Reforming Hunt

by Jules Barnard

  Kaylee beamed. “So it’s all set.” She squeezed Abby’s hand and walked off to where Wes stood with Bran and Ireland.

  Hunt leaned down. “Are you sure?” he said out of the corner of his mouth, nodding a smile at Cali, Jaeger’s wife, who was waggling her eyebrows pointedly at Abby and shooting him knowing looks.

  “It’s what’s expected,” Abby whispered. “We will be living together, won’t we? Because I don’t think I can explain to Noah’s grandparents why I’m married, but not living with my husband.”

  Living together had crossed his mind, but in all the preparation this week, it had also been low on the priority list of things to discuss with Abby. “Of course we’ll live together,” he said confidently, then hesitated. “Where do you want to live?”

  “I think it will be best if we live at my place. It’s small, I know, but I don’t want to disrupt Noah’s life more than I already have with the marriage. Are you okay with that?”

  Hunt thought about the layout of Abby’s cottage. “It’s a one bedroom?”

  “Two, but Noah’s room is more like a glorified closet.”

  “So we’d share a room,” he said, and gauged her reaction.

  Abby swallowed. “Y-yes. If that’s okay. I can sleep on a cot and tuck it away when Noah is awake.”

  He’d prefer they shared a bed. He could keep his hands to himself.

  Fine, that was a lie. No way could he keep his hands to himself. Not with Abby’s soft, feminine scent and sexy body next to him. He’d try to seduce her into his arms. “I’ll sleep on the floor. You’ll take the bed.” His tone was firm, but damn if he’d let his wife sleep on a cot.

  An hour later, Abby was kissing Noah goodbye, and Hunt was standing with his brothers.

  “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t,” Wes said, and triple-winked.

  “You have protection?” Bran asked. “Nothing like an unplanned honeymoon baby.”

  Typical coming from Bran, the most careful of Hunt’s brothers.

  “This isn’t my first time at the rodeo,” he told Bran. “I’m covered.”

  Not that he’d need anything covered. He wished he needed something covered, because his wife, yes, wife, looked incredible, and his body was desperate to be near her. What was taking her so long, anyway?

  Just then, Adam walked up. “This is for you and Abby, courtesy of Blue Casino.” He handed Hunt a bottle. “Feel free to bust it out tonight. You look a little nervous.”

  Hunt glanced at the Dom Perignon. Nervous? Damn straight he was nervous. He had to somehow keep his hands off his beautiful wife for an entire evening, without even the blessed distraction of Noah. Hunt choked out a laugh and thanked Adam.

  Levi pointed at Hunt. “Remember what I told you.”

  Bran, Adam, and Wes all sighed.

  “Levi,” Wes said. “Give it a rest.”

  Levi bristled, but he shook out his shoulders and let out a breath. “Here.” He shoved a small box at Hunt’s chest. “It’s from Emily.” He coughed. “For your wedding night.” Was that the sound of Levi’s teeth grinding? “They’re scented candles and some other frilly stuff Emily thought you guys might like.”

  Just hearing the words “scented candles” come out of Levi’s mouth was gift enough.

  “Thank you,” he said, trying not to laugh at his gruff older brother. Emily might actually domesticate Levi, given enough time.

  Champagne under one arm, scented candles in hand, Hunt made the rounds and said goodbye to his friends and family. On the outside, he was a man eager to get his bride alone. On the inside, he was a man eager to get his bride alone, but wasn’t actually allowed to touch her.

  Good times.

  Hunt went to retrieve Abby, who was having a hard time saying goodbye, and Kaylee latched on to his arm, pulling him aside. “I don’t know what all is going on with you and this whirlwind wedding, but try to make it work. I really like Abby, and I think she’ll be good for you.”

  Hunt’s face froze for half a second. Until he remembered no one knew what he and Abby had agreed to. “I married her, Kaylee. I’m going to take care of her.” And that was the truth, even if the marriage was fake.

  “It’s not that. Abby has shit going on; we all know it at Club Kids. There’s something off about the grandparents…” She shook her head. “I don’t know what I’m saying. Just try to not mess it up, okay?”

