by R. S. Elliot
He shrugged. “There’s no guarantee for anything. But you’ll at least get one heck of a party out of it.”
The door separating the lobby from the office areas swung open. My heart stopped, shattering to pieces in a jumbled mess at my toes. Every nerve came alive once again. The rush of blood flowing through my veins set my body aflame. It was always the same when I saw Hunter enter the room. The only difference from day-to-day was how intense it grew.
“Oh, hi,” he said. His gaze shifted from me to Flynn, then back over me. “I was just heading out.”
I suppressed the need to explain myself, to rationalize Flynn’s appearance there. I certainly didn’t owe Hunter any explanation. He might assume Flynn was just another client. Flynn’s presence beside me didn’t automatically suggest he was the mystery man I claimed to be dating. And even if he was, it was none of Hunter’s business.
He isn’t asking. So why am I even having these thoughts?
“Yes. Did you call Crystal?” I asked, trying to focus on something other than my concerns about Hunter’s assumptions.
He nodded. “I did. We are going to the charity event at the fire hall this weekend.”
“That’s great.” This was painful. I needed to end this conversation. But there didn’t seem to be any way around it. “It’ll be the perfect time to introduce her to all your friends.”
“Yeah. I thought so, too.”
The silence flowed between us. I shifted on my heels, my eyes darting from the floor to Hunter and back, until they must have been spinning in circles. Hunter rocked on his own feet, raising a hand to rub at the back of his neck.
Why was this so hard? Did I need to ask him to leave? That sounded too cold, and yet the awkwardness between us nearly killed me. Did he have another question? Why didn’t I just finish the conversation? I wasn’t ready to let him go yet. I don’t think either of us really wanted him to walk out that door. It meant starting the next step in his life, the next stage of pursuing a lifelong relationship.
It was all becoming too real too quickly. And maybe I wasn’t as ready to let Hunter go as I thought.
“I’m Flynn, by the way.” Flynn broke the tension, extending a hand out to Hunter. “Flynn Archer.”
“Flynn.” Hunter accepted the hand, turning his attention squarely on Flynn for the first time. “I’m Hunter.”
“I think we’re rivals,” Flynn said, suddenly.
My pulse skipped. This was it. This was the end for me. What the hell was Flynn thinking?
“Excuse me?” Hunter inclined forward.
Flynn tipped a finger toward the man across from him, completely unphased by the notes of menace in Hunter’s gaze or the look of sheer terror in mine. “Firefighter, right? Old feuds run deep with the police department. Especially when it comes to the baseball teams. Am I right?”
“Oh, yeah.” Hunter shook his head as if waking from a daydream. “I’m not sure about all that. My friend Gerald would know more about that than I would.”
The silence drifting between us was no longer awkward. Instead, it was a quiet challenge waged between two men completely oblivious to the fact they were even at war. This was all my fault. I never should have told Hunter I was seeing someone.
As for Flynn, who knew what the hell he was doing? The man was incapable of being controlled.
“Well, nice meeting you,” Hunter said, and turned to face me. His steel blue eyes spoke to a part of my soul, and I knew he was leaving me in more ways than one. “Lyndsey.”
He disappeared behind the entrance door. This was all for the best, wasn’t it? I shouldn’t be harboring feelings for a man I could never have. A man who very soon might be engaged to a woman who deserved her happiness just as much as he did.
“Well, that was awkward,” Flynn said. “Boyfriend of yours?”
“Client.”
Flynn burst out into a fit of laughter. “Right. And I’m the Queen of England.”
I turned to face him, the effectiveness of my glare evident in his instant sobriety. He coughed into his hand and peered about the room to deflect my anger.
“You can leave now, Flynn,” I said, turning on my heels to go back into the offices. “Thanks for dropping by.”
After getting rid of Hunter and Flynn, the rest of the day moved along smoothly. The majority of the clients who came to the agency knew exactly what they were getting themselves into when they signed up. They felt comfortable saying “yes” or “no” to matches and seeing where the next steps would take them.
I already had two couples, besides Hunter, who’d entered into the next phase. I’d been at this for almost two weeks now, and it all felt easier with each passing day—which only bothered me more.
Love shouldn’t be easy. It wasn’t like fitting two puzzle pieces together. It was messy and full of crazy, chaotic disasters, and connection.
Maddening sparks that drove a person insane. It was about wanting to be with someone despite all the odds stacked against them.
None of what my cousins offered here at the agency felt real. These relationships, if I could even call them that, were based on superficial needs. Things people thought they wanted, what they thought were essential in their lives.
They didn’t know what they were missing.
I sighed, slamming the door to my home behind me and collapsing on the couch.
When did I become so sentimental?
I never wanted something long-term. That was my burden to bear. But for people willing to make a lifelong sacrifice, a long-term commitment, this felt like such a waste.
I dozed off for what must have been an hour or more. The pale shades of dusk descended into darkness, and when I awoke, only shadows remained in the house. A noise stirred me awake. Still in a dreamlike stupor, I could barely make it out. It sounded like a thud.
Thunder.
A knock.
