One-Click Buy: November Harlequin Presents (103 page)

‘N
ICE
?'

Hunter glanced over at her and Lily gave a nod. She could literally feel the tension of the past few days seeping out of her as they left behind the city.

Choosing what to wear for a day in the country with someone so divine was no mean feat. She'd promptly ruled out the shorts and sandals she'd usually put on, just in case Hunter decided to visit some smart restaurant on the way. After umpteen agonised combinations, finally she'd settled on a khaki skirt that zipped up at the front, a white cotton blouse that knotted at the waist and some cream espadrilles—and then had spent an inordinate amount of time applying make-up that hopefully didn't look like she was wearing any as Hunter had drained the entire contents of her hot-water system and then had had the nerve to ask her to fetch an overnight case that he kept in his car!

And now here she was snuggled in the soft leather seat of his car as it ate up the miles, sneaking surreptitious looks at Hunter. Out of his suit he still cut a very impressive dash—unshaven, dressed in black jeans and a black T-shirt. Those piercing eyes hidden behind dark sunglasses, he looked sultry and dangerous and utterly untamable. His toned body brimmed with a restless sexual energy that had Lily fluttering with awareness. Absolutely the type, Lily thought with a smile, that mothers warned their daughters about.

‘I needed this,' Hunter said. ‘I haven't had a day off in as long as I can remember. Not a
real
day off,' he elaborated. ‘You know, without my computer or phone.'

They'd left their mobile phones behind. A small detail but it had seemed so deliciously reckless at the time as they'd planned their temporary escape from the world.

‘I feel as if I'm playing hookey from school!' Lily smiled, stretching out her legs in front of her and wallowing in the gorgeous feeling of elation and freedom.

‘Did you do that?' Hunter asked a hint of surprise in his voice at her admission. ‘You look like such a good girl!'

‘I only did it once.' Lily visited the memory and then laughed. ‘Actually, this feels
nothing
like playing hookey from school. You're right, it was completely out of character for me. Some friends and I went to the movies, but I spent the entire time panicking we'd be seen or that the school would have noticed and rung my parents, so that it wasn't enjoyable at all. I think I still dread my mother finding out! What about you?'

‘I did it all the time.' Hunter shrugged.

‘Didn't you worry about getting caught?'

‘I was
always
getting caught. I had endless arguments with my parents and the teachers…'

‘Did they suspend you?'

‘Hell, no. I was their top student. They didn't want to blot their academic record by bumping me off to another school—they knew I'd come in the top one per cent of the state when I took my finals. So I had them by the balls and I knew it!' He actually laughed, a deep, low laugh that was as rare as it was infectious, and Lily found herself grinning as he carried on talking. ‘I told them that when they had something interesting to teach me or something I didn't already know I'd turn up, which I did, but I certainly didn't need someone guiding me through a textbook.'

‘So it's always been easy for you?'

‘Believe me,' Hunter said darkly, and something in his tone caused a shiver to run through her, the easygoing conversation ending abruptly as the tension in the car rocketed, ‘it wasn't easy.' He frowned at the road ahead and Lily gave a small swallow as they drove in silence.

‘Sorry, I just—'

‘Assumed,' Hunter finished for her, the harsh edge to his voice breaking the closeness they'd created, relegating her to the rest of a world he clearly thought didn't understand him. ‘It's a common enough assumption—people make it all the time.' Lily turned, taking in his tense features, realising then how painful it must have just been for him to talk about his parents after such a huge loss.

‘You must miss them.'

‘Who?'

‘Your parents!'
Of course!
Lily thought, but didn't add it.

‘Why?' He glanced over at her shocked expression. ‘You know the saying—you can't choose your family.'

‘I guess…'

His face was grim—his hand so tight on the steering-wheel his knuckles were white. Lily's mind raced for something to say, to fill this impossible abyss. Clearly he didn't want to talk about it, but in a surprising move it was Hunter who filled the strained silence, Hunter who actually revealed just a little bit more of himself.

‘My father had MS—multiple sclerosis,' he explained. ‘From the day he was diagnosed he just gave up. He actually wasn't that bad, well, not compared to some, but instead of fighting it, instead of dealing with it, he immersed himself in his own misery and tried to take everyone down with him. He made my mother's life a living hell. I can still hear his stick banging on the bedroom floor when he wanted something—still see my mother running up the stairs to reach him before he banged again. I don't know why she didn't leave him.'

‘Maybe she—'

‘Loved him,' Hunter broke in. ‘We've already established there's no such thing. I asked her why she didn't just go, why she didn't just leave him to wallow in his own misery.'

‘You actually asked her?' Lily reeled at his boldness.

‘Yep. She pointed out that we had a beautiful home, her children went to the best schools, that even though he was sick he was still earning good money—he invested in real estate,' Hunter added. ‘She also pointed out that without her help he wouldn't be able to work, that all the luxuries would disappear—she said it was her duty to stay.' He let out a low mirthless laugh. ‘She never understood that I'd have lived in a bloody tent to get away from it all.' He didn't elaborate further, just stared fixedly at the road ahead, locked in his hellish memories for a moment. Sensing he'd said enough, after a rather more amicable silence, it was Lily who steered the subject back to the original, rephrased the question that had annoyed him in the first place.

‘So…' Lily said slowly, watching his hands tighten further on the steering-wheel as she spoke, ‘were you always this arrogant and confident?'

For a moment he didn't answer, but finally he turned briefly and gave her a very nice smile that promptly melted not just the black atmosphere but another little piece of her heart. ‘Always.'