  Hunt’s heart pounded and his chest tightened. Real or not, this marriage would need to stand—at least in the short term.

  Hunt leaned down and kissed Kaylee on the cheek, which earned him a loud shout from Wes.

  “Back off the brunette!” Wes said.

  “I got this,” Hunt said to Kaylee, and she smiled. But Hunt’s chest didn’t loosen. He was making promises he wasn’t sure he could keep.

  He walked up to Abby and Noah and ruffled the boy’s hair. “Be good tonight, okay? If you need anything, have Kaylee call us.”

  “Bye, Mom. Bye, Hunt.” Noah ran off to where he’d been playing with Adam and Harlow and a stack of foam blocks.

  Abby looked up, amused. “It seems we’re not needed.”

  He grabbed her hand. “Guess not. Ready to go?”

  She nodded, and Hunt gestured for her to precede him.

  Abby walked out the front doorway, and his gaze lingered on her perfectly molded ass and bared shoulders in the sundress. He was a man; he liked beautiful women. But he was inherently attracted to Abby, and that was the biggest problem of all.

  Hunt huffed out a sigh and followed her out the door.

  It was going to be a long night.

  Chapter 18

  As soon as Abby and Hunt returned to the house, she took off her heels and started putting away clothes and dishes she hadn’t had time to put away before her harried rush to the chapel…

  She was married.

  Abby had been in love, she’d had a child, but she’d never been married. And now she was married to Hunt Cade, a man who didn’t love her.

  But he liked her. She felt it every time he looked at her. And she liked him too.

  Abby studied Hunt as he pulled off his suit jacket, his strong arms and flat stomach defined through the fine linen of his shirt.

  She cleared her throat and opened the fridge. “Are you hungry?”

  Hunt snorted. “Are you? My brother provided food for a party of fifty instead of twenty. Hate to see good food go to waste, which means I might have overeaten.” He patted his flat stomach. “Not sure I can fit anything more in here.”

  Abby closed the fridge and turned around. She wasn’t hungry either, but what were they going to do all night?

  She needed to keep busy or her mind would wander to the handsome man she now called husband. And that made her think of other things.

  It had been years since she’d been with a man. Sad but true. Not like she had time for relationships. But she was in one now. Only she couldn’t have sex with Hunt. That would complicate the situation to mass proportions. As long as things remained platonic, she and Hunt were good. At least, that was what she was telling herself. “Do you want to watch a movie?”

  His eyes narrowed, and Abby got the feeling he read her mind.

  He lifted a bottle off the coffee table she’d seen him carrying inside. “I have a better idea. Why don’t we open the champagne Adam and Hayden gave us and toast to our future?”

  Abby squeezed her hands together. Alcohol and sexual frustration were not a good combination, but maybe they could tackle another issue. “Sure, this will give us a chance to figure out how to make the marriage look real without little ears around.” Between their two work schedules and her son, she and Hunt hadn’t had time to lay out the specifics of their new reality after the wedding.

  Hunt popped the cork and poured fizzing liquid into two mismatched champagne glasses Abby had found in the back of a cupboard. “The only way to make it look real is to act like it’s real.” He tipped his glass and clinked it to hers.

  Abby sipped th
e tart liquid, her tongue tingling. “What do you mean, ‘act like it’s real’?”

  Hunt sank into a chair at the two-person dining table. She’d have to buy a folding chair if they all wanted to eat together. “We act like a married couple. We live together, as planned, and are affectionate.”

  “Affectionate?” It had been so long that she was starved for affection, but... “Won’t that confuse things?”

  Hunt set his glass down. “Abby, if we have any hope of showing we’re a united front and providing a solid household for Noah, we need to look like a married couple.”

  She bit her lip. “But…what does that look like?”

  He laughed. “Damned if I know. Never had one myself. You?”

  “My parents are still married, but they don’t like each other.”

  He nodded thoughtfully. “So we’re both in the dark. Well, we’ll just have to make the best of it. Why don’t we start by getting to know each other better?”

