She shook her head and disappeared.
He sank onto the chaise, his head in his hands, trying to collect himself, struggling to figure out if he should go after her or not. He wanted to, but right now she wasn’t going to listen to him.
Hunter lifted his head. Her father was Dad’s chauffeur. He almost laughed it was so ironic. All this time he had a connection with her, although tenuous at best. Had she mentioned him to Daniel? He had to wonder, considering how secretive she was about her family. Even if she did, whatever she told him wouldn’t be the complete truth.Because I held it back from her.
They would figure this out, though. He’d give her time to cool off, and he’d talk to her again. Explain everything and pray she understood. And if she did—no,whenshe did—he would spend as much time as it took to make things up to her.
“Have you seen my daughter?”
Hunter turned and stood. Daniel was in the doorway, looking as wrung out as Hunter felt.
“I thought I saw her coming from this direction, but she disappeared again.” Daniel’s eyes held a note of pleading. “She’s wearing a white and red dress—”
“I know who she is.” Hunter walked toward him, feeling slightly panicked that he didn’t know where Britt was. “I was just... talking to her.”
Daniel eyed his open-collared shirt. “About what?”
“Long story.” He guided Daniel out of the room. “We need to find her first and then I’ll explain everything.”
“Seems to be the night for explanations,” Daniel muttered, and they hurried toward the front of the house.
***
Britt ducked into the kitchen where a staff of four were preparing food for the guests. She whipped off one of her gloves and wiped her eyes with it, only to discover it was useless. Satin fabric didn’t absorb anything. She ran the back of her hand over her face and willed herself not to cry again. She went to the bay window and hid behind a corner wall, pulled her phone out of her purse, and called Savannah. “Please answer, please answer...”
“Hey, Britt. Long time no talk.”
She lowered her voice, not wanting to be detected. “Can you pick me up?”
“What’s wrong? You don’t sound good.”
“I’m not. Here’s the address, but I’ll be standing in front of the house next door.”
“You’re in University Park? What are you doing there?”
She inhaled a shuddering breath. “I’ll explain later. Please hurry, okay?”
“I’ll be there ASAP.”
Britt put her phone back in her purse and slipped through the back door, wishing she’d paid more attention to the layout of the neighborhood. Arthur and Lila’s backyard—oh, andHunter’s—was as overwhelming as their house.
Unsure of the direction, she started walking. If she had to, she’d call Savannah back and give her better directions. But she had to get out of herenow. Away from Hunter, the party, even her father. Away from them all.
Chapter 22
Amy gripped her shoes so tightly the straps dug into the palm of her hand. She still couldn’t believe Daniel was back or that Britt had been seeing him on the sly for so long. He had to be manipulating her somehow. Being sneaky was his MO, not Britt’s.
Anger coursed through her, and it wasn’t until she was halfway to her house that she remembered she was in the car with Max. She hadn’t experienced that type of blind rage since... since she’d been married to Daniel.
She glanced at Max, who hadn’t said a word since they left the Picketts’. He stared straight ahead, the oncoming headlights on the other side of the road illuminating his face... and his stone-set jaw.
Looking at the strappy heels in her lap, she slightly relaxed her grip as reality replaced fury.I kissed Max.This was bad, really bad. Not the kiss, although she honestly couldn’t remember it. She’d been so furious at Daniel for, well, everything, that she acted without thinking, wanting to drive the point home to him that she’d moved on. Which wasn’t true at all.
Another truth hit her. She’d used Max, who had been nothing but kind to her since the second she met him. It was something one of her high school freshmen would have done. Immature and thoughtless.
Max remained silent as he turned into her driveway. Her outdoor light turned on, flooding the driveway with bright light. Heput the car in park, then killed the engine. They sat in silence for a moment.
“Max...” She swallowed, mortified by her behavior. “I’m sorry.”
