She took in his smirk and knew he was goading her the way he always had, questioning her morals and her professionalism just to get his way. Except dammit, he was right. She had to go through with it. If she didn’t, Hunter would think it was because he still held some sort of power over her. He didn’t, even though his tall, dominating presence made her heart race and her stomach clench tight. It didn’t matter that he had grown up to be utterly delicious, he’d hurt her worse than any other person ever had.
They stood several feet apart and stared. And stared. Rory took in his black hair that had grown out just long enough to have a hint of curl at the ends and those penetrating silver eyes. She sighed and remembered how she used to stare into those beautiful eyes for hours. There was still that hint of a dimple when he showed that smirk to the world. Finally, her gaze broke away from him and the memories he brought forth. She needed to remember that she’d given him her virginity and her heart and the next day he’d disappeared without a word. There had been no good-bye or good riddance and she hadn’t heard a word from him. Until today. Those thoughts were enough to douse her libido with ice cold water and kill any attraction she felt towards him. She straightened her back and rounded her shoulders, “You’re right, I am a professional.” She sat the binders down and launched into a lengthy description of how she would improve the receiving room.
For the next four hours, Rory led Hunter around his own home and told him everything that needed to be done to give his home a cozy, sophisticated feel. From the guest bedrooms to the kitchen and even his dungeon, she detailed every last change she’d make. “Is there anything you would keep?”
She smiled at his bewildered expression. “Sure, this girl has great old bones. She just needs to be updated with a hint of sophistication.”
Hunter took her in and he was damned impressed with the woman she had become, even if that woman had tried to ignore him the entire time without actually ignoring him. “Okay, Rory, tell me, what do we do next?”
“I’ll have mock ups for you in two days, maybe sooner.”
“Great!” His voice was a little too excited, “Call me and we’ll set up a time to meet and discuss it.”
She gave him a curt nod and professional smile before she turned to gather her things.
“Seen you soon Rory. Real soon.”
She groaned loudly in the empty room.
Hunter chuckled. This is going to be fun!
~
Hunter was supposed to work late on the new application his company would release in January. Instead, he’d found his thoughts had strayed to Rory and what a beautiful woman she’d turned out to be. She was even more stunning than ever, her blonde hair darker than it used to be and much longer. She’d worn in shorter in high school and now it cascaded down her back. But those green eyes hadn’t changed a bit, they still had little shards of gold sprinkled throughout that gave them a luminescent glow. Rory had made life for him bearable during high school, making him laugh when he needed it and keeping him grounded when he would have flown into a rage. At school, he was the ultimate geek, helping teachers and students alike navigate the new world of computers and the Internet. At home, he was a burden to his father for reasons that were, at least then, unknown to him.
Rory always had his back. First as his friend when she threatened—and sometimes followed through on those threats—those who bullied him for his insanely high IQ and ill-fitting clothes. Then later, as his girlfriend, she’d showered him with the love and affection he’d been starved for most of his life. Rory Harwood had been fearless back then, bucking the high school social order to befriend him and then give her heart to him. She’d turned his bleak existence into one of light and love and, most of all, of happiness.
She’d forced him to own his intelligence and aptitude for technology, testing his programs and giving him feedback. It was Rory who had pushed him to create the things everyone else said were impossible. And one of those things turned out to be the idea that had launched his company just two years after the earth-shattering news he’d learned before he’d left Rory and his hometown behind for good. Well, for now. This year, this time with Rory, was his chance, probably his only chance, to make it up to her and prove himself, if she would let him. No, it wasn’t up to her to let or not let him. He would do it. Because he wanted more from Rory, a whole lot more.
And he would get it.
“Do you have a minute?” Cecilia interrupted his thoughts. “Hey Hunter, I have updates on the new app.”
“Okay, shoot,” he turned his attention to his trusted assistant as she updated him on his newest application which would switch automatically to driverless mode when the driver was handling the car recklessly. They were having problems with the switch, and he was happy to hear the programmers had fixed the bug. The developers had worked diligently and everything was finally on track. “Good job, Cecilia. Thanks.” He spun back to his computer and typed in a few notes. “I’ll take a look at the program myself to see how it’s going.” It wasn’t unheard of for Hunter to get in the trenches with his people and do the grunt work with them. He enjoyed it as much as they did, and one day soon, he would join them at the office and put his fingers to work.
“Alright,” she nodded. “I’ll let them know to expect you.”
“That’s alright, I’d like to surprise them.”
She nodded with a hint of a smile. “Would you like to have dinner?”
His brows crinkled in thought. “No, I’m too busy, but go ahead and order something for yourself. Better yet, you can go on home and maybe enjoy a night out with your friends.”
Cecilia nodded with slumped shoulders and left, disappointed that Hunter couldn’t see how she felt.
Hunter hadn’t noticed her disappointment; he was too excited about what he’d found while looking into any info he could find on Rory. Hardwood Industries’ Christmas Ball was coming up, and a few clicks later, he’d purchased two tickets. He knew it was too soon to ask, but Hunter intended to be Rory’s date for the ball.