Leaving behind the last dregs of civilization as they delved further into the wilderness, the winding road bathed in cool green light as the trees canopied overhead, Lily felt a surge of excitement as they neared the house. Hunter turned the car into the overgrown driveway and she turned her head to him and watched his reaction. Watched that haughty, impassive face actually soften as he glimpsed it for the first time.

‘It's beautiful, isn't it?' Lily took in the view and as always it was even more beautiful than the last time she'd seen it, a huge rambling white weatherboard home, smothered in wisteria, tall trees behind and to the side, wrapping protective arms around the building, while in front the lush grass gently rolled downwards, drawing the eye to the endless views below.

He didn't answer in words, instead opening the door of the car and climbing out, pulling off his sunglasses and standing stock still.

‘I can see how you don't want to lose the place.' Eventually he spoke. ‘And I'm the least likely person to be impressed by a view. I rarely set foot out of the city—any city!'

‘Because you don't get the time?'

‘A bit.' Hunter shrugged. ‘And because I've never felt the need. If I need to relax I'll get a massage or…' He didn't finish his sentence, but turned his head towards the house and craned his neck upwards, staring at the mountainside, squinting into the sunlight.

‘Come and see inside,' Lily suggested.

‘See what I'm buying?'

‘I haven't said yes.'

‘Yet.'

She didn't respond, just guided him toward the house. Pulling out her keys, she almost tripped over a large picnic basket on the verandah.

‘How on earth did this get here?'

‘Abigail.' Hunter shrugged. ‘I told her to arrange lunch for us.'

‘But how did you know the address?' Utterly perplexed, she led the way as he carried the basket and followed her through to the kitchen.

‘Mortgagee's auction in Red Hill in two weeks—that's more than enough information for Abigail.'

‘She's efficient, then,' Lily said, giggling a bit as Hunter rolled his eyes.

‘So she keeps telling me.' They were wandering through the house, Hunter's knowing eyes taking in every detail as he chatted. ‘She wants me to change her job title from Personal Assistant to Personal Secretary and Diary Planner.'

‘And what did you say?'

‘I didn't say anything—I haven't told you the best bit yet. She didn't
ask!
She actually wrote a letter and—wait for this—she posted it to me. We see each other for twelve sometimes eighteen hours a day and now she's posting me letters! She must have thought I'd take it more seriously if it was a formal request.'

‘And did you?' A reluctant smile wobbled on Lily's lips.

‘Absolutely. I wrote back to her saying that she can call herself what she bloody well likes so long as she stops hounding me with stupid requests. I suppose I should post it really.'

They were in the study now. Lily flicked on the light, which promptly popped. Despite a bay window it was the one dark room in the place, courtesy of a vast gum tree shadowing the window, but even in the semi-darkness it was beautiful and Lily let out a pensive sigh. ‘This is my favourite room—or was.'

She had expected him to move on. Already she'd sensed his restlessness in the bedrooms and realised he was nearing his boredom threshold but, maybe sensing something in her voice, instead of a cursory glance, he came over and wrapped his arms around her, and they stood for a moment in silence, taking in the book-lined walls, the piles of red-gum wood stacked beside the fireplace.

‘Was?' It was Hunter who finally broke the heavy silence.

‘Dad and I used to spend a lot of time here…' Lily gave a small shrug, kicking herself for giving him an opening. ‘When I was studying psychology, I used to be working away at the desk and he'd sit in that recliner…' She pointed to a well-loved leather chair.

‘You're a psychologist?'

‘Not quite,' Lily corrected. ‘I dropped out after my second year.'

‘That wasn't very motivated of you,' Hunter admonished, but his teasing tirade halted as he saw the anguish on her features. ‘How come?'

‘Dad was sick—we needed the money. I did some waitressing and some work at the library—that's how the motivational workshops started. They had some groups that met and I'd often pop in and listen. One night one of the speakers didn't come so I stepped in and found out I really did have something to say, that I really was good at guiding people with their problems and helping them to set goals. It sort of snowballed from there.'

‘You should have gone back and completed your studies.' Hunter was blunt and as Lily looked at him the denial that had been on her lips faded, that tinge of regret for past choices made ebbing as finally she nodded.

‘I know,' she said slowly. ‘I just…'

‘Didn't?'

‘Couldn't.' Screwing her eyes closed, she dragged in a deep breath, pain filling her as she glimpsed her past, but she slammed the shutters down in her mind, absolutely refused to go there, instead shaking her head as if to clear it. And when it did, when the memory was gone, when she opened her eyes, everything was OK. Hunter was smiling softly down at her.

‘How about lunch?' He let her go then and wandered off, giving her a moment to regroup, to blow her nose and wipe away tears she didn't want him to see from her cheeks. Aware of her reddened eyes and not quite ready to face him, instead she went to the laundry and fished out a fresh light bulb from the cupboard under the sink before heading back to the study.

Aware that if she didn't do it then her mother would, Lily pulled out the heavy desk and balanced the chair rather precariously on top of it. The ceilings were so high in the house that changing a light bulb was a serious balancing act, and one no fifty-year-old woman should attempt! Tucking the new energy-saving bulb in her top, Lily climbed onto the desk and then up onto the chair—one hand firmly on the ceiling for support as the other screwed out the old one. It was a manoeuvre she'd done fifty, maybe a hundred times before, but never with such stunning consequences.

Just as she had screwed it in and was about to climb down, a vice-like grip wrapped around her legs, the chair tumbling over as she was hurled over a pair of very broad,
very
tense shoulders.

‘Just what the hell do you think you're doing, Lily?' She was too shocked to answer, the world upside down for a moment till Hunter unceremoniously dumped her on the floor. ‘You could have been killed!'