Gabby blinked a few times and only belatedly realized that the car wasn’t moving anymore. She expected to see another in a long line of gas stations when she opened her eyes, but instead was looking right at a massive, oversized house. She sat up in shock, suddenly wide awake.

The place was... big. It was almost big to the point of being overbearing. It didn’t look like one of those majestic historic homes she’d seen in pictures. This must’ve been some sort of new construction that was trying and failing to be historical.

The gray siding was accented by four large arches around the entryway that stretched up two or three stories. It was hard to tell exactly how tall the house was because so many of the front windows stretched up the entire height of the house before meeting a pointed roof that also seemed impossibly tall. From this view, she couldn’t even imagine the interior floor plan.

And suddenly the confusion made perfect sense. Of course Hunter wouldn’t want someone to look into his home and know the layout. One more enigma for him to surround himself with.

But wait... was this really Hunter’s house? No. He couldn’t afford a place like this. Maybe this was a friend’s of his. Or he was a squatter. There had to be something to explain it.

Her door popped open and she saw Hunter at the other side looking tentatively down at her. “Are you awake?” he asked softly.

She sure as hell was now. She nodded and ignored his outstretched hand as she stood on her own and looked around at the perfectly manicured lawn and bushes surrounding them. There were a few acres of bright-green grass before the woods that surrounded the rest of the property. The air was warm from the spring sun, but the trees were only just budding. Even without the thick leaves filling out the forest, she could tell that those woods seemed to go on forever. Whether it was Hunter who owned this place or not, they must value privacy.

“Don’t bother running,” said Hunter ominously. “I’d find you before you get anywhere.”

“I thought you were trying to save me?”

“And I’ll save you from yourself if I have to.”

“Be still my beating heart,” she muttered as she followed him through the front door. At first there was nothing that off about the house, considering how big it was. But then she noticed the blue plastic milk crate next to the front bench that was filled with electronics. That in itself wasn’t all that odd, but it pulled her gaze to a room off the front hallway that was filled with various computers and monitors. She didn’t realize that she’d moved closer until something strong grabbed her arm and pulled her away. She didn’t know why she was surprised to see Hunter’s hand wrapped around her bicep. He was the only other person there and they’d just spent hours together. It had to be the size of his hand that had surprised her. Or maybe even the warmth that felt oddly comforting.

Gabby rolled her shoulder and pulled her arm free. “Tell me where you want me to go. Don’t pull me around like some sort of caveman.”

“Caveman? I don’t know if I’d say that. He’s too quiet. Don’t cavemen grunt more than that?”

Gabby craned her neck to look over Hunter’s oversized shoulder to see the woman. Why was Hunter living with a woman? Oh my God, did he have a girlfriend? Had she thrown herself at him while he was with someone else? How had she never considered that he might have a girlfriend?

And a really hot girlfriend at that.... The woman had long, straight, almost black hair that was pulled back in a ponytail that draped over her shoulder. Even from here, Gabby could see her bright blue eyes shining. She seemed dark and mysterious... a perfect match for Hunter’s own intense presence. Gabby didn’t realize she was shrinking back behind Hunter until she could no longer see the woman anymore.

“Good Lord, Hunter, what did you do to that poor girl? She’s terrified.”

“She’s fine.”

“I’m fine.”

“Yeah, that’s convincing.” Gabby heard footsteps approaching, and the next second, the woman pushed Hunter aside. “I’m Melissa Slade. Nice to meet you.”

Gabby held out a hand. “Gabriella Cooper. You can call me Gabby.”

Melissa’s brow furrowed. “The one who wrote the email! I hope everything’s okay. Hunter doesn’t usually bring people home, so I assume it didn’t go great.”

Gabby’s face immediately became warm with embarrassment, and she put distance between her and Hunter. “He didn’t bring me home. I mean, we’re not— I mean—”

“Oh honey, it’s fine. Coming here to protect you or worship you, that’s between you two. I’m just a resident here, and between you and me, we’re the only normal ones. I figure girls like us need to stick together.”

Gabby felt a tad more comforted. She had a feeling this girl couldn’t exactly tell Hunter what he could or could not do with her, but she was happy that he and this model-like woman weren’t an item. Because she’d hate to cause someone to cheat. Not because she wanted Hunter for herself. Sure, she’d only emailed him because she’d wanted to start something up, but—

“I’m setting Gabby up in the second to last room in the west wing.”

Melissa raised a questioning brow. “That’s Gage’s room.” Hunter just glared at her and she rolled her eyes. “Which you know but don’t care about. Got it. Great. Now I get to deal with his wrath. You know he’s nicer to you.”

“I’m sure you’ll figure out how to handle it. Where are Hart and Toni?”

Hart? What the hell kind of stupid name was that?

“They’re still working with the new team. I thought everything was tied up, but they extended the stay a few days. Probably just because they’re getting full use of the hotel room. Gotta make time for whoopee, you know?”

Gabby inadvertently snorted at the word choice and Melissa winked at her.

“When they get here, can you let me know? I want to talk to them.”

“If I’m around. You know I’m not your professional errand girl?”

“You’re my friend.”