I rose tentatively to my feet, reaching for the baseball bat I kept by the door. Whoever it was may have come to finish the job. I whipped open the door, baseball bat poised over my head in defense.
“Oh my gosh! It’s just us,” a woman shouted, covering her face with her hands.
“I told you we should have called her first.” A man’s voice came from amidst the darkness outside.
I squinted through the starlight, my eyes adjusting slowly. “Aly? Zach?”
“Jesus, Lyndsey. Turn on a light or something.” Zach leaned inside, doing a quick scan of the side of the door for the lightswitch. He flipped up all the notches on the plate at once. A flood of light tumbled in from all sides, showering the living room and the porch with a healthy glow. “Don’t you know that’s how all those women die so quickly in horror movies?”
“I fell asleep and heard a noise,” I explained. “I didn’t really have time to think about all that. I just reacted.”
“Someone knocks on the door, and your initial reaction is to grab a baseball bat?” Aly asked. “What haven’t you told us?”
So much. Though none of it mattered anymore. I set the bat down and threw my arms around Aly’s neck. I hadn’t realized how much I needed her there until that moment.
“Hey,” Aly whispered against me. “It’s okay. What’s going on?”
“I just really need a hug,” I said, still holding on for dear life.
Aly tapped a hand against my back and turned over her shoulder to Zach. “Why don’t you go get the things out of the car, and I’ll catch up with Lyndsey?”
Zach nodded and left us alone. Aly moved me toward the sofa.
“Things?” I asked.
“Yes. Well, we had some time between assignments, and Marianne and Derek said they could handle everything for a while,” Aly explained. “So, we thought we would come here and help you with rebuilding the house.”
I almost burst out into tears. What was wrong with me? I’d been holding it all together so well. I shouldn’t be crumbling at the first sign of kindness to glance my way. Or was it just because this generosity came f
rom Aly? The one person who I could still rely on in this whole messed up world. She’d come to my aid in my hour of need, much like my grandmother, selflessly offering a hand even when she didn’t have to.
“Now, what’s going on?” she asked.
It took about an hour to catch her up on everything—one hour, two outbursts of tears, a plateful of cookies, and a jug of sweet tea.
“That’s awful,” Aly said. “Your family sounds insane. Sorry to say it. I always thought they supported you more.”
I shrugged. “Financially, maybe. But they’ve gone over their quota of kindness for a lifetime. It’s up to me at this point to make things right.”
“But…” Aly stopped. “You like this Hunter guy, don’t you?”
How did I answer that? I didn’t want to admit it—not out loud. I hadn’t even wanted to admit it to myself.
Reluctantly, I nodded. “I don’t want him to marry someone else.”
“Then, you should fight for him,” Aly said. “I’m not saying it’s going to be easy. But maybe if you tell him the truth, tell him about your situation, he’ll understand and play along.”
“He’s supposed to play along for three months?” That wouldn’t happen. Was I supposed to continue seeing him on the sly, all the while sending him out on bogus dates just to throw his sister off our trail? That didn’t seem reasonable either. It just sounded more painful for all parties involved.
“No. But at least until you come up with some sort of solution. I mean…” Aly sighed, facing Zach. They shared a knowing smile, one that shone as brightly in their eyes as it did in their faces.
I wanted that. That unspoken, jaw-dropping love without bounds. But that kind of love had come at a great cost. One that ended with Zach losing his job and Aly nearly being thrown out of school. Not to mention the media scandal that ensued once the press found out about Zachary Hawthorne, playboy billionaire turned psychology professor having an affair with one of his students.
“It wasn’t easy,” Aly said, seeing the course of my thoughts already. “But it was worth every minute.”
I shrugged. “Well, I have no idea what to do at this point. Things will progress quickly from here on out. That’s kind of the nature of the business. He’s taking his new girlfriend to meet all his friends at the fire hall on Saturday.”
Again, Aly and Zach shared a passing glance with one another, though this time more mischievous than loving.
“Is it a charity event?” Aly asked. “For victims who lost their homes to fires?”
“It might be.” My gaze shifted from Aly to Zach then back to my best friend. “Why?”
“I’ve been wanting to invest in a new charity down here,” Zach said. “Something similar to what Derek and Marianne do with the housing development projects.”
“What does that mean?” I asked, though a niggling feeling in the pit of my chest spread like wildfire. It kindled a renewed sense of hope within me. Were they saying what I thought they were?
“It means we would be spending much more time down here,” Aly explained. “We might even need someone to help with overseeing things while we’re gone.”
“You would move things here?”
“More like expanding,” Aly said. “My mother has been so caught up with her new boyfriend, she doesn’t need my help as much as she used to, and I wouldn’t mind a change of scenery every now and then.”
“Of course, that means we would need to speak with someone at the charity event about potentially setting up something down here,” Zach explained. “We already have tickets. But we could use someone who knows the people and the town enough to navigate us through negotiations.”
They expected me to go to a charity event?
The same charity event where Hunter would be with his new girlfriend. They expected bravery and fearlessness. All the things I was before losing my grandmother and before my family broke my spirit.
