by Robin Kaye
“How did he know I’m wearing your shirt?” She climbed out of bed and followed him to the kitchen. He needed coffee. He’d found a French press last night and put a kettle of water on.
Toni leaned against the counter staring at him. “Is something wrong?”
What the hell was he supposed to say? Yeah, I want to marry you, but I’m afraid if I ask you’ll run screaming for the hills? “No.” Damn, he was doing it again. He shook his head. “Yeah, I’m a little nervous.”
“Why?”
“These negotiations are important.”
“Hunter, I think we’ve gotten through the hardest part, right?”
“I don’t know, babe.”
***
Toni didn’t understand what Hunter was so nervous about. Sure, there was a lot to decide, but at least they weren’t fighting. Maybe he didn’t think it could last. She watched him fix coffee. He poured the hot but not quite boiling water over the grounds and whipped up an omelet that looked like it came off the cover of Bon Appetit. If he kept cooking like this, she’d have to go on a diet. She took a bite of the spinach and feta cheese omelet and nearly groaned. “Do you cook like this all the time?”
He toyed with his food. “I cook when I’m nervous.”
“Yeah, about that, I don’t get why you’re nervous. What’s the worst thing that could happen?”
“Other than you freaking out, running away again, and breaking my heart?”
“Eww… that bad, huh?”
“Yeah.” He pushed away his plate.
“What if I promise not to freak out?”
“You can’t.”
True. She really wasn’t prone to losing it unless it was around Hunter. “Okay, how about I promise not to leave?”
He raised his eyes to hers. “For how long?”
“Twenty-four hours.”
He nodded and stuck out his hand to shake.
Toni would have rolled her eyes if he didn’t look so damn serious. It was starting to give her the willies. “Fine.” She shook his hand. “What is it already?”
Hunter looked at her plate. “You’re not done with your breakfast yet.”
“So what? Are you afraid I’m gonna get sick or something?”
His eyes just about bugged out.
“Kidding. I might hyperventilate, but I’ve never thrown up.”
Hunter scowled and pushed her plate closer. “Finish eating.”
“Now you want me to eat? You can’t be serious. I’m nervous too.”
“This is just great.” Hunter stood, grabbed both their plates, and tossed the contents in the trash. He grumbled something about a JumboTron and a Yankees game, and then proceeded to clean the kitchen. Fine, if he was going to be that way, she was going to force him to tell her.
Toni watched him as he bent over the sink, scrubbing the pan with a lot more force than she thought necessary. Truthfully, it had been years since she had done any real dishes—most of her food went from can or takeout container to plate with a quick stop in the microwave before she ate it, and a dishwasher after.
Wearing only Hunter’s shirt, Toni unfastened one more button and rerolled the sleeves before jumping up to sit on the counter. She was right in his way, although the look on his face was anything but disturbed. Yeah, those years at Action Models gave her more than just a decent paycheck. Just because she rarely posed didn’t mean she didn’t know how.
Toni took the towel hanging over Hunter’s shoulder, grabbed it on both ends, and tossed it around his neck, then pulled him in for a kiss.
Hunter vibrated with nervous energy. His wet hands roamed her body as his tongue tangled with hers. God, she’d forgotten how fast he could take her from lukewarm teasing to scorching need.
Toni shimmied to the edge of the counter and slid off mid-kiss, sucking his tongue into her mouth and slipping her leg between his. Her eyes shot open when she felt a bulge where there shouldn’t be one.
He stepped away too quickly.
“What’s wrong?” A slight red stain covered his cheekbones.
“Nothing.”
Toni threw up her hands. “If it’s nothing, then just say it for God’s sake.”
Hunter rubbed his eyes. “Okay. I bought you something.”
“A present?” Another first. No guy had ever bought her a present.
“Not exactly.”
“Well, what is it?”
