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Chapter 19
Aknock came at the closed door of the café. Aria set the broom aside. Nerves tensed her belly as she went to let Hunter in. His hair was a disheveled mess, his jaw coated with stubble, and his features lined with tension.
Her heart constricted. She hadn’t seenthisHunter before—not angry or charming or commanding or even grudgingly helpful. This Hunter was upset.
“Here.” He set some clothing on the counter and jabbed his finger at it. “You left those in my room, and I forgot to give them to you the other night.”
“I’d forgotten about them, too. Thanks.” She waved toward the interior door. “Go into the lounge. I’ll bring you some tea.”
“I don’t want any tea.” He pulled a hand through his hair, his shoulders tightening. “I want to see you. I want to talk to you. I want...”
With a muttered curse, he closed the distance between them. Clamping a hand around her waist, he hauled her against him. His breath brushed her lips. His dark eyes seared into hers. A flame of hunger flickered in their brown depths.
“I wantyou.” He brought his mouth down on hers.
Aria stiffened for half a second before pleasure sparked through her. She curled her hands into the front of his shirt, aching to fall into his kiss. She wished their desire could banish all their conflicts and cross-purposes, ease the sharp edge of reality, and assure her that somehow, they could stay friends, become lovers, even—
She broke away and stumbled backward, her breath sticking in her throat. He lifted his head. His features tensed.
“We can’t do this.” She forced the words out. “I like you so much…and Iwantyou so much, which is so completely crazy because even if we didn’t have this contract sitting like a wall between us, I—”
“Forget the fucking contract.” He strode toward her, his face darkening with frustration. “You’re voting no. We’ll discuss it at the meeting and deal with whatever happens. But it’s not a goddamned wall between us. I don’t want…” He paused, and his throat worked with a swallow. “I don’t want there to beanythingbetween us.”
Aria pressed a hand to her racing heart. Tears stung her eyes suddenly.
“But how can there not be? Regardless of what happens, you’re leaving Bliss Cove after the meeting, so…what? We have an affair for the next couple of weeks? Then you go back to New York, and I stay here, and we don’t friend and follow each other on our nonexistent social media accounts? And maybe we exchange a few emails and phone calls…but then what?”
He cursed again and stalked back and forth from the Cat Lounge. “When I go back to New York, I’ll be promoted to the vice-president of Imperial’s West Coast operations. I’ll be in control of all the company’s properties from California to the Rockies. I’ll relocate and work out of our Los Angeles office.”
Aria wiped at a stray tear. Her insides were as tight as pulled yarn. She didn’t dare ask about his future involvement with the Oceanview project. She still intended to fight and would go into the debate with all she had, but if Juliette was telling the truth and Imperial hadeightvotes already…
Ominous music filtered through the uplifting movie trailer in her head.
Aria had learned a thing or twenty during her relationship with Steve, not the least of which was that sometimes she had to face the hard facts. And the facts were still that Imperial Properties would always be more powerful, and that many Mariposa owners were happy about their contract.
Thefactwas that she might lose.
The debate.
The vote.
Her building.
Her café.
The cats.
Hunter.
With every fiber of her being, she didn’t want to lose any of those things. She especially didn’t want to lose Hunter.
“I will not let the contract or anything else come between us.” He stopped in front of her, determination suddenly blazing from him. “I won’t let it stop me from telling you that I’m falling for you. Hard. A goddamned freefall.”
Aria’s pulse cartwheeled wildly. “You…you are?”
“Yes.” His features softening, he reached out to run his hand through her hair, combing the long strands back from her forehead. “This was in no way part of the plan, but it’s the truth. The second I opened that window and saw you, I was done. I just didn’t know it yet.”
“Oh.” A bubble of happiness formed beneath her heart, easing the painful ache of misgivings and insurmountable problems. “It was the same for me.”