What had happened to me? When had I become someone who didn’t fight with all her heart and soul for what she wanted? I was trying to protect my house, protect my inheritance, and protect my grandmother’s legacy. But she would not have wanted it to come at the cost of my happiness.
Still, I hesitated.
“You don’t have to tell Hunter how you feel,” Aly said. “But you should at least talk to him about what’s going on. He deserves to know what you’re going through and why you keep pushing him away.”
I did owe him that much.
Maybe it wouldn’t change anything. Maybe he’d still decide to marry the incomparable Crystal Brooke. But, at least he would know why I did the things I did.
And I would know if there was anything left to fight for.
Chapter Seventeen
Hunter
Not here. Not now.
A strange flurry of anger and excitement hiked up within me at the sight of Lyndsey walking through the door. Every time she walked into a room, my heart tripped over itself. My thoughts muddled all together. I was never myself when she was around.
Or maybe I was too much like myself—a version of me I barely recognized on any other day. The man I was with Lyndsey was reckless, led by passions and feelings I had no control over.
Only this time, her presence here felt all too much like an intrusion. She knew I was coming here with Crystal, knew this was a pivotal moment in our relationship. And after seeing her so-called boyfriend, I had resigned myself to putting Lyndsey far from my thoughts.
But here she was, in the middle of the dance hall dressed in a beautiful sapphire dress that made the majority of onlookers stop and stare. How could they not? She was stunning.
What was worse is she was a distraction. One I didn’t need when all I wanted to do was forget her. I closed the distance between us, cutting across a room full of people to reach her.
“What are you doing here?” I asked, claiming her by the arm and drawing her away from the crowd of people.
Her eyes widened as they fell on me, though she followed me through the crowd without hesitation. “I came for the charity event.”
“Why?”
“My friends came in from California. They run something similar up there and are interested in expanding to this area, as well.”
I stopped in a quiet corner of the room, spinning her about to face me. “What does that have to do with you?”
“They asked me to introduce them to the people in charge and get them used to the way things are done here.” She jerked her arm free from my hold. “Though, with such warm greetings like this one, it’s a wonder they needed my help at all.”
I looked over her shoulder. I hadn’t seen her walk in with anyone. Though, that didn’t necessarily mean she was lying. While Lyndsey enjoyed being the focal point of attention, even she wouldn’t stoop so low as to come here just to distract me. “Where are they?”
“I don’t know.” She shrugged, defiant. Her eyes scanned the mass of people. “Getting a drink. I’m still looking for whoever’s in charge.”
“Well, you found him.” I gripped her arm once again and led her back out into the crowd. “So, let’s get this over with.”
The sooner we found her friends, the sooner I would be rid of her.
I was already having second thoughts about Crystal. Yes, she was everything a man could ever hope for in a wife. But she was not the woman for me. If I stood any chance of getting over my concerns, I’d have to limit my interactions with Lyndsey first.
“What, you?” Lyndsey tugged back on my grip and forced me to face her.
“That surprises you?”
“You never mentioned anything about charity work,” she said. “Like ever. You would think that’s something you want your future wife invested in, too.”
I grit my teeth. “It isn’t necessary. The family stuff, the kids, that’s all necessary. She can have her own interests, and I can have mine. We don’t have to always be in each other’s pockets.”
“How romantic.”
A sharp pain twis
ted between my ribcage. She was the last person who should be coaching me on romance. “Look, if my wife wants to be a part of it, she can. But it isn’t a deal-breaker. I’m sure you and your boyfriend have different interests.”
Nothing. No clever response or sarcastic jab at me being jealous. It was just as well. I was being jealous. Hell, I was being irrational. Who Lyndsey chose to see was none of my concern.
It didn’t change the fact that seeing her with Flynn struck a nerve embedded deep within my primitive instincts. One that incited me to react in ways no upstanding gentleman would. He was her choice. She made that quite clear, and it was my duty to respect those wishes, no matter how badly I wanted to ignore them.
“What about Crystal?” Lyndsey said suddenly. “Is she into all of this?”
I rubbed a hand along the back of my neck. “She is actually. She’s already brought on a few hefty donations as it is.”
“How wonderful for her.” She grumbled beside me.
Apparently, I wasn’t the only one repressing irrational feelings.
“What is this?” I asked, restraining the smile tugging at my lips to no avail. “Jealousy? Are you actually jealous?”
She huffed and wrapped her arms around herself. “Don’t be ridiculous.”
“You’re the one who said you didn’t want to be with me. You’re the one pushing me into this thirty-days-or-less marriage.”
“That isn’t my policy. It’s the company’s.”
Right. Because that made all the difference in the world. My first instincts about her were correct. The girl was completely delusional. “Isn’t it technically your company?”
“My parents own it, and Vanessa and Kyle run it. So, as you can see, I have no say in how the company is managed.” The undertones of helplessness were laced into her words. Perhaps, she was right. Perhaps she didn’t have any control over the policies of the company itself, but she certainly had control over her own actions.
“No, you just enforce the rules,” I said.
“Exactly.”
“And how’s that working out for you?”