~
The past forty-eight hours had been hell on Rory. She hadn’t slept more than a couple hours at a time, so she was cranky with giant bags under her eyes. The only bright spot was that the mockups were done and they looked fantastic. She hated that Hunter was back in her life because he made her remember her past and her present. It was because of him that she didn’t trust men and had no faith in herself as a woman. She rebuffed any and all attempts at intimacy. She’d tried to share her body with a man once after Hunter, and it had ended in unmitigated disaster. She’d frozen up at the worst time and scared the poor guy half to death. After that, she knew she wasn’t cut out for that kind of connection.
Unfortunately, when she had fallen asleep over the past two days, she was reminded just how attracted she still was to him. She’d been attracted to him, enchanted by him as a skinny computer geek terrified of his own power, but now he was a beautiful man who’d grown into his body. Working him over the next few weeks would be dangerous for her, for her heart. Her best chance was to hope that he was the type of billionaire she usually worked with, the kind who relegated all insignificant decisions related to the home to an assistant or wife. Wife? Shit, that thought hadn’t occurred to her before and it should have. What if Hunter was married and there was a Mrs. Brandt somewhere who she would have to work with every day for the next few weeks. That would be immensely awkward. She sighed and stepped out of the car and over the gravel that would take her to the front door.
Rory was relieved to see a young brunette with light brown eyes answer the door. She introduced herself as Cecilia, but her cool demeanor told Rory that this must be the girlfriend. “I have all the samples and everything so we can get started.” She winced at the enthusiasm she heard in her voice. It was too much.
Cecilia nodded and coolly told her, “Mr. Brandt will be with you shortly.”
Mister? So much for the girlfriend theory. “Oh okay, sorry. I thought you’d be making the
decisions.”
Cecilia watched her bite her lip nervously. “You must be her,” Cecilia said, her voice laced with venom.
Against her better judgment, Rory rolled her eyes and asked. “Who?”
“Aurora.” She practically spat the name.
“Yes, Aurora is my name but everyone calls me Rory.”
Cecilia shook her head in disgust. “Of course they do.”
“What are you talking about?” Her irritation with the woman had grown and she found it difficult to reign in her temper.
Cecilia’s honey brown eyes widened when she realized Rory wasn’t being coy. She had no idea. Interesting. “His first program, the one that made him a millionaire and helped him launch the company, it was called Aurora.”
She gasped and covered her mouth while her mind swirled with a million thoughts. What does it mean, if it meant anything? “I didn’t know. I mean, I’d have no way of knowing since I didn’t even know who HB was until he walked into the receiving room the other day. I haven’t seen Hunter since high school.” She could think of nothing but the fact that he’d named his first, most important program after her. But why did he leave her without a word? “It probably wasn’t me anyway. Hunter knows a lot of stuff, Aurora is probably a name for something else.” She brushed off the idea because she didn’t want it to be true. By the look on Cecilia’s, face the news was just as unwelcome.
Cecilia’s heart broke even further when she realized she’d been trying to compete with teenage memories, probably a first love. She never stood a chance, even if Hunter had given her a shot. She exhaled deeply in an effort to get her emotions under control. “Well, now you know. Just be good to him.”
Rory had the feeling Cecilia kind of hated her. “I don’t know what you think is going on, but I’m here to decorate this place and nothing more.” She held up the heavy books to indicate she needed a place to set them down.
Cecilia nodded and led her to a sprawling table in the dining room and then left without another word.
Rory tried to ignore the words Cecilia said to her and the harsh tone they were spoken in. Why would Hunter name a program after her when he’d skipped town rather than deal with her after their one and only night spent together? It didn’t make sense, but as she set out her books and mock-ups, she realized it didn’t need to. She wasn’t interested in rehashing the past, where things went wrong or hearing apologies a decade too late. None of that changed anything, so talking about it would only make her relive the second worst hurt of her life.
“Penny for your thoughts?”
“You can afford much more than that, Mr. Brandt.” She couldn’t let him get to her, not again. So she had to be the one to keep it professional.
If Hunter was shocked by her formal greeting, he didn’t show it. “It’s like that, is it?”
She shrugged. “It would keep us on the right track, I think. Don’t you?”
“I do not.” He frowned and crossed his arms, but she wasn’t intimidated.
“Why did you name your first program Aurora?”
He smiled. “How did you find out?”
“Cecilia. She’s in love with you, by the way.”
“Jealous?”
“Hardly,” she scoffed. I’m just telling you because judging by her reaction to me, you’re clueless.”
His smile was smug but he let the lie go. “It was a variation on the sleep program I worked on that year. Do you remember?” She nodded and tried to forget the memories that fought for prominence. “Well I made some tweaks to it and the Department of Defense was interested, so I made some more tweaks and sold it to the U.S. government.”
She smiled again, unable to fight the image of the giant Swatch watch that flashed before her eyes. He had insisted she only needed seven and a half hours of sleep when she told him required ten. So, he’d given her the big ugly yellow watch, which she wore just to please him. Only, no matter what she did, the clock woke her up exactly seven and a half hours later. “That watch was ugly and totally screwed with my teenage desire to sleep as much as humanly possible.”
