“Woman?”
“That’s what you are, aren’t you?”
I closed my eyes for a second and counted to five, then opened them again. “I’m not going down that rabbit hole with you.”
He stood right in front of me. I could feel the warmth of his chest from where I was standing. Just one step and I’d be in his arms.
“I don’t want us to be over. I thought we were just starting.”
Resist.
You can do it.
He’s just a man.
A man who knows exactly how to touch you, and the words to say that will make you melt.
I dropped my gaze to my feet. “I think it’s better if we just let it be what it was. A fling.”
“You know it was more than that.”
I swallowed against the need to say yes. Because it had become way more to me, way too fast.
“Look at me if you’re going to say this stupid shit,” he demanded.
I tore my hands out of my sleeves and poked him in the chest. “You’re not all to blame. I’m a big girl. I knew what I was doing, but now I have to worry about clean-up.”
He fisted his hands at his sides. “So that’s what we are now? Collateral damage.”
“You’re damn right.”
He covered my hand, pressing it flat to his chest. “You’re wrong, Kenny.”
Be strong.
Strong, independent woman.
“I’m going to prove it to you.” He curled his fingers into the loose ponytail at the nape of my neck.
I braced myself for the onslaught of his kiss, but what I wasn’t prepared for was the gentle brush of his lips. They whispered over my mouth before he pressed his forehead to mine. “I don’t care how long it takes.”
“Hunter…”
He coasted his fingers down my ponytail before stepping back. “Goodnight, Kenny.”
I couldn’t even get my thoughts back together before he was at the door and gone.
Sammy came up beside me and bumped my fisted hand. I immediately relaxed my hand and pushed my fingers into his soft fur. “It’s all right, boy.”
But I really wasn’t sure it was going to be all right at all.
4
Hunter
My fingers ached by the time I pulled up my driveway. The drive had been a haze. Hell, the whole damn night had been a haze of anger and confusion. Between Bats and his dumb shit moves, and my fight with Kenny, I was more than ready to find oblivion with a bottle.
Because there was no way I was sleeping tonight without a sleep aid. And my favorite reason for going to bed had tried to dismiss me like a bartender at last call. That wasn’t happening, no matter what she thought. I’d finally met someone who made me believe that relationships weren’t the road to misery.
Just my luck that she thought there was something holding me back. I didn’t know how I was going to prove it to her, but I definitely had to figure out a plan.
I unlocked my front door to country music blaring from my living room. The next thing to hit me was onions and the pervasive punch of chili powder. “One good thing today,” I muttered.
I couldn’t even bitch about the country music. Not when Noah was making his famous chili. I walked into the kitchen.
“Did you call, ma?”
“Ah, shit.” I’d seen the messages, but I’d been a little distracted. I pulled my phone out and shot a text to my mom. I should have called, but I just didn’t have the fortitude for that kind of conversation.
“Are you really texting her?” Noah asked over his shoulder.
“It’s a bit late.”
“Yeah, if you’re ninety.”
“Shut up, Noah. I’ve had the shittiest night in the history of shit.”
“Well, if you’d stop acting like a fuck up, then maybe you’d have a better ending to your night. Glad you didn’t call me for bail money again though. I’d have left your ass.”
“I didn’t get arrested.”
“Oh, how’d you manage that? Last I saw, the two of you were going at it on Entertainment Tonight. I was pretty sure you’d get arrested for swinging the guitar at Reed’s head like a damn baseball bat.” I opened my mouth to plead my case, but shut my mouth at my brother’s dry look. “That’s right, you better keep your mouth shut. Dumb shit.” He pulled a red towel out of his back pocket. “Make yourself useful and cut up those shallots.”
I sighed and pulled a chef’s knife out of my block, then started dicing on my flexible cutting board. Without another word, I went to the fridge and pulled out the sour cream.
Noah’s chili was the kind that would burn your guts out in the best way possible. I ladled a huge portion into a bowl with cheese, sour cream, and a sprinkle of onions.