November Harlequin Presents 2(206)

‘Everything OK?’ Hunter dutifully kissed Lily on the cheek for the benefit of the onlookers as she made her way over, still shaking slightly from the confrontation. ‘What took you so long?’

‘I just ran into one of your psycho ex-girlfriends in the ladies’ room.’ Smiling sweetly, she whispered into his ear, ‘Thanks for the warning!’ But if she’d expected contrition she didn’t get it, Hunter’s face breaking into a grin as he swept her onto the dance floor.

‘Who was it?’

That he didn’t even know who it might be should have made things worse but, despite herself, there was a sliver of a smile on her face at his appalling question. He was so utterly and completely bad, but so impossibly divine. ‘For future reference, that was the wrong response, Hunter!’

‘I never said I didn’t have a past.’

‘Did you have to bring it to the wedding?’ Lily quipped.

‘Come on. Who was it?’

She nearly told him, even opened her mouth to answer him, but at the last moment thought better of it, recalling the old saying of keeping friends close and enemies closer, realising there and then she’d need to keep her wits about her to play this game and survive.

‘It doesn’t matter who it was,’ Lily answered, her eyes suddenly serious, the teasing note in her voice completely gone as she stared back at him. ‘The fact is I told her that I trusted my husband, so don’t make me a fool here, Hunter. Know that I don’t give out second chances.’

‘I won’t need one.’

And he said it so confidently, so assuredly, pulled her so close as they danced that for now she chose to believe him. Lily closed her eyes on the world that was watching them, waiting for them to slip up, waiting for them to fall, and just let Hunter hold her.





CHAPTER EIGHT




‘THIS,’ said Hunter, pushing open a vast navy door and stepping aside to let her through, ‘is home.’

For now.

He didn’t say it but she felt the two words hanging in the air, felt again the transient nature of her existence for the next twelve months.

Stepping into Hunter’s vast apartment, Lily tried and failed not to be daunted by the expensive surroundings of his exclusive penthouse. His apartment, their apartment, took up the entire top floor of the high-rise city building, the shimmering city skyline visible not through a window but an entire glassed wall, like some scenic lookout making her slightly giddy as she neared it, as if she were standing on the edge of some unstable precipice, as if with one slip, one misplaced move she’d topple out into the vast night sky.

‘Do you want a tour?’ Hunter asked, picking up a remote and flicking on some music, but Lily shook her head.

‘I’ll just have a wander around, if you don’t mind.’

Which she did. Wide-eyed, she took in the luxuriously expensive surroundings. The music Hunter had turned on was piped into every tastefully furnished room, and though it was undoubtedly the most exclusive opulent residence she had ever set foot inside, not for a second could it be considered a home. There was nothing ‘lived in’ about it, nothing that truly denoted Hunter. He hadn’t chosen the tasteful paintings that hung on the orchid-white walls or the bed-linen that was pulled taut on the vast king-size bed—somehow instinctively she knew that. It was like visiting a display home or checking into a luxury hotel, Lily thought as she pushed open a door. The marble bathroom gleamed, the toilet paper folded into a neat little V shape, shampoo and conditioner bottles full and perfectly positioned. She half expected a ‘cleaned and sealed’ sign to have been placed on the lavatory. Wandering through to the kitchen it was much the same there—sparkling stainless-steel appliances that were surely never used. As Hunter joined her she pulled open the fridge and peered inside at the minimal contents—some dips and wine, a cheese platter with fruit and a jug of cream, all no doubt checked and replenished by the cleaner each morning.

‘I tend to eat out,’ Hunter offered by way of explanation, ‘or if you want to eat in ring down to the doorkeeper and he’ll arrange for one of one of the local restaurants to deliver.’

‘We could even try cooking something!’ Lily responded, but the sarcasm was completely wasted on him and Lily tried to shrug of her unease with a smile as they made their way back into the lounge. ‘Your apartment’s stunning.’

‘Really.’ Hunter sounded surprised that she liked it. ‘The stereo system’s great, I guess, but…’ he stared around for a moment ‘…it’s a bit bland, don’t you think? And I hate those bloody paintings, especially that one.’ He jabbed a finger towards the offending article. ‘Ten grand for a bloody triangle on top of a circle.’