Page 75 of Bargain with the Bachelor
Then he did the most astounding thing.
He popped the tip of his thumb into his mouth and sucked it to remove the chocolate, holding steady eye contact with me the entire time.
In an instant, my skin was blazing like the fire pit beside us, and my heart was racing crazy circles around my chest.
Honestly, I felt like I needed to remove my coat, but I didn’t because the ever-present camera was watching. I didn’t want whoever edited the video to wonder why I’d felt the need to shuck layers in thirty-degree weather.
WhydidHunter’s touch affect me like this when no one else’s ever had? When Iknewa relationship between us was impossible?
It was sheer stupidity, but I couldn’t seem to help myself.
Show or no show, I wasn’t sure how much more I could take. Being so close to him all the time without truly beingwithhim was becoming painful.
Hunter had wanted to discuss the idea of a “fresh start” once or twice in the past week, but there was no point to it. Living with him had given me an up close and personal view of his life.
And I’d seen enough to know Hunter and I didn’t have a real future together. He was too much like my father.
As much as I’d adored Richard Bianco, I didn’t want to marry a man like him.
The prospect of creating a life with Hunter, falling deeper and deeper in love with him, perhaps having children with him… and then losing him to an early stress-related death was too agonizing to contemplate.
Even if he remained healthy, I wouldn’t be happy married to an ambitious, driven man who was never around.
Maybe one of the jobs I’d applied for in New York would pan out soon. I’d finish up the filming for Hap’s sake, pack my things, and make my fresh new start in a brand-new place.
Maybe if I didn’t have to see Hunter and talk to him every day, I could move on with my life.
Chapter Twenty-One
The Kiss
Hunter
The plan wasn’t working.
Over the past couple of weeks, I’d taken Kristal on several more “dates,” none of which had resulted in a kiss at the end or even a single instance of legitimate hand-holding.
Instead of warming to me, she’d grown even more distant, if that was possible.
On camera, she was sweet and flirty, playing her part perfectly. When the cameras stopped rolling though, she reverted to her cool, unflappable self.
I could almost feel my dreams slipping through my fingers.
“What am I gonna do?” I asked Hap as we waited for Kristal to come downstairs for the day’s filming. “She’s combing the internet for jobs every day. Eventually she’s going to find one and move out. We’ve gotta kick this thing up a notch.”
Hap seemed to consider it for a moment. Then he nodded rapidly, slapping my back in reassurance.
“Okay, I know what to do. Leave it to your director.”
Kristal came into the great room, wearing a red turtleneck and winter white pants.
My eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. The woman was born to wear red. The hair stylist and one of the makeup artists had been upstairs with her, and she was camera-ready perfection.
“Hey,” she said to the assembled “dwarves” and the film crew. “What’s on tap today? I promised Cinda I’d stop by for a visit. I haven’t seen her in weeks, and it’s my day off from the restaurant, so I was hoping maybe we could film my parts early?”
“No problem,” Hap said. “We just need to get a few quick pick-ups today—you know, scenes we’re missing to sort of fill in the blanks and round out the show for the editors.”
He grabbed his clipboard and did a quick perusal of the shot sheet attached to it.
