14. Emma
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
emma
I smoothed my hands down my dress, fixed my lipstick, and then headed downstairs right as Hunter knocked.
He was right on time. Which meant, according to his logic, he was late.
I’d already put Donnie in my room with a couple of chew toys and ordered take-out. I planned to plate it up as if I’d cooked it. I even put on my battle armor—otherwise known as my favorite shoes. They were bright red and gave me an extra three inches of height. The stiletto heels were a great weapon, if needed. And right now, I could use every bit of protection possible.
I’d been mentally preparing myself for this meeting. I could do this.
I shook out my hands before opening the door.
My mouth went dry. Hunter stood at the threshold, the last of the sun’s rays splashing brilliant scarlet light over him. He was wearing a dark denim button-down shirt with jeans and boots.
A devilish cowboy was on my doorstep.
His cheeks reddened, his gaze sweeping over me. My heart pounded, my brain short-circuiting as I processed just how damn hot he was.
“Hi.”
“Hey, sparks,” he said.
“I’m incredibly anxious right now,” I said, forcing out a short laugh.
He offered a gentle smile. “It’s okay. He won’t be here long, I’m sure. Then we’re done.”
Done. Just like that.
I swallowed hard and nodded, ignoring the ache in my chest. Just as I stepped aside to let him in, Josh’s car pulled up. Hunter shot him a dark look.
“He’s early,” I sighed.
“Want me to hold him off?” He flexed his hand.
“No, of course not,” I said. “It’s fine, it’s fine, it’s fine?—”
Hunter took a step closer and held my face in his hands. “I’m here. You’ll be okay. He can’t do anything to harm you. Okay?”
“Okay,” I breathed out. “Kiss me to make it look real.”
He gripped me a little harder. “No,” he said. “I won’t kiss you.”
“Oh, come on,” I hissed. “It’s not like you’ll turn into a frog.”
His face contorted between surprise and anger and something else. He dragged me close to him, his body lean and muscled.
Fuck. I’d underestimated how touch starved I was. His arm looped around my waist as he lowered his lips to mine.
Oh god, oh god, oh…
Our lips brushed, gentle at first. But then it was harder, needier, hungrier . The softest moan escaped me and suddenly he was pushing me against the wall, pulling my legs around his waist. His fingers knotted in my hair, every touch rough and desperate. Every swipe of his tongue seared me with need.
I gasped as he deepened the kiss, melting against him.
Oh my god, I was kissing him.
I couldn’t tell you what day it was. I couldn’t tell you where I was. All I knew was Hunter Harlow was kissing me, I was kissing him back—and I needed more.
The sound of Josh clearing his throat loudly tore us apart. Hunter dropped me and took a step back, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. So much for the lipstick I’d just touched up.
Now, that ache in my chest stung a little more.
“Got carried away,” he muttered.
Note to self, Hunter actually did hate me and this wasn’t real. That might have been a damn good kiss, but it was fake.
It didn’t feel fake, though.
Josh was furious. He held a briefcase up, his body tense and blond brows furrowed. “I brought all the documents we will need.”
“Great,” I said. Focus. It was difficult now that every nerve ending in my body was alive and hot.
Hunter didn’t take his eyes off me. An awkward silence settled over the three of us, but I was still recovering from whatever the fuck that was.
“Done any driving around the Hill Country while you’ve been here?” Hunter asked, attempting to make small conversation.
Josh shook his head. “No.”
“Not much of a sight-seeing guy, huh?”
“There’s really not much to see here. You have two gas stations. Can we go inside?”
Hunter’s dimples flashed. “Aw, that’s not fair. We have a grocery store too.”
I strangled a laugh. “Come on,” I said. I let them both in as I reminded myself that I was in control, I could kick Josh out at any time, and I should probably hear him out. “Hunter, will you show him to the dining room?”
“Sure thing. Follow me.”
