by Jess Bryant
But when paired with Joshua being kicked out of the wedding and with the gossip that had gained traction when Millie first broke off their engagement, there was talk and it was growing louder by the minute.
Millie might as well be the one to tell Lemon so that at least she got the right story and straight from the source.
It went against everything that Millie knew to divulge her secrets. She’d been holding onto them for so long, keeping them close, hoping that nobody would ever be able to look at her and see through to the dark past she held inside. But this was Lemon, and she knew that Lemon wouldn’t judge her, just like Hunter hadn’t because they were friends, and because Lemon had already figured out so much of it. She deserved the truth.
Millie took a deep breath and then she did the unthinkable. She told Lemon everything. Well, almost everything. She told Lemon about her history with Joshua, about his verbal, emotional and physical abuse. She told Lemon about the cheating and how he’d told her, more than once, that she couldn’t fulfill his needs so it was her fault he was forced to go elsewhere. It was always her fault, and that was the thing that had weighed on her so long. She’d known that it wasn’t. She’d known that if he truly loved her that he wouldn’t hurt her again and again. But she’d believed his lies for years and now there was no getting those back. All she could do was put the past behind her once and for all and try to start over, to be a better version of herself, the version that had always scared Joshua because he’d known if she was strong and confident and proud of herself that she would realize she didn’t need him.
She didn’t tell Lemon about the baby though. That was a secret she couldn’t share, not with Lemon, maybe not ever with anyone else. Telling Hunter had been different. It had been in the wake of her terror and in the middle of the emotional storm. But telling Lemon would somehow make her loss so much more real and with everything else going on, she couldn’t deal with that too. Not right now.
Lemon had dealt with her own fertility issues in the past. So she knew she would understand. She would be there for Millie when she was ready to talk, whenever that was. But it wasn’t today so she skimmed over that part of her life and stuck to what she could handle.
When she was done talking about Joshua, Lemon had tears in her eyes and she’d reached out, holding Millie’s hand. Millie gave her a reassuring squeeze and, since she couldn’t possibly let her friend continue to pity her without breaking down herself, she changed the topic to the one man in her life that hadn’t let her down.
She told Lemon about how amazing Hunter had been over the entire weekend. She thanked her again for thinking to send him as her fake date. She even told Lemon how Hunter had made it clear that very first day that there was nothing fake about how he felt and that, by the end of the weekend, there was nothing fake about how she felt either.
When she finally finished talking, Lemon’s smile had returned and she wiped a stray tear from her cheek, “So you two are giving it a real go, huh?”
“Yeah. We are.”
“Good. I think he’s good for you, Mills.”
“Me too.”
Lemon wiped at her cheek again and then glanced at her watch, “Good lord, we’ve been in here over an hour. I have to get back to the recording studio.”
Millie huffed out a laugh, “We never even talked about your tour.”
“Don’t need to.” Lemon shrugged as she stood and grabbed her purse, “Email me whatever you’ve got and I’ll take a look at it. I’m sure it’s fine; it’s summer so the girls will be out of school. That makes things easier and Shane and I will make it work. We always do.”
“You two are so good together.” Millie gave a wistful little sigh when she thought about the handsome small-town sheriff that absolutely adored Lemon, “You kinda make me jealous to be honest.”
“Nah, no reason to be jealous.” Lemon winked, “I think you got yourself a really good one this time around too. Plus he’s super protective.” Lemon raised her voice as she walked to the door, “Aren’t you Hunter?”
It took less than two seconds for him to come barreling through the door, “What? Did you call for me? What’s wrong?”
His eyes darted over Lemon and then straight past her. He saw Millie at her desk and she stood, a smile spreading over her face at the sight of him. His own worried look faded and he licked his lips as she circled the desk, moving around it, coming straight towards him, without even realizing she was doing it.
“And on that note, I think I’ll give you two a minute.” Lemon smirked before all but skipping out of the office.
Millie shook her head as her friend left, but her attention didn’t stay on Lemon long. Hunter was here. He was in her office, and he was moving towards her. Her breath caught at the sight of him.
God, had he always been this handsome?
The answer was yes. Of course he had. She’d known it even before this weekend. He was one of the most handsome men she’d ever seen.
The different now was that she knew the heat that lit those green and gold flecked eyes. She knew the roughness of those big hands and the gentle way he ran them over her body. She knew what his lips felt like and the taste of his tongue and she knew exactly how good he could make her feel.
She shivered as he strolled towards her, a knowing smirk tipping at one corner of his mouth.
“Good afternoon, Ms. Turner.”
She fought a laugh at his professional demeanor, “Mr. St. James.”
He stopped just in front of her, close enough to touch, but he didn’t make a move to reach for her. She almost pouted before she caught herself. She wanted him to sweep her off her feet, slide her onto her desk and take her mouth, ravage her body, slake some of the need that just being near him poured into her veins. But Hunter was up to something and she knew it, because she knew him, so she let him play his little game and keep his distance.
“Did you have a good weekend?” He raised one eyebrow.
“It had its moments.”
