Finally, I bring my eyes to hers. The sheer look of surprise on her face catches me off guard. For a moment, I think she might laugh.
“Not good enough?” she finally says. “How did you get to that conclusion? If you weren’t good enough, then why would I entertain any involvement with you?”
I blink as I think about this. “Well, using me for sex is quite different than using me for love.”
Her gaze goes to her mug. “Using you for love? What are you saying, Hunter?”
I swallow. “I don’t want a fling with you. I want something more.”
Her eyes meet mine.
“And it hurt when you made it clear you didn’t. I got mad and took it out on you. But since we will see each other at the lake and at Maria’s place, I wanted to be honest with you. I don’t want you to feel like you have to avoid me.”
Her mouth opens, then closes. She stares into her mug like it might tell her what to say. Then, softly, she says, “I caught feelings.”
My heart rate picks up. Does she want more, too? “What?”
She sets her mug on the table. “I’m sorry. I never meant to insult you. I didn’t realize you would want anything more, and honestly, I didn’t think I did, either. Until you kicked me out.”
She reaches across the table and takes my hand. Electricity shoots through me. “That’s when I knew I was falling for you,” she says.
I squeeze her hand. “Me too. And I really want to see where this goes.”
“Me too.” She closes her eyes. “But I’m afraid of gettinghurt.” When she opens her eyes, they are glassy. “Please don’t hurt me.”
I stand up and pull her up with me. “I have no intention of hurting you.”
We stare at each other for a moment, and then she cracks a smile.
“All right. This will either be really great or a complete disaster,” she says.
I intertwine my fingers in hers. “Hopefully it’s the first one.”
She bites her lip. “So, what do we do now? Have sex?”
I choke on air at her direct statement. “You don’t hold back, do you?”
“Nope.”
“Since I’m here to make sure Bob doesn’t come by, let’s put a pin in that idea for now. Maybe we should start with a date.”
She scrunches her nose. “A date? Sounds so formal.”
I squeeze her hand. “Nothing wrong with formal. First, I want to get Bob back behind bars. And while he’s out, I think you should stay at my place. I have a great security system, and it appears you have none.”
“Haven’t needed one.”
I nod. “We’ll revisit that once we are past this. But for now, let’s get you packed up.”
“Why is Bob out?”
“Bail.”
She crosses her arms. “Oh.”
“What’s wrong?” I ask.
“It could be months before Bob is behind bars,depending how long the trial goes and assuming he’s found guilty.”
