“What right did you have—”
“I wanted to talk to you, and you wouldn’t come outside,” he hissed as though he were the one who’d been treated unfairly.
“So you just invited yourself in?”
“Look, Serena, I know I reacted badly this afternoon—”
“Ya think?”
She turned her back on him. The stairs were off from the kitchen, not visible from the living room. He could have gotten in just as he’d said. But regardless of how he’d gotten in, he’d had no right to intrude, and certainly no right to come into her bedroom. She was seething. “You nearly gave me a heart attack.”
“Then we’re even, because you nearly gave me one this afternoon.”
She spun around. “No, we’re not even. This isn’t a contest of who can outdo whom.” She pointed to the door. “Get out. Get the hell out, before I call for my father.”
He leaned against the closed door. “If you were going to do that, you would have already done it. Besides, I don’t think you’re quite ready for him to know why I’m here. He doesn’t know yet, does he?”
“I was under the mistaken impression that the baby’s father should be the first to know. That he might give a damn.”
He took a step toward her. “I do give a damn.”
“You have a strange way of showing it.” She skirted around her bed, putting more distance between them. She did not want him near, did not want him touching her, did not want him tempering her anger.
“If I’d asked you to marry me, what would you have said?”
“No.”
He held up both hands as though he’d made some profound point. “Exactly. So I figured if you weren’t there looking for marriage, you were there to get money for an abortion.”
She shook her head in frustration. “You’re an amazing idiot.”
“Yeah, I am.”
He grinned, and she wished he hadn’t agreed with her so quickly because it made him seem vulnerable.
“So why won’t you marry me?” he asked. “I’m fairly good-looking.”
She stared openmouthed. Of all the conceited—
Holding her gaze, he took a step toward her. “I’ve got a nice bit of property.”
Another step. “A good paying job.”
“I thought you were unemployed.”
“No, I said I was between jobs and you jumped to the conclusion that I wasn’t working.”
“And you didn’t think to correct me?”
“It’s complicated.”
“I don’t see how it could possibly be.”
He took another step. “I’m good in bed.”
With his hand, he cradled her face. “Maybe you’ve forgotten that last one since I haven’t given you any reminders lately.”
“None of the reasons you’ve offered are reasons to get married.”
“Maybe not, but they’d make the marriage more tolerable.”
“Tolerable? Marriage isn’t supposed to be tolerable. It’s supposed to be joyous. Something you anticipate. Something you’re glad that you’re part of.”
“Look, you want to get married or not?”
“Not.”
“Why not?”
“I’ve spent a total of four evenings with you. You don’t marry someone you’ve only spent four evenings with.”
“A buddy of mine married a woman he spent only three evenings with. Of course, she was a stripper he met in Vegas.”
She arched a brow. “Comparing me to a stripper isn’t the way you want to go here.” Then she blinked. “You have a buddy? You see, I assumed you had no friends whatsoever. I know almost nothing about you except that you work for some sort of security company—that apparently pays well, even though you didn’t correct my earlier assumption that you were unemployed. It’s as if you play all these games. And you leave for long periods of time.” She hated to admit it, but she couldn’t see any reason to deny it. “I went by your house three times in the last month.”
“I was out of town investigating some security concerns.”
“So you travel a lot with your job.”
“Yeah. As a matter of fact, I don’t really live here. The house is just a place I come to when I need some time away.”
“A vacation home?”
“I guess you could call it that.”
“Where do you live?”
“I have a place in Virginia, but I don’t stay there much either.”
“I don’t suppose you could string all these facts together so they make sense?”
“Probably not.” He took a step toward her. “But here’s the thing. If you’re having my kid, we’re getting married.”
“I’m not having a kid. I’m having a child. And no, we are not getting married.”
“I want it on record that it’s my kid.”
“I can do that without us getting married.”
Or at least she thought she could. She hadn’t really checked into all the ramifications of having a child and not being married.
He began pacing. “You don’t understand. There are things that might be denied this kid if we’re not married. Things that might be denied you. It’ll be more difficult to provide for you if we’re not married.”
“I’m not going to marry you.”
“Look, you don’t have to live with me. You don’t even have to take my name. But everything will be a lot simpler if we’re married.”
“Marriage isn’t something that I go into lightly, or as a temporary fix to an unexpected situation.”
“What would it take for you to marry me?”
“I’d have to get to know you better.”
“Better? You’ve been in bed with me twice without any clothes on. How much better can you get to know me?”
Oh, she wished she hadn’t moved beyond his reach because it had put him beyond hers and right now, she wanted to flatten the palm of her hand against the side of his face with enough force that they’d hear the crack in Hopeful.
“I’m not talking physically. I’m talking in here.” She tapped her chest. “Your heart, your soul. Yes, you’re attractive. Yes, there is definitely an attraction between us. Until today, I thought you were a decent guy. But from the moment I stepped out of my van this afternoon, you’ve been a jerk. I’m not marrying a jerk.”
