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“I think it’s time for you to leave,” I said, bending down to gather his shirt. I shoved it against his chest and made my way toward the door. It swung open with more flourish than I intended, giving the illusion that I was not only upset but pissed.
It hadn’t been the image I wanted to leave him with, though it did the trick all the same.
He released a defeated sigh and ambled toward the door. “Fine. I’ll play this game with you, Lyndsey Saunders, because I know in my heart you are worth every bit of the effort.”
He leaned forward.
The heat of his breath tickled my ear as he spoke, arousing a whole new flurry of pleasure all over again.
“May the best man win.”
Chapter Thirteen
Hunter
Lyndsey Saunders was seeing someone.
I would sooner eat my gear than actually believe it, but she was adamant about us staying away from one another. Perhaps she feared what my sister might do if she found out—though Lyndsey didn’t exactly strike me as the type of person who feared anyone. Whatever her reasons, it meant enough to her to make up an excuse just to push me away.
And what if it wasn’t an excuse?
She couldn’t very well forget she was in a semi-serious relationship with someone before almost sleeping with someone else. If it was as serious as she claimed, enough to push me away now, then there would have been no reason for her to engage in the flirtation at all.
To hell with it.
I didn’t need this. I didn’t need someone who ran hot and cold in an instant.
Wasn’t that the whole point of me using the matchmaking service to begin with? I wanted to remove all the drama from my life, not add to it. Avoiding the mixed signals that came with dating and expediting a match was part of the reason I’d agreed to this. Plus, there was the added bonus of dating someone who wasn’t potentially seeing twenty other people at the same time, with all of us vying for her attention and ultimate exclusivity.
That wasn’t how dating should be. It should be natural, led by romance and passion.
I sighed.
Which still wasn’t something I’d find from the matchmaking service. Maybe I wasn’t meant for any of this. I wanted an algorithm to find me the perfect match without any of the grunt work that came from meeting the candidates one on one. I wanted someone ready to commit, who fit my lifestyle in every way while still expecting to find that spark at will.
I wanted simplicity without any of the risk.
It was a fantasy—pure and simple. One I was never going to attain if I didn’t rearrange my thinking. I needed to give myself more time with the matchmaking service and with the women Lyndsey set me up with. There was bound to be someone who fit everything I needed in my life while also creating that near-mythical spark.
Though the idea of more time gave me no ease whatsoever. It meant more time wasted, less time fulfilling my duties as head of the family. It meant more time spent with Lyndsey, watching her happiness unfold with the new man in her life—if he even existed. Either way, it meant spending more time with a woman I couldn’t have, all the while pretending I wanted someone else.
“You look terrible, Hunter,” my mother said.
“Nice. Is that how you greet all your guests?” I asked, stepping past her and over the threshold into my childhood home.
“Only you, sweetheart. You need to hear it. What kind of mother would I be if I didn’t voice my concerns?” She shut the door behind me and moved to stand in front of me. Her shrewd gaze inspected me thoroughly. One hand joined in her probing quest to discern just what was amiss in my life, tipping my head from side to side as if examining me like a patient. “You need more sleep. Are you getting enough sleep? How about water?”
I took hold of her hand, bringing it close to me in a reassuring grip. “Mother, I can assure you I am properly hydrated.”
“Then sleep. What is this nonsense Vanessa’s been telling me about with the matchmaking service?”
I groaned. Of course, my sister mentioned my search for a wife.
Had she nothing better to do than discuss meaningless gossip about others? “It’s not nonsense. It’s just like any other dating service.”
“No, sweetheart. It is not the same,” Mom said, moving down the hallway toward the living room. “That’s for people with money, who want to meet other people with money—or people looking for arranged marriages.”
“That’s not all it’s about. It’s about finding the right person. Someone who wants the same things I do.”