He smiled wistfully. “Yeah, well, it is now calibrated to allow soldiers in combat zones to get short bursts of deep, restorative sleep that will leave them refreshed and energized when they returned to watch.” He took a few steps closer, “So your research back then is now helping save the lives of our brave men and and in uniform.”
Shit. How should she respond to that? She didn’t want to say or feel anything but she couldn’t only control one of those. “Congratulations, then.” She shifted to put the table between them. “Let’s get started, shall we?” Rory was finally able to relax when they started talking about plans for the house. They went over the rest of the week first. “I’ll talk to my contractors today about how soon they can get started. Most of their work has died down this time of year, so I may be able to get them started before the week is out.”
“That eager to get rid of me?” He gave her a teasing smile that she ignored.
“In the meantime, I plan to start shopping soon. do you want me to send you items for your approval or will you trust that I’ll follow through on your choices?”
“Of course I trust you, Rory, always have. But I would also like to go with you.”
Her green eyes grew large, but she quickly hid the surprise she felt. “I’ll let you know when I plan to go.” With a polite nod, she was gone.
Chapter Three
Hunter appreciated the size of his house, even if it was too big for just one person. He liked that in his dungeon he didn’t hear Ramona humming while she cooked and cleaned, didn’t hear Cecilia on the phone when she worked from his house and he couldn’t hear silly things like doorbells and repairmen. But now that Rory’s contractors had descended on his home, it was too loud to get any work done. The only reason he was able to stifle his irritation was that they respected his privacy and he could see everything taking shape.
He stood outside as he waited for Rory to show up. Today they would start their ridiculous shopping spree, which she insisted had to be done in person. He groaned at the thought. He hated shopping and much preferred online shopping because it was efficient and there were no hovering salespeople. But she told him to be ready and to bring his credit card and he had.
She walked to him looking more gorgeous than ever in tight black jeans, a fuzzy hot pink sweater and a leather jacket that gave her an edge. Her honey blonde hair floated on the breeze and his fingers itched to reach out and touch it, touch her. “Ready?” She wore sunglasses that hid her glowing green eyes. Hunter hated sunglasses.
He nodded and followed her to the car. “So Rory, tell me how you’ve been.” They’d been driving in silence for about ten minutes when he finally spoke.
“Fine.”
Okay. “So tell me, how did you become an interior decorator? I thought for sure you’d become an eco-warrior or biologist.” She’d always loved animals and plants--Rory had forced recycling on the high school and pretty much browbeat the neighbors into it as well.
“I didn’t have the passion for it that I should, so I found something else.” She shrugged and kept her eyes trained on the road.
“What happened to your passion for it?”
“I guess it disappeared.”
He could hear the unspoken words, just like you, lingering in the air. “That’s too bad.”
“I do alright.”
The car came to a stop and he looked around. “That was fast.”
“You need a master bed and four guest beds,” she said without preamble. “Do you want queens or kings?”
He lifted his shoulders. “I don’t know. I never have guests so whatever you think is best.”
Her eyebrows bent in confusion. “What about your parents? Or did you leave them too?”
Hunter grabbed her wrist to stop her. “Does this mean you’re ready to listen, because it’s all related?”
She shook her head and pulled out of his grasp. “I think we shoul
d do two queens and two kings in the guest rooms and you probably want a king.” Her head was bent over a notebook and Hunter realized she was headed for danger. He reached her just in time to wrap an arm around her waist and stop her fall.
“Easy there,” he murmured in her ear. A big smile crossed his face at the hitch in her breath.
“Thanks,” she said breathlessly, but she recovered quickly. “We also need bedding, two for each room. You may not entertain yet, but you probably will.”
Hunter let her pick up all the bedding and run with the color schemes of each room. He was just happy to be with her, to watch her in action. “I like this,” he told her when they stopped in front of a royal blue chair with an ottoman. “I could use this for late night work, in my room.”
She nodded thoughtfully. “So you want to go with blues for your room?”
“I never realized so much thought went into decorating a house. My last house I just bought what I wanted when I needed it without thought to color schemes or anything else.”
“So why did you hire a decorator this time?”
“You know why.” Before she could answer, his stomach growled. “That’s our cue. Let’s check out and feed my belly.”
~
“Oh, I’m so stuffed I couldn’t possibly eat another bite.” Rory patted her stomach and leaned back in the booth of the greasy spoon diner Hunter had insisted on. “I can’t believe I let you talk me into this place.”
He popped a sweet potato fry in his mouth. “Oh come on, this is delicious! Where else can you get a triple thick shake made with real chocolate and organic milk?”
“I wouldn’t know, Hunter. I’m a woman and we actually need to watch what we eat.” Rory shook her head. Sometime between picking out bedding and landing in the vinyl booths, she’d relaxed and begun to laugh with Hunter.
His gaze was heated as it raked over her, making her body overheat. “I think you look fucking amazing, Rory.”
BILLIONAIRE ROMANCE: The Unforgettable Billionaires: The Complete Collection Boxed Set 1-12 (Young Adult Rich Alpha Male Billionaire Romance) (Alpha Bad Boy Billionaire Romance) Page 5
