Page 48 of Imperfect Saint
Only, his siblings weren’t the only ones that he had now.
He had Millie and he intended to keep her forever if that was what she wanted too. She felt like home and he felt steadier than he had since he’d come back from overseas when he had her in his arms. She felt like safety and comfort and the kind of love that he’d only ever seen people outside his family achieve. She was it for him and he knew that given enough time and nurturing love that she’d see he was it for her too.
But God help him, he could only imagine what was going to happen the first time he introduced her to his siblings.
“Hey.” Hands slid around his waist and he felt warmth spread across his back as he was hugged from behind, “Where’d you go?”
He turned slowly so that she wouldn’t drop her arms, keeping her close as he caught sight of her and smiled, “Nowhere. I’m right here.”
Millie shook her head and then pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose when the spare pair slid down a little, “No. You were a million miles away when I walked up. Where were you?”
Hunter smiled as he reached up and adjusted the glasses that sat crooked on her face, “Dance with me. I want to dance with the most beautiful girl in the world.”
“Mmm, sweet talker.” Millie scrunched her nose up adorably and then took his hand, “Come on. Let’s dance.”
Hunter left their drinks on one of the empty tables and led her to the dance floor and then pulled her close. Millie came into his arms willingly, wrapping her hands around his neck and swaying with him to the beat of the music. Across the floor, the grooms were wrapped in a similar embrace. Other couples moved around them as well, oblivious to everyone but the person in their arms. Hunter tucked Millie under his chin and simply breathed in the sweet scent of her that managed to calm his nerves.
He played with her hair and gave a contented sigh as they swayed, “So, what did your brother and Reed need to talk to you about?”
“Oh no.” Millie pulled back enough to meet his gaze and smirked, “You don’t get to brush off my question and then ask one of your own.”
“What? I didn’t…”
“You did.” She raised an eyebrow at him and when he didn’t immediately respond she sighed, “What were you thinking about when I found you at the bar, Hunter? You looked a million miles away from here… from me.”
“I’m not. Mills, I’m not. I’m right here.” He slid a hand up and cupped her chin, “I’m with you.”
“Then tell me what’s going on in your head.” She raised a hand to cover his and they both stopped swaying.
Hunter knew there was no getting away from this conversation. The truth was he’d known Millie wouldn’t simply drop it because he called her beautiful or asked her to dance. Her tenacity was one of the things he loved about her. They’d have to talk about it sooner or later so he figured he may as well just put his cards on the table and see if it suited her.
“I was thinking just how different we are.”
Her dark brows knit, “What?”
“Come on, Mills. Dance, or at least sway. We look stupid standing in the middle of the dance floor.” He wrapped her back in his arms and though she pursed her lips she let him hold her and swayed back and forth, staring up at him, waiting for him to elaborate.
“We come from very different worlds.” He finally spoke again once it felt like most of the eyes around them weren’t staring in their direction. He looked back down at Millie, “You brought me here to meet your family, as a ruse or not, and everything about this weekend just reminded me how different our lives are.”
Millie tilted her head slightly, “How so? We both work in the entertainment industry. We both live in Nashville. We both…”
“We don’t both work in the entertainment industry.” He cut her off with a snort. “I’m a professional bodyguard. I get paid to put myself between rich people and everyone else, even a bullet if that’s what it takes. You’re an heir to the Turner family fortune. Your family practically built Nashville. You…”
“I work for a living. I work hard. I started at the bottom and every step upwards that I’ve taken I’ve accomplished through sheer will, not because of my last name.” Millie was frowning now and he shook his head.
“That’s not what I meant.”
“Then tell me what you meant, Hunter. Because from what I heard it sounded an awful lot like you were saying I had the world handed to me on a silver platter.”
“You did.” He muttered and when her eyes narrowed, he cursed, “Dammit, Mills. Just listen to me. You did have the world on a silver platter even if you chose to take your own career path instead of the one set out for you. You grew up in a mansion. You have staff and stables. You own horses and enough land to let them to run for miles. Your family has an honest to god whiskey still in the woods back there and I didn’t grow up with any of that. I’m solidly middle class at best and I can’t give you this shiny life you’re used to.”
Millie gaped, “Oh my God. You know about the still?”
Hunter blinked, confused that of all the things he’d said that was what she’d gotten stuck on, “Uh, yeah?”
“How?” She demanded.
“Chuck, I mean, your dad? He showed it to me earlier, while you were at rehearsal.”
