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“I don’t promise to do the same.”
What? I whisked toward him, gaze snagging with Hunter’s.
He smiled. “Better. I rather like those pretty hazel eyes on me.”
“They’re brown. Not hazel. Definitely not pretty.”
“You’ll need to stare at me a while to verify that.”
My skin tightened. Everywhere.
I gripped my cup so hard beer splashed over the rim and over my hand. “Fuck.”
Hunter’s gaze landed behind me. “I think I spotted Miss Daisy.”
That was our girl all right. The daisies in her hair were on the nose, but totally worked in our favor. The key card we needed peeked out of her ass pocket.
“Follow my lead, Hunter.” I fiddled with my phone as I veered toward her.
She and her friend caught my approach and Daisy’s mouth dropped open. Her friend whispered in her ear, and Daisy blushed, dark eyes blinking me in.
“Sorry to interrupt,” I said.
Her friend giggled. “You’re not interrupting.”
Daisy’s stern look had her friend scooting down the aisle. Daisy smiled. “You’re not interrupting.”
I gave her my smoothest smile. Hunter, beside me, watched with rapt interest.
I casually tapped the padded arm of his chair, gesturing for Hunter to go around Daisy and steal the key card.
Hunter snatched my fingers in what I guessed was defiance.
Goodbye plan A.
Daisy’s gaze flashed from me to Hunter, and I cleared my throat. “I’m Marc, that’s Hunter.”
After a moment of confusion, her face bloomed fuchsia. “Oh. Two of you. Marc, my ex’s name. Uh, I mean, nice. And Hunter, that’s unusual.”
“My parents had little imagination.” I inclined my head toward Hunter. “His parents caught him tearing after his sister snapping his teeth as a baby.”
Hunter coughed. “They raised me well. I never bite off more than I can chew.” He gave me a sideways glance. “Almost never, anyway.”
I swallowed a smirk. I hadn’t expected Hunter to join in, but he did it with style.
“How can I help you guys?” She bit her lip.
“I couldn’t stop gushing about how much you resemble Ariana Grande to”—I palmed Hunter’s warm, strong shoulder—“my friend, and he dared me to, to . . .”
“To take a picture with you,” Hunter swooped in.
“Exactly. Right.” I squeezed his shoulder before releasing. “Do you mind?”
“Okay, but I’m not photogenic.”
“Don’t worry. Nine months working for Scribe and Hunter has never taken a bad picture.”
I passed my phone to Hunter, who was staring at me strangely.
I slid an arm around Daisy’s waist. “Mind throwing your arms around me?”
She did, and I used her movement to slip out the key card.
Hunter snapped a few photos and handed my phone back with a wry shake of his head.
I thanked her for helping me out. She laughed, coyly. “Drink something and maybe later I can help you both out again.” I choked on the brazenness of the offer.
Me and my slutty ass took off at rocket speed.
Five steps into the blessedly empty union link, Hunter snorted. “That was excellent drive-by flirting.” He rolled beside me. “The way you hugged her. I almost believed you were into it.”
I shrugged. “I’ve had a lot of practice fooling people.”
“Ah. When you were with Jack?”
My stomach took a dive. “Yeah. Have I mentioned I have shit for brains?”
Hunter reached around my ass and dipped into my pocket. Slowly, he drew out the keycard. I’d feel the ghost of that touch on my ass cheek all night. “What better remedy than a library?”
“I snap after my sister?”
I pulled the two-volume 1972 graduate yearbook from the dusty floor-to-ceiling bookshelf. Heavy beasts. I’d have to come back for the others when we looked for our K. I winced. Finding a four-leaf clover might be easier.
Hunter held his cell phone, casting torch light over this nook of the library. I hugged the hefty books and observed the dark pink lines of Hunter’s lips. “You have a big mouth.” Said mouth stretched into a smile, and I jerked my gaze up. “It was the first thing that came to my mind.”
We moved to a nearby table, moonlight shafting through stained glass and imprinting on the wooden surface. Hunter tried the lamp but it didn’t switch on so he set his phone atop the lampshade. Amber light spilled over the table. A cocoon of warmth in a daunting library of darkness.
I pulled the chair to the left, leaving space for Hunter to roll next to me.
His presence at my side felt big. Cozy, but also unnerving.
Humming to myself, I scrolled painfully through headshots and captioned names, jotting down any men with the initials V.A. or three-lettered names with a V.A. combination. The brain-tiring work was made harder with Hunter tapping away on his laptop, taking my V.A. names and doing his Geek Force thing in a suave manner.
“Okay.” I scribbled down another name. “That makes four.”
I flipped the page and scanned it.
“Great,” Hunter said, fingers braced at the edge of the desk, eyes on me. “So, I might be wrong—”
