Page 47 of Hot Holiday Fling

Adie furiously blinked away tears—she would not let him see her cry!—and hauled in a deep breath, testing a smile. She slowly turned to see him standing in the doorway, the two cups dwarfed by his big hands. Hands that had held her, stroked her for the last time.

It’s better this way, dammit! You’re walking away with your heart, without silly expectations, having had three weeks of the best fun, in bed and out of it.

And Hunt, Adie fiercely reminded herself, didn’t “do” love. He wanted freedom, to remain unentangled, to give all his focus to his work. And that was why his relationship with Griselda had lasted for so long. She’d made no demands on him and had been happy to take as little as he offered.

Oh, God, maybe he’d restart whatever he and Griselda had...

The thought made Adie want to throw up. But it made sense—Griselda lived in the city, she made no demands on him and their whatever-they-had had worked for a long time.

Hunt stopped in the doorway to his bedroom and Adie looked at him, wishing she could freeze time. He was still dressed in his running gear and expensive sneakers. His solid black running pants molded to his muscular legs. He’d ditched his parka, but his light blue running top skated over his broad shoulders and over his wide chest to fall in a straight line over his stomach. His hair looked messier than usual and she knew her fingers running through those silky strands had contributed to his tousled look.

Despite his lack of sleep, he looked fit and healthy, and yeah, so sexy he stripped her of her breath. Hunt wasn’t conventionally handsome but had the masculine face that made a woman look, and then look again. From this moment on, heavy stubble, hair the color of burnt sugar and gray eyes would always be her favorite color combination...

Hunt walked across his bedroom and placed Adie’s cup on the bedside table closest to her. Moving closer to the window, he pushed his shoulder into the glass, staring down at the park he’d just run through, the trails now slick with sleet.

“I see you’re all packed,” Hunt quietly commented and Adie searched his face, and his words, for subtext. She found none.

“Yeah, I thought I should go.”

“Want to explain why? I thought you were flying tomorrow.”

“I was, am.” Adie twisted her hands together. “I thought that we should, you know...”

“I really don’t,” Hunt said, after sipping his coffee.

The “end this” stuck in her throat, she couldn’t make herself say the words. Adie rocked on her heels. God, she hated this part. Saying goodbye was never fun.

“When do you think you’ll come back to the city?” Hunt asked.

“I have to be back sometime in the New Year,” Adie replied, her hands wrapped around her mug as if she were looking for warmth. “Kate and I plan on opening up a Treasures and Tasks by the end of February. Once the legalities are in place, I’ll leave Kate to run the Manhattan branch and I’ll only be making the trip back every six months or so.”

“Since you have yet to mention contacting me, I presume that’s not in the cards?” Hunt asked, his tone low and hard.

Adie forced herself to say the words. “No, I won’t be contacting you.”

“Would you like to clarify why? I thought we enjoyed each other.”

Adie shifted from foot to foot and told herself to stop fidgeting. “We did—I did.”

Hunt raised his eyebrows above suddenly icy eyes. “Care to explain, Adie?”

No, not really. It hardly made sense to her...

“I just think we’ve run out of road.”

“Bullshit,” Hunt snapped. “Tell me the truth.”

Adie put her coffee down, jammed her hands into the back pockets of her tight-fitting jeans and lifted her shoulders to up around her ears. She went for the most valid, easiest-to-explain response. “I live in London, Hunt, you live here. Neither of us wants anything permanent so I’m easing my way out of your life.”

“Easing? You’re full-out galloping!”

Well, yeah. But he wasn’t supposed to have picked up on that.

Adie forced a smile onto her lips and attempted to look jaunty. “Once I’m out of the picture, I’m sure Griselda will be very happy to take up where you left off.”

Hunt’s eyes flashed with anger and Adie grimaced. God, why did she have to bring up his ex? Oh, maybe because she wanted to know whether he intended to reinitiate contact with the blond ballet dancer.

Hunt stared at her, his expression suggesting she’d grown two heads. “Do you really think I’d go back to her? After what you and I shared?”

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