by Kayla Perrin
“Wait.” Rosa frowned. “You gave him a false name?”
“I told him my name was Mary.” When Rosa’s eyebrows shot up, Lorraine continued, “I never expected to see him again. It was no big deal. I’ve never had a one-night stand before. Don’t people lie about their names? Trust me, I was shocked to learn that Hunter’s name was actually Hunter.”
Rosa quickly sipped some wine. “I can hardly digest this. You slept with your patient’s son.”
“Can you please stop saying that?”
“It’s just one of those crazy coincidences,” Rosa said. “As soon as he realizes that, he’ll calm down. It really doesn’t make sense that you would target him.”
The waitress arrived, and Lorraine ordered a salad, while Rosa ordered tacos. “We’ll probably want more wine later,” Rosa told the waitress.
Lorraine finished off her glass. “I’ll take another glass right now.” When the waitress walked off, Lorraine said, “So much for eating clean. But I need one more.”
“You said Hunter followed you out of the office? How did it all end?”
Lorraine filled Rosa in on the conversation she’d had with Hunter on the street. “Only when I turned the tables on him did he back off. I asked him where he was when his father was dying, and pointed out that I’d never let my father die alone.”
“Wow. That’s serious drama.”
“Tell me about it.”
“You haven’t even told me what’s really important. You were left in the will. What was the gift?”
“Oh, that’s right.” Lorraine had been so consumed with the drama of seeing Hunter again that she wasn’t even thinking about what Douglas had left her. “He left me a store. Said he wants me to open the health-food store that I’ve always wanted to. Can you believe it?”
Rosa’s lips parted. “What?”
“I know. Incredible, right? I knew we formed a bond, but the last thing I expected was that he’d leave me in his will. Sometimes people will leave small monetary gifts for hospice workers. I wasn’t aware that Douglas had any serious money, and I certainly didn’t think he’d leave me anything even if he did.”
“Your dream,” Rosa said, her eyes lighting up. “You can finally make it a reality.”
A lump formed in Lorraine’s throat. She swallowed. “I can’t accept it. Especially not with Hunter being so suspicious and angry.”
“Whoa, wait a second,” Rosa said. “I don’t know about that. Think about it. You formed a real bond with your patient. You told me more than once that he was like a father to you. Maybe he thought the same about you, that you were like a daughter. If he wanted you to have the store, isn’t it disrespectful to reject the gift he left you? Think about it. His gift will allow you to—”
“I know exactly what this gift will do,” Lorraine interjected. And that was what hurt most of all. She would put the gift to good use. It was meaningful, and she would be able to help other people with it. But how could she accept it under such circumstances?
“No way should you give it up,” Rosa went on. “If Hunter doesn’t believe you, that’s his problem. And like you asked, where was he when his father was dying, anyway? Did he actually answer you?”
“Not really.” Lorraine had always fantasized about asking Douglas’s family members that question—where they’d been when Douglas was dying. Of course, she hadn’t expected that she would actually get that opportunity. But seeing Hunter in the lawyer’s office, and being subject to his wrath, she’d been presented the opportunity.
“He may think you used his father, but at least you were there for the man. He left his father to die alone. How dare he question your motives, or his father’s?”
“I totally agree.” Lorraine snorted in derision. “Hunter should be ashamed of himself. Attacking my integrity?”
“Exactly,” Rosa concurred. “And his father left you something because he wanted to. I hate how family members expect to get property and money simply because they’re blood relatives. What, people aren’t allowed to leave gifts to whomever they want? Girl, do not let him guilt you into giving up that store. How long have you talked about opening up a health-food store and clinic in honor of your mother?”
The waitress delivered their meals and Lorraine’s second glass of wine. As Lorraine promptly took a sip, she pondered Rosa’s words. She wished she had the same sentiment as her friend. Yes, she’d love to see her dream come true sooner rather than later, but she had her pride to consider and she wasn’t about to sell it out for anyone. She would prefer to return the gift and let Hunter do with it what he saw fit, rather than live under the suspicion that she had somehow manipulated a dying man into giving it to her.
Rosa picked up a taco smothered with cheese, tomatoes and jalapeños and took a bite. Lorraine stared at Rosa’s plate, wondering if she should have indulged in comfort food instead of a salad. Not that a taste sensation in her mouth would make her feel better.
“No wonder you wanted to meet today,” Rosa said. “Have you talked to Amanda and Trina about this?”
“Not yet,” Lorraine said. She was closer to Rosa and shared her issues with her first. And as much as she wanted to get this off her chest with someone, she wasn’t ready to tell Amanda and Trina about how the memory of her hottest sexual experience had been tainted.
Lorraine spiked a cherry tomato with her fork. As she brought it to her mouth, her stomach roiled. How could Hunter believe that she’d used her sexual wiles, or some other type of persuasion, to manipulate his father?
She sank her teeth into the tomato and chewed, but the flavors didn’t register. Not when the only thing she could taste was the sour memory of what had happened.
The sexiest guy she’d ever slept with had turned into the biggest regret of her life. How could she ever get over that?