He pulled a little black velvet box from his pocket. She’d seen her share of those before—every time her mother got another diamond to add to her collection and another husband to add to that collection as well—they came in pairs.
When Hunter opened the box, she’d expected to see a diamond solitaire—after all, that’s what guys bought when they proposed, right? This wasn’t one—it was a big red stone surrounded by little diamonds, but definitely not an engagement ring. She couldn’t believe she was actually disappointed, which was weird. She’d never wanted to get married. She’d always sworn she wasn’t going to be like her mother. She didn’t want to change husbands more frequently than most women changed handbags, but then her mother had never found a guy like Hunter either. With Hunter everything was different. So yeah, she was disappointed.
“It’s beautiful.” It was huge, not Easter-egg huge, but on the right side of the line between gorgeous and ostentatious. “Is it a ruby?”
“No, it’s a diamond.”
She tried to smile. After all, it was perfect, just her style—if she had a style—but that feeling of disappointment just got bigger and bigger like a balloon about to pop. God, she really wished she could figure herself out. “I know the stones surrounding it are diamonds. What’s the red stone?”
“A red diamond.”
She touched it. “Is it real?”
“Hell yeah, it’s real, or at least it better be.”
Her breath caught. She’d heard about red diamonds. She’d never seen one. Right now though, she’d trade it for a ring from the bottom of a Cracker Jack box if he’d just get down on one knee. She looked at the ring and then at the floor, doing her best not to cry when she really wanted to weep. Maybe she was PMSing, or maybe she was just a spoiled brat pissed that he didn’t read her mind when she had no clue how to read it either. Still, she was hurt and crying, damn it. “It’s beautiful. Thanks, but you really didn’t have to buy me anything.”
Hunter tipped her chin up. “Yes, I did. A man can’t ask the woman he loves to marry him without a ring.”
“What did you say?”
“Toni, I don’t want to be your roommate. I want to be your husband. I love you more than I thought I could ever love anyone—enough to last a lifetime. I want us to say the ‘I dos’ and have everything that comes along with them. I want to have children of our own to love and love the ones who come into our lives. I want to spend the rest of my life waking up with you, to grow old holding your hand, and to share my world with you forever.”
“This is an engagement ring?”
“What did you think it was? I’m trying to propose.”
“Then why aren’t you on one knee? I have to tell you Hunter—the red ring really threw me. I mean, if you’d done it right and gotten down on one knee, I could have followed along. But no, you just gave me a ring. How was I supposed to know it wasn’t an I-screwed-up-and-I’m-sorry gift? Didn’t they go over this in that book you read cover to cover?”
“No, the book was written for women. It said that you’re just supposed to act surprised and say ‘yes.’ It never talked about the proposal per se. I’m making it up as I go along, and now you’re mad because I didn’t do it right.”
“Not mad—just, you know, a tiny bit disappointed.”
“Fine.” He got down on one knee right there in the kitchen and didn’t look too happy a
bout it either. He removed the ring, tossed the box over his shoulder, and winced when he heard the splash when it landed in the sink. Holding the ring out toward her, he took her hand in his. “Toni, will you marry me?”
She wanted to remember this moment for the rest of her life. After all, she’d have to tell her kids and grandkids about it someday. She smiled through tears as she stared into the slightly disgruntled eyes of the man she loved.
***
Hunter was down on one knee, with Toni sitting on his other, waiting for her response to his proposal. He was sweatin’ it, big time. “Babe…” He wished she’d just hurry up and give him an answer already. Was she trying to kill him?
“Wait a minute. What was it I’m supposed to say?”
“‘Yes’ would work for me.”
“Shouldn’t I tell you I love you?”
“Right after you say ‘yes.’”
“Yes, on one condition. Let’s get married in Vegas. I don’t want the whole big wedding thing. We can leave tomorrow morning and hit Vegas on the way to LA. That will give my mother less than twenty-four hours to plan the wedding of the century. Grampa and Clarissa can fly out with us. Vegas isn’t too far from Idaho, so Trapper, Fisher, Karma, and your mom can catch a quick flight. Hell, James, Bianca, and the models can come too if they want. Okay?”