Hunter headed for the dining room with a clearly distressed Josh in tow. The moment they were out of sight, I went to the kitchen and braced my hands against the counter, forcing myself to breathe.
I squeezed my thighs together, trying not to think about how it’d felt to be pinned against the wall by Hunter.
Dammit, this entire plan was going to shit.
The takeout containers sat on the counter. I pulled out plates, making sure to pick the pinkest, craziest design I owned just to piss Josh off. I arranged the food on them and managed to carry all three to the dining room.
“I’ll get the drinks,” Hunter said, squeezing by me as I set the plates on the checkered table mats.
I’d put Josh across from us. My dining table was a beautiful birchwood find off Facebook Marketplace. It had an inlaid mirrored panel which reflected the midnight blue velvet chairs around it. A vase of fake flowers sat between us, which I decided to push to the side so we weren’t having to glare at each other through plastic sunflower petals.
Josh eyed the food. “Didn’t poison this, did you?”
I really wasn’t sure if he was joking. “Do you want me to chew it up and spit it in your mouth to prove otherwise?”
He blanched. “I’ll just trust you’re not up to anything suspicious.”
“Why would I be? I want you gone,” I said. “Legally gone, not dead.”
Hunter came back with glasses of iced water and lemons. He sat them out and then pulled out my chair for me.
“Thanks, babe,” I said.
“Anything for you, my lovely fiancé,” he said sweetly.
Maybe before our kiss, I would have thought about telling him to fuck off. But now, it took all my strength not to think about him pushing me up against a wall again. About the heat of his lips on mine, the way my entire body felt so damn right against his.
The fact that I maybe sort of wanted Hunter Harlow was starting to eat away at me.
I crossed one leg over the other, forcing myself to appear relaxed.
Josh’s jaw tightened, the vein already throbbing in his forehead.
Sitting here now, I wasn’t even sure why I’d offered dinner. Having my ex-husband across from me and my small town enemy-turned-fake-fiancè to my left felt like a level of ridiculousness I wasn’t prepared for.
Nerves rolled through me as he pulled papers out of his briefcase. He pushed his plate aside, but it didn’t offend me. If anything, I was more than ready to just get this over with. No niceties or bullshit. What could he possibly be here for?
“Wonderful, we’ll just get right into it,” I said. “Why are you here? Really?”
“Well, you’ve complicated things now that you’re engaged,” he snapped, giving Hunter a dark look. “But I suppose we’ll start with why I came here initially.”
Hunter leaned back, the chair creaking as he slid his arm behind me. He appeared relaxed, but every muscle in his body was as tense as mine.
“As you know, your father has passed away?—”
“Did you find out the cause?” I interrupted.
His expression tightened. “Not yet. But, his lawyers have been busy preparing his estate and what will ultimately be your inheritance. Before I knew about Hunter, I planned to ask you to marry me again. I mean, we’re perfect for each other and?—”
“Drop that nonsense right now,” Hunter quipped. “Emma is mine.”
Mine . My cheeks heated. He doesn’t really mean that, I reminded myself. “Continue, Josh,” I said.
He shot Hunter a dirty look. “Well, anyway. Emma, you don’t want this company. You never have. Your father didn’t want you to have it either. You know, he was grooming me to take over. I know how to run it, and know how to lead it in the direction he envisioned. And you never fit into that vision.”
Ouch.
“Now, if you were Evelyn, it probably would be different?—”
“New rule,” Hunter interrupted. “Stop being a fucking asshole before I rip your tongue out.”
“I’m just being candid.” Josh drummed his fingers on the table impatiently.
“ Candid is corporate speak for you’re being an asshole.”
“Josh. Get to the fucking point,” I said.
“Now that Michael Madden is dead, you are the owner of Madden Enterprises. The entire company is in your name. But I want it, Emma. I want the company. I deserve it after all the work I’ve done.”
I was completely stunned. This motherfucker. He’d lost his mind. I wasn’t going to hand my father’s company over to him without talking to lawyers. Even if they were present, there was no way in hell this was going to happen.
