Chapter 37
Jade
T hat woman in Hunter’s office, who was all over him. I’ve seen her before; she bumped into me in the reception a while ago and looked down her nose at me then. Ugh, I wanted to punch that smug look right off her gorgeously proportioned face. I know they’ve either slept together or she definitely wants to. I can’t really say anything if she’s in his past. That's something I have to deal with, and we haven’t put a label on us yet. We aren’t exclusive—God, I hate that word.
I’m haphazardly throwing things into my case when Trixie comes into my room. “Woah, what has your knickers in a twist? You’re about to go on a naughty weekend away with London’s sexiest CEO. Why are you angry packing?”
“Sorry, I just need to get this all out of my system before he picks me up, because I don’t want to let it ruin my weekend.”
“Need to get what out of your system? Come on, Ted talks with Trix.” She pats the bed next to her and I flop down.
“I know I’m overreacting, which is why I need to do this now and not when he gets here. He had another woman in his office this afternoon, and I could just tell they had history, you know? It all looked a little too cozy, and I suppose my mind went to Dave and how he cheated on me.” I sigh and start to pick at my nails. “I get it, Hunter isn’t Dave and I know I’m blowing it out of proportion, but I think deep down that wound is still open. And to top it off, she was mind-blowingly beautiful, like model stunning. I felt dumpy walking in there. I don’t tend to compare myself to others. I pride myself on that, but just her in his space, I got jealous.” I throw myself down on the bed and groan. “What’s wrong with me?”
She pats my leg. “You really like this one then, yeah?”
“Hmm?”
“Oh, come on, Jade. In all the years I’ve known you, you’ve never been jealous. Sounds like you wanted to piss all around Hunter and let this woman know he’s yours. You like him,” she teases.
“Of course, I like him, but I didn’t want to mark my territory. She just rubbed me up the wrong way, that's all.”
“Deny it all you want, sweetie. You like him.” I side eye her. “Don’t give me that look. Hunter is next-level gorgeous, ridiculously intelligent, and fucking funny,” she points out as she counts off his traits on her fingers. “I would think there was something wrong with you if you didn’t like him. And the way he looks at you like you’re the only person in the room.” She pauses as she breathes out a heavy sigh. “Honey, he likes you too.” Her voice is tender and full of affection as she squeezes my thigh.
“Shit, I did want to throat punch her. And I do think about him all the time, and not just about the things he does to my body. Which, by the way, no words can describe. Literally everything makes me think of him. I’ve got no chill when it comes to him.” I scream at the ceiling.
Trix takes my hand and cocks her head slightly. “Like I say, just go with it. You deserve to be loved, Jade. Let someone in. And Hunter seems like the perfect man to do that. Love isn’t simple, but to let someone love you, you have to let them in.”
“I’ll try, Trix.” Deep down I feel like people leave me, even my mum, who has always been there for me. Her illness has made me realize she won’t be here forever. I feel like if I don’t let Hunter in, ultimately when he does leave, the pain won’t hurt as much. The reality is, he has been under my skin since that first night.
“You ready, Tink?”
“Mmmm?”
Hunter chuckles as I let him into my apartment. His woodsy scent surrounds me and my mind goes blank as I blink up at him. "I said, are you ready?”
“Yes, sorry.” I shake myself out of my haze and go to pick up my overnight bag but he beats me to it.
“You’re good for my ego, Tink.” He squeezes me into his side, brushing a light kiss to my temple.. “You look beautiful. I’ve missed you today.”
“Smooth.”
He huffs out a laugh. “Come on, I’m not wasting any more time. I’ve not had you to myself in too long.” He leads me out of the apartment, down to his Bugatti. How many cars does this man have?
He puts my bag in the car and opens the passenger door for me before he rounds the front and settles behind the wheel.
“So we aren’t blending in on this trip?” I motion to the ridiculously expensive car.
He pulls his aviators on, giving me that smile that does things to my insides. “Why would I cover all this up?”
It takes us a few hours to reach our destination and we’ve not stopped talking or laughing the whole time. I’ve completely forgotten about Maddison. Hunter is giving me his full attention. Surely if he was hiding something, he’d be acting off?
He pulls up to a stunning boutique hotel along the seafront. I love London, but the air feels different here. Hunter rounds the car to help me out pulling me into his side, placing a soft kiss to my forehead. “You like it?”
“It’s stunning.”
“Come on, you haven’t seen the best part yet.” He passes his keys to a very eager valet, just as a bellboy comes to take our bags. Hunter guides me to the beautiful townhouse entrance leading up the impressive stairs.
As we enter the hotel I sigh because it’s grand and homely. Chandeliers adorn the reception area with large flower arrangements bracketing the large ornate reception desk. The receptionist greets us with a warm, friendly smile.
"Good evening, Mr. and Mrs. Stone. I hope you’ve had a pleasant journey to us today.” I side eye Hunter at our newly married status.
“We have your suite ready. Breakfast is served between 6.30 and 10 in the sunroom, but of course, if you prefer, we can send everything up to your suite. I hope you enjoy your stay with us.”
“Thank you. I’m sure we will.” Hunter takes our keys.
“You have some explaining to do, Mr. Stone,” I whisper as Hunter entwines our fingers as we follow the bellboy.
“I have no idea what you are talking about, Mrs. Stone.”
I roll my eyes as we exit the elevator on the top floor. It opens up straight into our suite. And I freeze. It’s beautiful. A large four-poster bed sits against the wall surrounded by cream drapes, a grand piano is off to one side, a beautiful arrangement of sunflowers rests on top, and huge windows fill the width of the room, which open up onto the white stone balcony. The bellboy is talking, but I’m not listening, too entranced by the space to pay attention to anything else. This view. It’s all just out of this world.
I leave Hunter to tip the bellboy and walk out onto the balcony. The light sea breeze whips around me, making my hair tickle my face. I close my eyes and breathe in the clean sea air, taking in the sounds of the waves crashing against the shore and the squarks of the seagulls that circle overhead. A sense of calm washes over me just as strong arms circle my waist and my head falls back onto Hunter’s chest. “You like?”
“I should think I can cope. Husband .” I open my eyes and peek up at him.
“About that.” He kisses the top of my head. “I booked the room in my name. I think she must’ve just assumed that we were married. It is the honeymoon suite, after all. Sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry. I think we can have fun with it.”
“What did you have in mind?”
“Well, I’ve heard a wedding night needs to be pretty spectacular.”