“Yeah, I’m not really a text person. But I could be.”
“Please, join us in the twenty-first century.”
Max laughed. “You’re delightful, Amy. You always make me smile.”
She basked in the compliment. “Thanks, Max.”
He told her the details—date, time, exact address. “I’ll pick you up an hour before. Considering traffic, that should get us there in plenty of time.”
“Ooh, I get to ride in the Mercedes?” she said, sitting up in her chair.
“I could bring the Corolla if you prefer.”
“As tempting as that is, I’ll pass.”
“Mercedes it is,” he said with a light chuckle. “Thanks, Amy. We’ll talk soon, and we will definitely see each other on the thirtieth.”
“Bye,” she said, ending the call. Well, that was a surprise. A pleasant one. Not only was she getting the chance to buy a ritzy dress, but she would also get a peek at how the 1 percent in the Dallas metro area live. She’d always wondered what those huge mansions looked like inside. And Amy would do her best to bedelightful.
But for now, she had weeding to finish. She stared down the green interlopers in her flower bed. “Your doom awaits!”
Chapter 18
The alarm on Hunter’s phone shrieked in his ears. He flopped his hand on his nightstand and felt around for it, and with one eye open, he peeked at the time. Seven thirty. He groaned, and after letting out a huge yawn, he threw off the covers and swung his legs over the side of the bed. Once the sleepy haze disappeared, he smiled at the first clear thought that came to his mind.Britt.
It was all so wonderfully strange. In the past he’d always looked at relationships sardonically. An odd take, considering his parents had a loving marriage and his brothers... Well, last he heard, they were both still married. He didn’t know much about their lives anymore. But the fact remained that before he met Britt, he’d never pictured himself in a serious relationship. Now he didn’t want to imagine his life without her.
Rubbing his eyes, he stood and made his way to the bathroom. They were meeting early this morning at Yo Jo’s, which was starting to becometheir place. He almost laughed out loud. When had he become so sentimental?
Hunter stared at his reflection in the mirror. The wordgrizzledcame to mind as he rubbed his hand over his stubbly chin. He often went two or three days without shaving, and even when he did shave, he didn’t completely get rid of his whiskers. A lot of that was laziness. But Britt didn’t seem to mind that he wasn’ttotally clean-shaven. More than once when she was in his arms, she’d trailed her finger over his cheek, his chin, his mouth—
He quickly splashed cold water on his face. Dating Britt was an exercise in restraint, a new concept for him. And a good one.
He took a quick shower and ran his razor over his face, making a mental note to shave in earnest and get a proper haircut before his father’s party. He’d briefly thought about inviting Britt, but realized it was impossible. When his mother threw a party, it was an event, and there would be lots of people there. Not exactly Britt’s comfort zone.
And there was another, bigger reason. She’d confirmed she was an only child, and her parents were divorced, but she didn’t mention her dad. He suspected some bad blood there. He’d given her minimal, though honest, details about his life, and he already knew who her mother was, although Britt still didn’t know he knew.
He grimaced and shut off the razor. He hated keeping secrets from her. And he knew the longer he held back, the harder it would be to explain why. He still intended to tell her everything after Dad’s party, but as the time neared, his dread grew. Britt was so sweet. Pure. Naïve.
He was none of those things, and he couldn’t just snap his fingers and make his past behavior disappear.
He cleaned up the hair around the sink, vowing to focus on the happiness of the present and stop borrowing trouble from the future. After slipping on a pair of black shorts and a green T-shirt, he put on socks and his short hiking boots and walked into the living room.
“Yes, ma’am. He’s doing well.” Sawyer was standing in the kitchen, his back to Hunter. “Thank you for the check you sent. It was very generous.” Pause. “I’m happy to do it, ma’am.”
Hunter scooted around him to get to the fridge.
Sawyer’s eyes widened and he shut off his phone, shoving it into the pocket of his knee-length athletic shorts. “Uh, hey,” he said, awkwardly leaning against the counter and crossing his arms over his chest.
“Who was that?” Hunter grabbed the glass bottle and pulled it out.
“Ah, no one.”
He arched a brow at him. “No one sent you a generous check?”
Sawyer’s gaze darted back and forth before he looked at Hunter again. “What’s with the fifty questions?”
“I asked two.” He poured the juice in a glass. “Sorry. I’m not trying to be nosy, just making conversation.” He put the bottle back in the fridge. “You’re up early.”
