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I laughed. “He’s been traveling all day. He’s probably starving.”
“My point exactly.” My little niece began to mewl in the background. We’d been talking on the phone for a long time. “Damn. She’s wet. I need to change her. Can you call me back in a few minutes?”
“Hunter should be home soon. How about if I call you tomorrow.”
“Oh my God. Call me right after it’s
over.”
I chuckled. “Sure. I’ll call you while he’s taking off the condom.”
“Okay!”
I wasn’t quite sure if she knew I was joking or not. “I’ll call you tomorrow, crazy lady.”
After I said goodbye, I went to the bathroom to freshen up. While I was in there, for a half a second I gave serious consideration to what Anna had suggested. I knew without a shadow of a doubt that Hunter would be thrilled if I answered the door buck-ass naked. But I was still on edge and needed the passion to build between us before I could let go that much.
As I was brushing my teeth with my finger, I heard the front door quietly open and close. Oh my God. He’s home. I was half giddy, fully nervous, and buzzing with a sudden surge of adrenaline. Closing my eyes, I took a few deep breaths and then looked in the mirror before heading out to see the man responsible for my heart hammering a million miles a minute.
Only, when I walked out, it wasn’t Hunter standing in the living room. It was a woman. Just as I emerged from the bathroom, she dropped her coat to the floor.
And I froze in place, standing there staring at her beautiful, naked body.
Chapter 23
Natalia
“Shit!” The woman mumbled as she bent to pick up the trench coat pooled around her bare feet. “I thought someone else was staying here.” She seemed to have a British accent.
I blinked a few times, at first stunned at the turn of events, but then in an attempt to unglue my eyes from the statuesque redhead. She was drop-dead gorgeous. Tall, thin, with creamy porcelain skin, perky boobs, and legs that ran for miles. I didn’t tend to be overly self-conscious, but standing in a room with her fixed that real quick.
Before I could form a coherent sentence, the woman spoke again while pulling on her coat. “I’m so sorry. I’m in the flat next door. A guy I work with sometimes stays in this one, and I knew he was in town. When I asked the doorman who was staying in this apartment, he told me it was him.”
“How did you get in here?”
She pointed over her shoulder. “The door wasn’t locked. I knocked first, but no one answered, so I opened it.”
“Who are you?”
“Brooke. Brooke Canter.” She cinched her coat at the waist. “I do apologize. I thought you were someone else. I’m mortified.”
The dread that settled in my belly knew the answer, but I asked nonetheless. “Who did you think was staying here?”
“Hunter Delucia.”
Seeing my face falter, the woman’s eyes closed. “Shit. Hunter is the sublet here, isn’t he?”
I nodded slowly.
“We used to…” She shook her head. “Never mind. I should get going.”
Before I could say anything else, the embarrassed woman scurried back out the door. I, on the other hand, seemed to be immobilized.
***
“Such a goddamn idiot.” I jabbed my finger at the elevator panel a second time, grumbling to myself. The damn thing wasn’t moving, and all I wanted to do was get the hell out of here before Hunter showed up. I shouldn’t be so upset, but I couldn’t help it. It was stupid of me to expect that someone who’d proposed we have a short-term affair hadn’t had others. It didn’t even sound like she’d spoken to Hunter since he’d arrived in town weeks ago, but that didn’t make it hurt any less.
The elevator car finally started moving. In my haste to get out of the apartment, I thought I might’ve forgotten to grab my new cell. As I dug frantically in my purse to check, the elevator doors slid open on the ground floor. Frenzied, I found my phone, grabbed my roller bag, and stepped off, without first looking up. Which was the reason I crashed right into a man.
