Treasured by Thursday(79)
“A kitchen and a bedroom . . . it’s all we need.” Hunter shoved another forkful of pasta into his mouth.
“You could be on to something there.”
He leaned forward and ran his finger along her lip before licking the sauce away.
“House parties would be easier without a mess of furniture.”
“True, but where would people sit?”
“Bring your own lawn chair?”
Gabi imagined the massive living room filled with wicker and plastic. “I don’t think that will work.”
He took another bite. “This is so good.”
“It’s dry.”
“It’s perfect.”
“It would have been perfect if we’d eaten it an hour ago.”
Hunter wiggled his eyebrows.
Gabi shook her head and tried not to blush.
“We need to make a decision on the furniture,” Gabi insisted.
He broke off a piece of bread before popping it into his mouth. “What’s the hurry?”
“Child Protective Services.”
He stopped chewing and stared.
“I’ve been doing some research. As much as you need to find Hayden’s mother unfit, Child Protective Services is going to use that same microscope on us. A furnished and safe home is only the beginning.”
Hunter leaned back, unconcerned. “Furniture doesn’t determine a decent home.”
“Neither does money. Statistically, the mother is often given custody even when the scale dips in the father’s favor, which means we need to dip that scale deep.”
“I have the deeper pockets.”
“Possession is nine-tenths of the law. Hayden is in his biological mother’s custody.”
“A biological father has rights.”
Gabi picked at her food while she talked. “Your case for full custody is stronger if she’s unfit and you’re a saint. That’s why we needed to get married, right?”
“I’m not a saint.”
Gabi stopped chewing and stared. “Thank you for the clarification that this woman doesn’t need. Point being, you’re too rich to leave loose unsaintly ends, and she’s too self-centered to think you’re going to petition for custody. There’s only one factor I don’t think either of us has considered.”
Hunter pushed his empty plate away. “What’s that?”
“Noah. He could swoop in and claim Hayden as his. Once he realizes this isn’t going the way he wants it.”
“I hadn’t considered that.”
“The man suddenly starts appearing wherever we are? He has to be on to something.”
“He’s pushing my buttons. Trying to look like the upstanding guy and me the unreasonable ass. Not much has changed since we were kids.”
“Didn’t your parents ever clue in to the truth?”
“We were lumped into the same person most of the time. By the time Noah showed his real drive, my father was clued out, my mother was gone . . . and I was determined to live life differently. I’d always been one of two.”
“A lot of people would want that.”
“Not when one of the two is a complete emotional opposite. You’d think identical twins would have the same personality. We don’t. I had the drive to become self-made, he had the drive to let someone else do everything for him. Worse, he thinks I owe him simply because of our DNA. I never have understood that mindset.”
“When do you think you’ll be prepared to petition the court for custody?”
“I’m looking for a couple more nails and then we can move. Two weeks . . . maybe.”
“Before Christmas?”
“Christmas?” His eyes were wide.
“Yeah, you know . . . that big holiday at the end of December?”
“I know what Christmas is . . . I just haven’t thought about it.”
Neither had she . . . not until earlier in the day when she noticed lights going up around the city. “What do you normally do for the holidays?”
He shrugged. “Company Christmas party . . . a few I can’t get out of events.”
“I mean on Christmas. Without family . . .”
When he didn’t have a quick reply, she felt instant remorse for asking the question. “I’m sorry I asked.”
Hunter shook his head. “Christmas is a holiday for close friends and family . . . both of which you know I don’t have. I don’t accept invitations from my associates. I keep my employees at a distance.”
“What about your father? Is he so awful?”
Hunter rolled off the bed, took their plates with him. “He’s a hermit. A shell of a man he once was. Ten minutes in the room with the man is about all I can take.” He placed their plates on a cardboard box that hadn’t yet been unpacked and proceeded to stoke the fire.