Page 48 of Hunter

“Not once have I seen you leave this place, aside from the club eat-out you were forced to go to. Though, you didn’t even make it over the threshold conscious. You scared to go out or something?” Anna leaned her elbows on the dark glass table, her eyes seeming to eat up any tell I was showing, which made me panic. I knew I had loads of tells, but I had no idea what they were, so I couldn’t hide them.

“No,” I lied, feeling guilty. “I don’t want to be with Hunter right now.”

Anna scowled, not satisfied with the answer, but thank the universe for Kay. Her aged, gray eyes seemed to flicker down to the note and get the gist of my annoyance from my tone. The woman was so perceptive.

“What’d the boy do?” Kay asked with a laugh, slouching back in her chair as if it were common to talk about Hunter being on my naughty list. Literally.

I inwardly scoffed at the “boy,” too. By no means was Hunter a boy, but I supposed by Kay’s standards, who seemed to be Hunter’s age or older, she might have known him as a kid in this small town.

Instead of reading the list out loud, I turned the page around and pushed it across the table for the two to feast their eyes on.

Anna had a whole second on top of Kay when they burst out laughing.

“Hey,” I said. “I’m being serious here.”

Anna wiped a tear from under her eye. “Oh, God, this is too good.”

Kay kept chuckling as she handed the list back to me. “I don’t think there’s anything for you to worry about.”

“I’m not worried. I’m frustrated.”

Kay gave me a gentle smile, and Anna started laughing again.

“Stop laughing.” I groaned, balling up my list and throwing it at her. Anna batted it away, but began to calm down. “Honestly, it’s like having the devil in one chair and an angel in the other.”

Anna grinned. “I take that as a compliment.”

Kay shook her head. “I think it’s more of a definition.”

“Okay, we get it. If the shoe fits or whatever.” I sighed, wondering if it was the right idea to bring outside counsel into my problem. “But that still doesn’t change the fact that he won’t let me touch him.”

“Did he give you the envelope?”

Anna had caught me off guard. I turned toward her, wondering how on earth she had found out about—

“Who do you think got Hunter those kinds of tickets?” Anna scoffed, gathering my thoughts quicker than I could.

“Seriously, girl, what kind of connections do you have?” Kay asked, shaking her head.

“Don’t say that when you’re the one who suggested I get them for him.”

“I feel like I’m being left out of something,” I interjected before they could get into a debate. According to Hunter, the two women’s verbal battles were a sight to behold, but the type to behold from afar.

“I was the one who suggested Hunter give you the choice,” Kay confessed. “He didn’t know what to do with his feelings and planned to keep you captive here without giving a damn what you thought.” She shrugged. “Figured I might as well give you the chance to choose. That is, if you do choose to stay here with us.”

I thought back to the envelope in the dresser drawer. I could feel the yes still sitting on the tip of my tongue as it had since Hunter had given me that envelope, yet I couldn’t seem to say that tiny, three-lettered word.

Anna quickly stood, moving straight toward the kitchen where she pottered around for a while before returning with a mug. She almost broke the thing when she slammed it down in front of me.

“Drink,” she said. “Tea is the British way of calming down. Should work for you, too.”

“Um … Okay, thanks.” I brought the mug to my lips and took a sip. I didn’t find the appeal in tea compared to the richness of coffee, but Anna was right. When I put it back down, I felt a little more relaxed. It was also at this point when I realized they weren’t trying to pressure me. They were simply being honest.

“Sorry about that. We shouldn’t have said anything.” Kay covered my hand with hers. “The decision is up to you. What we say shouldn’t have any effect on that.”

“Does this mean I can’t be biased and hypnotize her into staying?”

“No,” Kay said, without even looking at the blonde.

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