“Acquaintance, Hunter. Don’t press your luck.” Melissa turned her attention to Gabby. “We can be friends. He’s too cagey for me, personally.”

“I can see that.”

Hunter looked over his shoulder at her and his annoyance wasn’t even the tiniest bit subtle. “Come on, Gabby.” He gave her the dignity of not pulling her along, and even though the thought of ignoring him crossed her mind, she figured it wouldn’t be a good idea to push her luck. After saying a quick good-bye to the oddly beautiful Melissa, she followed Hunter up the curved staircase and down the hall of what must be the west wing.

When she walked into the room, she expected it to look more lived in. After all, she was apparently stealing a room from somebody named “Gage.” However, the scene in front of her was practically empty. There was a simple queen-sized bed with a gray, soft-looking comforter. The one window, which was trimmed in a beautiful, bright white, was an oversized arch shape that let the moderately sized room look much bigger.

The only other piece of furniture was an oversized cabinet and a dresser with nothing on top of it. As she glanced around the room, she didn’t see any sign of someone else sleeping there. “Where is Gage?”

“He’s working a job in Atlanta, I think. They don’t tell us a lot about jobs we’re not assigned to.”

It seemed to be the first straight answer he’d given her, but it raised a whole new series of questions. “What exactly do you do?” The entire drive up here they’d been so quiet. Sure, he hadn’t offered up much information, but she hadn’t asked anything either. She had told herself it was because she was too angry to speak, but a part of her must’ve been afraid to ask the million-dollar question.

What had happened to Hunter?

He’d gone to prison and she’d never been able to find or speak to him again.

Hunter walked straight to the cabinet set up next to the window and opened it to reveal a few nicely pressed shirts. She was thinking he was about to change clothes, but then he reached farther behind the clothes and pulled out a bottle of liquor. It was only when he turned around that she saw he had a bottle of whiskey. He didn’t bother grabbing a glass before he sat down on the edge of the bed. “Are you sure you want to go through this?” he asked.

“No,” she said honestly. She wasn’t ready for any ounce of the chaos that Hunter had brought into her life over the past day, and she sure as hell wasn’t ready to learn what she’d done to him. But nonetheless, she took her seat on the bed with a good three feet of space between them and awaited what he was going to say in silence.

“If you don’t want to hear it, you don’t have to.”

She let out a bitter laugh. “Wouldn’t that be taking the easy way out?”

“Don’t you deserve to take the easy way out? Shouldn’t one of us take that way at least once?”

Exhaustion took over, and Gabby stopped trying to fight it. She fell back until her head hit the mattress and she was staring up at the ceiling. “I don’t know what the easy way is. I thought I did. I gave up on looking for you and settled down. He was a nice guy. Had a good job as the manager of that credit union down in Grand River and he had a good family. I was supposed to pretend that my father was never the head of a gang of drug dealers and that I was always the girl next door. And then my husband screwed a bank teller and now I’m living in a tiny apartment with no college education and no savings account. Don’t you get it, Hunter? There is no easy way out. The easy ways are all traps. Just look at you.”

Hunter took a swig of whiskey before lying back on the bed with her. “What about me?”

“You were one more easy way out. Instead of moving on with my life and trying to pick up the pieces, I desperately reached into my past and contacted you. And, trust me, nothing about you is easy.”

“I feel like that’s an insult.”

“Well, it ain’t a compliment.”

“Okay. Partial credit then. I won’t tell you everything. You ask me one question and I’ll answer truthfully.”

“What? I thought I was getting everything.”

“I’ve changed my mind. You get one question. Make it good.”

Gabby squinched her face. This was too hard. How did she ask a good question that told her enough to satisfy her curiosity and keep her from feeling too guilty? But instead of overthinking it, she went in the opposite direction and said the first thing that came to mind. “If nothing life-or-death had ever come between us, would you have kissed me?”

There was just silence that met her question, and she closed her eyes in shame. That? That was the one question she asked? Totally about her and nothing about him. Not what he did with his life or if he’d ever moved on. Would he have kissed her? She was just about to tell him to forget about it when she heard the bed creak, and a second later, she could feel his body over hers. Not actually feel it, because he wasn’t touching her, but the tiniest bit of heat as the bed dipped a bit on each side of her as his weight came down.

She forced her eyes open to face Hunter as he looked down at her. “When?” he asked. Blinking in confusion, she tried to figure out what he was talking about. “When would I have kissed you? Yesterday when I originally found you or back when we were kids?”

“Does it matter?” she squeaked out in a barely there voice.

“No.” His eyes very obviously dipped down to her lips and stayed there. “If I had my choice, I’d never stop kissing you. Not when I was eighteen and not now. I’ve always wanted you, girl next door, and I always will. Consider yourself lucky that I haven’t consumed you completely.”

And just like that, he was gone. After pushing himself off her, he picked the whiskey back up and headed out the door, slamming it in his wake.

After remaining stone-still for a few seconds, Gabby finally pushed herself up and glanced around the room suspiciously, as though Hunter had never truly left. Once she verified she was actually alone, she let out a deep sigh. Maybe he should’ve left that whiskey....