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“Sorry,” Hunter whispered and he couldn’t stop himself from reaching out to run his hand down Roman’s upper arm. The move was supposed to be about comfort but all it did was spike up the dull ache of desire that had been lurking in Hunter’s belly since the moment he’d laid eyes on Roman in his father’s office this morning. And from the way Roman glanced at his hand and then his mouth, he knew Roman was feeling it too.
Hunter drew his hand back and put as much distance between their bodies that the trail would allow. “Where did you build your first resort?”
“California. I’d already bought a couple of old warehouses and turned them into condos when I saw this old hotel for sale in Big Sur. The two investors I’d brought into the project wanted to tear it down and build something from scratch but there was something about it…it was like it was more than just a building. Like it had a soul.”
“Did you tear it down?”
Roman shook his head. “I bought out the investors and fixed it up instead. Rooms sold out before the doors even opened and there’s a two year waiting list to stay there.”
“Wow, I’ll bet it’s beautiful.”
“It is. Everything’s top of the line. Top chefs, state of the art rooms, every amenity you could think of…” Roman said proudly.
“Just think, there’s probably some kid and his mom tearing out pictures of your resorts and making up stories about them.”
Roman stiffened and all the pride that had been in his gaze disappeared instantly. He stopped in the middle of the trail and just stood there looking…God, he looked devastated.
“Roman, I’m sorry…I didn’t mean anything by that.”
“It’s okay,” Roman said woodenly. “You know what, maybe we should head back. I’ve got some calls I need to return.”
“Roman-” Hunter said as he grabbed Roman’s hand before he could turn and head back down the trail.
“And you should probably be taking it easy anyway. You’re bound to still be sore after last night.”
The reminder was like a slap in the face and Hunter felt any lingering warmth inside of him disappear and he dropped Roman’s hand.
“Yeah, you’re probably right,” Hunter managed to get out as he reached into his pocket to run his fingers over the items there. His anxiety eased enough that he was able to keep it together as he stepped back from Roman and then led the way back towards the car.
ChapterFour
Hunter’s relief at escaping the uncomfortable silence in Roman’s car was short-lived because his father was on him the second he walked through the door to his parents’ office.
“Where is he?” his father snapped as he craned his neck to try and see the front door. “Is he coming in?”
“Um, no, he said he had some calls to make,” Hunter murmured as he hurried past the reach of his father’s crutches and went to drop a kiss on his mother’s cheek.
“Hi,” he murmured.
His mother paused only briefly in her typing but whatever she might have said was drowned out by his father’s bellow.
“Boy, get over here and tell me what happened!”
Hunter saw his mother flinch at the outburst and her eyes quickly dropped back to the computer screen. A tug of disappointment went through Hunter at the move but he pushed it away and forced himself to walk back to the desk his father was sitting at.
“Well?” his father shouted.
“He didn’t say much,” Hunter admitted which was mostly the truth since the brief conversations he’d had with Roman hadn’t been about what he actually thought about the land.
“God, I knew you’d fuck this up,” his father snorted. “You were gone less than two hours – no way you showed him everything!”
“His calls-”
“Were a fucking ploy! Probably to get away from you and your sniveling.”
Sadly, Hunter suspected his father was right. Roman’s excuse had sounded pretty lame and then he’d thrown in that last remark about the night before…
A stapler bouncing off his chest ripped Hunter from his thoughts and he automatically stepped back when he saw his father reach for his crutches to pull himself upright. “You better pray he calls me!” his father snarled as he got in Hunter’s space.
