“She thinks I should take you camping.” I ran my hand up his hard chest, wanting to tell him she also thought he should start a family, and that I wanted him to start it with me.
“We’d get eaten by bears.” His eyes glittered down as his lips tweaked up at the corners.
I fell into his gaze, lost in those velvety brown eyes. “Or so your painting would have me believe.”
“I was telling the future. That’s why I never went camping—I knew what would happen.”
I smiled, stepping closer. Heat warmed between our bodies. I angled my face up as he looked down on me. His eyes trained on my lips. “Livy…” he said quietly, his breath brushing my face. His hands clutched my back, shaking a little. A small amount of fear wormed into his gaze, but it was drowned out by something else. Something I also felt, and longed to say. “I luu—”
“Hunter, you bad boy!”
Hunter jerked with Blaire’s voice, his head snapping up.
She sauntered slowly toward us, her hips moving more than should be possible while still walking in a straight line. “It’s time for dinner. Didn’t you hear the bell?”
Hunter dropped his hands, still standing close to me. “I didn’t.”
Blaire stopped and turned, waiting for us to follow along. Her thin eyebrows lifted. “Well? Let’s go, silly! We don’t want to keep everyone waiting. It’s rude…”
“Of course.” Hunter’s tone had dropped, coarse and expressionless. It was the voice he hid his emotions behind, showing the world a robot.
His hand settled on the small of my back as he guided me forward, passing Blaire.
“What? You’re not going to escort a lady into dinner?” she asked in a light tone hiding razor blades.
Hunter’s body went rigid for a moment before he stopped. He put out his hand like a man might have done in an old western, waiting for her to take it. He moved his hand from my back and held out his arm the same way for me.
“This still happens, huh? This leading women to dinner thing?” I mumbled, taking his arm.
“Oh, Hunter, didn’t you school her about polite society before you brought her here with your mother’s closest friends?” Blaire laughed in a condescending way. “You have your work cut out for you there.”
Little did she know, I’d seen Titanic twice. I knew the drill.
We walked through the room and into the large dining room with crystal and china set out along the table. Two vacant seats were on the other side of the table, each with a little white card in front of it. A single space stood in front of us, the little white card reading “Blaire” in beautiful script.
I heard Blaire tsk as Hunter left her in front of her place and continued around the table to the two open seats.
“Sorry about that,” Hunter said as he pulled out the chair for me.
“Not at all. If it’s good enough for the Titanic, it’s good enough for me.”
He gave me a quizzical look.
“They did that in the movie—leading ladies to dinner… Never mind.” I put my napkin in my lap as he sat beside me.
As everyone settled down, servers poured wine and water. Trisha said, “Welcome, everyone, and thank you so much for coming!”
Smiles and returned thanks murmured around the table. She continued, “As I’m sure you know, we have a new addition to our party. Please welcome Olivia. She has taken on the nearly impossible task of keeping my son in line.”
Everyone laughed. The woman next to Hunter patted his forearm.
“Lovely to meet you,” the man next to me said. He stuck out his large, callused hand. I’d noticed him earlier, as the stockiest person of the group, but it was now clear that his larger frame came from muscle rather than being padded with fat. “I’m Mike.”
I shook his hand, noticing how rough it was, as though he’d worked outside all his life. “Hi.”
“And what do you do?” Mike asked with a pleasant smile.
“Oh, I work—”
“Yes, Olivia.” The clear voice rang out for the whole table to hear. Blaire looked at me with malicious, sparkling eyes. “What do you do?” Blaire turned to the man next to her. “I’ve met Olivia before, but never had a chance to talk to her properly.”
The man smiled politely and looked at me, giving me his undivided attention. In fact, the whole table had, apparently eager to get to know the new person. Swell.
I swallowed nervously. Hunter’s hand came to rest on my thigh. “I work for Hunter, actually. That’s how I met him.”
“And what is it you do for Hunter?” Blaire asked with a light but knowing tone.