When I look to the door, I see Hunter’s here also. The pair are talking to some girls from school. Well, Sammy’s talking. Hunter’s looking around the room. His eyes land on me, and he looks immediately annoyed, despite knowing I was coming. His gaze falls to the drink in my hand, then away.
‘Ah, what was that?’ Tamsin whispers.
I look at her. ‘What was what?’
‘That.’ She gestures towards Hunter. ‘That little exchange.’
‘There was no exchange.’
She gives me a sceptical look. ‘Okay. Well, just know there are far safer choices here tonight if that’s where your mind is going.’
My cheeks heat. ‘That’s not where my…’ I drink until my cup is empty.
‘Oh, okay,’ Tamsin says. ‘We’re proper drinking now, are we?’ She empties her cup, then takes the empty from my hand. ‘Better refill while we can.’
Trent returns to the kitchen, glancing at me as he swings the fridge open. ‘Looks like someone’ll be hitting the confessional tomorrow.’
‘We don’t have a confessional,’ I reply dryly. ‘That’s a Catholic thing.’
Amused, Trent steps up to the table and into my personal space. ‘Then how does a good girl like you repent for her sins?’
I go to step back and collide with a wall of chest behind me. I turn and my eyes travel all the way up to Hunter’s disapproving face.
‘You actually came,’ he says.
I swallow. ‘I did.’
He glances at Trent, who retreats to the other side of the kitchen. I immediately increase the space between myself and Hunter. I’m starting to recognise his scent, and that scares me for some reason. It’s a combination of whatever deodorant he wears, fresh hay, and… him.
Tamsin raises her drink in greeting. ‘Hunter.’
‘Tamsin.’
Hunter intercepts the drink she hands me and smells it. ‘You plan on throwing up on the driveway later? Maybe finish with a skinny-dip?’
Tamsin laughs behind me. ‘No one’s throwing up anywhere.’ She takes the drink from his hand and gives it to me. ‘The skinny-dip is absolutely an option, though.’ She raises her chin and meets Hunter’s gaze. ‘What are you doing here? I thought you were too cool for these kinds of events.’
‘I drove Sammy.’
‘Hunter prefers to play the role of chauffeur and security at parties,’ Tamsin says to me. ‘You’ll never catch him drinking on the job.’
That’s not surprising given what he’s facing at home. ‘Security, huh? And yet I feel less safe since he arrived,’ I say.
Hunter angles his head at me. ‘Then I’d suggest limiting your drinks. The first rule of drinking is to make sure you’re safe before getting legless.’
‘She’s very safe with me,’ Tamsin says. ‘Why are you guys behaving like such arseholes tonight? Let her enjoy herself.’
Hunter shifts his weight. ‘Guys? Who else was being an arsehole?’
Trent raises his hands, feigning innocence.
Tamsin shakes her head and drags me from the kitchen. When I look over my shoulder, I meet Hunter’s turbulent blue eyes before he disappears from sight.
Hunter
Annie Wilson should be home studying her Bible, not here drinking bourbon. Talk about a fish out of water. She’s behaving like a thirteen-year-old. And even though it’s none of my business, I’m wondering what prompted all this. It might have something to do with her sister. She fled town around the same age. No one knows where she went. I’m not even sure Annie knows.
I’m not one for parties, and I didn’t want to come to this one. But when Sammy asked me, I found myself saying yes. And now I’m watching Annie, wondering if she might be the reason I’m here. I guess I was curious to see her in this environment. So I came. Now I’ve seen her.