Chapter 10
On Thursday afternoon, when Hunter saw Joseph Finkel’s number flashing on his cell phone, he quickly answered the call. “Joe,” he said without preamble. “What’s the news?”
“Well, I heard from Lorraine. She’s decided she won’t accept your father’s gift. I explained that I’ll have to draft a document that she’ll need to sign, since the store is already hers. You’ll also need to sign the paperwork. She can make it in tomorrow morning at ten. Can you come in that time, as well?”
“Wait.” Hunter rose from the sofa in his condo, his heart pounding hard. “She’s giving up the store?”
“She said that she doesn’t want there to be any suspicion hanging over her head. She feels awful that this gift may be construed as something she pressured your father for.” Joe paused. “What did you say to her when you left my office?”
Hunter swallowed, a spasm of guilt tightening his chest. “I—I wanted to find out how close she was to my father.”
“That’s all?”
“Yes,” Hunter lied, because Joe didn’t need to know that he’d slept with Lorraine.
“Perhaps your questions weren’t well received,” he said, and Hunter could hear the slight disapproval in the lawyer’s voice. “In any case, I tried to assure her that no one suspected her of any wrongdoing, that your father was of sound mind when he added her to the will. I do understand her hesitation, however, especially when you talked to her against my advice.” He paused again briefly, as if to make sure Hunter knew he wasn’t pleased with how he’d handled the situation. “With that said,” Joe went on, “perhaps you can assure her that you’re okay with the will as is. Your father was quite adamant that he leave her a significant gift in appreciation of her care and friendship.”
Hunter’s gut twisted, conflicted emotions pulling at him. On one hand, he was glad that she was willing to denounce the gift. It meant she hadn’t befriended his father for any sort of financial gain. But with that clarity came the guilt. She’d been there for his father,
and his father had wanted to reward her for that. Now, because of him, Lorraine was going to give up the store that had been bequeathed to her. No argument, no fuss.
Hunter dragged a hand over his face and emitted a soft groan. Why had he been so hard on her? He shouldn’t have questioned her motives. She wasn’t the manipulative person he’d made her out to be.
His eyelids fluttered shut. He knew why he’d been so hard on her. Because seeing her in the lawyer’s office—after last seeing her naked in his bed—had felt like some sort of betrayal.
“When do you want me to talk to her?” Hunter asked.
“Tomorrow at the meeting. I can be there, or if you’d like a moment alone with her, I’m fine with that, too.”
“Perhaps a moment alone,” Hunter said. Because what he needed to say to Lorraine was for her ears only. He’d been harsh, leveling accusations that had come from a place of confusion and hurt. The very thought that she’d deceived him, after how they’d torn up the sheets with some serious passion, had stung his ego. His immediate reaction had been to be a jerk.
Now that he had the perspective that came with time, he knew that the two of them getting together in the bar had nothing to do with his father. If it did, that would make her some sort of sociopath. Able to play her father, then play him. Maybe it was his own ego, but he simply couldn’t accept the fact that she’d been faking their connection.
“All right,” Joe said. “When she gets here, I’ll leave you two alone.”
“Thank you,” Hunter said. “I look forward to the opportunity to make this right.”
As he ended the call with the lawyer, he thought about Lorraine’s parting words with him. Where were you, by the way? Your father was dying, and he had no one. You weren’t there for him when he needed you the most.
Lorraine was right. He hadn’t been there. He’d let his grievances with his father keep them apart. They’d been on such bad terms that his father hadn’t told him about the extent of his illness until it was too late.
Lorraine’s comment about him being out at a bar picking up women instead of mourning had cut deep. It wasn’t that Hunter didn’t care. It was that he’d been trying to escape his feelings of pain and guilt.
Obviously, he was in no position to complain about how his father spent his money or doled out his assets.
Tomorrow, he would make things right with Lorraine.
* * *
When Lorraine saw Hunter standing outside the lawyer’s office building, she froze midstep. Her stomach tightened. What was he doing down here? He should be upstairs already, not here waiting for her. She’d specifically asked the lawyer to tell Hunter a meeting time of half an hour later than she was due to arrive because she wanted to make sure she didn’t run into him.
Lorraine was arriving half an hour earlier than she was scheduled to meet with the lawyer, making it a solid hour before Hunter should be here. And yet there he was, standing outside the building’s revolving door. He was wearing a short-sleeved cream-colored dress shirt, and with his hands on his hips his biceps were taut. His black tailored pants fit his muscular legs perfectly. Two women gave him an obvious head-to-toe look as they walked past him on to the street, then began to giggle. The women were heading in her direction now, and after sharing a whisper, they both glanced over their shoulders at Hunter.
“I wonder who he is,” one of the women said.
“Let’s go back and find out,” her friend suggested.
Lorraine swallowed. Suddenly, she wanted to head over to Hunter. Make it clear that he was waiting for her.
Whoa, where was that thought coming from? Was she trying to stake her claim?
She stiffened her back and dismissed the ridiculous thought. She simply didn’t want Hunter getting sidetracked by women hitting on him when he was here for an important meeting with her.
Lorraine turned, saw that the two women were continuing down the street, making her concern a nonissue. When she looked in Hunter’s direction again, his eyes connected with hers.
