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“That’s Cameron,” I say against Hunter’s chest. “He’s a good friend of the family. Kane’s best friend. And I think he’s in love with my sister.”
Hunter kisses my head. “I’ll introduce myself to him when we’re hanging tarps outside. Are you okay? I’m going to help the guys and get this water taken care of.”
“Oh, you don’t—”
“She’s good,” Maggie assures him and takes my hand as he hurries off to join the other guys. “I really like him.”
“Yeah.” I swallow the tears and brush at my face. “He’s kind of great.”
“Did you see his arms?” she whispers in my ear.
“Girl, I’ve been looking at those arms for weeks. It was nice of Cameron to come help.”
She shrugs a shoulder. “Yeah. It was.”
But that’s all she says. We all huddle in my wet living room, my ma, Lexi, Maggie, and me, as the guys shout orders at each other, climb ladders, and throw ropes and tarps.
“I don’t want Da on a ladder,” I mutter and shudder at the thought of him falling. “Definitely not in this rain. And it’s dark outside.”
“He’s handled worse than this,” Ma assures me. Suddenly, the river down my stairs slows to a trickle. “Looks like they covered the hole.”
“Everything’s ruined.” My voice sounds hollow as I stare at my original hardwood floors. “What a mess.”
“There are water restoration people we can call in the morning,” Maggie says, patting my back.
“It is the morning.”
“You know what I mean.”
“I think that’s all we can do for tonight,” Kane says as he and Cam walk downstairs, and the others come in from outside. “It’ll at least help to stop more water from getting in. But you can’t stay tonight, lass. It’s not safe.”
“She’ll come home with me,” Hunter announces.
Silence falls.
My brothers, father, and Cam all look at each other, then cross their arms over their chests and turn to Hunter.
“Is that so, then?” Da asks, his voice as cold as I’ve ever heard it.
“I hate to interrupt this testosterone standoff, but given that I’m a grown woman, I’ll decide where I’m staying.”
I grin as all of the eyes in the room turn to me.
“I’ll go stay with Hunter. He has room, and it’s not far from here.”
“You’ll do well to mind your manners,” Da warns but then pats Hunter on the shoulder as he walks past him.
Everyone files out of the house, and I just stand there for a moment, unsure what to do next.
“We should go get dry,” Hunter suggests, his hands on my shoulders.
“I can’t even take much with me,” I say. “It’s all wet. I have my purse. I guess I could go gather some makeup and my toothbrush.”
“In the morning,” he says and kisses my head. “Come on, let’s go to my place and get warm. Wait here. I’ll go get the car.”
He runs down the block to his car, and I lock the door, then wait on the porch as he pulls into the driveway.
“I don’t want to sit in that gorgeous seat in these wet clothes, Hunter.”
“It’ll be okay. Honest.”
I sit down, wince, and try to keep my ass off the seat while he drives.
It’s a seriously good core workout.
“Sit,” he says.
“No. My ass is wet. This car is worth more than my house.”
“It’s just a fucking car,” he says, but there’s no censure in his voice.
“We’re almost there.”
He pulls into the garage, and I get out of the car.
“I’m staying in the apartment upstairs,” I inform him.
“Why?”
“Because.” I take a deep breath, too tired and too emotionally exhausted to play coy. “You have a teenage daughter in your house. I’m too attracted to you, too damn into you, to keep my hands to myself. So, I’m going to stay out here. Because I’m not in my right mind tonight, and I was raised better than to attack you when your little girl is here.”
His eyes flare. His hands fist.
“Fucking hell, you disarm me,” he mutters. “Okay. Let’s go, then. And, Maeve, neither of us is going to be keeping our hands to ourselves for much longer.”
“Promise?”
Chapter 8
~Hunter~
“You want what?” I hear on the other end of the line.
“I need the dress remade.” I mix my protein shake by hand. “It was ruined last night by a flood. And I need it, in LA, by tomorrow at noon.”
“Mr. Meyers, it’s a one-of-a-kind dress. I don’t just have another hanging around here that I can send to you.”
“I need it,” I repeat. “I’m happy to pay for it. Look, it wasn’t her fault. It was an act of God. And I’ll be damned if she doesn’t wear the dress she fell in love with.”
There’s a pause on the other end, and then a sigh. “Okay. I’ll make it happen.”
“Thank you.”
I end the call and turn when I hear bare feet pad into the kitchen.
“Good morning.” I take a sip of my shake. “Did you hear me come and go in the middle of the night?”
