Page 38 of Enemy Daddy Next Door

I look up and am stunned to see Hunter standing in front of the signing table. He’s not in his usual T-shirt and jeans, but in a nice linen suit, his long hair tied back in a serious looking bun. “What are you doing here?”

Hunter chuckles nervously. “You seem upset I’m here.”

“I’m – no, I’m not –” I stop short when I see the bustling bouquet of white chrysanthemums and yellow snapdragons.

“Holy shit,” I hear Fiona mutter.

She’s going to have a lot of questions later, that’s for sure.

“Hi!” I finally say and get to my feet.

Hunter beams.

I round the table and go to him, unsure of whether to hug him or…

Luckily, he takes the reins and kisses my cheek in a friendly, yet lingering way. “That was great,” he says.

“You were here? During the reading?” I ask in shock. He’s a hard guy to miss. Surely, I would have seen him amidst the crowd of tiny humans.

“I was, although I was kind of hiding in the stacks,” he says shyly, nodding toward some of the shelves of books. “I didn’t want to throw you off your game.”

“Shouldn’t you be at work?” I continue my line of questioning. I’m trying not to let myself become totally ensconced with wonder, but I can’t help it. This is one of the sweetest things imaginable.

He shrugs. “It’s my company.”

“Of course,” I giggle.

We both fall quiet for a moment. Thank god he was at the end of the line, so we don’t have anyone left to care about. Because I am truly getting lost in his burning brown eyes. How can a man be so darling and so sexy at once?

“Oh – uh – these are for you,” Hunter says, pushing the bouquet toward me. “Obviously.”

I take it tenderly. “Not so obvious…” I say with a sneaking smile.

Hunter blushes underneath his beard. “Well, it should be obvious.”

I’m not ready to stop giving him shit for his antics. Until I know for sure I’m his one and only, I will hold his feet to the fire. Still though. Flowers…that’s a nice touch. “They’re beautiful.” I inhale deeply. “Mm. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. You deserve many more flowers than that for your performance but –”

I laugh. “It’s not a performance, it’s just a reading.”

Hunter stops and smiles. “Well, it was amazing.”

His voice is so earnest I’m having a hard time not believing him.

“Listen, I hate to run –”

And there goes the air out of my balloon.

“But I’ve got a meeting in a half hour and have to make it back to the office and, well, anyway –”

I touch one of the flowers, feeling the velvety petals between my fingers, hoping it will calm me. “Yeah, I get it.”

“I want to take you out this weekend.”

Well, that was unexpected. I swear I hear Fiona squeal over my shoulder. “This weekend?”

“With Jess, if that’s alright. I know that leaves some romance to be desired, but –”

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