“Are you sure?” Anna questioned.
“Positive. We’ll all get some rest and come back later to visit.”
Anna yawned. “Okay.”
“Bye, beautiful baby girl.” I caressed Caroline’s cheek one last time and stole one more sniff.
***
“Do you know of a place nearby where I can stay?”
“Sure do.”
I leaned back into the leather seat of Hunter’s pickup and closed my eyes. “I haven’t stayed up this long since college. My body actually aches from lack of sleep. I feel old.”
“We’ll get you some sleep, and you’ll feel as good as you look in no time.”
I mumbled something about him being a charmer and told myself that closing my eyes for three minutes wouldn’t hurt. The next thing I knew, I was being lifted out of Hunter’s truck. I blinked my eyes into focus. “Where are we?”
“My house.”
“You were supposed to take me to a hotel.”
“No. You asked if I knew a place nearby, and I said yes. I do. My place.” He used a foot to swing the truck’s door shut.
“I’m not staying with you.”
“It’s six o’clock in the morning. Check in at hotels is the middle of the afternoon. Even if I found a place with a vacancy—which in this area is not as easy as it sounds—you’d have to wait to check in or pay for last night when you didn’t sleep there.”
He had a point. But still… “I can’t stay here.”
“I have a guest room. You can crash in there for a few hours. I’ll take you to a hotel this afternoon, if that’s what you want. But I have plenty of room, and you’re welcome to stay.”
A part of me wanted to argue. But the man had been shuttling me around since he’d picked me up from the airport, and he had to be as exhausted as I was.
“Okay. But no funny business.”
Hunter grinned. “Never.”
Chapter 9
Natalia
A warm stream of light shining directly into my eyes woke me up. Disoriented, I had no idea where I was or what day it was. I sat up in the comfy bed and looked around the familiar room until the morning came back to me. Hunter’s house. I’d left my phone in my purse, which was s
till in the kitchen—I think—and there was no sign of a clock in the guestroom. So after a quick trip to the ensuite bathroom, I headed out to quietly retrieve my cell, hoping not to wake Hunter if he was still sleeping.
Only…Hunter was definitely not sleeping.
I froze as I turned the corner from the bedroom hallway to the open kitchen and living room. He stood with his back to me at the stove, cooking what smelled like bacon—shirtless, while dancing to Billy Joel.
As far as wake-ups go, this view was up there. Hunter wore gray sweatpants that hung low on his narrow waist, and the muscles in his back rallied together to form a V that led up to broad shoulders. There was no doubt the man worked out—a lot. I stood in silence, taking in the way his hips swayed to the music and remembering how good his rhythm was when we’d danced together at Anna’s wedding. Damn.
“Hope you’re not a vegetarian. I don’t make tofu anything, especially not bacon.” I jumped at the sound of his husky voice. He’d never turned around to see me, and still hadn’t when he spoke.
My heart raced in my chest. “You scared the crap out of me.”
He finally turned around. “Me? I didn’t sneak up on you while you were frying hot bacon to ogle your ass.”