Page 46 of The Jackpot Screwer
“No,” he groaned and tugged at his hair.
“Well, you look sick,” I offered as I picked up my new puppy. “Hey, Mani, how are you doing?”
“Mani?” Hunter asked.
“Yep,” I replied without turning away from the cute hairy face in front of me. “He’s Bronte’s favorite member of The Stone Roses.”
Hunter shrugged.
“British indie band?”
He shook his head. “No idea but if you’ve finished you can go. Like I said I have stuff to do.”
“What the hell’s crawled up your ass?” I placed Mani back with his sister and turned to my best friend. “I actually needed your advice but if you can’t be bothered to help a friend, forget it.”
“You know what, Carter, it isn’t always about you. Sometimes other people have stuff going on too.”
“What’ve you got going on?” I asked, raising a brow. “Apart from faking changing the oil on your truck.”
“Just stuff.” Hunter raised his brows and thrusting his hands into his pockets, nodded toward the door. “Now, you think you can go?”
Contemplating just doing as he asked, I eyed him up and down noticing his eyes were looking at everything except for me.
“What are you hiding from me?” I felt a thud in my chest remembering the last time I thought he’d kept something from me—that he’d kissed Bronte. He hadn’t, but I’d still put him on his ass with one punch.
“I’m not hiding anything,” he protested. “Just fuck off and leave me alone.” He stalked toward me and when he pulled his hand from his pocket to take hold of my arm, a piece of paper glided to the floor.
“You dropped something.”
As I bent to pick it up, Hunter was on me in a flash trying to snatch it from under my fingertips.
“Hey what is it?” I laughed. “What don’t you want me to see?”
Snatching up the piece of paper, I pushed Hunter away from me, sending him stumbling backward.
“You fucker,” he cried. “Don’t you dare read that.”
“You idiot. Don’t you know that telling me not to read it is a surefire way to get me to read it.”
Hunter’s face crumpled with realization as I lifted the piece of paper and began to read it aloud.
“Ellie, my beautiful, sexy woman. You know how much I love you.” I paused and looked over to Hunter who had his head in his hands. “I can’t imagine a life without you, not ever. You’re all I think about, the only person I want to give my heart to, so that’s why I’m going to ask you…”
I scanned the rest of Hunter’s scrawl and then my eyes almost popped out of my head.
“You’re going to propose?”
“Yeah, and?” He turned away and stalked toward the barn door. “Just go, Carter. Give me the paper back and then fuck off and leave me alone.”
“I can’t believe you’re doing this,” I cried, shaking the piece of paper at him.
Hunt took a step back toward me, his hand outstretched. “That I’m going to propose?”
“Exactly that.”
“You must have had some idea. You know I damn well love her to distraction; you give me enough shit about it. Plus, we’ve been together a couple of months—”
“Yeah, a couple of months,” I yelled, throwing my arms into the air. “I’ve been with Lollipop for almost six and she’s pregnant. It should be me proposing not you. You, selfish bastard.”
