And I Love You (11 page)

“Thanks again.”

Hoping to avoid any further involvement from his nosy siblings, Hunter left the office and headed home to wait for Megan’s call.

M
egan stared at the phone. She was under no obligation to call him. In fact, with the diner closing soon, she could slip out of town and avoid the emotional farewell with Nina and Brett as well as the diner’s many loyal patrons. Who would miss her if she left without saying good-bye?

Hunter would.
The two words echoed through her mind loud and clear. He’d been so nice to her, and it pained her to think of hurting him by blowing him off when they had plans. Wouldn’t it be better to walk away now before anything happened between them?

As much as Megan yearned to make some changes in her life, she wasn’t at all prepared to risk the sort of things she’d be endangering by entering into a real relationship with a man, especially someone like Hunter, who knew what he wanted and went after it with single-minded purpose.

Being at the center of that single-minded purpose had been flattering. She couldn’t deny that, but she’d hidden behind her fictional boyfriend for all those years for good reason. She’d rather be alone than ever again hurt like she had after losing her parents.

“It’s not fair to him,” she whispered, smoothing a hand over the skirt of the subtly sexy black dress Nina had talked her into buying. She’d been excited earlier, wondering what Hunter would think of the dress as well as the three-inch heels she’d bought to wear with it. Megan couldn’t remember the last time she’d had an occasion that called for heels. Nina had been excited, too, pushing Megan up the stairs to her apartment to get ready for her big date that wasn’t going to happen now.

Taking a deep breath and trying to suppress the disappointment that threatened to overwhelm her, she called the number he’d written on the back of his business card.

He answered on the second ring, sounding out of breath. “Hello?”

That one breathless word conveyed a world of anticipation, which made her feel terrible all over again for what she was about to say to him.

“Megan? Are you there?”

“Yes, I’m here.”

“What’s wrong?”

“I, um … I wanted to tell you …”

“Are you home?”

“Yes, but …”

“I’ll be right there.”

The line went dead before she could reply. For a brief moment, she thought about leaving before he got there but dismissed that idea almost as quickly as she’d had it. He was a nice guy. At the very least, he deserved the truth. Or some version of it that would convince him she was a lousy bet in the romance department.

She sat on the edge of her sofa, acutely aware of how fast her heart was beating as she waited for him. He didn’t live that far from her, so she wasn’t surprised to hear heavy footsteps on the stairs that led to her apartment ten minutes later.

He rapped on the door. “Megan?”

Summoning a calm exterior even as her interior swirled around like a washing machine on the spin cycle, Megan crossed the small room and pulled open the door.

Whatever Hunter had been about to say died on his lips as he took in her outfit. “Wow,” he said on a long exhale. “You’re stunning.”

“Thank you,” she said, unnerved by the compliment and the heat she saw in his gaze as he stared at her. “Come in.”

He followed her inside, closing the door behind him. “I had things I was going to say, but I can’t seem to remember any of them.”

Megan knew a moment of pure feminine power when she realized she’d rendered him all but speechless with the outfit as well as the time she’d spent on her hair and makeup.

Hunter took a look around at her tiny but cozy living space. “I love your place.”

“Thanks. It’s small, but it’s home.”

He gestured to the crowded bookshelves that occupied one wall of her living room. “You like to read.”

“My favorite thing to do.” Escaping into imaginary worlds took her far away from her own life. “I have thousands more on my e-reader.”

“I like to read, too.” He pushed off the door and came closer to her, his nearness and that incredible scent that came with him making her heart go crazy again. Tonight he wore a black sweater with dark jeans, managing to look sexy and well put together at the same time. “One of my favorite things to do.”

Being alone with him, even knowing she was totally safe with him, made her feel nervous and jumpy. It had been years, a decade in fact, since she’d been completely alone with a man—if you could call the boys she’d dated then “men.” They were boys compared to the man who stood before her now, eating her up with his hungry gaze.

“Hunter, I wanted to tell you …”

He closed the small distance between them, took her hand and led her to the sofa, where he sat beside her. Having him right next to her, looking at her the way he always did, it was almost impossible to form the words she needed.

“What do you want to tell me?”

She couldn’t continue to look at him and say what needed to be said, too. “You’ve been really nice to me, and I appreciate that. But I …”

“Please don’t tell me you don’t want to go out tonight. You’ll crush me.”

Startled by the passion she heard in his voice, she forced herself to look at him. “You have no idea what you’re getting into with me.”

“I want to know. Tell me what I’m getting into.”

She shook her head. “I wish things were different, but it would be better for you—”

“No, it wouldn’t. Never having the chance to know you would not be better for me.”

“How can you say that? You don’t know—”

“Then tell me. Tell me all the awful things I don’t know, and I’ll decide for myself if any of them are deal-breakers for me. Give me a chance, Megan. That’s all I’m asking for.” As he spoke, he brushed dampness from her face, which was how she knew she was crying. “Sweetheart, please … Talk to me. Let me in. I want so badly to know you—the real you, not the cool, collected woman you show the rest of the world. I want to know
Megan
.”

Hearing him call her sweetheart made her melt on the inside. Her father had called her that, and she liked the sound of it coming from Hunter. Megan wiped her face, determined to put her emotions on ice and convince him he could do better than a woman who was broken on the inside.

Hunter put his arm around her and drew her in close to him.

Though being so close to him didn’t do a damned thing for her intention to end this before it went any further, she couldn’t seem to resist the comfort he offered so willingly. With her face resting against his chest, Megan was grateful for the opportunity to gather her thoughts without having to look at the incredibly insightful brown eyes that seemed to see right through her.

“After my parents died,” she began in a small voice, “I was a bit of a mess.”

