How Sweet It Is (12 page)

He leaned in and whispered in her ear. “I have something even more delicious to offer you at home.”

Her face flushed with comprehension, and her gaze shot down toward his crotch. “Okay,” she said, breathy, gathering her things.

Eric’s knowing laugh chased them out onto the street.

“He knows what we’re going to be up to,” Viola murmured as she hurried alongside him.

He felt a pang, worried about making her uncomfortable. “Should I have been more discreet?”

“No.” She shook her head. “It’s a rather wondrous thing, having someone want you so badly, isn’t it?”

Wondrous
wasn’t the word he’d choose. Magnificent, yes. Breathtaking. Disastrous, even. But wanting Viola wasn’t astonishing in any way. He stopped in the street and kissed her with all the desire in his soul, hoping to show her that the only wondrous thing here was her.

Chapter Twelve

Chloe was on her way outside to wait for her father to pick her up when Hunter stopped her with a hand on her arm. “I have two things I want to say to you.”

She looked at where his hand touched her. She swallowed, feeling a strange tingle all over her body. “What?”

“One”—he held a finger up—“you’ve been avoiding me. You didn’t come to meet me at lunch or after school when I scheduled it.”

She heaved a sigh.

“It’s okay,” he said, “but Watley is going to flunk you if you don’t get your grades up.”

“You know?” she asked with a wince.

“Sure.” He shrugged. “That’s part of what we’re doing, right?”

“You don’t think I’m lame for failing?”

“You aren’t failing, you’re just puzzled. But you’re in luck. I’m good at figuring things out.” He smiled easily. “Because you don’t want to be caught in a kind of science purgatory where you’re in an endless loop of never-ending classes.”

“It sounds like a horror movie.”

“It could be, but I’m here to save you.”

She could tell that he meant it. To hide her confusion, she looked behind him.

He did, too. “What?”

“I’m looking for your steed.”

He laughed. “Want to hear number two?” he asked, holding up a second finger.

“Do I have a choice?”

“I’m only going to ask you to get ice cream with me.”

“Ice cream?” She blinked. No one ever wanted to get ice cream with her in the winter, except Rowdy. “It’s cold out.”

“I’m from the hinterlands of Canada. If I waited for it to be warm to get ice cream, I’d never have any.” He smiled at her. “What do you say? I promise I won’t talk about science, except at the end to talk about our project.”

She wanted to say yes so badly, because if he wasn’t turned off by her ineptitude in science, then maybe it’d all be okay. “I can’t. I have to go home to check on my dog. My father’s picking me up.”

Some of the happiness melted from Hunter’s face. He didn’t say anything for a long time. Then he shrugged and smiled, though it was less bright than it had been. “It’s okay. I get it.”

“What do you mean?”

“You don’t want to hang out with me.” He nodded, shifting his bag higher on his shoulder. “It’s fine, but it doesn’t mean that I’ll stop being your science partner. Watley assigned us to each other, and I don’t think she’ll change her mind.”

She watched him edge away and start to leave. Frowning, she followed him. “Wait. I never said I didn’t like you.”

“You didn’t have to. I’m not
that
dense.” He kept walking. “I’m not masochistic, Chloe. You can’t help if you don’t feel about me the way I feel about you.”

She stopped in her tracks. How did he feel about her? Looking up, she realized he was getting away, so she jogged after him. “Wait, Hunter.”

He didn’t stop, so when she caught up to him, she grabbed his sleeve and tugged. “
Wait
.”

He looked at her, question and careful hope in his gaze.

She swallowed her nerves. “No one ever talked about feelings. You’re just supposed to help me pass.”

“I only agreed to be your partner because you wouldn’t pay attention to me.” He shrugged. “I thought if you got to know me, you’d see I was okay.”

“You like me?” she asked, confused.

He took her hand. “Chloe, you’re amazing. I wanted to talk to you the first day I started school, but you wouldn’t even look at me.”

She’d never thought he’d noticed her. If her parents didn’t see her, why would someone who didn’t know her? She met his gaze. “I’m looking now.”

His smile lit his face with such a brightness that she had to smile too. “Just let me text my father and tell him not to pick me up,” she said.