“Deal.” Hunter slipped the ring on her finger and picked her up.
“Where are we going?”
“To bed.” He stepped out of the kitchen and headed toward the bedroom.
“We can’t. We have to call everyone.”
“No, we don’t. Everyone already knows. One thing you’ll find out about this family is they always know everything—usually before you do. You better start getting used to it.”
“They don’t know you’re taking me to bed, do they?”
He sat on the bed, holding her on his lap. “Most likely, but I try not to think about it.”
She pushed him down on the bed and straddled him. “That’s probably a good idea. Talk about a high ick factor.”
He laughed as he pulled her down, rolling her beneath him, and kissing the disgusted look off her face.
He slid into the kiss, and all the fear, uncertainty, and pain of the last few days flowed out of him to be replaced by happiness, contentment, and a need so strong it blinded him.
Toni pulled the shirt over her head, baring herself to him.
“I could stare at you for hours, and I will, after we get married.”
“Hunter, stop talking and lose the pants will you?”
“God, you’re demanding.” He stood and unbuttoned the rest of his fly. “I love it.”
Toni kneeled on the bed watching. “Good, because you’re going to be stuck with me for the rest of your life, buddy.”
He climbed on the bed and kissed her. He was going for the slow, gentle slide of mouths, but got nothing but scorching heat in return. Fine, scorching it was. He lay down, pulled her on top of him, and reached for her breasts, only to have her slip from his arms.
Her hand squeezed his erection, her mouth hot and wet on the head. He grabbed her hair and groaned as she sucked him in, her tongue and teeth tormenting, her hands gliding up and down the length of him as her mouth followed. He tried to stay still, tried to keep from jerking his hips, but in a few minutes she had him at the limit of his control.
He groaned, reached for her, and pulled her up as he sucked a breast into his mouth and slid into her moist heat. Her muscles grabbed him, pulling him deep as she ground her pelvis into his with every thrust.
She rode him, her hands braced against his chest, her hair flowing black as ink against her shoulders, her breast bouncing.
He slid his hand between them, tormenting her until she pushed off his chest and arched her back as her hands slid to her breasts. She threw her head back and screamed his name.
Toni was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. Intense, wet, heat slid over him, as her muscles massaged and drew him deeper, closer as she rode him through her climax.
When she collapsed on his chest, he rolled them over, driving her up again, her legs wrapped around his waist, her heels stabbing his lower back, urging him on as he slid both hands beneath her, lifting her, changing the angle.
Toni’s eyes shot open, and all the breath was sucked out of her as she came with a silent scream. God, she saw stars, and then one orgasm rolled into another. She wasn’t sure how much more she could take, but she never wanted it to end. She felt more than saw him stiffen and groan, holding her tight, and almost whimpering into her shoulder, until he stilled and relaxed on her. Mini-orgasms ricocheted through her, curling her toes, and making her shiver. Every time she did, Hunter tensed and groaned as if they passed through him too.
“Did I hurt you?”
She shook her head, but tears leaked from the corners of her eyes, trickled down the side of her face. She took a stuttered breath and sobbed.
“I’m sorry, babe.” He looked terrified. “Toni?”
“I’m fine.” She sniffed and wiped her eyes. “I don’t know what it is with the waterworks. I can’t help it.”
“It’s okay. It’s been an emotional few days.”
He tried to move off her, but she tightened her legs around him. “Don’t go yet, okay?”
“Babe, I’m not going anywhere.” He kissed away her tears. She closed her eyes and held him, praying that this feeling of perfection would last forever.
Chapter 21
Hunter watched Toni sleep, her left hand thrown over him, her ring shining like fire in the morning light. As much as he wanted to, he couldn’t spend the day watching his fiancée sleep—plans needed to be made for their wedding. Hunter realized that he didn’t even have a suit with him, but his mom could probably pick one up at his house and bring it to Vegas with her.
