Page 18 of Imperfect Saint
Her name was Jill. Millie and Hunter had been introduced when they came downstairs for dinner. Joshua had puffed his chest out like a proud peacock, parading around the model pretty blonde as if she was a show horse. Hunter supposed for some men she would be considered the most beautiful woman they’d ever seen, but not him. She wasn’t his type. He preferred his women tiny in stature and large in spirit, and the only woman he’d met with those qualities was the one that clearly didn’t like pretending to be his girlfriend.
Jill was tall, blonde, rail thin, and graceful. She was pretty, there was no denying that. She even seemed like a nice enough girl, which was why Hunter didn’t understand what she was doing here with Joshua Bell. It was obvious what the bastard was doing with her though. He was trying to make Millie jealous and Hunter had been immensely relieved when he’d noticed that the other man’s plan seemed to be failing miserably.
Millie had ignored her ex-fiancé all night.
At this question though, she shifted in her chair, clearly hearing what the blonde had asked Hunter despite her conversation with Colin and Reed. She shot him a glance from under her lashes and he let a slow smile slide up his face, as if he were sharing an inside joke with the woman he adored and not the worrisome look of a woman unsure of how he would answer that question. Hunter slid his hand from the back of her chair to her shoulder and pulled her closer to him, taking the opportunity to touch her, finally, and planting a sweet kiss atop her head.
“Don’t look at me like that, babe. I’m not going to embarrass you.” He mock whispered and the blonde perked up even further, just as he’d known she would.
Joshua Bell on the other hand looked as if a storm cloud had just settled on his shoulders. Perfect. This was the moment Hunter had been waiting for all night. This was his chance to show Millie he wasn’t going to let her down. Answering this one, seemingly simple question, was his way past the walls she’d put back up between them after his confession earlier and if it pissed off her ex, so much the better.
Millie licked her lips, “I know that. I just…”
“Don’t want me telling them about how you fell for my tricks?” He winked, cutting her off with a gentle squeeze of her shoulder. “There’s nothing to be embarrassed about, Mills. I can be damn charming when I want to be. It’s not your fault that Lemon decided to help me out by playing matchmaker.”
Millie’s eyes widened at the words that were dangerously close to the truth but it was Jill that gasped.
“Oh my God. Lemon Kelly? I forgot that I heard you work for her, Millie. Oh, and that means you do too, right Hunter? You said you met through work. It must be so cool getting to work with an artist like Lemon Kelly on a daily basis.”
“Lemon is a sweetheart.” Hunter nodded in agreement, “And she knew I had a thing for our Millie so, she helped me out by setting us up.”
“How?” Joshua growled, causing Millie to flinch but Hunter only narrowed his eyes on the other man and pulled her in against his side until he could share his warmth, offer her whatever strength or protection she needed in that moment. He didn’t speak again until Millie relaxed into his touch, tucking herself against him as if it was the most natural thing in the world and not something she had to consciously decide to do.
“There was an event we were supposed to go to.” He relaxed into the story, “Some fancy-schmancy black tie affair, right Mills?”
Her smile spread easily, mischief twinkling in her eyes as she looked up at him, catching his meaning and nodding, “Yeah. Something like that.”
“As it turned out, Lemon couldn’t make it to the event after all but instead of giving us the night off she sent both of us instead. She had me pick Millie up and then once we were in the car, she called me and bailed. She told us to have fun without her, leaving us alone for the night for this totally romantic evening.”
“Oh wow. That’s sneaky.” Jill grinned.
“Right? So Millie, being Millie, is all, take me home and I’m like, nah, this is my shot. We’re all dressed up and I’m ready to charm the hell out of her.”
Millie bit her lip, her voice barely a whisper as she repeated his words back to him, “He can be damn charming when he wants to be.”
He rubbed his chin against her hair, loving the way she fit him, the way she fell seamlessly into the story he was weaving.
“I convinced her it was just a night out on the town, two friends having dinner and drinks, but of course I wanted more. I wanted more with this girl from the first moment I saw her. Who wouldn’t right?” He smirked when Joshua glared at him. “So we spent the drinking and laughing with the Nashville elite. When I asked her to dance, she shocked the hell out of me by saying yes. It was the chance I’d been waiting for what felt like my whole life and while I had her there in my arms, I kissed her for the first time. We were under the stars with a band playing softly in the background and it was the most perfect moment of my life. The rest, as they say, is history.”
Millie was gaping up at him again when he finished and he chuckled at the awe she couldn’t keep from her gaze. He leaned over and brushed his lips against her temple. She didn’t flinch away from him this time and he smiled against her hair. She shook her head slowly as he pulled away, amazement and something else flashed in her dark eyes and if he wasn’t wrong, a bit of a blush on her cheeks.
“What?” He asked innocently when she continued to stare at him, “Did I get it wrong?”
“No.” Millie whispered softly, “No. You got every detail exactly right.”
He loved that breathy quality in her voice. Loved that he’d made her sound like that, look at him like that. He’d surprised her but he’d also impressed her. She’d liked that story and he’d liked it a little too much not to make it true, so he did the only thing he could.
Hunter smiled softly, “What do you say, beautiful? How about another dance under the stars with me?”
Millie opened her mouth but then closed it again. Her gaze darted around the table. Almost all of the eyes in their vicinity were watching them and she must have realized that declining would be a bad idea because she nodded. He slid his fingers around hers and helped her from the chair, holding her hand as he led her a few feet away to a spot under the trees where they would be mostly alone but not out of sight of the wedding party.
She didn’t say a word. She didn’t contradict his story. She couldn’t, because he’d just described this moment as their first date and it was all, mostly, true.
When they’d first walked into the large backyard, he’d been knocked speechless by the grandeur of it all. The rolling green grass and the perfectly manicured landscape. The long, antique wood tables and chairs set up beneath the trees. The exposed lights hung from their tall branches. It was set up as if it was a rustic, outdoor dinner but everything about it was upscale, all the way from the fine china to the silverware, right down to the small band playing as the guests dined and chatted amongst themselves without even noticing the beauty of it all.
But he had. He’d noticed. And now he had Millie exactly where he wanted her, in his arms, under the stars, taking in the magic of the night instead of distracted by her asshole ex or even her family.
He twirled her slightly and she laughed as he pulled her back in. She felt good in his arms. Like holding her was completely natural. She relaxed a little and let him lead and he smiled as some of the distance she’d been putting between them evaporated.