“But you’re carrying the jerk’s kid. And yeah, I know only goats have kids, but that’s a hang-up that you’re going to have to get over because in my world, kids are kids.”
“You’re bossy. Domineering. Why would I want to marry that?”
“That?” He stepped back as though she had hit him. “You see me as a that?”
The damn tears started up again, because he sounded truly hurt.
“Hunter, I can’t marry a man with whom I have no relationship. You go out of town for a month, and you don’t even let me know. You don’t call me when you get back. Even though the last words you said to me before today were ‘I’ll call you.’ ”
“And you said that you didn’t think it’d be a good idea. Besides I’d been home only thirty minutes before you drove up.”
“So you say.”
“I don’t lie, Serena.”
She felt a deep sadness. “I don’t know you well enough to even know that much about you. Hunter, our getting married could prove to be a disaster.”
“Or the best thing that’s ever happened to either of us.”
Chapter 15
She plopped down onto the bed as though he’d pulled the rug out from beneath her feet. He was feeling a little as though he’d pulled it out from beneath his.
Hunter wasn’t sure where that sentiment had come from, but he knew without a doubt that it would probably prove true for him. He could only hope the same could be said for her.
He welcomed the challenge, because he had a feeling she’d be worth it. And the one thing he’d never shied away from was a challenge. The more difficult it seemed, the more he welcomed it. Of course, always before, failure could
lead to his death or worse.
Failure here would lead to hurting her, her son, their child. He’d never felt so much was at risk. But he stood to gain so much.
He knelt down on one knee, because he didn’t want to be towering over her, didn’t want to be in a position of authority. He took her hand, surprised to discover that she was trembling.
“Take a minute to stop being angry with me because of what I said this afternoon,” he said quietly. “And listen with an open heart to what I have to say.”
Her gaze focused on his, she nodded.
He swallowed hard. He’d never expected to tell anyone what he was about to tell her, and he wasn’t quite certain how far he could go, how much he could say. He had to convince her that he was decent, that he was worth the risk. And he didn’t have a lot of time to do it.
“The security company you think I work for?”
She nodded again.
“It deals with national security.”
“National security,” she repeated, shaking her head.
He tightened his fingers around hers. “Serena, I work for the CIA.”
She blinked, furrowed her brow, opened her mouth, and closed it. “CIA?”
He nodded. “SOG. Special Operations Group. I’m involved with covert activities, and that, babe, is all I can tell you. All I’ll ever be able to tell you. When I go out of town, I can’t tell you where I’m going, what I’ll be doing, or how long I’ll be gone.”
“Don’t take this wrong, Hunter, but it sounds like BS.”
“I know. That’s the reason I didn’t mention it before or go into any details. Mostly because I can’t say much about it, but also because I know it sounds like a piece of fiction.”
“You work for the CIA?” she asked, as though needing to confirm in her mind what he’d just told her.
He reached into his back hip pocket and withdrew what looked like a wallet. He opened it. “I work for the CIA.”
With trembling fingers she took the wallet and stared at the CIA seal. It certainly looked real. She lifted her gaze to his. “Is what you do dangerous?”
“Yes, but I have a relatively good life insurance policy—”
“I don’t care about any damned life insurance. I care about you—”
“But not enough to marry me.”
She lowered her gaze to their joined hands. “This is too much, too fast. Everything is so overwhelming.”
He cupped her face and tilted it slightly until he could hold her gaze. “There has never been a woman in my life who I’ve thought about once she left my bed. Except for you. I don’t know why I can’t get you out of my system. Those probably aren’t the sweetest words you’ve ever heard, but they’re honest words. I’ll always give you honest words, Serena.
“Marry me, for the sake of this child, if nothing else. And if at any moment, you decide something better is waiting for you up the road, all you have to do is tell me that—and I’ll sign the divorce papers without an argument. I’ll provide whatever child support you want, and I’ll show no hard feelings.”
She smiled slightly. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard you string so many words together at one time.”
“Because I want this more than I’ve ever wanted anything in my life. I can’t explain it. I never thought I’d get married, never thought I’d have kids. I know we’ve gone about it ass-backwards, but I’ll do whatever it takes to make it work.”
To have a family. He liked her, liked the way he felt when he was with her. Hadn’t particularly liked the way he’d missed her while he was gone.
“I’m scared, Hunter,” she rasped. “Afraid of making a wrong decision, getting married for the wrong reasons. Give me a couple of days to think about it.”
“All right. Think about this while you’re at it.”
He eased up a little and planted his mouth on hers, welcoming her back into his life the way he’d been considering when he’d first caught sight of her that afternoon when she’d driven up—before she’d blindsided him with her surprising news. Before he’d responded like an idiot.
She tasted as good as he remembered, her mouth was as inviting as he’d hoped it would be. She sighed, and he eased her down onto the bed, his body half over hers, his knee between her thighs. Her hands were in his hair, his were in hers.
