Page 45 of Cinderella's Secret Baby

“Chelsea. Hi.” She grew flustered now that she’d been noticed.

“We’re having a great time,” Gareth said, throwing a possessive arm around Chelsea and speaking for her.

“You’re one of his students?” Hunter asked as though he already knew she must be.

“No!” Chelsea’s eyes widened in horror.

“It’s summer break,” Gareth reminded him smoothly. “We met at the end of last semester. She’s not going back so...”

So it was okay for him to prey on her, even though Amelia estimated their age difference to be at least twelve years. She had every confidence that Chelsea’s decision to put off going back to school had been Gareth’s decision more than her own.

“You’re enjoying the auction,” Gareth noted, narrowing his eyes at the bid sheet for the earrings. “Driving up the bids.”As usual, his tone said as he slid another look at Amelia.

What are you holding out for?

A future. Do you want to marry me or not?

Today, the idea of being married to Gareth made her sick. What a narrow escape she’d had! Poor Chelsea was still stuck in his quagmire, though.

“What were you studying?” Amelia asked her.

“Oh, um, marketing?” Chelsea flickered a glance at Gareth, who had no doubt been critical enough that she now questioned any passion or talent she’d had for the field.

“That’s good luck.” Amelia looped her hand around her husband’s arm. “Hunter was saying yesterday that there would be positions opening up at the Toronto office once the interns left in September. You should apply.”

“You should.” Hunter didn’t bat an eye at Amelia’s fabrication. He reached into his pocket for a business card. She had never felt so connected to him on a purely psychic level. “Call that number and leave your name with my assistant.”

“That’s not necessary.” Gareth tried to take the card.

Hunter held on to it and said very frostily, “I’m not talking to you.”Ever, was the implied period on that sentence.

“Thank you.” Chelsea swallowed and read the card.

Amelia instinctually knew Chelsea was memorizing the number because she fully expected Gareth to take it from her, costing her an opportunity.

“DM me on social media if you lose that,” Amelia said with a warm smile. “It will take me a few days to get back to you because I don’t check it myself. Some people are trolls.” She dropped her smile and looked to Gareth. “Would you excuse us? I should check with our nanny.” It had become her code to Hunter that she wanted out of a given conversation.

“Let’s find a quiet corner. Good night.” He nodded at Chelsea and turned away from Gareth without another look.

Hunter was jealous. It was a new color on him and one he didn’t care for. At all. Especially because it wasn’t even warranted. It had been plain as day to him that Amelia couldn’t stand her ex. Also, he knew for a fact that her physical relationship with that egomaniac hadn’t been as intimate as the one he currently enjoyed with her.

Even so, she had given that other man enough of her heart to leave it bruised. He recalled her talking about how Gareth had controlled and manipulated her. She gave that other man time he hadn’t valued. Time he hadn’t deserved.

Hunter wanted that time back. For her and for himself.

He was affronted, too. Disgusted that a professor had moved on her. He remembered her vaguely mentioning he was a TA during that first meeting with Carina, but it had slipped his mind with so many other things going on. And maybe Gareth had been a teaching assistant at the time and not on her course, but it still seemed wrong. Hunter was already planning to make a call to the chancellor. His family name was on the business program, and he signed off on generous donations every year. He sure as hell wouldn’t be associated with a school that allowed its faculty to con students into dropping out so they could screw them.

“I feel like I should apologize,” Amelia said as she returned to the bedroom from feeding Peyton. Their daughter had seemed to sense their return, waking as Amelia had been changing out of her gown. She had hurried down the hall in her robe, hair still up and jewelry still on.

“I feel likeIshould apologize,” Hunter muttered. “He’s the kind of man who makes all of us look like scumbags.”

“He makes me appreciate that you’renotlike him. You must be wondering how I could have had anything to do with him, though.” She sat down on the edge of the bed and removed her earrings, dropping them into the dish on the bedside table.

“I know how,” he said with a snort. “You were young and inexperienced andkind. You give people the benefit of the doubt, always wanting to see the best in them. It annoys the hell out of me that he took advantage of that.”

“That’s a nice thing to say. I think.” Her lips wobbled in a rueful smile. She looked at her fingers as she worked her engagement ring off. “I was gullible, but I became cynical after I stopped seeing him. I didn’t believe any man was who he pretended to be.”

“Is that what you thought when we met? That I was pretending to be someone else?”

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