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“No. His job means he has to fly off all around the world, often without very much notice, and Keira got fed up with his lifestyle. I don’t think it helped that he spends a lot of his time surrounded by semi-naked models. Keira couldn’t get her head around it, and when he told her he was leaving for Australia, she freaked out.”
“Australia?”
“Yeah. He’d been offered an assignment there. It was a big one, and he was excited about it. Keira wasn’t. She asked him not to go. The way Drew told it, she begged him not to go. I think she thought he loved her as much as she loved him and that he’d sacrifice the job for her. Except he didn’t.”
“Love her? Or want to sacrifice the assignment?”
“Both. Either. He was fond of her, but that’s not the same thing, is it?”
“No, it’s not.” I lean against the refrigerator door and sigh deeply.
Hunter stares at me for a second or two, and then coughs. “After a lot of arguing, Drew ended it with Keira, and took the job in Australia. He was gone for three months.”
“Three months?”
“Yeah. That was why she didn’t want him to go.”
“I—I can’t say I blame her. Three months is a long time.”
“I know. She really struggled with it. She used to call me sometimes, just to talk.”
“Did she hope to get back together with him?”
“No. She knew it was over. He’d made that very clear. I think she just needed to talk to someone who understood him.”
“Like you?”
“Yeah. After a while, her calls stopped, which was why I wasn’t sure if she was still talking to me. She never really explained why she went silent on me.”
“Maybe she met someone else, and didn’t want to admit it, having made such a fuss about your brother.”
“Probably. I wasn’t about to call and ask. It was none of my business. I wasn’t even sure I still had her number, but the fact that I did means nothing. Honestly.”
“I know. Although I wasn’t so sure when I saw the way your face lit up the moment she walked into the room.”
He frowns. “If it did, that’s only because she was the person who was gonna put an end to your problems. I wasn’t attracted to her, Livia. I never have been.”
“Okay.”
He stares at me, and I wonder which one of us would most like to change the subject. I know I would, and it seems Hunter feels the same as he pushes himself off of the countertop, looking down at the chopped bell pepper. “Sorry,” he says. “I need to get some cucumber.”
I’m in his way and I step aside, watching as he opens the refrigerator door. He pauses, although he doesn’t take anything out, or even reach inside. Instead, he slams the door and grabs me, one arm around my waist and the other hand cupping my face as he leans down and crushes his lips to mine.
I’m shocked. I can barely breathe, and although I want to respond, to return his kiss, I’m frozen and I can’t do a thing.
He pulls away in an instant, guilt written all over his face, and I feel the loss of him intensely.
***
Hunter
I step back.
Oh, shit… what I have done?
She stares up at me, wide eyed, shaking her head.
“Please forgive me, Livia. I’m sorry. I—”
