Page 169 of Always You

“The bowling alley.” He smirks.

“It’s two p.m. on a Tuesday?”

“So? Who says you can’t go bowling on a Tuesday? Let’s go.”

When he first said he wanted to go to the bowling alley, I rolled my eyes at him, knowing he’s using this strategic trip down memory lane to get back in my good graces. But as much as his tactics annoy me a little, they’re also working.

They remind me of the fact that my happiest days were with him, and I’m in desperate need of some happy days with last week’s event still hanging above my head like a thundercloud.

We walk into an almost empty bowling center, with only a kids’ party on one of the first lanes, and I glance around, following Hunter toward the counter.

“Hi.” He volleys the blonde girl behind the front desk one of those panty-dropping grins, and her jaw falls to the surface, looking at him with wide eyes. “Can I get a lane for two?”

“Oh my god. You’re Hunter Hansen. I heard you’re the new boss.”

Wait, what?

“Yeah.” He carefully glances at me while I stare at the situation unfolding in front of me. “But can we keep that quiet?” He winks at her, and instantly my eyes roll to the back of my head.

She lets out a muffled shriek, placing her hand in front of her mouth.

“Of course, I understand,” she says, as she taps stuff on the register. “That will be twenty bucks for an hour.”

Hunter grabs a hundred-dollar bill out of his pocket, leaning in as he hands it to her.

“Thank you for your silence.” He looks at her name tag. “Kirsty.”

She blushes, letting out a giggle.

“You’re welcome. You’ve got lane ten, away from the kids’ party.”

“You’re the best, Kirsty.” Hunter taps the counter, then makes his way over to lane ten on the other side of the bowling center. I give the star-struck girl a knowing smile before I follow Hunter, who lowers the snapback on his head to hide his face a little.

“What’s that about you being the new boss?” I frown, trotting behind him.

“Nothing. I made some investments. This was one of them.”

“Wait, so did you invest in this place, or did you buy it?”

“Isn’t that the same thing?” he bellows over his shoulder.

“That depends entirely on the amount of money youinvested.” His silence is answer enough. “Oh my god, Hunter! Did you buy this place?”

“Maybe?”

“Why?”

“The owner wanted to sell. I bought it.” He shrugs, as if he just bought a loaf of bread instead of a bowling alley. One that is part of half the youth in Braeden. If not more.

“So that’s what I’ll be dealing with when I take you back?” I joke. “Bowling night with the boss? Women dying for your attention?”

He abruptly turns around, making me crash into his chest, and I look up at him with wide eyes.

His eyes darken as I realize my mistake, and he grabs the side of my belly in a possessive way, his gaze moving back and forth over my face.

“Whenyou take me back, Charls?”Poor choice of words, Charlotte.

“As friends!” I blurt, almost choking over my own words. “As friends!” I push him out of my space, walking past him as my heart pounds in my chest like a sledgehammer.

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