Page 35 of Playing A Risk
She follows me down the hall, taking in her surroundings. “This place is ten times bigger than I originally thought.”
“Tell me about it. We rarely came up here when I was with him, but in all fairness, I stayed in his room.” I glance over the railing as we cross the walkway.
Hunter’s in the kitchen and peeks up. “Good morning. How was your appointment?”
I stop and peer below. “You know how they go sometimes—nothing gets resolved.”
He half laughs. “I’m not sure anything ever gets fully resolved in therapy. But every time one ends, I have another piece of the puzzle I like to call Hunter’s fucked up mind.”
Melanie gasps. “You’re in therapy?”
“Don’t be so shocked, Melanie.” He shrugs. “Like the rest, even I can want to be a better man.”
I keep walking. “Your mind is hardly fucked up.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure if I were you.” He tips his head to Melanie. “You two enjoy the hot tub. I’ve got to go out for a while, but I’ll be back soon.”
“Where are you going?” I roll my lips together because I have no right to ask. The question just popped out.
“Like you, I have therapy to attend.” He grabs his phone off the kitchen island. “Dorothy, there’s coffee down here for you. And Katy will be by later. She has access, so don’t worry about letting her in.”
He goes to the foyer and disappears out the front door. I glance back at Mel. Her mouth is gaping open.
“How long has Hunter been in therapy?” She rushes to my side.
“He said he started going a while ago. I think it’s helping.”
We enter my room, and Melanie’s eyes widen in awe.
She strolls to the table and places her swimsuit bag on one of the chairs. “You could live here, you know? It’s clear he decorated this room for you.”
I pick up the new purple bathing suit Hunter had his assistant buy for me. “I don’t think that’s his plan. If anything, he’d like me to live here and share a room with him. Making this room to my liking wasn’t to keep me here.”
“Whatevs. Let’s get into that hot tub he’s been holding out on.” She rummages through her bag and pulls out her bright yellow string bikini.
We change, go to the rooftop terrace, and mosey acrossthe heated pathway to the tub. In the daylight, winter flowers lining the enclosure near the soaking pool stand out. Mel and I peek inside the building.
Hunter described the enclosure as a simple changing area and bathroom for the rooftop. What he didn’t mention was the spa-like design.
Everything about the area is breathtaking, from the marble floors to the brushed iron fixtures. This place is seriously a step above anything I could’ve imagined.
Mel and I dip our toes in the water, then descend into the hot tub. She spins in a circle in the middle of the pool, taking in the terrace.
“Dori, this is straight out of a movie. The entire rooftop is an oasis.”
“It certainly is.”
And Hunter said this is all mine for the taking.
Would I want to live this way?
Melanie hits a button on the hot tub panel. A gulp-like sound engages the jets, pumping bubbles out through the tub’s walls and floor.
She plops herself directly in front of a forcible stream of water. “Whatcha thinking about?”
I rest on an area molded like a lounge chair. “This kind of lifestyle.”
“What about it?”