He nodded. “Okay.”

Taking out her mobile, she saw she had a text from Charles already.
Running late.

How was that surprising? She quickly replied that she’d get home on her own and put her phone away.

Hunter smiled at her. “It’s all good?”

“Yes.”

“Excellent, because ice cream is essential for bonding,” he said as they left school.

“Are we bonding?” she asked slowly.

“Well, yeah. We’re partners after all.” He glanced at her. “How’s your part of the project coming along, by the way?”

“Great,” she said, meaning it. She’d started editing what she’d written, and it was easy. She thought she actually understood for a change. “The notes you gave me were amazing.”

“Oh good.” He beamed. “It’s not so hard if you look at it a certain way.”

“I guess not.” Biting her lip, she glanced at him. “I don’t know what happened. I fell behind and then I couldn’t catch up.”

He shrugged. “It’s no biggie, you know. I’d be the same if it happened in my French class. French is hard.”

“Is it?”

He nudged her with his shoulder. “Don’t brag. Not everyone’s so smart.”

She smiled a little, feeling better about everything.

“I thought I was going to be behind this year,” Hunter said as they crossed the street.

“I find that hard to believe. You’re the smartest student in our year.”

He shook his head. “My school in Toronto was nice but I figured since I was transferring in I wouldn’t be in the same place. I’m glad it wasn’t as hard as I thought it’d be.”

“Do you miss Toronto?”

“I miss my friends, but I like London.” He looked at her. “I’m starting to make new friends, so it’s not as lonely.”

She ducked her chin into her scarf. “I can’t imagine moving.”

“My dad was transferred here, so we had to.” At the red light, he faced her. “Have you always lived here?”

“We’ve always lived in the same house. At least, mostly,” she added, thinking of the nights she stayed with Charles.

“Mostly?”

“My parents are divorced. My dad lives in a flat, and I have a room there, too.”

Hunter studied her. “You don’t like that.”

She shrugged, frowning. “Charles isn’t my favorite right now.”

“What about your mom?”

“Mum”—Chloe searched for a way to express how she felt—“got me the dog.”

“That was sweet of her.”

Chloe nodded slowly as they began to walk. “I didn’t think so at first, but I’m changing my mind.”

Hunter opened the door to the gelato shop for her. “Have you named him yet?”

“Not yet.” She went to the counter and looked at the flavors. “I wonder if he’s a Mango.”

“If you name him Mango all the other dogs in the park will make fun of him. What are you getting?”

They both ordered chocolate with whipped cream on top, and they sat at the counter in the window. Hunter chatted easily, making her feel comfortable. They talked about
Game of Thrones
and how George R.R. Martin was brilliant but sadistic. She told him how she loved
The Night Circus
but wasn’t sure she’d want to see the movie, because how could they do it justice?

His favorite movies were
Moonrise Kingdom
,
Iron Man
, and
Love Actually
. She promised she wouldn’t tease him for the last one.

Crumpling up her napkin, she tossed it away. “I should go to Charles’s, I guess.”

“Charles?”

“My father.”

Nodding, Hunter took her bag and slung it over his shoulder with his own. “You call your dad by his first name?”

She shrugged. “It’s complicated.”

“Maybe you’ll tell me one day.”

“Maybe,” she said, meaning it. She smiled a little.

“I like when you smile,” he said. Then he motioned his head toward the door. “I’ll walk you to your dad’s.”

They took the tube and then walked several blocks to the flat, talking the whole time about random stuff, not school or their project. One time she brought it up, but he just shrugged and said, “I know you have it covered, but I’m here if you need help.”

She let them into Charles’s building. She’d thought Hunter would leave once they arrived, but he insisted to walk her all the way up.

As they went up the elevator, she stood next to him. If she stretched her fingers, she could brush his sleeve, he was so close.

Maybe he’d kiss her.

She glanced at him. He was on his mobile, texting rapidly.

She
really
wanted him to kiss her. If she were Aunt Gigi, she’d just pull his head down and kiss
him
.

He put his mobile away and faced her with a smile.

Now—kiss him now.

The elevator doors pinged open, and he walked out, holding the doors open for her. She sighed as they walked down the hall. She should have taken her chance.

