Baby Be Mine (Spinsters & Casanovas Series Book 1) (25 page)

“Hello. This is Efficient Taxi. How may I
help?” she heard the operator say.

“Hello, I would… Hello… Hello?” Clarice
looked at her phone and wanted to drum her head against poor Red’s
bonnet. Oh dear heavens, why didn’t she charge her phone? Just when
she needed to call the taxi too. She’d never been careless like
this before, well, before coming back from Queenstown anyway.
Lately, she seemed to miss so many things.

Glancing at her wristwatch, she saw she had
but an hour left before her meeting with Anton.

She glanced around. The scenery looked
picturesque, like the houses from
The Stepford Wives,
starring Nicole Kidman. This was Herne Bay, the suburb where the
rich lived. Dear heavens, it was exactly the same suburb where that
Casanova Hunter lived. She just hoped she wouldn’t meet him today,
what with that kiss he’d imparted on her that she just couldn’t
stop thinking about it. If he were to appear, how would she face
him?

She could still remember the feel of his
lips resting upon her own, so soft, as he tasted her, teased her,
as if searching for something. She touched her own lips, tracing
her index finger softly along. Yes, right there, those lips touched
hers right there, so silky smooth, so velvety, like the taste of a
plum, ripe and juicy, deli—

“Clarice, stop it right now.” She lightly
slapped herself on the cheek when she realized she was fantasizing
about Hunter. “Why are you fantasizing about that Casanova kissing
you? Why are you comparing Anton’s kiss to that Casanova? Start
walking now.”

Yes, she should start walking. Walking was
good exercise. It makes you fit and strong… like that Casanova, so
big and strong and… and… that kiss… ahhhhh, so sweet. He was
tormenting her, but she liked it.

Clarice gently caressed her lips again, not
realizing she was doing so, until a car zoomed past her, snapping
her out of her delirium.

Clarice, start walking, you airhead.
It brings about positive energy.
With this said, she smiled
as she made her way to the hotel.
Always have a positive outlook
on life,
she told herself. That was how to succeed in life. But
her outlook on life wasn’t all that positive some ten minutes later
when she moaned, groaned, and constantly stopped at every available
bench to rest her feet.

“You stupid heels. Why do I continue to wear
you?” Clarice moaned again when she felt the ache intensify. It was
definitely a curse to wear heels, especially when one had to
walk.

Feeling she couldn’t tolerate any more, she
took off her shoes and walked on bare feet instead. It felt much
better, but the hot concrete began to bruise her soles after
walking for another five minutes.

There’s no winning, is there?

Just when she was putting her heels back on,
she heard a loud honk blasting her way.

“Oi, Avocado?” The shout was followed by
another honk. “Out and about on a warm sunny day? What are you
doing in this part of town?”

Clarice turned to see Hunter, his head
sticking out the car window like a dog testing the wind, his
ponytail flying against the cool breeze.

When did his hair get this long?
Then
she smacked herself and gritted her teeth. Why was she even
thinking about his hairstyle? And she wasn’t in the mood to see him
today.

Hunter’s heart thumped heavily as he drove
closer to her. Once he got next to her, he pretended there was
nothing wrong with him and started acting like the jerk he always
was.

“Well?” he asked when Clarice didn’t react.
“Are you going to bite your tongue today?”

“Piss off, Hunter. I’m not in the mood to
see you today,” Clarice said, staring ahead.

“So will you be in the mood to see me
tomorrow, then?” Hunter asked cheekily.

“Piss off. I don’t want to see you tomorrow
either,” Clarice said as she continued to walk faster, ignoring his
persistent comments.

“What’s wrong?” Hunter asked, concerned when
he noticed Clarice wasn’t in her usual playful mood. “Aren’t you
glad to see me?”

Of course I’m not glad to see you.
That kiss he’d imparted still left her wanting more. But of course
she didn’t say that. Instead, she said, “Nothing. So will you
please leave?” Then she motioned him away with her hands and walked
faster.

But Hunter didn’t listen. He just kept on
following in his car.

Clarice had had enough.

“What do you want?” she snapped, turning
towards him. “Stop following me.”

