I breathed in his smell, letting him hold me. His strong arms felt so secure. His apology so heartfelt.
“Are you okay?” he asked softly, giving me a lingering kiss on my cheek.
“As good as can be expected from being pitted between you and your dad.”
Hunter kissed me again, letting his lips remain on my skin for a while before squeezing me again. “You put up with a lot from me.”
I was pretty sure I brought most of it on myself, but I didn’t want to argue. Instead, I said, “Let’s get a drink.”
“Of course. Should we go back for your jacket?”
“Why, are you getting cold?”
“I don’t get cold—I’m a man.” He stood with me in his arms before he bent to place me delicately on the ground.
“You’d probably repeat that over and over until you froze to death.”
“Probably.”
I leaned against his side, feeling the pressure of his hand on the small of my back. “I am sorry about my father,” he said as we reached the door.
“He tried to say you were using me to get at Bruce. If you hadn’t been honest about that, I would’ve been thrown for a loop.”
“Any other admin and I wouldn’t have mentioned it. I trust you. I trust that you see what I’m trying to do, and are as invested in the cause as I am. I don’t know why my father just won’t let things lie. He constantly turns up in my life to cause havoc.”
We stopped along the way to get my jacket before moving on to a different restaurant. This one was Japanese and advertised karaoke on Friday and Saturday nights. Thankfully, it was Thursday, which meant the dance floor was clear of bad singers. The mellow sounds of a string quartet played over the sound system.
Hunter led me into the bar, a sectioned-off area with full access to the dance floor. We sat at one of the tables amid half a dozen businessmen and waited for the waitress to work around to us.
“So you talked to Bruce…” I started as Hunter leaned back in his seat and stretched out his legs.
“Yes. He approached me, actually. First, he raved about you. Warned me that if he wasn’t selling his company, he’d steal you away to work for him.”
“I’m sure he’s got a bunch of programmers way better than me.”
Hunter’s lips quirked, almost a grin. “Probably, but they are probably all geeky men who spent their youths in their mothers’ basements playing video games. They aren’t Bruce’s speed. Or so he said, when I told him exactly what you did.”
“Oh ye of little faith,” I huffed, quieting when the waitress came for our orders. “I may be from the working class, but I haven’t actually worked,” I continued after we’d given them.
“You have a good work ethic. That goes a long way. And you’re fun. If it wasn’t for you, he would never have sought me out. If not for you, I would be lost.”
The music was turned up and lights dimmed. The disco ball in the center of the floor started spinning, catching and throwing the lights in a way that offset the subtle sounds of the string quartet.
I pushed the hair away from my eyes with the back of my hand. It was a little Gone with the Wind, but my heart was fluttering with what he’d said, and, more importantly, the tone he said it in. “If I wasn’t here, would you have hounded him a bit more?” I said.
Hunter sipped his drink. “I wouldn’t have had a chance. My father had all but sold him. But with you—you stand out. When we were all together, the four of us, I saw it immediately. I figured stepping back and letting your unassuming charm come through was the best way to play it.”
I was two seconds from fanning my face and fainting. I needed to get a grip! “And your father…”
“Doesn’t think anyone can do his job better than him. It’s why his company is bottlenecked right now. It’s as big as it’ll ever get with him in charge—any larger and he’d have to give up some precious control.”
“I always thought you were controlling.”
“I can be in certain situations…” His eyes glimmered with heat. My heartbeat increased. He leaned forward and extended a hand. “May I have this dance?”
“Wha—” I glanced around the bar, suddenly embarrassed. That was not where I thought he was going with the heat infusing his eyes. “Uh… I can certainly shake a leg, but ballroom dancing isn’t in my repertoire.”
“C’mon, Livy.” He stood, reaching down to take my hand.
“No one is out there! We’ll stand out. But not in a good way!”
“Just follow my lead.” He led me to the dance floor and turned me toward him, waiting for me to rest my hand on his shoulder. He brought my other hand in close, resting our hands against his chest.