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I nod. "Since I met you, something inside of me, something I didn’t even know I had, came to life. Until now, I’d been following the path that was expected of me. Well also, my instinct dictated this was right for me. That deep inside I do want to serve my country. But it’s only when I’m with you that I feel inclined to follow my truth. Because you are my truth, Zara."
The color drains from her face. She pulls her hand back, but I curl my fingers about her wrist. "Don’t. Don’t deny what’s between us."
"Hunter, but—"
"No buts. You saw me out there. You saw how I’m unable to control myself around you. And you’re right. I need to bring that passion, that visceral feeling when you want something to the exclusion of everything else, that ruthless determination to succeed, that aggressive, tenacious urge for domination that I feel when I’m with you, that I sense only when I’m with you. I need to become it. I am all of this when you are with me, by my side. When I’m in your presence, I am alive. It’s your proximity that fires me up. It’s your look, your touch, the feel of your skin on mine, your breath entwined with mine, the thud of your heart echoing mine, the drumbeat of your pulse mirroring mine… It’s always been you."
"Hunter, don’t," she whispers.
She tries to pull away, but I hold onto her.
"I’m only truly me when I’m holding your hand, Zara."
I lower my gaze to where I clasp her wrist.
She follows my gaze.
I place my other palm on hers, enfolding her smaller one between both of mine, then I go down on bended knee.
43
Zara
"Wait, what? He proposed to you?" Solene screeches.
I hold the phone away from my ear and glance toward Isla, who’s seated in the chair opposite mine. Isla raises a shoulder in a gesture that embodies the confusion I’m feeling right now.
"It would seem that way." I turn back to the screen.
"And what did you tell him?"
"Nothing."
Solene’s gaze widens. "You didn’t give him an answer?"
"Nope." Strictly speaking, I couldn’t have given him an answer before, I was too busy gathering my jaw off the floor. He went down on one knee and asked me to marry him in this very room, and I was dumbstruck. A first. I stared at him for a few seconds, then pulled my hand from his. And this time, he let me. I backed away from him until the backs of my knees hit this very chair—where I’m still seated—and I sat down heavily.
Thankfully, I was saved from replying because Liam and Isla burst through the doorway immediately after.
Isla had one look at my face, walked over to me, and took my hand in hers, while I tried and failed to look anywhere but at Hunter’s face. When I finally made eye contact, his blue-green eyes seemed almost colorless. His features, as if hewn from a material that gave no inkling of what his thoughts were.
"I’ll be waiting for your answer," he bit out, then walked out of here, with Liam on his heels. I began to tell Isla what had happened, and she told me to stop and dialed in Solene so I could bring them up to speed on the soap opera that is currently my life.
My phone vibrates, then again. Yep, I have a second phone hidden away in the secret compartment of my bag. What? I’m a PR professional and the media is my lifeblood. You didn’t think I was going to stay without my electronic lifeline for even a second, did you? Only this time, I haven’t dared check my inbox, or my messages, or any of the social media channels…yet.
Given the crisis of Mount Everest proportions I walked out of earlier, I know things must be going crazy on the internet. But it’s not going to help if I get drawn into the online speculation. Right after Hunter left, I called my team, briefed them, then told them to reach out to key influencers for damage control. If things were really bad, they’d call me, but considering fifteen minutes have passed and there’ve been no SOS calls to me…yet… Maybe we managed to nip this thing in the bud. I’m not holding my breath, though. While the hours and days after a slip-up like what happened earlier between Hunter and Cade is the stuff bloggers and social media users around the world are waiting to broadcast to their followers, the long-tail effect of it surfacing in the future at the most inopportune moment is nothing to be sneezed at.
"So, what are you going to tell Hunter?" Solene asks.
I exchange glances with Isla, then shake my head. "I don’t have the foggiest."
"What does your instinct tell you to do?" Isla murmurs.
"To get the hell away from here. To refuse to be his PR manager. To cut all ties and move to another country and reinvent my life."
There’s silence for a second, then Solene laughs. "You’d never do that. You’re not the type to do a runner. You’re the strongest woman I know, Zara. In fact, I’ve always aspired to be you when I grow up."
I flush a little. "Don’t be daft, Sabatini, I’m hardly the poster child for how to live your life."
