Page 58 of Imperfect Saint
She wanted it all. She wanted her dream job where she could work hard and be the boss and she wanted the handsome man to go home to at the end of the night. She wanted the big house with the yard, and she wanted that dog she’d always dreamed of curled up in the sun with Simmons the cat. And someday she wanted the butterflies in her belly to grow into tiny little humans that would fill her world with the kind of joy she’d never known. All of the dreams that she’d let slip away, the ones that she’d tried to forget, they all came back to her when she thought about being with Hunter.
He wasn’t the kind of man that would accept half measures. He wanted all of her. He wanted a future with her. Maybe it had started as a weekend away, as a fake date or a cover story, but the things he made her feel were real and honest and she knew if she gave him a chance that he would help her feel whole again too.
It had already started. She felt more like herself than she had in ages. He made her feel strong and confident. Just being around him, being with him, made her happier than she’d been in far, far too long.
“Knock knock.”
Millie spun around to find Lemon Kelly strolling into her office. Her eyes took exactly half a second to scan her friend. She looked the same as always. Her blonde hair was down around her shoulders in loose waves and topped by a wide brimmed hat. Her tall, willowy frame was covered in an oversized tunic and dark wash skinny jeans and she was prancing around on high-heeled boots that probably cost as much as Millie’s rent.
Each and every time she saw Lemon she was reminded that if they weren’t friends, she’d hate the woman on principle alone. Not only was she tall, blonde and gorgeous but she was also rich, talented, and as of late, overwhelmingly happy and in love with a man that thought the sun rose and set on her cute little ass. Yeah, Lemon had it all. Everything a girl could want. But despite the fact that she was also supposed to have a bodyguard at her side, namely the one man in the world Millie now thought of as hers, Lemon was alone. Millie glanced past her friend to the doorway, waiting for him to appear and when he didn’t, she frowned.
“Oh my God, you’re as bad as he is.” Lemon dropped her purse into one of the chairs and then sat in the other, primly crossing her legs this time, “Hunter is parking the car and then I have no doubt he’ll run up every flight of stairs in this building if he thinks it’ll get him to this office faster than the elevator.”
Millie bit her lip to stifle a smile as she went around to sit behind her desk but of course Lemon noticed it and laughed.
“Oh, don’t play all coy with me. I’ve already spent all morning grilling him for details since mybest friendwon’t return any of my text messages.”
“Your best friend has been in meetings all day and in case you’ve forgotten, this is supposed to be a business meeting to discuss your summer tour for next year.” Millie folded her arms and tried her best to look professional. “We should be discussing business, not my love life.”
“Aha!” Lemon all but squealed, “So there is alovelife huh? I knew it! Come on Mills. Give me details. You owe me that much considering I’m the one that knew you were secretly crazy about each other and set you up last weekend.”
Millie chewed on the inside of her cheek and shot the doorway another look.
“I told him he couldn’t see you until after our meeting was over so he isn’t standing out there listening in.” Lemon wagged her eyebrows playfully, “Business first, and by business I mean I’m making it my business to find out exactly what happened this weekend before I move an inch.”
“What?” Millie was distracted by Lemon’s insistence that Hunter wouldn’t be barging through the door anytime soon.
“Millie, you can buy the best concealer in the world but you can’t hide the truth. Not from me.” Lemon tapped her own cheek to make her point, “What happened this weekend?”
“Oh God.” Millie instantly touched the spot that she knew was still bruised beneath her makeup, “You don’t think Hunter…”
“Of course not.” Lemon frowned, “I know him better than that. I’m the one that sent him to protect you. He would never hurt you but I want to know who did, how, and why.”
“I thought…” Millie went back to chewing her cheek, “I thought you said you already grilled him.”
“I did. He wouldn’t tell me. He said that’s your story to decide to share or not.” Lemon harrumphed and crossed her own arms across her chest, “Funny because I thought he worked for me, but no matter how many times I remind him of that, or of the fact that I’m the one that sent him with you to protect you, he won’t crack.”
“He’s a good man.” Millie smiled softly and Lemon loosened a bit.
“Yeah. He is. But whoever did that…” She motioned to Millie’s face and frowned, “And I’m guessing it was your ex, isn’t a good man.”
“No. He’s not.” Millie sighed, knowing there was no use keeping this particular secret to herself anymore, “And yes, you’re right. Joshua hit me while we were in Brentwood for the wedding.”
“If he’s still breathing then Hunter didn’t do the job I sent him to do.” Lemon hissed.
“No. He did. He saved me, Lem. He saved me in so many ways this weekend I can’t even put it into words what having him there meant to me.” She swallowed past the lump in her throat, “Thank you for sending him with me. I owe you so much already that I’ll never be able to repay but…”
“You owe me nothing. We’re friends. Friends look out for each other.” Lemon reached across the desk and squeezed Millie’s arm, “And friends also set each other up with the super hot guy that’s totally into them. Nowthatyou can thank me for.”
Millie managed a choked laugh, “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” Lemon sat back in her chair. “Now, spill all the juicy details that I can’t get out of Hunter.”
Millie knew it was useless to put Lemon off. She’d no doubt heard some of the rumors for herself already. More than once Millie had walked out of her office only to stumble upon a hushed conversation that abruptly ended when her employees saw her. She’d caught enough of the exchanges to know that despite Nashville being a big city that the music world was small and gossip was already circling about problems between the Turner and Bell families.
People were figuring out that Joshua hadn’t been part of Colin’s wedding and that was the kind of news that generated talk. The two of them had always been a package deal. Even after Millie split from Joshua, he’d still been linked to Colin and to the family business. Turner Bell was a family label after all, and Colin and Joshua stood to inherit fortunes as well as the company someday and they’d do it together just like their fathers and grandfathers before them. Joshua being MIA at Colin’s wedding had been like a warning alarm for everyone in the music industry to start paying attention.
The bruise Millie was still sporting on her face certainly hadn’t helped matters any. She’d tried to cover it up as best as she could. She knew all the tricks after all the years she spent with dealing with the fallout from Joshua’s temper. She owned the best concealer money could buy and to an untrained eye, it was almost unnoticeable. Almost.
