Page 31 of The Fake Fiance's Billionaire Adversary
As he tried to process what she’d just said, the horse-drawn carriage arrived.
“This was the surprise?” she asked.
“Yeah.”
“I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. I—”
He held up his hand to silence her. “Give me time to think, okay?”
Reagan lowered her gaze. “Okay. We don’t have to go on the carriage ride. I understand.”
“No, I planned this for you. It’s already here, and this is a great way to see the lights around the city.”
“Okay.”
Hunter helped her into the buggy and sat beside her. After they covered their legs with a blanket, the ride started. He put his arm around her, and she snuggled against him.
All night long, he’d been looking forward to this exact moment: her nestled next to him with his arm around her. Now, he didn’t know how he felt or what he wanted. Had his mom told her, or did Reagan look it up when they first met?
When she’d asked for a full year’s worth of payments, he’d wondered then, but he’d asked her about it. Her reason felt legitimate at the time. Only now that he was thinking back, he was tired, stressed, and desperate. Had his desire to keep his mom from being disappointed clouded his judgment?
Why would his mom even think to bring it up? Could Reagan have said she only wanted the payments instead of the pay-off just to lull Hunter into letting his guard down?
At the moment, he didn’t know what to believe. Maybe he needed to take a step back and reevaluate the entire situation. He’d jumped in way too fast with wanting a relationship.
Closing his eyes, he pushed the thoughts to the side and tried to enjoy the moment. He’d figure out what he needed to do when he’d slept on it.
Chapter 14
All through the carriage ride, as much as Reagan wanted to believe things were okay, they weren’t. They’d gone from passionate kisses worthy of Oscars to barely speaking in the span of a few minutes. Every second, the chasm grew larger, and she had no idea how to stop it.
He’d been so sweet…perfectly imperfect. It had been a good thing she was sitting down when he’d used that phrase. If not, she’d have swooned right there in the restaurant. It was without a doubt the most wonderful thing anyone had ever said to her.
Then he’d asked her to trust him, and it had felt like she had no choice but to tell him she knew about the money. The second the words were spoken, she’d seen and felt the shift. He’d retreated so quickly he was a blur.
Once they finished the tour, it was another two hours of silence. She tried over and over to talk about something…anything, but the wall he slammed between them was thick, tall, and impenetrable.
He cut the truck’s engine and sat there a moment, inhaling long and slow. “I’m going to need some time to sort this out. I know we have to keep up pretenses for my parents. Because as much as I don’t want them to know I’m actually single, I’m even less inclined to tell them the nature of our relationship.”
“Okay,” she said softly. How was she supposed to get through until New Year’s if it was going to be like this? “If you want, I can tell them Naomi and Kaylee have had things come up and I need to go home. If it’ll make it easier on you.”
He shook his head. “I’m already lying, and I’d like it if I didn’t have to add another one to it. Like I said, give me some time to digest this, okay? I’m not mad. I’m just…well, to be honest, I’m not sure what I am at the moment.”
Reagan nodded. “I understand. I’ll stay out of your way until you’re ready to talk to me. When you are, you know where I’m staying.” She opened her door, quickly jumped out, and didn’t look back.
She really had no reason to lie to him. And that his mother told her? What would be the point in lying about that? He could just ask to verify with his mom. But she couldn’t be too upset about it. Money changed things. The more you had, the harder it was to trust someone.
As she reached her room, her phone in her clutch rang. She pulled it out. Her eyebrows knitted together as she looked at the caller ID. Why was Naomi calling her so late? Then again, who knew with her. She wasn’t a wild child, but she did get herself in predicaments at times. Which made Reagan even more curious about her call.
“Hey, Naomi, what’s going on?”
“Reagan, have you been following the weather?”
She’d checked it before she left for Thanksgiving, and there was nothing on the radar. “I did before I left, why?”
Naomi hesitated a second. “A hurricane is headed toward the island. It’s supposed to be here tomorrow night. We’ve boarded up the house the best we can, but it’s going to be a king tide. They’re saying it’s going to be worse than Irma. They’ve ordered an evacuation of the island.”
If Reagan were hollowed out with a trowel, there would have been more left of her than there was currently. Tears clouded her vision as she sank to the floor in her doorway. “The house?”
