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Her little match-making episode at least kept her mind off her own sorry state of affairs, which came in the form of one over six-foot-tall illegally gorgeous man with the aptitude to turn her into a ball of fire or a puddle of arousal depending on the way he looked at her.
She was playing a dangerous game, and at that moment, it felt as if no matter what she did or didn’t do, she was going to be the only loser in the end.
She was giving herself until tomorrow morning to make a fast and sure decision, but all evidence pointed to the fact that she couldn’t be playing with her grandparents' home if her opponent was Hunter McLeod. He singlehandedly destroyed every working brain cell in her head, and that would just not do.
Tomorrow, she had to create a fresh, clean solution that would ensure she not only kept her virginity and her grandparents’ home, but she now also had to start worrying about retaining her heart.
She shook her head. Not today.
Today she was going to make her best friend the happiest girl in the world. She still couldn’t believe her luck. Maybe it was Marcy all along who was going to get her happy ever after, and it started with Hunter wanting to buy Kensley’s virginity and would end with Dash and Marcy falling in love and living happily ever after.
It would be worth it all the same.
She settled on jeans and a white T-shirt knotted on the side, along with a pair of high-heeled boots.
She was so excited for Marcy to meet Dashner in person that she really could hardly stop smiling, which was a good thing since she was already fixating less on Hunter himself.
Well, that had lasted for all of five minutes.
He was waiting for her downstairs to take her to the charity fair. Suddenly hot and bothered at the sight of him in jeans and a T-shirt, she tried really hard to be unaffected and cool.
As soon as she entered the foyer of his magnificent house, she stopped breathing. How deluded to think she would swap her problem with Hunter for a match-making fix with their best friends. He wasn’t so easily discarded, and he made it known when she stood in front of him, and he lifted her face with a finger under her chin.
She opened her eyes and was struck senseless again by his powerful aura. He lowered his lips to hers and kissed her softly. She sighed into his mouth, but he ended the kiss way too quickly.
Taking her hand, they walked toward one of his sports cars, but with her heart rattling in her chest and her lips aflame, he could have guided her into a haunted house on wheels and she wouldn’t have noticed much else.
The sounds of live music and the smell of delicious food being prepared by various vendors wafted in the air to greet them. The charity event was being hosted in a huge parking lot filled with colorful tents and booths, each offering a different product or experience.
A large stage had been set up, and a few local bands were already performing. Giant inflatable slides and photo booths were also littered around the area. Just off the parking lot was a beautiful lake. Families had already bought pre-packed picnic baskets from certain vendors and were setting themselves up near the lake edge.
The sun shone high in the sky, and overall, the day looked as if it were going to turn out great.
Hunter hadn’t released his hold on her hand, and as they stepped into the heart of the fair, butterflies started doing some crazy things in her belly. It was almost time for Marcy and Dash to meet. She may have imagined it; she probably did, but Hunter had looked down at her and smiled as she bubbled with excitement near out of her mind. She didn’t imagine his thumb sensually stroking her skin, though.
With everything that had happened, namely, cupid acting through her and through him as well, she had forgotten to thank him for the gifts.
“Oh, I meant to say thank you for all the presents you got me. You really shouldn’t have.”
“I should have,” he said uninterestedly.
“All the same. I’ll be donating all those generous gifts, including the horse, the boat, and the house, to charity.”
“You’re going to do what?”
“I’m going to donate it all to charity. It’s not like you made a dent in your bank balance by getting me all that stuff. Besides, the jet was overkill and bad for the environment, so I don’t know what I’m going to do about that. But I might keep this one,” she said, reaching into her pocket and pulling out the tiny butterfly brooch.
“Why that one?” he asked, his voice husky.
“It feels different. Oh, there’s Marcy. And there’s Dash.” Under her instruction, and with much grouchiness on his side, she had told Hunter where Dash was to meet them, and she had done the same with Marcy.
She couldn’t help but dance from foot to foot, silently squealing her excitement as she buried her face into his arm and felt his bicep against her cheek.
It couldn’t have happened better than if she had scripted their meet cute.
Coming in from different ends, Marcy was busy searching for something in her huge handbag, while Dashner seemed to be looking around, trying to spot them in the already crowded parking lot. And then they bumped into each other.
And it was love at first sight.