  “Isn’t that what we’re doing?”

  “Not yet, but we will,” he said.

  And why did that send prickles running down her arms?

  “Have you ever heard of a game called ‘Never Have I Ever’?” he asked.

  “Don’t they play that on Ellen?”

  “The talk show? Maybe, but I think it originated on college campuses.” His eyes twinkled and he sipped his champagne.

  “I didn’t finish college. And I was with Trevor while I was taking courses, so I didn’t party much.”

  “See.” He grinned. “I just learned something about you. And for the record, I never finished college either. I applied and got into a few places, but decided to run my boat-touring business instead. The money was too good to pass up.” At her questioning glance, he rubbed his chin. “I stopped asking my father for money before I graduated high school. Was too stubborn to ask him to help with college.”

  Abby’s mouth gaped. “Your family owns Club Tahoe, and you’re filthy rich. Yet you turned down family money…to run a boating business?”

  “Still want to be married to me?”

  He was a complex man, her new husband. And devilishly handsome when he looked at her like that, with a crooked grin. “Yes.” And not only because he could help her with Noah. Hunt was easy to be around. And kind. Honestly, the thought of marriage to him was a little too exciting for Abby’s delicate heart.

  Better not mention that or he might change his mind.

  “Good,” he said. “Because I’m not sure I’ll let you go now that I have you.”

  He was killing her. How was she supposed to resist this man?

  “To explain things a little more, me and my brothers hated Club Tahoe. Never wanted anything to do with the place.”

  Abby nearly choked on her next sip of champagne, which was surprisingly good, considering she wasn’t much of a bubbly drink person when it didn’t contain caffeine. “Hated it? But you own it. You work there.”

  “Maybe the word hate is too strong. The club was a symbol of our father’s abandonment in favor of work. In favor of Club Tahoe. But we’ve made changes to the joint. Made it our own.” He shook his head. “I don’t know. I haven’t thought about it since my father passed. My brothers and I just knew we couldn’t let the place crumble after his death. Club Tahoe employs hundreds of people in the area. Didn’t feel right ruining good employment for others… It’s complicated.” He frowned.

  She didn’t like the look on his face. Hunt wasn’t a gloomy person, and she wanted to kiss that frown away. Which was a dangerous road for her mind to go down.

  “Well, my past is simple,” she said to lighten the mood, since kissing wasn’t an option. “I grew up poor and lived in a small Midwestern town in the double-wide trailer my parents have rented for as long as I can remember. I moved to Tahoe on a whim after a friend said good money could be made working at the casinos. The closest university was over three hours away back home. In Tahoe I could work at a casino during the high season and take classes at the community college or in Reno, if I was careful with my money. But after my first year, I met Trevor. And got pregnant.” She shrugged. “The rest is history.”

  Hunt’s expression softened, but he still didn’t look happy. “I’m sorry things were so hard for you, Abby.”

  She didn’t want his pity. That wasn’t why she’d told him about her past. She wanted to distract Hunt from the things that were making him sad. And she wanted for him to know where she came from, so there were no secrets.

  “How does this ‘Never Have I Ever’ game work?” Abby said, changing the subject.

  His eyes lit up. “Now we’re talking. It’s really very simple.”

  Hunt was easy to please. Where Trevor could be selfish and needy, Hunt was giving and supportive. He had depths he didn’t often show, like when he spoke of his father and brothers, and he was making it extremely difficult to look at him as simply a handsome, rich guy.

  “I say ‘Never have I ever,’ and follow it with something I haven’t done,” he said. “Like ‘Never have I ever tightroped.’ If you’ve tightroped before, you take a sip of your drink. If you haven’t, you do nothing.”

  “So this is a drinking game?”

  “Well, yeah. But maybe not with champagne.” Hunt stood and scoured the fridge and cabinets, looking at home and incredibly large in her tiny kitchen. He pulled out orange juice and a five-year-old bottle of vodka. “I’ll make them weak,” he said, and winked.

  “Wise, unless you want to get to know me hugging the toilet.”

