Chapter 22
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Riley
I’ve been awake for about an hour now, hesitant to move because I want to stay wrapped in his arms forever. It’s moments like these, when I can feel his heart beating softly against my back or his breath brushing the nape of my neck, that I want to pinch myself to make sure I’m not dreaming.
When I was growing up, I was so afraid I’d never know what it felt like for a man to love me or if I could love him back.
Then I catch him stealing little glances at me when he doesn’t think I’m looking, and I don’t have to question his love anymore because I see it in his eyes.
Some people say they wear their heart on their sleeve; Hunter shows his emotions through his eyes—pain, love, sadness, happiness, lust—all there.
Hearing a knocking sound somewhere in the apartment makes me jump out of bed. That’s when I realize someone’s at the front door. Shit, it must be my dad checking up on us.
Sliding into a pair of shorts and one of Hunter’s T-shirts, I’m now decent enough to answer the door.
“Hey beautiful, I have something I want to show you. Come back to bed.” My gaze flicks over to Hunter, who’s leaning on his elbows with his hair tousled from sleep.
Those bedroom eyes focus on me as I notice the tent pitched in the sheets.
Now I know what he wants to show me. It will have to wait because whoever’s at the door is getting impatient.
“My dad’s here, so I’ll go answer the door while you get dressed and lose the hard-on.
” My gaze drifts down to his crotch, then back up to meet his eyes.
The corners of his mouth curl into a wicked grin.
God, he’s too damn sexy in the morning. I can feel my nipples harden through the T-shirt I just put on without a bra. Smart move, Riley.
As I open the door, I cross my arms over my chest, trying to hide my perkiness. But the person standing in front of me is not my father.
It’s a woman—a very beautiful woman in her early forties, if I had to guess. She radiates wealth with her designer clothes and tall, elegant presence. In her two-inch heels, towering over me. She’s frowning down at me as if I don’t belong in Hunter’s home.
“Can I help you?” I’m now thinking she must be a client of my dad’s or maybe a girlfriend. I shudder to think that this woman, who’s giving off cold as ice vibes, could be involved with my father.
“I’m here to see Hunter. He does live here, doesn’t he?” She practically pushes me aside as she walks in uninvited.
When I look up, I see Hunter walking out of his bedroom, arms reaching toward the ceiling as he slides them through his sleeves before pulling his shirt over his head, revealing his perfect abs for everyone in the room to see.
“Who is it, baby?” he asks as his head pops through the opening of his Henley, and his gaze locks on the woman standing in the center of his living room.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” It sounds like a snarl as he glances from her to me.
“I’m your mother, Hunter. I have every right to be here,” she says confidently, smiling at him.
I can’t breathe when I glance at him. My heart tightens in my chest as I lock eyes with him.
They reveal everything I need to know — it’s his mother, and he’s been lying to me all along.
Clearly, not everyone he loves is gone, because she’s very much alive, standing here in his living room, scowling at me.
I’m frozen in place as I stare at her. The more I look, the clearer the resemblance becomes: it’s the eyes, with that same piercing blue. I glance back at Hunter one last time before a sob catches in my throat. I cover it with my fist and rush out the door.
I don’t even remember running down the stairs or flinging open the kitchen door.
I don’t even recall Dad calling out to me as I race up to my bedroom and lock the door behind me.
I’m on my bed, face down, pressing a pillow against my mouth when a noise, unlike anything I’ve ever heard, erupts from me.
This feels like a nightmare because I can still feel his touch on my skin, his lips brushing mine, and the weight of his body pressed against me. Why did he want me to believe that his family was dead? Does that mean he’s lying to me about Brady or his grandparents too?
* * *
Hunter
My eyes lock on Riley’s as the woman who gave birth to me introduces herself as my mother. I notice the shock on Riley’s face as she waits for me to deny it, but I can’t because it’s the truth.
The look on her face says it all—she believes I lied to her. Her bottom lip starts to shake as tears roll down her beautiful face. I should have been honest from the start, but I was too scared. I was so afraid she would blame me for everything that I might have just ruined the rest of my life.
As I stand there, I shake my head as she rushes out the door. “Riley! Please, let me explain,” I yell to her, but it’s too late—she’s already gone. My mother walks over to the door and reaches out to touch my arm.
