Chapter Two Hunter
Chapter Two
Hunter
It’s not like I’m not happy for my best friend. I schlepped up here from New York to go to his engagement party, didn’t I?
“Can I get another shot?” I ask the bartender.
I’m avoiding everyone. I don’t know Ed’s friends from home, and the only joint friend we have is working in Hong Kong.
Making small talk with a bunch of people I don’t know is my idea of perfect hell.
And everyone’s so goddamn happy. I can’t take any more “Don’t they make an adorable couple” and “Their children are going to be so beautiful.” It’s all a bleak reminder of my future being flushed down the drain as this party drifts on.
The bartender slides me the tequila bottle.
I unscrew the cap and tip a generous pour into the lowball that one of the themed cocktails was served in.
It might have been the Something Borrowed .
. . No, that was the strawberry one. It was gooood.
Maybe it was the Bouquet Toss. No, that was lemon.
I know . . . It was definitely the To Have and To Hold. Bit of a spicy kick on that one.
I probably should have asked for a clean glass, but I’m not really tasting the alcohol as it goes down.
I just want to obliterate reality for an hour or so until I can go back to my hotel and sleep, then get back to the city to do my job.
And Ed’s job. Already he’s not as focused as he usually is.
I swear he spent the entire week booking the honeymoon.
“Hey,” Katherine says as she approaches the bar, arm in arm with Ed.
“Looks like you found the bar, dude,” Ed says.
“What can I say? Nothing like the ocean air and a slug of tequila.”
“So . . . what did you think of Lucy?” he asks.
Katherine playfully slaps him on the arm. “You gotta be more subtle than that!”
I get the feeling I’m missing something.
“Did you two vibe?”
Katherine rolls her eyes and picks a speck of invisible lint off my jacket, the way she always does. It’s weird . . . I never spot anything on my clothes, but Katherine always finds something. “We just want the party planning to go smoothly,” Katherine says with a smile.
“It will,” I say.
“We don’t want to end up at a strip club in Vegas,” Ed says.
Katherine gives out a slightly hysterical laugh. “No, definitely no strip clubs. You know we want to stay in Massachusetts, don’t you?”
“Right,” I say, trying to think whether I made any notes when Katherine called me shortly after Ed proposed.
“And it’s going to be a joint thing. So you and Lucy will be working together, doing the planning and preparation. That will be super fun, right?”
I nod and take another swig of tequila. “Lucy,” I repeat. “Super fun.”
On the other side of the lawn, Katherine’s mom appears to be sermonizing to a small group of guests.
Enraptured? Held hostage? Hard to tell from this distance.
Weirdly, I think I hear her say something about Hunter “possessing a good fortune.” And also about wanting a wife.
Her hands are fluttering in the air, underscoring her words, and then she laughs. At whatever she’s saying.
I refocus on the middle distance, where I find a woman barreling toward us with fisted hands and a scowl. “Mom’s started on Pride and Prejudice, Katherine,” she says, her jaw tight.
I’ve definitely been introduced to this woman.
I think she’s the sister—the one I’m planning the bachelor party with.
My mind is fuzzy with tequila, and my brain is stuck in molasses.
I don’t remember thinking Katherine’s sister was hot an hour or so ago when we were introduced, but this woman is beautiful.
Bright, big green eyes and hair that’s so glossy I wonder whether she put butter or oil or something in it.
Is that a thing? And her breasts are mesmerizing.
I’m pretty sure she’s not wearing a bra, yet they’re high and round and .
. . Fuck. I might be drunk, but I haven’t had enough tequila not to realize I’m staring at my best friend’s sister-in-law’s chest. At least I’m wearing sunglasses. Hopefully no one noticed.
“There’s nothing we can do,” Katherine says. “You know what she’s like after a white wine spritzer.”
“You can’t blame the wine. She just needs an audience to start bleating on about Austen.” The beauty sighs. “The glass of wine just means Dad’s getting lucky tonight.”
“Eww,” Katherine and Ed chorus.
I watch the happy couple. They’re basically the same people but opposite genders.
They both have neat hair and a permanent smile.
They both like yoga and goddamn kimchi. I bet neither of them has ever been hungover at work the day after a big night out.
Goody-goodies. That’s what Katherine and Ed are.