Right here, he thought, was a damned good reason to get married. All it took was a little touch and they were both kindling ready to start a bonfire. The kiss was hot and hungry, as though they were both starving. He liked that. He liked it a lot.
He even considered moving beyond the kiss, taking her here and now, on this bed that so strongly carried her scent, in this room that he’d explored while he’d waited for her to arrive. The last thing he’d decided that a small-town girl from central Texas would want was to bring a child into this world when she wasn’t married to its father. Everywhere he’d looked, he’d seen evidence of her old-fashioned values.
She might talk big about having all these reasons for not marrying him, but he had a feeling that she was as scared as he was, that when it came down to it, she’d put this child first. And that was all that mattered to him.
Because when it came down to it, he’d put the mother of his child first.
Serena welcomed the heat of his kiss, the sturdiness of his body over hers, the strength in his hands holding her head in place. She didn’t know if he would be the best thing that had ever happened to her, but she was beginning to think that he might be the best thing that had happened in a good long while.
Lying here beneath him, she almost thought he had the power to convince her to seek out a Justice of the Peace this very evening.
He rose up, his eyes heated, his breathing heavy. “Think on that,” he repeated.
The box springs squeaked and jiggled as he pushed himself off her and the bed. She could do little more than nod, her nerve endings having risen to the surface and become electrified. She was tempted to crawl under the covers and invite him to join her—if she were in her own house, she might have done just that.
With things still to be said, to be discussed, Hunter spun on his heel, crossed the room, jerked open the door, and stepped into the hallway. She caught a flash of her father walking by.
“What the hell?” her father asked, and she wondered if Hunter had heard him approaching and had deliberately chosen that moment to make his exit.
“Hi, Larry,” Hunter said, as though he’d just dropped by for lemonade. “See you tomorrow.”
Serena scrambled off the bed, just as her father poked his head into her room, his brow furrowed so deeply that she figured he could have planted seeds in it.
“What was that all about?” her father asked. “What was he doing in here? How in the hell did he get in here?”
“He said the kitchen door was unlocked.”
Her father gazed into the hallway before looking back at her. “So he just came inside without an invite?”
She nodded. “I have a feeling he does that a lot—as part of his profession.” A profession she really didn’t want to think about.
“Why didn’t you holler for me?”
“He just wanted to talk.”
Her father’s gaze darted over to the bed, the quilt that wasn’t as rumpled as she found herself wishing it might be. “So did you two kiss and make up?”
“I’m not sure what we’ve done, Dad.”
He stepped farther into her room. “Rena, what’s going on?”
The damned tears sprung to her eyes. “Oh, Dad, I’m pregnant.”
He spread his arms wide, and she rushed into the comforting strength of his embrace. He folded his arms around her, and she realized that she’d been hoping these actions were the ones Hunter would have exhibited when she’d first told him the news.
But he wasn’t her father. He was Hunter Fletcher, and she was going to have to accept that if she was going to even consider accepting the proposal he’d made earlier.
“Now, then, girl, it isn�
��t as bad as all that,” her father murmured. “I’ve been hoping for another grandchild.”
Her tears flowed in earnest then. She was fairly certain he hadn’t been hoping for one under these circumstances.
“We’ll work something out,” he said.
Swiping the tears from her eyes, she leaned back. “No, Dad, this is my problem. Mine and Hunter’s. We’ll work it out. I just need you to be available when I need a hug.”
“What’s his idea of working it out?”
“He asked me to marry him.”
“And you said?”
“That I’d think about it. Don’t say anything to Riker yet.”
“Of course not. I won’t say anything to anybody. That’s your news to share.”
She stepped out of his embrace, and with a big sigh, sat on the edge of her bed. She’d come home to help him deal with the loss of her mother and here she was, the one needing him.
“I really miss Mom right now,” she said.
“She’d tell you to trust your heart.”
“I know.” And as much as Serena trusted her heart, she wondered if she could trust Hunter Fletcher.
She’d expected him to make himself scarce. Instead he was knocking on the door at nine o’clock the next morning.
Shaved, his hair giving the appearance that it had actually been styled—even though the front locks looked as though they were threatening to fall back over his brow—a button-down shirt, Dockers, polished shoes. The breeze brought the tangy scent of men’s cologne through the narrow opening of the door. She’d never seen him this dressed up, and looking past him, she thought that even his jeep appeared to have been washed and waxed.
“Thought we’d go look for rings,” he said.
She blinked at him, while she ran last night’s scenario through her mind. She hadn’t accepted any of his proposals. She’d only promised to consider them. “That’s a little premature, don’t you think?”
He shrugged. “I can always return them if we don’t use them, but since rings need to be sized, I figured we could get a head start on the process.”
She looked down at the rings that still adorned her left hand. A promise ring that had never been replaced by an engagement ring because a hasty wedding had been needed. And now here she was again with time nipping at her heels.
Smooth talking stranger Page 14