Page 47 of Enemy Daddy Next Door

“And you…” He glances over my shoulder. “Should probably attend to your circle of sisters over there.”

I look in the same direction. All my sisters are doing a bad job of pretending they’re not looking over at Hunter and me. I knew I’d have to answer for it sometime. Might as well be now, I guess.

“Oh god,” I say, flushing.

“Guess I didn’t need to kiss you for people to become suspicious,” Hunter says and then walks past me in the direction of the refreshments. “Talk later, Amy.”

The way he says my name sends a shiver down my spine, affirming just how much I need him.

In order to avoid watching Hunter saunter off and his cute butt as he goes, I readjust my sundress and head over to my sisters.

“Well, that looked like an interesting conversation,” Harley says with a half-smile to Gillian.

“Have something to tell us?” Gillian adds; from the look on her face, she already knows what’s going on. I wonder if Hunter’s been talking to Axel about me. I should have known things would have been heard through the grapevine.

“Guys, come on, give her a break,” Dana comes to my defense, standing up straighter beside me.

But what’s the point. I know what I want and it’s Hunter. And I’m sure that he wants me too. After all, he was tempted to give me a birthday kiss. I’m almost certain if I had said he could, he would have. Even amidst all these people. “It’s okay, Dana. Um…” I scan the faces of my sisters, all of them eager and lovely with hope in their eyes. “Hunter and I are sort of dating.”

“I knew it, I knew it,” Kira says, balling her hands into fists. “I told you, didn’t I?”

“You did,” Dana says with a nod and then grabs my shoulder. “You two look cute together.”

“Okay, well, you need to tell us everything,” Harley says. “I’ve been dying to know ever since Grant told me you two were –” She smacks her hand against her mouth.

Gillian glares. “We weren’t going to say we knew.”

“Don’t act like it wasn’t obvious!” I laugh. “Come on, let’s go sit and I’ll tell you everything.”

My sisters and I sit poolside and I give them a play by play of what’s happened between Hunter and me, a few things left out including our first indulgence poolside in his yard and the warm feelings of need growing in my pelvis. I keep it light, keep it sweet. That’s what they would expect from me anyway.

Eventually, Harley splinters off to take Tana from Grant and Dana is dragged into dancing with Drew (if she says they’re just friends one more time…). Gillian has to deal with a hungry Stella and Kira gets wrapped up in checking her work notifications while muttering under her breath how much she hates Orlie. Still can’t get over that name.

I lean back, letting the warm night wrap itself around me and bask in the starlight pricking through the night sky. I scan the party, looking for Hunter. Just a glimpse will be enough for a bit.

However, when I see him standing and talking with my dad my blood runs cold. They’re off near the willow tree speaking in what looks like serious, hushed whispers.

Relax, Amy. They could be talking about anything. It’s most likely not about you.

When Dad looks up, eyes meeting mine for only a millisecond, I just know it’s definitely about me.

My heart thumps in my chest.

Dad knows. I just know it. And that could quite possibly mean that my fairytale love affair ends tonight.

14

HUNTER

“I understand it’s a tender thing,” I say.

Kent’s brow has been furrowed since the moment Amy’s name came out of my mouth. I’m only glad that when I continued on to say, “have been seeing one another,” his nostrils didn’t start to flare.

“I would have said something sooner, but we have been taking things so slow and…you know, didn’t want to air all of her business out to you, being her father. But I also know we’re friends.”

Kent clears his throat and nods. “We are.”

Not “we were”…that’s a good sign.

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