I’ve always known this about Ed. It was one of the reasons why I agreed to go into business with him.
I knew I could trust him to tell me the truth.
The guy can’t lie. But since the engagement, things have shifted.
I can tell that his priorities have changed.
He’s always talking about the wedding and what he and Katherine have planned for this and that.
I’m happy for the guy. I just liked it when I knew he was one hundred percent in the game.
Because I’m totally committed to our business.
I have to be. I can’t have another business failure on my balance sheet. I won’t let it happen.
“I hope she doesn’t start talking all things Austen to your parents,” Katherine says to Ed, smoothing her hand up his lapel. “She doesn’t realize that channeling Mrs. Bennet isn’t a good look.”
“What’s she going to say?” Ed asks. “Pride and Prejudice is Jane Austen’s greatest work!”
Maybe I’m drunker than I thought, but I don’t have a clue about what’s going on. Why are we discussing Jane Austen?
The woman with the great breasts, who must definitely be the sister, holds up her palm to Ed to stop him.
“I can’t let that one pass. Everyone who hasn’t read the books thinks Pride and Prejudice is Austen’s finest, when it isn’t at all .
. .” Ed goes to speak, but Lucy isn’t having any of it.
“And no, not even the miniseries starring Colin Firth makes it acceptable not to have read the books.”
Katherine groans at the mention of the miniseries. “Three hundred and twenty-seven minutes.”
“Her making us watch that adaptation as often as we did was bordering on traumatic,” Lucy says.
“I hate it. The only reason I’m so good at math is because I’d do calculus in my head while being forced to sit through it.
Lizzy Bennet is a gold digger, and Darcy is a pompous idiot.
No, Austen’s best book is obviously Persuasion. Captain Wentworth is a devoted hottie.”
“Captain? Did she write about sailing?” I ask.
Lucy rolls her eyes but doesn’t respond. I was only trying to join in the conversation.
She probably hangs out at libraries and has nineteen cats at home. I take a sip of my drink. I didn’t need to participate in this conversation anyway.
“Persuasion is timeless, and Wentworth is a proper alpha. Not a spoiled guy with a stick up his ass,” Lucy says. “It’s clear Wentworth is going to know what to do with Anne when he finally gets her naked.”
I half choke on my drink when Lucy says “naked,” and heat fills my cheeks, like a teenager caught flicking through an underwear catalog.
“‘I have loved none but you,’” Katherine and Lucy say in unison.
I’m totally lost. I glance over at Ed, but he’s smiling at the two women like he’s at a showing of a Hallmark movie. I slide my drink onto the high top table. Maybe I’ve had one too many.
“She’s going to start quoting Austen to the entire party,” Katherine says. “And Ed isn’t Mr. Bingley.” She looks up at Ed. “If you’re only earning four thousand a year, I’m not marrying you.” She and Ed laugh, but I’m totally confused.
I slide my sunglasses to the top of my head and glance over at Lucy. “Who the hell is Mr. Bingley?” I whisper.
She sighs. “The hero’s BFF in Pride and Prejudice, who falls in love with the heroine’s sister. Mom was determined that Katherine should find her Bingley.”
“They sound like side characters. Shouldn’t they be the hero and heroine if everyone is so fixated on them?”
“Impossible!” Lucy says, like I’ve just suggested we throw red ants rather than confetti at the wedding.
“Jane and Bingley are perfect. Flawless. Just like Katherine and Ed. Main characters must have flaws, or they’re not interesting enough to sustain a reader’s attention.
” She holds my gaze, like she really wants to make sure I understand her.
“Anyway, our mother thinks Katherine is the perfect Jane in Pride and Prejudice and Ed, here, is the rich BFF who is going to keep her in the manner to which she would like to become accustomed.”
“She wants Katherine to marry for money?” I ask. “Like, encouraged her to be a gold digger?”
Lucy pauses for a moment. “Jane and Lizzy married for love.” Her tone is resolute. “But their husbands happened to be rich AF.”
“Maybe you’re Mr. Darcy,” Katherine says, grinning at me.
I know I’m missing something, because Lucy gives Katherine a sharp poke in the ribs with her elbow. “Don’t be an asshole.”
“And you said I wasn’t subtle,” Ed mumbles.