He slipped out of bed and jumped into the shower, wishing he’d brought a change of clothes and a razor. After looking through Toni’s medicine cabinet and tossing a trash can full of expired cold and flu medicines, Hunter found an unused toothbrush.
Pulling on his jeans, he scrounged around Toni’s drawers until he found an extra large T-shirt. Hunter hoped to hell it wasn’t one of her old boyfriend’s, but he figured he didn’t have much choice. As he dialed Gramps, he gathered his underwear, shirt, and Toni’s clothes and started a load of laundry.
“Joe Walsh.”
“Gramps, it’s—”
“About time you got your fool-self out of bed and called your grandfather. So when’s the weddin’?”
“Tomorrow in Vegas.”
“Damn, boy, you certainly don’t waste any time.”
“It was Toni’s idea. She didn’t want to give Clarissa time to plan a big wedding, and as far as I’m concerned, the sooner the better. We have to be out in LA Monday anyway, so we thought we could stop in Vegas and get everyone together. Fisher, Trapper, Karma, Toni’s best friend, James, her old boss, and the models she worked with are all in Stanley. I thought if you wouldn’t mind, you could fly Mom, Ben, and Gina to Hailey and pick up anyone who wants to come.
“I’ll take care of it and the hotel and limo arrangements.”
“You mean your secretary will do it.”
“Of course. You want it done right, don’t you? You’d better call your mama. She’ll tan your hide if she finds out she wasn’t the first to hear. I’ll talk with Clarissa. She’s right here.”
“Where’s that?”
“In the vicinity of none of your damn business, boy.”
“Nice place, Gramps. Just be careful. That’s my future mother-in-law you’re talking about.”
“Ah hell, son. I’m eighty-two years old with two hip replacements and a bum ticker. How much trouble can I get into?”
“More than me, that’s for
sure. Gramps, you call Shamus, and I’ll call Mom. Let me know when Toni and I should meet you and Clarissa at the airport in the morning. And thanks for everything.”
“My pleasure. You just take care of my newest granddaughter.”
Hunter called his mother, and Kate picked up the phone on the second ring. “Hunter? Are you okay, sweetheart? I’ve been so worried.”
“I’m fine, Mom. I’ve got great news. Toni and I are getting married.”
“Well, that is a surprise.”
“Mom, the wedding is tomorrow in Vegas. I know it’s quick, but practically everyone we know is out in Stanley. So you, Ben, and Gina can just jump on a plane in Boise, fly to Hailey, pick the rest of the crew up, and then meet us in Vegas.”
“Hunter, are you certain about this?”
“Sure, Toni and I have to be in LA on Monday for Emilio’s hearing anyway, and Toni doesn’t want her mother, Clarissa, going off half-cocked and planning a big wedding. Shamus is working on transportation and the hotel reservations for everyone. All you have to do is run by all our houses and get dress clothes for us.”
“I’m not talking about convenience, Hunter. I’m talking about the rest of your life. Are you sure you’re ready to marry Toni? She’s a lovely girl, but you’ve only known each other a week. Don’t you think that’s a little fast, even for you?”
“No, Mom. I don’t. I’ve never been so sure of anything in my life.”
“Hunter, I can’t help but be concerned. I love you, and I just want you and Toni to be happy.”
“We are. We might be rushing the wedding a little bit, but we’re not rushing anything else. Mom? Do you think you and Karma could do that something old, something new deal for Toni? I don’t want her to miss out on anything important.”
“I’d be happy to.”
“Thanks, Mom. I love you. See you tomorrow.”
***
“Wake up, sleepyhead. Time to shop.”
Toni rolled over to find Hunter standing next to the bed holding coffee. Smart man. “I hate shopping except for shoes.”