“Let her go — we need to talk. Why do you insist on slumming? You can do much better than her,” she says vehemently.
Looking over my shoulder, I can’t help but glare at her. “Don’t talk about her that way; she’s the woman I love—something you know nothing about.” I slam the door in her face.
I take the stairs two at a time, eager to reach Riley as quickly as I can. I throw open the kitchen door to a startled Rosie, then hurry past Scott, who is coming out of his office. When I reach the end of the hallway, I check her bedroom door. It’s locked.
I want to hold her in my arms and kiss her tears away. “Baby, please open the door so we can talk.” It breaks my heart to hear her sobbing, especially since I’m the reason she’s crying in the first place.
When I don’t get a response, I start pounding on the door with my fists. “Open the god damn door now, or I’ll break it down!” My jaw clenches as I press my forehead against the cool wood of the doorframe, trying to calm myself down.
“What the hell’s going on, Hunter?” Scott says, standing there with his fists clenched at his sides. “Remember, you’re in my house now, and no one will be breaking down any doors. Do you understand?” He has every right to be pissed at me right now.
Leaning my back against the door, I slide down until I’m sitting on the floor. Pressing the heels of my hands against my eyes, I try to stop the tears from escaping. “We had a misunderstanding; she won’t let me explain.”
“Give her a chance to calm down; you both might say something you’ll regret later. Go home, Hunter," he says, squatting down in front of me and placing his hand on my shoulder.
“I love your daughter, Scott. Piece by piece, she’s taken down those damn walls I built, and in just a few short weeks, she owns my heart.
” He realizes now that she’s not just a summer fling.
She’s someone I want forever. As I slide back up the door, he pulls me in for a one-armed hug, a bro hug, as Connor calls it.
Slapping each other on the back like a bunch of cavemen, I gather enough courage to go back and confront my mother.
When I open my front door, my mother is sitting on my couch with a bottle of water in her hand. “Why are you still here?” I walk over to the fridge, grab a bottle of beer, and wish it were something stronger.
“We have a small memorial service planned for tomorrow for your grandparents and Brady, and we’d like you to attend.
Hunter, why are you living here when you could be staying at the cottage?
” Her eyes mist over; other people might feel sorry for her loss, but I know it’s all an act.
She’s the best unknown actress from California.
“I have to work so I won’t be able to make it.” I sit in the recliner, spinning my beer bottle between my hands. This feels awkward.
“What do you mean you have to work? Did you already go through your grandparents’ inheritance?” She storms across the room, her face intense.
Her eyes lock with mine as I stand up, and she quickly raises her hand to cover her face. I’m clearly angry, but I would never hit her or any woman, for that matter.
I refuse to tell her that I’m a lifeguard because that would lower my social standing.
“We haven’t had any contact since I walked out after Brady’s funeral.
” I’m desperately trying to fight the rage that’s consuming me.
“The only reason you had children was so that you could groom us to take over the family business. Well, one is dead, and I don’t want any part of either of you or the company.
” My fists clench as I head toward the bedroom.
“Where are you going?” She’s angry because I walked away from Erin Davis, CEO of Davis Records Co.
“I’m going to change. I need to leave, and so do you.
” Closing the bedroom door, I lean against it.
My eyes drift over to the bed where Riley was sleeping just an hour ago, the sheets still crumpled from our tangled bodies.
Her pillow curves where her head rested; the scent of vanilla mixed with a hint of coconut still fills the air.
Snatching her pillow, I bury my face in it and breathe in her sweet scent.
My heart clenches in my chest. What have I done?
* * *
Riley
I’m so angry at him right now for causing this pain that’s tearing my heart into tiny pieces.
The sad part is I still love him, and I thought he loved me too.
So why would he lie to me about something this important?
Running away isn’t going to give me the answers I desperately need.
But seeing her standing there, looking at me like I was one of his one-night stands, was intimidating.
When I heard him begging me to open the door, I almost opened it. Then he threatened to break it down, and I won’t lie, I wished he would. When I heard my dad’s angry voice, I knew he’d make Hunter leave. That broke my heart.