We’re interrupted by someone I haven’t been introduced to. Katherine and Ed are swept away by the woman, leaving me with Lucy.
“You’re drunk,” she says.
I shrug. “You’re beautiful.”
She doesn’t respond, just watches as Ed and Katherine cross the lawn.
Usually telling a woman she’s beautiful will change the game.
I’m not saying it turns all women to mush, but it usually wins them over a little.
And it’s no lie—Lucy is most definitely beautiful.
She has a smattering of freckles across her nose and green eyes with amber edges.
Her hair is long and fans over her shoulders on both sides, catching on the buttons of her dress, like a trickle of water between her breasts.
Shit. My dick twitches. I stand up from where I was leaning on the table and stumble. Lucy snaps her head around.
“You’re really drunk. Do you think you should go back to your hotel?” Her eyes flash with panic.
“I’m okay,” I say. “Maybe I’ll get a glass of water.”
“Maybe I’ll get you a cab.”
“I’m not leaving,” I snap. “Ed is my best friend. I’m not going anywhere.”
“Yeah, much better to stay and start falling over. Maybe you can feel up his great-aunt Mildred. That would be perfect.”
“You’re uptight,” I say.
“That’s funny,” she says. “And here I thought I was beautiful.”
A surge of nausea hits me square in my stomach, and I grip the table. “I think maybe . . .” I pause, wondering whether I’m going to have to take a seat on the grass rather than fall.
Lucy pulls out her phone. “Where are you staying? Harbor Inn?”
I nod, unable to argue with her. My stomach is churning, and the people at the party have all started to sway. That last glass of tequila has really hit home.
“Come on,” she says. “I’ll make sure you get into the Uber.”
She threads her arm through mine, and I don’t object.
I can’t. I’m clearly way too drunk for a daytime party like this one.
I should have given myself a two-drink limit.
Lucy smells like rose petals and something I can’t quite place.
Somehow it settles my stomach a little, and we manage to navigate to the front of the house without me falling on my ass.
“I need to tell Ed,” I say.
“I’ll say you had to go.”
“He’s my best friend.” He’s more than that. He’s the guy who saved me from a lifeless career behind a desk, working for someone else. He’s my business partner.
“Okay,” Lucy says. “I’ll make sure to tell him he’s your best friend.”
Lucy speaks to the Uber driver, who’s just pulled up, and bundles me inside.
I hear her shrieking. “Two hundred dollars? He’s not going to vomit.”
All of a sudden, she’s sliding into the seat next to me. “You owe me for this, Hunter. You’re going to let me have my way on everything for the bachelor/bachelorette party, you hear me?”
I don’t know what’s happening, but I just nod.
The Uber proceeds to drive the obstacle course from Katherine’s parents’ house back to the inn. I swear to God, there weren’t potholes the size of Vesuvius and bends like we’re racing the Monaco Grand Prix on the way up here.
Lucy leans across me and unwinds the window. I stroke her hair as she stretches over my lap. It’s as soft and smooth as it looks.
“Hunter,” Lucy snaps. “Get off.”
I hold my hands up, realizing she probably doesn’t want to be petted like a dog. It’s probably a good idea that I left the party. I just don’t know why Lucy came with me.
“If you’re going to hurl, please do it out the window. There’s no way I’m paying the two-hundred-dollar cleanup fee.”
I open my mouth to respond, but Lucy squishes her hand against my cheek, trying to press my head toward the window.
“I’m not going to vomit,” I yell. “That’s all I was going to say.”
Lucy shakes her head but removes her hand from my face. “Men are babies.”
“I don’t need babying,” I say. “You didn’t have to join me in the car.”
“Er, excuse me if I care about my Uber rating. I’ve spent months building it back up after . . . Never mind. I’m not letting you ruin it for me.”
Just as I’m about to ask her what happened to her Uber rating, we pull up outside the inn. “Sorry to take you away from the party.”
“At least we all know you’re definitely not Mr. Darcy,” she says as I stumble out of the Uber. She literally pushes me out of the car with both her feet and slams the door behind me.
I watch the car circle the drive and retrace its steps back toward the party. When the car pulls onto the main road, Lucy turns and we lock eyes. Something hits me in the chest, like a fastball straight to the heart.