She could hear Dog on the other side of the door. “I have no idea how he knows it’s me,” she said as she unlocked the door. “He’s always so excited when I return.”

“I get it,” Hunter said. “I’d miss you, too.”

She glanced at him, but before she could analyze what he said Dog jumped out at her, bouncing up and down, his paws on her knees.

It was kind of nice, having someone be so happy to see her. She patted his head and then pointed to the ground. “Down.”

He looked at her adoringly, staying exactly where he was.

Hunter laughed, scratching behind Dog’s ears. “He’s eager, isn’t he?”

“He never listens.”

“He just needs to be trained.” Hunter lifted Dog’s face and looked at him. “You know what he looks like?”

“What?”

“A Schrödinger.”

She lifted her brow. “Seriously?”

“Yeah.” Hunter let Dog go. “He’s a scientist famous for a lot of things, but particularly his quantum mechanics paradox with a cat. Do you know about Schrödinger’s cat?”

“No.”

Hunter nodded. “It was a thought experiment. He imagined a cat in a box with a sealed flask of poison and a radioactive source.”

“Was Schrödinger on drugs?”

Hunter grinned. “I wouldn’t be surprised.”

“So what happened to the cat?”

“The cat is alive
and
dead.” He handed Chloe her bag.

“That’s not possible.”

“It is, until you look into the box. Until you look in, the cat can be both, and the state is tied to an earlier random event.”

Chloe shook her head. “This is why I’m doing so poorly in science.”

“Nah, you just didn’t have me yet.” Hunter pointed to Dog. “It sounds like he was tied to a random event, too.”

She looked at the puppy. “How do you feel about Schrödinger, Dog?”

He barked once and then gave her a doggy grin.

“See?” Hunter said. “And with Schrödinger on your side, you’d have to pass science. Plus, you could get him a cat, and it’d be perfect.”

He
was perfect. She played with the fringe on her scarf, wondering if she should do it.

Yes.

She reached up and pecked a kiss on his lips.

He blinked in surprise.

Was it bad? She held her breath, wondering how to explain herself.

But then he bent and kissed her more slowly, his lips sweet like ice cream, only warm and soft. She froze, eyes wide open, shocked by the heat. His mouth didn’t move—it just pressed to hers. She stared at him as he stared at her, not sure what to do.

Hunter let go first. “See you tomorrow?”

She nodded, because she couldn’t speak. She touched her lips, still feeling the imprint of his lips on her.

“Good.” He smiled and turned.

She watched him until he was in the elevator.

Schrödinger whimpered.

“I know.” She scratched his head. “I feel the same way.”

Chapter Thirteen

Standing on the threshold of Finn’s workshop, Viola tugged her sleeves down and sniffed her scarf one last time. She kept thinking she caught a faint whiff of sex, but obviously she was imagining it.

She’d never look at this scarf the same. Finn had wrapped her wrists with it and had his way with her. She flushed, remembering how loud he’d made her scream. But she’d gotten her revenge by using it on him, too, so she felt smug.

And disappointed in herself.

She frowned at his door. She was an utter failure. So far, she’d barely managed to talk to him about representing him, or selling his artwork. Instead, she’d let him distract her with sex. She reveled in it, but that wasn’t why she was here. If it was between wanting him and wanting his art, there wasn’t a choice. Her purpose was to build her gallery. She wasn’t going to let a man hold her dreams captive by his own again. Been there, divorced that.

Today she and Phineas were talking about commissioning his artwork for her gallery. No getting distracted.

Taking a deep breath, she pressed the buzzer and let her presence be known.

She didn’t think he was in, she waited so long. She was reaching for the buzzer again when the door flung open.

She straightened. “I’d like to discuss—”

He stepped into the doorway, shirtless.

Her mouth dried up, and she blinked.

“Are you just going to stand there, letting the cold in?” He drew her in and closed the door.

She tried to look elsewhere, but his chest was
right there
. She clenched her hands to keep from touching him. “I, er …” She cleared her throat, trying to gather her thoughts back into some semblance of coherence.

He ran his hand down her hair, holding the back of her head. “I was hoping you’d come by,” he said, his voice low and husky.