His lips twitched, “So I hear.”
“Oh, you do?”
“I know how much you hate office gossip but I got quite an earful while I was waiting out there for Lemon.” He edged a little bit closer and lowered his voice, “I probably shouldn’t repeat rumors but…”
“But?” Her own voice came out breathy and his eyes twinkled with delight.
“But everyone’s saying that you must have met someone special because you’ve been floating around the office, smiling off into space, all day.”
Millie stifled a giggle, “Are they? I should really talk to the staff about being more discreet.”
“Ah, discretion. I know how much you value it, but I have to admit, I’m curious.” He slid one hand past her hip, barely grazing her skirt as he leaned against the edge of the desk, boxing her in. “Did you meet someone special, Millie?”
She shook her head and watched his eyes narrow. Fire flickered in the golden depths and low in her belly, an answering fire began to gnaw at her. If he could play games, she could too. That was what she’d told herself, but before he could issue another challenge she quickly amended.
“I didn’t meet anyone new this weekend but there is someone special in my life. I only wish I’d noticed how special he was before now.” She trailed a finger down the buttons of his shirt, avoiding his gaze and keeping her voice soft, “I feel like I have a lot of wasted time to make up for.”
Hunter groaned when her fingers brushed the button of his slacks, “Mills, you’re playing with fire, babe.”
An answering smile lit her face, “You started it.”
“I can finish it too.” He tilted her chin up with his free hand and leaned his body against her, pinning her to her disk as he took her mouth.
Millie moaned and slid her arms around his waist. Just like that, she wanted him. The press of his lips against hers, the pressure of his tongue at the seam demanding entry. She opened, giving it to him and mewling when he took control and kissed her harder, fas
ter, deeper. She was left clutching at him, her hips rolling against him, her body aching for more. Millie sucked on his tongue until he groaned against her and then cursed under his breath as he pulled away.
“Mills.” He pressed kisses to her jaw and down her neck.
“Hmm?” She tilted her chin back, giving him more room to send those lovely, warm sensations throughout her body.
“I missed you last night. Maybe that makes me a codependent asshole that I hated sleeping without you but it’s true. Now that I have you I want you with me all the time.”
“Hunter.” She sighed as he nipped at her earlobe, “I missed you too. All day. I waited all day for Lemon’s appointment because I knew you’d be coming with her and I wanted to see you. I needed to see you.”
“God. You drive me crazy when you say things like that.”
“Good. Because just thinking about you makes me crazy.” She smiled when he pulled back to brush a kiss against her lips.
“We sound like lovesick puppies, you know that?” He chuckled and moved to hold her face between his palms, “I’m just glad we’re finally on the same page.”
“Me too.” She acknowledged and then sighed when she felt his cell phone buzz in the front pocket of his jacket, “You probably have to get that. Work is calling and reminding us that we have jobs to do.”
“I’ll call them back. First, I have something to ask you.”
“Oh? You do?” She blinked, surprised that he would choose to ignore his phone and strangely pleased that he would put her first, ahead of even his job, when nobody else in her life had ever done so.
“Mmhmm.” He leaned in, pressing their foreheads together, “I know how you feel about professionalism and boundaries and keeping your work and private life separate…”
Millie rolled her eyes when he threw all of the words she’d once used against him back at her.
“But I was hoping you might make an exception and agree to go to dinner with me tonight?”
Millie couldn’t help it. She laughed. Hunter grinned. She wasn’t sure what she’d been expecting when they got back to Nashville and went back to work. She’d known they would continue seeing each other. That had never been in question. But she hadn’t really expected him to ask her out on a date either and somehow, that was the best part.
Hunter continued to surprise her and she knew, if she let him, that he would keep surprising her for the rest of their lives.
“I think I can bend the rules, just this once.”
He laughed this time, “Oh, it’s going to be more than once, Mills.”
“We’ll see how the first date goes.” She teased.
Hunter’s phone buzzed again and he groaned. He reached into the inside pocket and pulled it out. He hit a button that silenced it and then he met her eyes again.
“You’re lucky I need to get back to work or I’d make you pay for teasing me like this.”
“You can make me pay later tonight.” She shot back before she could even think about the words.
They surprised her. In the past, words like the ones Hunter had just said would have made her shut down. She would have worried about what sort of payment would be expected. When Joshua had made her pay, it had never been in a fun, teasing sort of way. But with Hunter everything was different, she was different, and she knew instinctively that the words were only meant in good fun.
“Bet on it.” Hunter leaned forward and kissed her again quickly, “I’ll text you later about picking you up.”
“Okay.” She kissed him again.
“I can’t wait to see you tonight.” Hunter nipped at her bottom lip and then groaned when his phone buzzed again, “I’m going. I’m going, I swear.”
Millie pushed him away even when all she wanted to do was pull him closer. He had work to do and so did she. And now they had plans for tonight. Their first date, at least, their first official date. Just the thought of getting to see Hunter again, spend time with him again, had her smiling for the rest of the day.