I cleared my throat, pushing past the discomfort of dealing with a childish, entitled man. “First of all, you are mistaken if you believe we’re signing anything here today. Where are the lawyers? Why aren’t they here with you?” I asked. “And what about my stepmom?”
“She inherited a small portion of money, enough to comfortably live on.”
That wasn’t a small amount then.
“And the funeral?” I asked, furrowing my brows.
His shoulders stiffened. “It already happened, Emma.”
Well, then. It’d already happened. My throat burned as I digested that bit of info. For some reason, it almost hurt more than knowing he was dead.
“That’s fucked up,” Hunter said. “That’s really, really fucked up. You didn’t think to call Emma? Email her? They really had a funeral so quickly?”
Josh held up his hands. “I’m not the one who called the shots in regards to that. Don’t shoot the messenger.”
Hunter’s gaze burned with fury. He looked over at me before leaning back in his chair. “I have a lot of things I want to say right now, but I’m gonna bite my tongue.”
I opened my mouth to speak, but Josh beat me to it. “I think we can all agree you would ruin the company, Emma. I think you should do the right thing and sell the company to someone who cares, and that would be me. I’ve worked there for almost a decade. I was his right-hand man.”
“And yet you couldn’t call Emma about his death.”
“Shut up, you fucking hillybilly son of a bitch,” Josh snarled. “This is none of your business.”
I snapped my fingers like he was a dog, rendering him speechless. “If you fucking speak to him like that again, I will see to it that you don’t get a fucking dime, Joshua. Do you hear me? I know I can run that company a hell of a lot better than you ever can.”
“Your father wanted me to?—”
“He’s dead,” I said. “So it doesn’t really matter what he wants, does it? It matters what I want. And I do not want to sell.”
His expression contorted with seething rage, the type of anger I’d seen towards the end of our marriage. But then, just like that, he was back to being calm and semi-professional.
“Emma,” he said. “How would you even run it from here? From Texas? And you’re marrying him . He’s probably just in it for the money.”
“No, Josh, that’s what you were in it for,” I said.
He sighed as if I were the dramatic one, as if I were the problem. Nevermind that he was the dumbass who flew all the way to Texas just to be told no. He’d been so sure he could manhandle me, that he could tell me what to do. That he could control me.
I’d forever revel in the fact that I was able to pluck all of his dreams out of his grimy smooth hands.
“You don’t do anything for the company anyway, so why be part of it? Why own it?” he continued. “You don’t care about it. Just let me buy it. I’ll give you a decent amount. You wouldn’t have to worry about anything financially again, especially if you’re staying in a place like this.”
I plastered a smile on my face. “No.”
“ No ?”
I held his furious gaze. “You can’t imagine someone telling you no, can you? Especially me. You thought you could fly all the way down here and force me into submission. I’m not a stupid girl, contrary to your belief. The audacity to tell me my dad is dead and then to try and make me hand his company to you is—” A laugh bubbled up. “It’s really just so silly. Childish, even.”
God, his face was red. His ears were the color of crushed tomatoes, sweat glinting on his forehead. His carefully crafted mask had cracked. “He trusted and respected me, which is more than I can say about how he felt about you.”
Hunter’s muscles rippled as he leaned forward, mouth tugging into a growl. “Watch your fucking mouth.”
Josh snorted. “You just wait, Hunter. You’ll find out what kind of woman she is eventually. I doubt she’ll stay with you more than a few months. Just a good fuck until she decides to get off elsewhere.”
Hunter’s chair screeched as he stood up, but I burst out laughing. My voice rang like a wicked witch through the whole house. “Oh, Josh. Bless your heart. You were never a good fuck. You don’t know the difference between rubbing a clit and rubbing the labia.”
Josh’s face flared even redder, almost purple. “You’d much rather be at the salon than in a boardroom. I mean, just look at this ridiculous house. Everything pink and gaudy.”
