AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Hunter’s brows pulled together. “You’re blushing.”
I frowned, laughing. “No, I’m not.”
“You are.”
“I’m not.” I gathered a couple of plates. “So, you had the case of the bock- bocks.”
“Pardon?” He laughed, tipping the bottle back. “Oh, I get it. Bock bock Chicken.”
“But what was the real reason? You said you didn’t want to hurt her feelings, but what about your feelings? I find it suspicious. You’re a strong man. You run one of the most successful bars in all of Madison. And you were worried to break up with her? I don’t buy it.”
“I’m holding a deep, dark secret that I didn’t want anyone to know.”
“Yeah? Give it to me.”
“I’m a genuinely nice guy.”
I rolled my eyes and chuckled. “So nice that you couldn’t even have a decent convo with me last year.”
“I told you why.”
I shook my head. “I don’t know.”
He let out a tortured grunt as Eartha Kitt’sSanta Babyrang through the air. “Fine. My brothers have found theirone.” Hunter did air quotes. “And I wanted to believe deep in my heart that I was next. I don’t like coming home to an empty place. I want kids. I want to grow old with someone like my parents.”
Hunter’s eyes met mine, and electricity zipped through me. His gaze dropped to my lips before he turned away. “So, I was willing to overlook a few problems if it meant I could have the life I’d always wanted.”
It felt like a ton of bricks had been dropped on me. “You want to settle down that badly?”
He turned back around and let out a deep breath. “Yeah. Truth is, I’m not even sure I want to be in Madison anymore. It’s partly why I got a new manager for down there.” His eyes stayed on mine, and a shot of something surprising swam through me.
Empathy for Hunter.
I just always assumed he was some player who wanted a glitzy girlfriend for when it suited him.
Hunter ran his fingers through his dark hair. “I also didn’t want to hurt her feelings. She seemed so confused, and there were days where I think she really did love me and other days where she was just confused and distracted.”
“And by distracted, you mean… with other men.”
Hunter grinned. “I think she had a bad case of the grassisgreeneritis.”
I frowned and scooted closer to him. “The grassisgreeneritis? What’s that?”
He chuckled. “The grass is greener.”
I laughed, shaking my head. “Oh, my word. How did I not pick up on that?”
The oven timer dinged, and I grabbed a candy cane potholder. “You’re telling me there’s not some deep, dark secret about why you haven’t found the right person?”
I grabbed the hot tray and put it on a snowflake trivet on the island.
“Or why you stuck it out with the wrong one?” I corrected.
“I don’t know. I’m sure a psychologist would have a field day with me, but I don’t know. Maybe two years ago, I was still trying to impress people. I got the fancy car, a splashy apartment…” He shrugged as I handed him the first plate.
“You’re saying you’ve grown?”
“Maybe a little.” He flashed me a boyish grin.
