Page 55 of Baked

His friend’s typical sarcasm was followed with genuine concern. It was enough to stop Hunter mid step. He was still pissed, but it was nice to know his friend had a heart lurking beneath that steel-enforced wall he’d erected around himself.

“I love her.” The words came out as hopeless as he felt.

“I know you do.” Luke’s voice was unusually quiet. “She’ll be back.”

“I can’t lose her.”

“You won’t. She loves you; I know she does. You’ve just got to give her time and be patient.”

Hunter hoped like hell his friend was right, but as he hung up the phone, doubt crept in.

Doesn’t deserve me, my ass. I’m an ogre, and she’s a goddamn fairy princess.

As he stared down at the blank screen, he contemplated his next move. He needed all the help he could get if he was going to win his honeybun back. And that’s exactly what he was going to do.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Rachel sat in her carand waited. What she was waiting for, she had no idea. An epiphany? The meaning of life? God freaking knows. The only thing she was certain of was the fact she needed another minute.

It was safe to say she hadn’t exactly thought this little impromptu visit over. Which apparently was the theme of her week. Running out on the man who literally took a bullet for her was certainly not going to make her top ten list of proudest moments.

Rachel’s leg began to bounce as her fingers tapped the steering wheel.

Why am I doing this again?

Her mind started to wander. Why didn’t anyone talk about the really awful things that happened when you tried to confront your fears? There must be someone out there who tried to get over their fear of snakes only to end up being bitten. If so, she could relate. She was definitely about to get bitten.

It’s time.

Yes. Right. She had to pull herself together. Or at least pretend she wasn’t about to throw up.

Car door open, her boots hit the pavement. Once she’d slammed the door closed again and locked it, she took one last deep breath.

You’ve got this.

Luckily, after pushing through the entrance, there were plenty of arduous tasks to keep her mind busy. The first of which was getting her IDs checked by a guard who really needed to work on his people skills.

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