Her face blooming with heat, she shoved him out of the camera’s eye. “Uh, so that’s Hunter—”
He leaned over and pecked her cheek, then waved at the camera again. “Bye, y’all.” Then he wheeled away from the desk.
She glanced at him, unable to stop laughing. “He’s a mess.”
“I’m your mess,” he hollered off camera.
Britt continued the video, explaining a little bit more about her new job and how all the videos would be archived and available. Before she signed off for the last time, she said, “The last thing I want to say to all of you is thank you. This channel wasn’t just a job, it was a passion. Thank you for being by my side through it all.”
She turned off the camera and looked at him. “The end of an era,” she said, a little lump in her throat.
“Yeah.” He touched her hand. “You ended it perfectly.”
Not wanting to get too emotional—she’d already gone through the gamut of feelings when she had decided to take Maude’s offer and realized she had to end her channel—she smirked at him. “Do X and Maude know about your ‘discount,’” she said, using air quotes.
“They will soon.” He wheeled over and faced her, bringing himself close. “They adore me and love you, so they’ll be fine with it.”
He studied for a quiz in his business class while she prepared the video for upload. Before hitting the button, she looked at him. “Get ready,” she said.
His eyebrow lifted. “For what?”
“You’ll see.”
In less than ten minutes, her notifications blew up. They watched as the comments rolled in.
That’s your boyfriend, Britt? He’s so dreamy!
Where can I find me one of those?
He can give me a discount any time.
Hunter fidgeted in his chair. “This is embarrassing.”
“I can take down the video,” she said, not wanting him to be uncomfortable. “It won’t be a big deal to reshoot it.”
“No, it’s okay.” He read a few more. “So far nothing about my job,” he muttered.
Before meeting him, she would never have guessed that he found his looks more of an irritant than a benefit. That hadn’t been the case when he was younger, but now he wanted people to take his mind and talents seriously, not just his appearance. Being an assistant manager and getting his business degree was helping, and he genuinely enjoyed learning about the art business and retail. But there were times when he was more mortified by the compliments than appreciative.
Another one came in.
I don’t believe that’s her boyfriend. She’s never said anything about him until now. Maybe he’s a friend or a cousin, and she’s pretending she’s got a hot guy for clout. I’m so disappointed. I would never have thought Britt would stoop to lying to her fans. Unsubscribed.
Hunter slid the keyboard toward him on the desk and started typing.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“Responding.” He scowled, banging on the keys. “She can’t call you a liar and get away with it.”
Britt put her hand over his, stopping him, then took the keyboard away. “Lesson number one—don’t respond to comments you disagree with.”
“It’s not a disagreement. It’s the truth.”
She logged off the site and turned off the computer just as her mother called for them to come downstairs and eat.
“You’re not upset?” he said as they left her studio.
“Nope.” She stopped at the top of the stairs and turned to him, standing on her tiptoes. “You and I know it’s real. That’s all that matters.” She kissed him, intending it to be a sweet peck like he’d given her on the cheek, but it immediately turned into something more.
