders.
“I never said I was a good one,” I said, trying to steer the conversation into less murky waters. “What are your plans for the summer, anyways?” I asked, changing the subject. Thankfully, my niece took the bait.
She shrugged and continued to stare outside the car. “I don’t really have anything. Just some last good times with my friends before college. Spending time with you and Aaron. I hadn’t really thought about it too much.”
“You’re going to school soon. May as well party as much as you want and get it out of the way,” I said understandingly.
Kristi snorted. “Yeah, and what? Party like you did? Mom still talks about it,” she said, rolling her eyes.
“I can’t imagine you would ever get into such trouble,” I rumbled, leaning over and patting her head like she was a little girl. She swatted my hand furiously and I chuckled. “You need to do things when you’re young. Go on adventures. Hang out with your friends. You’ll regret it if you don’t.”
“Do you regret it?” she asked, looking at me sideways.
“Regret what?” I asked, as the shopping mall materialized in the distance.
“Not being able to do everything you wanted to before you became some big shot executive” Kristi shifted in her seat. “I mean, I’m sure it’s worth it now.”
I sighed. There was plenty that I did regret. Even as a child, I’d wanted to become CEO of my father’s company, but the more I got involved with Maddox Media, the more it had started to feel like an obligation rather than a dream. Sometimes I felt shackled to the company, like there were chains on my wrists and ankles, and I couldn’t breathe. There were too many obligations that came with my job. Plus, my dad, although he was semi-retired, was always around, trying to see if I was going to fail. It was like he wanted me to fail and prove that I was never going to be as good as him.
And my mother, well, she wasn’t any better. She was just like my sister, trying to set me up with this woman and that, always hinting about grandkids. Two decades of ignoring her hints hasn’t made her stop. For example, I was having lunch with my mother later in the week and I had a feeling she’d already made plans for some eligible woman to join us.
We came up on the first mall entrance and Kristi snapped her fingers. “Hey, you can just drop me off here,” Kristi said, as I came to the curb and stopped. She unbuckled her seat belt and opened the car door. “We are going to be inside Drystone,” she said, smiling as she exited the car.
“Roger,” I said. I touched my forehead to show I understood.
“I’m sure you’ll be able to find us.”
Kristi shut the door and skipped up the steps, towards the mall. I put the car into drive, circling around the street so I could park and go inside.
Drystone was a fancy clothing store mostly known for their women’s clothing. Kristi had practically lived there when she was growing up. When I was younger, my mother had brought us with our nanny to look over its expensive goods.
I could still remember the feeling of intense boredom while my mother painstakingly browsed, slowly rifling through multiple racks as salesgirls hovered like hummingbirds. I’d hated those trips at the time. They’d been tedious and awful.
But now, I was glad. This place was practically a second home. I knew every nook and cranny, what music they played, and where the broom closet was. I grinned as I pictured Dani slipping into a tight dress and letting me peek into the dressing room before I led her to a dark corner.
Shit. These thoughts were so wrong, and yet the images wouldn’t stop rolling in my mind. The beautiful brunette, clad only in lacy lingerie. The gorgeous girl, leaning over as she pulled a top off, baring a creamy expanse of back and bottom.
I’d never liked shopping, but somehow, I had a feeling today would be the day that changed my mind.