Hunter stared at her, wide-eyed. Clarice had
never snapped at him before. Well, not in that serious tone of
voice anyway. This really concerned him. Was she affected by that
kiss too?

“Where are you going?” he asked seriously,
driving slowly to keep to her pace.

“None of your business.” Clarice fumed. She
didn’t want to be any more confused—

Crash!

Clarice was so busy thinking about Hunter’s
kiss that she didn’t look where she was going. In turn, she tripped
over a crack in the concrete and now had even managed to twist her
ankle.
What a stupid idiot!

Hunter opened his car door, leapt out, and
was cradling her in three seconds flat.

“For Christ sake, Avocado, would you watch
where you’re going?” Hunter shouted in fright and concern. He’d
never been that afraid before. He thought his heart was about to
leap out of his throat. “Are you hurt anywhere?”

“I don’t know,” Clarice answered. She was
too shocked to react, as she was now within Hunter’s embrace. And
it felt like… like… Anton’s hugs, when they were together in
Queenstown that night.

“Here, let me help you.” Hunter was about to
lift Clarice when she pushed him away.

“What are you doing?” she asked when she
woke from her shock.

“Lifting you up so I can look at your legs
properly.”

“I don’t need your help,” she said. “I can
get up myself.”

“Fine. Suit yourself.”

Hunter stood back and folded his arms,
watching the woman who thought she could get up without his help.
It looked as if she’d injured herself quite badly. And he hadn’t
even finished thinking about it when Clarice almost fell over
backward as she tried to stand.

“Clarice!” He wrapped his arm behind her
before she toppled to the hard concrete again. “Why don’t you let
me carry you?”

“No. Don’t carry me. I can walk!” she
shouted in panic.

“Goddamn it. Don’t be such an annoying
woman. I’m not going to kiss you, so you don’t have to worry about
it.”

Oh shit!
There was silence all around
him. Why did he have to mention that?

Clarice swallowed. Now with him this close
to her, she couldn’t think of anything else.

Hunter could feel Clarice’s trepidation. He
knew she must have been thinking about that episode too.

“Wind your arms around me,” he said instead.
“I’ll put you inside the car. Then I’ll have a look at that foot of
yours.”

This time Clarice was obedient, letting
Hunter do his job. Once he placed her in the backseat, he lifted
her left foot so it rested on his bent knees. He started folding
her trousers back and feeling for any broken bones.

“Owww! That hurts,” she cried.

No, she mustn’t cry in front of this kid. He
was a kid after all. By seven years. But a single tear slid down
her cheek. The pain was so unbearable. Then she felt a soft hand
flick away that teardrop, and she opened her eyes, coming face to
face with Hunter. Her breath was immediately knocked out of her
chest and in that split second, she could feel the tension weighing
down upon her, constricting her lungs, preventing her from inhaling
enough oxygen.

“Does it hurt?” Hunter asked softly,
dropping his eyes to her ruby pouty lips.

Clarice couldn’t answer so she just nodded
and looked away, taking deep, slow breaths.

“Do you want me to take you to the
hospital?” Hunter asked.

Oh, no, she must go to Anton. She had a
meeting with Anton today. She must see him.

“No. No.” Clarice shook her head. “I should
be fine now. Could you let my foot go?”

“Wait, not yet. I’ll check if your soles are
all right first.” Then Hunter proceeded to remove her heels
gently.

“Jesus, Avocado!” He swore when he saw her
soles covered in blisters. “What the hell did you do to yourself?
Why are your feet blistered?” Then Hunter lifted her other foot and
removed the other heel. “For Christ sake, and here you tell me you
can walk? What did this?”

“Those shoes. They’re too high for me. Plus,
I didn’t expect to walk that far.”

“Where were you going?”

“Somewhere.”

“Where is somewhere?” Hunter reiterated,
starting to get irritated with Clarice’s monosyllable answers.

“A hotel,” Clarice said, looking away.

“A hotel!” Hunter sputtered.

A hotel? What would Clarice be doing at a
hotel? And about this hotel, was it like a normal hotel or a
love
hotel? He was very curious. By this stage, his heart
was almost leaping from his throat.

“Why?”

“I’m meeting with someone.”

Shit.
It must be a love hotel,
then.
No way was he taking her to a love hotel.

