Page 80 of Dear #47, You're the Worst
I nod, tilt my hand so the emerald catches the light, and keep talking while my heart pounds. Patrick’s eyes are on me, unreadable. Hunter’s palm settles low at my back, warm and steady, as if to remind me whose fiancée I’m supposed to be. The camera eats it up.
God, I hope my parents don’t watch this clip. I like that Hunter is sticking up for me, but I hate that I have no control over how this is going down.
“I think we’re both ready to be an old married couple already,” he says. He hugs me tightly against his body. “Isn’t that right, baby?”
The smile I give Hunter is partially awhat the fuck are you talking aboutlook.
He’s unpredictable, but not in the way I expected. Instead of completely losing it, he’s holding it together and backing me up. That takes me by surprise. I didn’t think he could control himself at all when pushed.
Patrick, not to be outdone, pulls out a pen. ”Where do I donate? I want to pledge ten thousand dollars," he announces to the cameras.
My lips twitch. Patrick has a nasty habit of promising things on camera and never actually following through with them. He’s done it with breast cancer research, orphans from Rwanda, and 9/11 survivors.
Hunter immediately outdoes him. “Make it twenty-five thousand from me.”
“You know what? I think it would be great if you both went to the bank and paid the pledge in cash.Today. Before any of this airs on TV.”
Hunter arches a brow. “Gladly.”
Patrick hesitates too long. “That’s… not a problem…”
Meaning that he didn’t actually plan on fulfilling his pledge after all.
I turn to the camera, smiling widely. “I think that would make for some compelling TV. Right? Have both of them hold up their checks to the camera after they endorse them?”
“Absolutely!” the sportscaster agrees. “We’d love to put that on the news.”
Patrick excuses himself to “move some money around”, his face nothing short of sulky. I grip Hunter’s arm as the news crew moves on to film more of the adoption fair.
“That was a mess,” I sigh. “Patrick turned up here out of left field. How could he even know that I was going to be here?”
Ivy waves, smiling sheepishly. “That might have been my doing. When I drew up a press release about the adoption fair last week, I may have added you to the list of VIPs we would have here without actually talking to you about it. So sorry about that. I didn’t think about the fact that you are probably trying to stay out of sight.”
“It’s fine.” I give her a reassuring glance. “Honestly, none of us could have predicted that Patrick would show up here. He’s supposed to be in Texas!”
“He’s a fucking creep,” mutters Hunter. “He’d better keep away from you or I’m going to make his skull into a decorative ashtray.”
My eyes widen. “Huxley!”
“What?” He looks at me, feigning innocence. “It’ll be an improvement for everyone.”
“That’s enough,” I tell Hunter firmly. “Behave yourself or you’re getting kicked out of here.”
To my amazement, he does. He dotes on me, kissing the top of my head, wrapping his arm around me, being good. But no one can miss his malevolent glares in Patrick’s direction.
“Could you quit looking in Patrick’s direction?” I ask sweetly.
“The only reason I’m not dragging him outside and beating him into the concrete is because you told me not to.” Hunter smirks. “But you can’t ask me not to glare at the guy. That’s unfair.”
Biting my lip, I can’t hide my smile. I smooth my hands out over his chest and tip my head up, peering at him. “You are being very well-behaved, aren’t you?”
“Yes,” he agrees. His gray eyes dance as he catches my hands. “I expect a reward later for remaining calm.”
My pulse kicks like a horse. “I’ll remember that,” I whisper.
Hunter picks up a black lab puppy and carries it over to a cluster of fans, who are as excited to pet the puppy as they are to see Seattle Havoc’s #47.
Oh no.Something is shifting. The person who I thought I agreed to be in a fake relationship with was the Chainsaw, this larger-than-life asshole without feelings that was utterly one-dimensional. But that’s actually not who Hunter Huxley is at all.