“Of course you were. Anyone would be.”

“I did a lot of stupid things. With guys. A lot of guys.”

His hand was big and warm on her arm, and he didn’t seem to breathe while he waited to hear what she would say next.

“Things I’m ashamed of now.”

“That was a long time ago, Megan. You were young and grief-stricken and running from the pain. I don’t judge you for what you did then. I don’t know how anyone could.”

“This went on for a while, until the night I kissed Will at a party.”

Only the slight tightening of his grip on her arm indicated his reaction to hearing about her kissing his brother. He remained silent.

“After that I sort of fixated on him. Nina and I talked about it earlier, and she said if I were supposedly ‘in love’ with Will, that kept me from messing around with other guys. I poured everything into my fixation on him. Nina made me see …”

“What did she make you see?”

“That as long as I had myself convinced Will was the one for me, I could justify keeping other men at a distance.”

“So there hasn’t been anyone else in all that time?”

“No.”

“How long ago did you kiss Will?”

“The summer I graduated from high school. Ten years ago.”

“Oh, Megan,” he said with a sigh. “I’m so sorry for your terrible loss and all the pain it’s caused you, but you don’t need to be afraid of me. I promise you don’t need to put up walls to keep me out.”

“That’s very nice of you to say, but I think it might be easier if I just continue on the way I’ve been. I can’t hide behind Will anymore, and I know that. I’m really happy for him. He’s a great guy, and he deserves to be happy.”

“Yes, he does, but so do you. You may deserve it more than anyone I know.”

“You deserve it, too, Hunter. You deserve better—”

“No.” He moved slightly to his left, his finger under her chin compelling her to look at him. “Don’t say I deserve better than you.”

“You do.”

“No,” he said, more forcefully this time.

Before she could begin to gauge his intentions, he was leaning in closer, his lips brushing against hers, softly, slowly, sweetly.

Megan whimpered. “Hunter …”

“Kiss me.”

She raised her hand to his smooth face and pressed her lips to his. So much for her good intentions to cut him loose. How had she ended up kissing him on her sofa?

“God, you’re so sweet,” he whispered against her neck, the heat of his breath sending goose bumps down her back. “I knew you would taste so sweet.” Then he was back for more, this time adding subtle touches of his tongue to her bottom lip that had her leaning in, desperate to be closer to him.

She curled her arms around his neck and made him gasp when she brushed her tongue against his.

His groan made his entire body vibrate. He tipped his head, seeking a better angle, his hand buried in her hair to keep her from getting away.

Megan had forgotten what it was like to be held by a man, to be kissed and touched this way. But no man had ever managed to take her away from all her worries and fears the way Hunter Abbott was doing. She wanted to kiss him until he was all she could think about.

Without taking the time to consider what she was doing or how she’d intended to stop this before it started, she brought him with her when she reclined against the sofa pillows. Never breaking the kiss, Hunter followed her lead, coming down on top of her, his body fitting intimately against hers.

She took advantage of the opportunity to run her fingers through his wavy dark hair, which she discovered was softer than it looked.

“Megan,” he said when he came up for air. “I didn’t mean for things to get so … heated.” When he would’ve pulled back from her, she stopped him.

“Don’t go. Not yet.”

He leaned his forehead against hers, looking down at her with desire and confusion and questions she could see he wanted to ask but didn’t.

“I was going to tell you I can’t do this, and then we were kissing, and now I can’t remember why I was going to say that.”

His laugh was deep and rich, and she loved that she’d made him laugh. She loved the way the laughter lit up his eyes and softened his demeanor. “I understand you’re afraid to have a real relationship. All I’m asking is that you give me—and us—a chance.”

“What is it about me that you find so interesting? I’m kind of boring when it comes right down to it.”

“You’re not boring at all. I’ve always suspected that under that cool façade a complex woman was waiting to get out. All I can tell you is I like how I feel when you’re around.”

“How do you feel?”

“Excited, interested, distracted, stupid.”

“Stupid?
You?
You’re like the smartest person I know.”

“Not when you’re around. So many times I’ve wanted to ask you out, but I couldn’t bring myself to say the words, to ask the question. That makes me feel really stupid.”

“You’re not. Not at all. Although you may be if you get involved with me.”

“I wish you wouldn’t say stuff like that about the woman who makes me feel all those things.” He kissed her nose and then her lips. “I’ve got another thing to add to the list of things you make me feel.” Pressing his erection into her belly, he said, “Aroused.”

Megan closed her eyes, trying to process all the things he was saying and all the emotions that accompanied his words.

“I didn’t intend to begin our first date this way,” he said. “Not that I’m complaining—at all. Best first date I’ve ever had.”

“We haven’t gone anywhere yet.”

“And it’s still the best ever.”

“Doesn’t take much to make you happy.” Megan went with her trademark sarcasm to hide her emotional reaction to just about everything he said to her.

“You call being able to hold you and kiss you not much? To me it’s incredible.” He kissed her again, as if he couldn’t stop now that he’d started. “And just think, we’ve already gotten the awkward ‘will we or won’t we’ first-kiss business out of the way, so we won’t have to worry about that all night.”

“Thank goodness.”

“So you’ll go out with me and no more about not being good enough or deserving enough or deciding things for me without my input?”

What else could she say to that other than, “Okay.”

Hunter felt like he’d dodged a bullet. He’d driven to Megan’s house like a man possessed. He’d guessed what she’d been about to say and hadn’t given her a chance to say it. On the ride to her house, he’d tried to think of the words he would need to persuade her to give him a chance. He hadn’t expected to end up making out with her on the sofa, but as he’d said to her, he certainly wasn’t complaining.