“Who is this someone?” Hunter asked again,
almost bursting at the seams when she wouldn’t give him a straight
answer. “Older than me or younger than me? A man or a woman?

Clarice stared at Hunter, wide-eyed. What
was with all these grilling questions? And why was he so interested
in the person she was going to meet anyway?

“He’s older than you, if you must know.”

“So it’s a man, then,” Hunter said, looking
directly at Clarice like he was accusing her of having an affair.
“And older than me too. Ha! Must be some old grandpa, then.” He
pretended to laugh. “What does he do? Where does he work?”

“That’s my personal business,” Clarice
yelled when he refused to stop firing questions at her. Dear
heavens! What was wrong with him today? Why was he acting so
strange and being so nosy?

“Fine. Then what kind of business do you
have at this hotel?” Hunter couldn’t help asking.

“Also my business,” Clarice said again.

“I’m not taking you, then, if you won’t tell
me.” Hunter gave out his ultimatum. He refused. He refused
straightforwardly. If she wouldn’t tell him, then he wouldn’t take
her. There, no negotiation at all. See how see would get to this
love
hotel now. What was she going to do? Walk? He doubted
it.

“Suits me just fine.” Clarice grinned when
an idea popped into her head. She smiled and then said loudly,
“I’ll just call a taxi, then.”

There! Let’s see if this Casanova is
willing to let a casualty go even when that casualty is in
pain.
And to test her theory, she took out her uncharged phone
and pretended to call a taxi.

“Hello. I would like to order—”

“Give me that phone.” Hunter snatched it
from Clarice and pocketed it in his jeans. Then he jerked his azure
eyes to meet her round black ones. He ground his teeth in
irritation and clicked his tongue in frustration before saying to
her, “I’m confiscating this for now. Until you’re well again.”

Who was she playing with? Did she think he
was stupid enough to allow her to call a taxi? Over his dead body.
He preferred to take her to this hotel himself. At least this way
he could see this bloody old grandpa too.

“I’m not sick,” Clarice yelled. What was
wrong with her? Why was she yelling constantly?

“You look sick to me. Now, I’m not going to
argue with a child who lives in an adult’s body. Let’s go.”

“Hunter! Arrrggghhhhh.” Clarice screamed
when Hunter lifted her again. “What are you doing?” she shouted,
her hands wrapping around his neck for dear life. “Put me down
right now. I’m scared of heights.”

“Oh, really?” Hunter’s sky-blue irises lit
up with mischief. “You might want to hang on tight or my hands
might accidently slip.” And then he pretended to loosen his grip,
in turn making Clarice scream in fright and grip his neck even
tighter, her body snuggling closer to his chest. Hunter laughed
when he saw the lovely result he’d produced.

“You… you…” Clarice wanted to swear at him,
but no profanity came to her head at that moment, so she sent a
simmering death glare at him, which in turn just… just…

“What? Trying to think of a swear best
suited for me?” Hunter smiled. Happiness radiated from his chest,
the likes of which he had not experienced in the past two weeks.
This happiness made him grin, contorting his lips until he couldn’t
stop smiling. He turned to face the woman in his arms and then he
just…

Hunter froze. God, she looked majestic. He
couldn’t breathe.

Clarice was also experiencing a lack of
oxygen. Hunter just smiled. That smile that had captivated her and
made her heart go
thump, thump, thump
, just like in the
elevator when she’d pretended to be a sick old woman.

Both Clarice and Hunter swallowed, trying to
appease their dry throats. Their eyes continued to stare at one
another as if they were fighting a battle to see who could stare
the longest. There was definitely a spark, a thread of electricity
blazing between the two, as they continued to gaze at one another.
Until a random car zoomed past them and broke the spell.

Hunter recovered first. He cleared his
throat, trying to regain some dignity.

That felt like an eternity,
he
thought, when in actual fact it had only been mere seconds.

“Let me put you in the front,” he said,
moving to the other door. He dropped her off, then went back to his
seat.

Hoping to lighten their mood a bit, he
started teasing her again.

“God, you’re so heavy, Avocado,” he
commented cheekily. “My arms almost broke. What did you eat this
morning? Roast pork?”