Total pages in book: 23
Estimated words: 22685 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 113(@200wpm)___ 91(@250wpm)___ 76(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 22685 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 113(@200wpm)___ 91(@250wpm)___ 76(@300wpm)
But for now...
"It's just ranch business, nothing for you to worry about."
He had to force himself to lie to the woman he loved.
Eve touched his cheek, still troubled by the taut expression on his handsome face. "Sure?"
"I promise."
And because he didn't want to keep lying to her, he could only end the conversation by pulling her close and covering Evelline's mouth in a hard, deep kiss that had her hands coming up to clutch his shoulders.
Hunter intended to walk Evelline back to her room afterward, but she shook her head, saying, "You've already kept Janelle waiting long enough."
Before he could say a word, Evelline surprised him by raising herself on her toes and placing a quick, shy kiss on his cheek.
What the—
"See you later!"
His last glimpse of his fiancée as she raced up the stairs was her delectably pink cheeks, and it was the most fucking adorable thing...as well as something he completely didn't deserve.
Janelle was on her phone when he joined her in his study, and he caught her hitting Send in a hurry before pocketing her phone.
"Everything alright?" he questioned.
"Just office stuff, it's fine.
"Anything I can help with?" He had always admired his cousin's insistence on being independent, but also wanted Janelle to remember that his family was there for her, always.
"Shouldn't I be the one asking you that?" Janelle's tone was wry. "Then again, with what I've seen of you two together...I take it all's well between you two again?"
"I should never have sent you that text." Hunter's tone was stiff. He was not used to owing up to any mistakes like this, mostly because he always got things right the first try. It was only with his Evelline, unfortunately, that he often got things wrong.
"Why did you then?" Janelle looked at him chidingly. "It's been eight years, you know. Whatever they were to each other before—"
He cut her off, saying flatly, "They were never anything to each other."
"Hunter..." A delicate frown creased his cousin's face. "I hope you know how much I love Eve. She's, like, the best thing that's ever happened to you. But I don't think it's also right to be blind to things. I didn't imagine those rumors I heard eight years ago—"
"But they were exactly just that. Rumors."
Janelle slowly shook her head. "But I also saw—"
"Drop it, Janelle. I don't want to hear another word."
His cousin's phone chimed at that moment, and Hunter frowned at the way Janelle's face turned expressionless while reading whatever it was on her phone.
"There's obviously something wrong."
Janelle bit her lip. "Am I being that obvious?"
"You've never been good at lying, Janelle. So yes," he said dryly, "you're being that obvious."
"The company offered me a promotion," she explained with a sigh.
"And the catch?"
Her expression turned rueful. "How did you know there'd be one?"
"There always is."
"I'll have to move all the way to Alaska."
And of course, for someone like his cousin who still wore a cardigan even in the hottest of summers, that would be akin to a death sentence.
"Just quit," he decided, "and work for our company."
"Thank you for the offer, but no."
"Start a business then. I'll bankroll you."
Janelle made a face. "You really won't let this go, will you?"
"At least sleep on it before giving me an answer."
"Alright, fine. Now, will you please stop bullying me and just go back to Eve and live happily ever after?"
They walked back to the residential wing together, their footsteps echoing in the quiet hallway, before Janelle excused herself to make some tea before heading to bed.
Hunter continued up the stairs alone, slowing as he neared Eve’s room. Her door was slightly ajar, and hearing a soft gasp, followed by a muffled voice that wasn't Eve's had him striding inside with a frown.
The sight that greeted him turned his blood to ice, the color draining from his face.
“What the fuck is this?”
Evelline let out a cry at his hoarsely spoken words while Matt, whose hand was still possessively cupping her breast through the towel, jerked away, and when the younger man turned to him, the guilty expression on his face had Hunter feeling like his heart was torn out of his chest.
Chapter Nine
EVE TIGHTENED THE TOWEL around her body, still dripping from the shower. The hot water had helped ease the tension in her muscles, but not the warmth in her heart.
Today had been...perfect.
Morning coffee with Hunter on the porch, lunch with their parents, that...that thing in his office, and then dinner with Janelle, and of course, there was still the rest of the night...
A soft knock on her bedroom door startled her from her thoughts, but before she could ask who it was, the door had already opened, and Eve froze in shock.
"Matt?"
What was he doing here at this hour?
"I'm sorry for barging in like this." His voice was oddly...strained. "But I really need to talk to you."