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"You're Zander." I correct him. "They all call you that."
"My mother calls me Hunter." He drops my hand. "When I was young she'd call me that because I hunted creatures outside. Bugs, spiders, mice. I'm her Hunter."
Chapter 12
He's my Hunter too. He hunted me. He watched me for years. He was always there. Always in the background of my life.
"Why are you marrying her?" I know the question is ill timed but I can't contain it any longer. I've wanted to ask him that since I saw him at the doorway of my room.
"It's so complicated." He twists his hands together. "I took Coral away and then Ben died because of me."
"Ben?" I stare at his face.
"Coral's dad." He winces as he says his name. "He died of a broken heart."
I don't know how to respond. I can't imagine the pain her parents must have felt in the days after her death. Blaming himself for her father's death just didn't make sense. It was too much weight for anyone's shoulders to bear, even Hunter's.
"His death wasn’t your fault." I try to sound reassuring but I can't comprehend everything I've learned since he walked into the room. It's all too much.
"It was." He pushes back slightly so he can turn and face me directly.
"I managed to destroy their entire family when I crashed that car." I see the weight of the words as they cling to him. His expression speaks of such deep regret that it's almost palpable.
"They're blaming you for this." I reach to cradle his cheek in my hand. "I saw that tonight."
He pulls his hand up to cover mine and closes his eyes. "I blame myself for it."
"You have to let it go," I whisper. "It's been such a long time."
His eyes flash open and a darkness flares over them. "It's not that simple." His tone is deep and low. "You can't just let something like that go."
"You can and you need to." I exhale in a rush. If he's marrying her out of guilt, he can change that. He can let that go and end things with her tonight.
"Sadie, you don't understand," he says softly. "I've taken care of them for years now. Since Ben died, I'm the one who takes care of everything."
"It doesn't have to be that way." I want him to see that a future with me is just one conversation away. All he has to do is tell Christina he can't marry her and I can have him back. He can be my Hunter again.
"It does." He stares into my eyes. I can't read what he's feeling. There's too much pain to see past.
"Then I hope you can find what you need with her." I drop my hand from his face and stand. "Just go. Please."
"Just like that?" he spits the question at me. "We can't have anything?"
I smile as I shake my head slightly. "What can we have?" Do you want to be friends? Is that it?"
"I want us to be what we were a week ago." He doesn't move. "I want to make love to you right now."
"Wow." I pull the robe tighter around my body. "You think we're going to sleep together even though you're marrying Christina?"
"The way you say it, it sounds wrong." He rubs his hands over his face.
"The way I say it? It's the truth. You want to cheat on your soon-to-be wife with me." I spit the words out so quickly they're hard for even me to decipher.
"It's not cheating." His tone is dead serious. "It's not like that."
"It is," I say pointedly. "You are going to vow to love her forever. We are never fucking each other again."
"You don't want to understand." He frowns. "You're being close minded."
