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He held up his hands. “How about having dinner with me, then?”
My eyes widen. Was he asking me out on a date? He couldn’t be. Instead, I shook my head to clear my wayward thoughts. “That’s unseemly too!”
He snapped his fingers. “Got it. What if you had to come to do another inspection—”
“But I don’t, Hunter. Even with you rushing out of here for a family emergency. You hadn’t hampered my inspection. I’ve been here all night.”
A cocky grin formed on his lips. “No one has to know, Posey. You can just tell your boss your inspection got cut short, and you had to reschedule it so that you could finish it.”
Except I’d already told my boss I’d finished it in a text.
“Come on, Posey. It’s the least I could do after putting you out.” He grinned down at me. “What if you’d had a date tonight—” I snorted at his assumption— “and I made you miss it? I’d feel fucking horrible about it.”
“Trust me, Hunter, I wouldn’t have said yes if I had plans,” I replied, instead of flat-out telling him I hadn’t been on a date in years. He didn’t need to know about my dating life.
“Say yes,” he pushed, and I bit my lip as I fought to contain myself. I didn’t want to disturb Destiny, who then wouldn’t allow her father to sleep. “I promise it’s purely professional—” Hunter used his pointer finger to cross his heart— “It’s just my way of saying thank you for helping me out of a pickle.”
He was relentless.
“I guess I—”
“I’ll text you in a couple of days to set it up.” He reached around me, and a combo of his cologne mixed with his own scent hit my nose. I fought back the groan building in my throat. Once he opened the door, the early morning coolness caused me to shiver. “Anything you’re allergic to? Can’t eat or don’t like?”
I held up my hand. “Please don’t make a big deal out of it. Keep it simple.”
“Pfft. My parents didn’t raise a fool, Posey. I know how to cook, and I’m decent at it. So, stop arguing with me, and just answer my questions.”
I rolled my eyes at him. “I’m not a fan of pork, other than bacon.”
He smiled and agreed. “Bacon is the food of the Gods.”
I wouldn’t argue that.
“And I don’t like brussels sprouts.”
His face crunched up. “Yeah, me neither. I can work around those two.”
“Bye Hunter,” I said before stepping down off the porch and started for my car.
“Bye Posey.” He stood by the front door while I settled into my car. I finally saw the front door close in my rear-view mirror when I clicked my seatbelt into place.
A glance at the clock on my phone showed it was a little after five. Going back to bed wasn’t an option. I needed to stop at a fast-food restaurant, get some breakfast and a hot tea, then race home for a quick shower and change.
I’d eat after I showered and drink the tea as I got ready. I’d need the caffeine to figure out what the hell just happened, plus stay awake. If I timed it right, it would leave me almost two hours to read.
Something I sorely missed doing the last couple of days.
Chapter 5
Posey
Pulling away from Hunter’s house, with a plan in place, I felt marginally better. Tea, breakfast, home, shower, get ready for work. Last night was crazy. Staying to help someone under investigation with their kid? I was breaking all the rules for someone who still didn’t know he’d had a baby with a woman who was now dead. Even as I read last night on his couch that smelled just like him, I couldn’t wrap my mind around not knowing about a child.
Obviously, they were both there for the conception. How could he not know about the pregnancy or the subsequent birth? Then again, it could be like my biological donors. Neither of them cared if I was born or raised in a system filled with abuse, drugs, starvation, and despair. My adoptive mom had been the single bright spot in my shitty life, and it took sixteen long years to reach her.
While I was grateful Destiny would never know the harshness of being raised in the system, bouncing from house to house, I couldn’t help but wonder if sooner, rather than later, Hunter would resent her. According to everything I learned about him during the small investigation I’d done on him, he’d had everything he could want in his life. Raising a kid, especially one he didn’t know about, well, how couldn’t Destiny throw a metaphorical wrench in his metaphorical chain?
I snorted.