18
Hunter couldn’t remember a time when he’d been so happy. He and Millie had been dating for over a month now but he could hardly remember the man he’d been before her. He finally felt like he was living his life. Not just going through the motions but living life to the fullest. For so long, since the war, since coming home, all he’d had was his work to keep his mind busy.
So he’d worked. He’d worked a lot. He’d taken every job that Vaughn had given him. He hadn’t just been Lemon’s personal bodyguard. He’d also taken shifts of weekend and special events work as well.
But not anymore.
Now he had a life outside this office, a good life, one that involved a beautiful, smart, and incredibly sexy woman that he wanted to spend his every waking moment with. He didn’t work late into the night anymore. He clocked in and he clocked out and he was always one thought away from planning the next time he would get to see her and take her into his arms.
He had plans to do just that as soon as he saw her.
Three nights he’d been away from her. He’d spent three nights out of town covering a protection detail because Kellen’s wife had unexpectedly gone into labor. He loved Kellen like a brother but if this job had lasted even one more night, he’d have walked off the detail to get back to Millie.
He missed her like crazy.
He was a man in love. He had no problem admitting that, he wanted to spend every moment with her. Scratch that, he wanted to spend his life with her and that didn’t scare him. Not at all. But he thought it might scare her, which was why he hadn’t told her yet.
But he would, he’d have to, and soon.
“Hey, Hunt, check this out. I…” Tyler came through the door of Hunter’s office with his cell phone held up and a huge grin on his face. He stopped short when he noticed Hunter was standing behind his desk shoving his laptop into his backpack. “Are you going somewhere?”
Hunter glanced up at his brother and smirked, “Yep.”
Tyler’s eyebrows shot upwards, “Wait, you’re leaving work before me?”
“Looks like it.”
“But you never leave work before me.”
Hunter snorted, “That’s because you never work late, or even stay long enough to do your own paperwork.”
If he’d expected his brother to have a rebuttal for that he wouldn’t have known him very well. Tyler only shrugged. He lowered his phone and moved further into the office, propping himself on the arm of a chair.
“You’re really leaving, like, on time and shit?”
“That was the plan.” Hunter stopped packing his stuff up for the night, “Unless you intend to detain me with more stupid questions.”
“No. I’m just surprised. That’s all.” Tyler scratched his stubble-covered jaw. “You going to meet your girl?”
“Yeah.”
“Figures.”
Hunter narrowed his eyes at that one seemingly simple word. To anyone else it might not sound like much but he knew his younger brother better than anyone. That one word was layered with so much subtext Hunter didn’t know where to begin digging into it.
He frowned, “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing.”
“Bullshit.” Hunter stared his brother down, “Say whatever it is you want to say, Ty.”
Tyler gave a heavy sigh and looked away before he spoke again, “It’s just, you’ve been spending a lot of time with her this last month or so.”
“Yeah. She’s my girlfriend. That’s what guys do when they actually date a woman and not just sleep with them and never call again.”
“Ouch.” Tyler put a hand to his heart, as if the comment stung but Hunter only rolled his eyes. “Fine. You’re right. I don’t keep women around. Never found one worth keeping, but it seems like you have.”
Hunter had a feeling he knew where this conversation was going now but still he nodded, “Yeah. I intend to keep Millie around for a long time, forever if she’ll let me.”
&
nbsp; Tyler gave a nod of understanding, “So, you plan to keep her. Make her your family. You got any plans to introduce her to the rest of your family anytime soon?”
And there it was, the other shoe dropping.
He’d been enjoying his time with Millie so much that he’d been neglecting his family. He was only surprised that it was Tyler calling him out for it. Not Vaughn or Tatum. Tyler was by far the most easy-going of the bunch so if he’d noticed that Hunter was carefully keeping Millie secluded from the family, the others had too.
He scrubbed a hand through his hair, “You’ve been talking amongst yourselves about this, huh?”
Tyler shrugged, “We just want to meet her, Hunt. Why is that such a bad thing?”
“It’s not.” Hunter blew out a rough breath, “I just like having her to myself and… I don’t want to overwhelm her.”
“We won’t overwhelm her.”
“Of course you will. The first time I bring her to family dinner you know exactly what will happen.” He exchanged a look with Tyler and shook his head, “Vaughn will interrogate her, and Tatum will be a total bitch because she’ll finally have to face the fact she won’t always be the center of our universe.”
“Well, that part is probably true.” Tyler grinned.
“She’s not ready for that. When she is, when we’re both ready, I’ll introduce her to you, okay?”
“Look, Hunt, it’s just that you and this girl…”
“Millie. Her name is Millie.” He cut his brother off with a scowl, “I’ve said her name to you a million times. Can you really not remember it or are you just trying to piss me off?”
“Sorry. Millie.” Tyler held his hands up, “You and Millie are pretty serious huh?”
“Yes.”
“Then she has to meet the family eventually. You might as well get it over with. That’s all I’m saying.”
“Fine. You’ve had your say. Now I’m having mine. Eventually is not today and it’s not going to be Sunday either. Not this week.”