My grin turned sharper. “Oh my god, look . Another man who’s threatened by a color because he thinks it's girly. God forbid you ever stray outside of the misogynistic, asinine box you’ve built for yourself.”
“Your own father didn’t even want you,” Josh seethed. “He wanted me to take over. He wanted me to be in charge. He never found you competent, never loved you. He thought you were just an entitled little bitch, and he was right.”
Hunter blew out a slow breath. “Emma.”
I heard the warning in his tone. The tension in the room was teetering on the edge of nuclear.
“I can handle this,” I said to him. Fury rolled through me and I crossed my arms, focusing on Josh. “So, let’s cut to the chase. I’m not signing this. I refuse to. I’m not selling you the company. I’ll be in touch with the lawyers and we’ll see what your position looks like in the future.”
“Are you threatening me?”
“No,” I said. “I have no need to threaten a man as small as you.”
Josh sat back in his chair. “Emma?—”
“No,” I said. “Ms. Madden. No more first name basis with you. I am not selling anything. I’m not handing over anything to you.”
“Why are you making this so difficult? This is just like you. You think?—”
“Okay,” Hunter muttered under his breath. “I don’t think he’s going to get it by himself. He’s a little dumb, isn’t he?”
Oh boy.
Hunter stood up and towered over Josh, the air crackling with electricity. “Emma said no. Crawl back to California now or I will make you.”
“You can’t force me to leave,” he scoffed. “What are you going to do? Fight me like some ogre?”
“You either leave on your own or I break your kneecaps and send you crawling back to California.”
I fought a laugh. Nothing about that was funny, but hearing him say it gave me a visceral vision of Josh on his knees, and well... I did like seeing a man put where he belonged.
Josh glowered at me, his voice lowering. “When they lost your sister, they lost the child they cared about. You were always an afterthought.”
His words cut straight through to my heart.
Hunter moved in a blur, his fist landing against Josh’s nose. His head snapped back with a crunch, blood splashing onto the table.
“Dammit, my birchwood,” I hissed.
“Get the fuck out,” Hunter demanded. “Emma isn’t signing shit and you’re not welcome here.”
He cupped his nose as blood dripped over his snarling lips. “You fucking idiot. Do you even know what you’re getting into with her?”
I stood up. “Get out. Now.”
He wiped his nose and grabbed his suitcase, standing up. “I’m not leaving Citrus Cove. Not until you sign these damn papers.”
“You have three seconds,” Hunter said calmly. “Three fucking seconds to get out. I know you went to my house. Your grapefruit cologne smells like cow shit, by the way.”
Josh blanched. “I… I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You went to his house?” I whispered, shock rattling me. “What the fuck, Josh?”
“I think this whole thing is bullshit!” Josh exploded.
“Three,” Hunter said.
“But why would you do that?” I yelled. “Why would you go to my fiancé’s house? Did you break in? What the hell were you thinking?”
“I was thinking of you! That man doesn’t have a single photo of you in his house. And you’re engaged? I don’t believe it. This is some fake shit to?—”
“It’s not fake!” I shouted.
“Two,” Hunter said. “I’m being really generous right now.”
Josh snatched his briefcase from the table. “You will sign these papers. Maybe not tonight, but you will.” He raked his fingers through his blond hair, but it was slick with gel and not a single hair moved out of place.
“One,” Hunter said. “Time’s up.”
Before Josh could protest, Hunter went around the table, grabbed him by his jacket, and hauled him out of the dining room. I followed behind them, my mouth open as Hunter literally tossed him out the front door.
He slammed it shut and locked it.
I stared at him. My heart thrashed, drowning out all other sounds. I’d never wanted to kiss him so badly as I did right now. What if we did? What if I kissed him ? —
Hunter turned around, his gaze dropping to my mouth. “So the ruse isn’t over.”
“No,” I blew out a shaky breath. “Fuck.”
“Fuck indeed.”