  He laughed and handed her a new glass. “We’ll go easy.” He narrowed his eyes on her face. “Never have I ever…lived with a woman.”

  “Wow, way to kick the game off with a bang,” she said, and grinned. Abby took a sip.

  “It’s ‘lived with a man’ in your case, not boy,” he said.

  Again, she took a sip. “I lived with Trevor.”

  He nodded. “You had a child together; it makes sense that you would have lived with him.”

  “But I’m the first woman you’ve lived with?” Seemed hard to believe no woman had nabbed Hunt before now.

  “Yes,” he said, and his brow furrowed. “Come to think of it, Noah is the first child I’ve lived with too.”

  “Wow, we’re really throwing you into the deep end. Are you going to freak out at the sight of my tampons?”

  Hunt choked on his drink. “Uh, no. I’m very familiar with the female body and all its complexities. Probably more familiar than you are.” His eyes sparkled, the devil!

  Abby’s face heated. “I doubt that, and it’s my turn. Never have I ever…been on a boat.”

  Hunt took a quick drink then set his glass down with a loud thunk. “Never?”

  She shook her head.

  “But how can that be? You’ve lived in Lake Tahoe for at least as long as Noah’s been alive, so five, six years.”

  “I don’t know. I didn’t live anywhere near water growing up. Then I moved here and met Trevor soon after. We lived in a nice house and he took me to cool places, but I’ve never been on a boat. I always wanted to take a trip on the lake. Not sure why I didn’t. I guess pregnancy and child-rearing put a damper on that dream.”

  He grunted. “Well, that’s gonna change. You’ll be on one of my boats before the week is out.”

  “I didn’t say it to make you feel bad. It’s just something I knew I could get you to drink on.” She smiled mischievously.

  His eyes widened. “You learn quickly, young Jedi.”

  She laughed, and the game went on. Abby shared the age she received her first kiss—twelve, and it was awful—and a few places where she’d never had sex. Hunt, of course, drank for every one of the places she’d mentioned, the naughty boy. And then he threw something out there few people knew about her.

  “Never have I ever,” Hunt said, “ridden a bull.”

  Abby drank.

  He set his glass down, his gaze sharpening until she shrank back in her seat. “Oh, I gotta hear this
story.”

  “Technically, it wasn’t a real bull. It was a mechanical bull, and my friend made me do it.”

  “Famous last words, Mrs. Cade.”

  Abby blinked. “I forgot my name will change.”

  “Only if you want it to. Now finish the bull-riding story.”

  She cleared her throat, clinging to the game and not the notion of her married name. “On the drive to California, I stopped off at a friend’s house in Texas. She had a favorite bar, and there was a bull-riding thingy.”

  He laughed. “Did you fall off right away?”

  She sent him a scathing look. “No, I did not, Mr. Cade. I rode that bull and I rode him hard and long.”

  Hunt gulped, took a swig of his drink, then shifted in his seat. “So, you what? Won the bull-riding contest?”

  “Would you like to see my medal?”

  His eyes rounded. “You’re shitting me.”

  “Nope.”

  “Damn.” He sat back and absently rubbed his mouth. “Call me impressed.”

  Abby yawned, despite the sexy image Hunt was presenting. When he touched his mouth, she thought of his lips touching hers like they had in the chapel. And he hadn’t made the kiss quick. It had lingered and stirred things down low that had lain dormant for years. But it was past two in the morning and she was exhausted after her wedding day. And now it was her wedding night…

  “Tired?” Hunt asked.

  “A little, you?”

  “I could sleep. You mind if I take a quick shower?”

  “Help yourself. Towels are in the hall closet.” Abby returned to the sink, where she pushed around dishes, distracted. Hunt, naked, in the shower…

  Keep your head clear!

  While Hunt used the bathroom, Abby quickly put away the dishes and changed into sleep shorts and a T-shirt. She stared at the bed that seemed to engulf her small room.

  “I’ll take the floor,” Hunt said, surprising her from behind and making her jump.

  “Oh,” she said, and spun around. “There’s no need for you to sleep on the floor. I have the cot.”