Her stomach lurched. He lowered his hands from his hips and gave her a nod. Oh, God. Should she turn and leave?
One minute she’d wanted to go over to him, now she wanted to take off? Good grief, she was a big girl. She could handle seeing the man she’d slept with, even if it was uncomfortable. Humiliation never killed anybody.
It was just that she didn’t want to have any conversations with Hunter outside of the lawyer’s office. Their last interaction had been extremely unpleasant, and it was best if everything between her and Hunter was kept strictly about business. Not about their unfortunate one-night stand.
He continued to stare, and she stood where she was, as though they were both involved in a standoff. Then she took a deep breath and squared her shoulders. She was ready to turn over the keys to Hunter. She needed to sign the paperwork in the lawyer’s office to make it legal. If she left now solely to avoid having to talk to him outside of the lawyer’s office, she’d have to reschedule the meeting. And that would only be delaying the inevitable.
Hunter started toward her, and Lorraine’s pulse began to pound. But she didn’t turn and flee.
“You don’t need to be afraid of me,” Hunter said as he reached her.
Was that the vibe she was sending off? That she was afraid?
“I—I’m not afraid of you,” she said. She was unhappy, yes. Anxious, yes. But not afraid. She didn’t believe for a second that he would hurt her. In fact, part of her problem was that she couldn’t forget how incredibly they’d connected that night before she’d known who he was.
“Good,” he said. “You saw me, and you suddenly looked uncomfortable.”
“I don’t want another confrontation,” she said, sounding harsher than she’d intended. “We should be talking upstairs with Joe. Our only dealings should be in his office.”
Hunter’s lips tightened, but he quickly offered her a smile, though it looked more pained than anything else. An uneasy sensation unfurled inside her.
Guilt, she realized. Her tone had been brusque, and she’d stung Hunter with her words. Which hadn’t been her intention.
“I don’t want another confrontation, either,” he said. “I’m sorry about that, by the way. I was wrong for how I handled things with you the other day.”
She shifted from one foot to the next. “We should head upstairs.”
“The whole reason I’m down here is because I wanted to catch you before you went upstairs.”
“I see,” she said. Then, “Apology accepted.” She made a move to walk. But Hunter blocked her path. “What are you doing?”
“I haven’t been waiting out here an hour just so you can go upstairs and avoid talking to me first.”
“An hour?” He was that desperate to talk to her alone?
“As I said, I regret what happened the other day. I didn’t react...maturely.”
“Hunter, I would much prefer that we go upstairs and talk about this.”
“I had a knee-jerk reaction,” Hunter pressed on. “Imagine how I felt. One minute you were in my bed, then you disappeared on me. The next you’re in my lawyer’s office, where I learn that my father left you some property. It all seemed too coincidental. Too convenient.”
“We’ve been through this.”
“I know.” Hunter blew out a breath. “I just want you to understand what was going through my mind when I saw you.”
“How was I to know who you were?” Lorraine asked. “If I had, I sure wouldn’t have spent—”
“You wouldn’t have spent the night with me?” Hunter supplied when she stopped short of finishing her statement. “I know. You made that clear the other day.”
“Would you have wanted to spend the night with me?” Lorraine challenged. “The fact that we happened to have a one-night stand has certainly
complicated things, wouldn’t you agree?”
Hunter’s lips parted, but he didn’t say anything. She took his silence for agreement. “Exactly,” she said. “It would have been way too awkward.”
“If you’re asking me whether I regret our night together, I don’t.”
Lorraine inhaled sharply, a tingle of warmth spreading across her chest. She hadn’t expected that response, and now she was the one who was speechless. Though it made no sense, a part of her was happy to hear that Hunter didn’t regret their night. Because the truth was, she didn’t regret that night, either.
Not that she was ever going to admit that, of course.
“After I went home,” Hunter continued, “I thought about the situation. About you and me. About your connection to my father. And I realized that my knee-jerk reaction didn’t make sense. Why would you single me out? But I was so shocked at the time that I didn’t know how to process everything.”
“But do you still think it’s possible that I duped your father?”
Hunter hesitated, and Lorraine’s heart sank. He did.
“Of course you do,” Lorraine said, and started to walk.
Hunter fell into step beside her. “That’s not what I’m saying. Lorraine, will you stop for a second?”
That tingle of warmth was turning into anger. Stopping, she placed her hands on her hips. “Perhaps if you’d been around for your father, you could have stopped me from taking advantage of him. I hope you’ve thought about that.”
“I deserve that, I know.” Hunter’s shoulders slumped. “I’m trying to make things better, but I guess I’m making them worse. You must think I’m some sort of scumbag.”
“Don’t you think the same of me? What kind of woman would prey on a dying man?”
“Damn it, Lorraine. I’m not trying to fight with you. I want us to talk. Really talk. Maybe we can go to a café. There are plenty nearby.”
“The lawyer’s waiting on us.”
“My dad and I... We had a rocky relationship. A lot of stuff happened in the past, stuff I’m not about to get into out here with people walking by every second. But suffice it to say, he never even told me he was sick. By the time I found out, I came here for him, and he was basically on his deathbed.”
