Page 35 of Imperfect Saint
Hunter glanced back at Chuck and caught the wistful look on the older man’s face. He could say what he wanted. He could pretend he didn’t care that his kids hated him, pretend he wasn’t hurt if Colin really didn’t want him at the rehearsal. But it was clear to Hunter no matter what mistakes the man might have made with his kids, that he did care, a lot.
“I just want them to have what me and Cami had.” Chuck repeated, his gaze still on the figures in the distance, two of which were his children and one of which was about to become his son-in-law. “I just wish I could tell them that I tried.”
“You still can. There’s time. You’re here. They’re here. We can go up to the house. You can tell them right now. It’s not too late.”
Chuck turned back to him, a sad smile making him look even older than he was, “Nah, we’re past that now. My kids and I… well, they outgrew me a long time ago. Good for them too. They deserve the best. Seems like Colly found it. Maybe Millie did too.”
“I’ll always give her my best. I promise you that.”
Chuck surprised Hunter by reaching out and gripping his shoulder. He gave a slight squeeze. The old man dropped his arm before Hunter could say anything else.
“Come on. Stop stalling or I’m going to start thinking you’re trying to sober me up.” Chuck smirked, “You’re not trying to sober me up are you, kid?”
“No sir. I mean, no Chuck.” Hunter played innocent and the old man laughed.
“Good, because I was just starting to like you.”
Hunter gave the rehearsal up on the back lawn one last look and then he followed Millie’s father down a curving path into the woods. Sobering Chuck Turner up was exactly what he should be doing but he knew it was no use. The man would find another drink just as soon as Hunter got him back to the house anyway.
Instead, he followed along and let Chuck talk, hoping he’d be able to put the ramblings of the older man together into something that resembled a picture of the real Millie, the girl he was still trying to get to know even as he was falling head over heels in love with her.
11
Millie tried not to fidget as she held her mock bouquet of flowers in front of her and watched her brother and Reed exchanging fake vows for the five hundredth time as their adopted dog, Hoppy, bounced around them like a kid on a sugar high. They’d been rehearsing for over an hour and she wanted to scream that this wasn’t a Grand Ol’ Opry performance, and that it was only a wedding. But it wasn’t her wedding so she kept her mouth shut, forced a smile and tried to focus on what the wedding coordinator was saying instead of letting her mind drift to thoughts of Hunter.
He’d told her that he would be fine on his own. He’d said not to worry about him and she knew she shouldn’t. He was a grown man and the only person here that might be any danger to him was currently standing across the aisle from her trying to get her attention. Joshua was here and Hunter was probably taking a chance for some free time up in their room to check emails and whatnot just like he’d told her he planned to. He was fine, but even with the reassurance that he didn’t need her worrying about him, she couldn’t stop thinking about him.
It had been a problem for her even before today if she was being honest with herself
Hunter was a good man. He was kind and sweet. He was gentle with her in a way that she’d never known. When he touched her, she didn’t feel the strength coiled inside him or think about the hurt all those muscles could cause. With Hunter, she felt safe and special, protected, which she knew was technically his job but she didn’t think that was why he was here.
He’d never lied to her. He’d told her the truth. He’d been open with her from the start when he’d told her this was more than an act to him. So how could she not believe him when he said there was something special between them?
This morning when he’d kissed her, she’d never felt anything like that. The need that had coursed through her had been overwhelming. He’d taken control of her and she’d let him, because, she’d realized in that moment, she trusted him not to abuse the power she gave him. She trusted him and there were far too few people in the world she could say that about these days.
She hadn’t realized until today, with Hunter, just how little fun she allowed in her life. She kept a strict calendar. She worked on a schedule. She was organized and determined and she didn’t let anything sidetrack her. But this morning, going for a ride with Hunter had been fun. Being with him was fun. He was always teasing and joking and flirting with her. He made her smile. He made her feel good. And being near him, being with him, just felt right.
“Camilla.” A harsh voice hissed her name, jerking her back to reality at the same time a big hand landed on her wrist and squeezed just a touch too hard.
She winced and jerked away from her ex-fiancé, “Don’t you dare call me that. You know I hate it when you do that.”
Joshua was right in her face, “What I know is that it gets your attention. If you’d focus on what we’re here to do instead of mooning around like an idiot I wouldn’t have to get your attention in the first place.”
“Everything okay over there?” It was Reed and when Joshua moved back a step, she could see that her almost brother-in-law was eyeing them suspiciously, watching their interaction, and she knew that if she gave away just how uncomfortable being this close to Joshua made her that it would ruin everything.
Millie plastered a fake smile on her face, “Everything’s fine.”
“Good. Then back to square one and let’s take it from the top people.” The wedding coordinator cut in and Millie sighed as she forced herself to appear happy and go through the motions.
She hated that Colin had arranged his wedding this way. He could have let her walk the aisle alone like any other bridesmaid, but no. He’d had a plan to push her back into Joshua’s arms and now, even though she had Hunter and Colin had agreed not to continue promoting his biased agenda, she was forced to take the arm of the man she despised and let him walk her down the aisle to the makeshift altar again and again and again as they rehearsed.
She was fairly certain she was going to kill Colin before he ever got married for real if he didn’t call this soon. They all knew how to walk. They knew where to stand. They knew what the vows were that required them to hand over the rings and when they would pause for a song. She was a planner, sure, but Colin was trying to plot every second of the ceremony and even she knew it was impossible to plan for every possible problem, especially when the ring bearer was a dog. All of this rehearsing was only keeping her away from Hunter and she was officially getting annoyed.
“Hey there, space cadet.” Jill nudged Millie to get her attention and she realized she’d zoned out again.
“Sorry, what?”
“I asked if you’d like some water.”
