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Not to mention, I stubbed my toe after getting out of bed this morning.

And when I tried to get under the sink to check out the disposal, I banged my face on the cabinet when I tried to sit up too fast, and now I have a shiner.

Basically, I should just go back to bed, pull the covers over my head, and pray that this has all been a horrible dream.

But I can’t. Because I’m an adult and have to do adult things.

It doesn’t help that I haven’t seen or heard from Hunter since he left here last week. Sure, I know he’s been busy moving, but can’t the man send a text? A freaking smoke signal?

“Probably just busy,” I remind myself as I scroll through the listings on Google for a repairman. “Because the man has a life. And a kid. And he’s moving. It’s not like you’re the center of the universe.”

I blow out a breath through my lips just as my doorbell rings.

Did the repairman know to come through osmosis?

I don’t even care that I look like crap. When I open the door, I’m suddenly swept up in the kiss of the century.

Hunter frames my face, and his magical lips tease and taunt mine until we’re both breathless. Until my knees are weak, and I’m not entirely sure what year it is.

He pulls back and smiles down at me. “Hi.”

“Hey.” I swallow hard. “Were you just in the neighborhood?”

He chuckles. “Sort of. I haven’t seen you all week.”

“Haven’t called me either.”

He winces. “I’m sorry. I was busting ass to get Rachel here on the island, and by the time I’d finish for the night, I crashed. Moving is fucking exhausting. But we’re here now.”

His eyes narrow as he examines my face.

“Who the fuck put their hands on you?”

“Huh?” I frown, and he turns my face to the side, intent on my eye. “Oh, no one. I’m not a brawler. I hit my face on the cabinet. It hurts. I don’t know how you tolerate taking shots to the face all the time.”

“The goal is to knock them out before they get a shot in.” His expression softens and he leans in to press his lips gently to the bruise. “I don’t like seeing you marked up like that.”

“I’ll be okay,” I assure him, tingling all over from his lips. “I’m glad you got moved in.”

“I want to show you something.” His grin is contagious.

I nod. “Okay.”

“We have to go somewhere,” he says and takes my hand, linking our fingers.

“Hunter, I can’t go. First of all, I look like crap. Second of all, my house is falling apart.”

His whole demeanor changes. He’s all business now as he steps the rest of the way inside and shuts the door behind him.

“What’s going on?”

“Don’t worry, I’m about to start making some calls.”

He turns back to me. “What’s going on, Maeve?”

I sigh in defeat and give him a rundown of my morning. “I just need a couple of hours to get things handled here.”

“I can have a look at the garbage disposal,” he offers, but I shake my head no.

“Trust me, you do not want to go in there. I have a list of guys here to call.”

“Let’s do this. You go change and take a deep breath. I’ll call these guys. I’ll get this all taken care of.”

I frown at him. “Why on earth would you do that?”

“Because I can. Now, go. I’ve got this.”

He takes my phone to reference the numbers and starts tapping his screen. When I don’t move, he raises his brows and makes a shoo motion with his hand.

“Yeah, I’m calling because I need someone to come look at a water heater.”

I grin as I walk away and start up the stairs to my bedroom. When was the last time I had someone here to do something like that?

I can’t remember. I might have been living at home with my parents.

It’s not that I’m not capable of doing these things by myself. But, man, it’s nice to let someone else handle it.

I quickly change into jeans and a tank top and am just sliding my feet into flip-flops when Hunter steps into my bedroom.

“A guy named Gil will be by at three this afternoon to have a look at all of it. He said the consult is free.”

“Wow, okay. Thanks.”

“No problem. Ready?”

“I think so. This is as good as it gets with this shiner.”

“You look fantastic.”

He leads me out to his car and drives us the mile or so to his new house.

“I want to show you what we’ve done,” he admits with a grin before climbing out of the car and hurrying around to the passenger side to open the door for me. “Rachel actually likes it. I mean, she still has a bit of her attitude, but she smiled when she saw the house. She really wanted the apartment above the garage, which was a no-go. But I told her if she proved to me that I could trust her, it’s a possibility down the line.”

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