Page 44 of Unwrapping His Naughty Secret

Emily holds up her hand. “I actually think Cara needs to go.”

Hunter shakes his head and pulls me right up against him. Sheltering me from the storm, as promised.

“Me?” I shake my head. “I don’t?—”

“You heard her. She wanted your friendship. That’s why she invited you here. She knows her dad will always love her. She can be mad as hell at him, and she knows they’ll get past that. Her wound right now is about losingyou, Cara.”

Hunter wraps me in his arms. “If this is too much?—”

I squeeze him tightly. “No. It’s not.” I take a deep breath. “She was dropped into my lap, and my lab, for a reason. I’ll go talk to her.”

Upstairs, I find Hannah’s door ajar, which I think is a good sign.

I knock, then push it open.

Her room is a whole wing, just like her dad’s, but where his is dark and masculine and moody, hers is light and airy, a spa-like retreat. She’s curled up in a window seat, looking out at the morning mist.

“Can I join you?” I ask.

She makes a face.

But she doesn’t say no.

Another door left ajar, I think, and I take the risk, sitting at the opposite end of the same window seat.

“When you think about it, we aren’t really best friend material,” I say.

She rolls her eyes.

“But we have a connection anyway, don’twe?” I gesture at the PJs she picked out for me. “Look at us.”

“God, I hate this,” she says. But then she slides a glance my way, and smiles a little. “You look cute.”

“You do, too.”

“We’re the same age.” She wrinkles her nose. “That’s?—”

I cut her off. “Can we stop saying that your dad is gross? Because I don’t think he is. At all.”

She gives me a reproachful look.

I take a deep breath. “I think your dad is incredible. I think the way he devoted himself to raising you, an absolute hellion, is remarkable. And I think his talents—on the page, and in the kitchen, and with his family—are nothing short of amazing. I look at him and I…I’m in wonder, Hannah. It’s this very special, very warm, magical kind of wonder. I know he feels the same way. Can you please not ruin this for us by throwing a tantrum?”

She doesn’t say anything. But the reproachful expressionfades a little.

I press my case. “Was last night terrible? All of us spending time together?”

Hesitantly, she shakes her head. “No.”

“We’d already kissed before last night. That so-calledgrossthing had already happened.”

She doesn’t argue with me.

“And you know who we were both thinking about all night? You. Your dad loves you so much. And I care about you, too. I love your enthusiasm. I love your joy. I didn’t want to dim that at all, but the second your dad opened that door, I knew at some point this would spill out into the open, and I wanted to soften that for you as much as possible.”

“Why are you so…smart?” She sighs, exasperated now. “Why do you have to be so… mature?”

I laugh. “I don’t know. Just your cross to bear, I guess.”

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