When their laughter died down, Hunt shrugged, ignoring his spurt of disappointment. “It’s not a big deal and I really should work. I’ll be at the start and then I’ll see everyone at the cocktail party later.”
“I’ll be your partner.”
Hunt’s eyes flew back to Adie, as did everyone else’s. “What? Why?”
“It sounds like fun,” Adie told him. “I get to run around Manhattan chasing down clues in odd places. It’ll be awesome!”
“It’s a seven-mile race,” Hunt pointed out.
“I used to run cross-country as a kid and, at university I loved running marathons. I still, occasionally manage a five-mile run on the treadmill. Pfft, I’ll be fine,” Adie said, brushing off his concerns over her fitness.
“But won’t you be busy organizing the day?” Hunt asked her.
Kate answered for Adie. “Nope, the events company is in charge from the moment the teams arrive at the morning start. And Adie’s already delegated the awards dinner and dance following the race to me so I’ll be around and able to deal with any last-minute problems.”
Hunt looked at Adie and saw the challenge in her eyes. Laughter tipped up the edges of her mouth. “What, Sheridan, are you scared that one of your old teammates, or one of the younger kids, might beat you, a New York native?” she teased.
No, he wasn’t scared because that was never going to happen. He pointed his piping bag at Adie. “You’d better not slow me down.”
“Pfft, you’d better not slowmedown. And my tree cookie is way better than yours.”
Hunt looked down at his tree and saw that the white frosting had slid off, taking six chocolate buttons with it. He scowled at Adie, who just grinned. Unable to resist her impish face, he flicked a button across the table in her direction.
“Hunter Sheridan, we do not throw food!” Rachel scolded him and Hunt felt like he was nineteen again. It was both terrifying and reassuring.
“Yes, ma’am.”
As the conversation moved on, Hunt looked around the table at the large, loving family and contrasted their affection, their obvious enjoyment in being with each other with what Griselda had proposed—loveless co-parenting with their child being raised more by a nanny than by them. If he ever had a child, he wanted to raise it within a tight, loving, noisy, affectionate family and that would require him to make a commitment, to relinquish his freedom, to give up control.
He couldn’t do it, not now, not ever. He’d worked so hard to create a world where he felt comfortable operating. He preferred keeping women, all people, at a distance.
Hunter briefly wondered how Griselda’s West Coast trip was going and shrugged away his curiosity. Their road together had split into two forks, one for him and one for her. He was okay with that. Everything had its season after all.
Hunt looked across the table at Adie, who was deep in conversation with Rachel. If he had to equate women to seasons then Griselda was winter, but Adie was spring. Bright, vibrant, interesting...new.
But still just a season, and his time with her, when he finally got her into bed, would pass quickly.
She’d move on and so would he because nothing lasted forever.
When Adie suggested she be Hunt’s partner for the Amazing Race–style treasure hunt across Manhattan, she’d thought it would be a small event, with them mostly running through Central Park.
Choosing to concentrate on buying Hunt’s gifts for his business colleagues, staff and friends and organizing his corporate Christmas events, and keeping up with the never ending requests from her existing clients, Adie had handed most of the race related work over to Kate and had minimal input into the foundation’s event. As a result, she hadn’t taken in many of the details.
The race, she’d quickly realized when she arrived at the starting point, was bigger and bolder than anything she expected. There were reporters and news crews, and crowds of onlookers were contained behind the tape. And while they were starting the race in the park, they’d be winding their way through Midtown before heading for lower Manhattan.
So far today she’d seen an Olympic figure skater, a world-class swimmer, lots of famous basketball players, golfers and many baseball players. Their teenage running mates looked wide-eyed and excited.
While she’d been a runner in school and was naturally fit, she’d forgotten that Hunt had once been a world-class athlete. She’d also forgotten to take into consideration that Hunt’s legs were a lot longer than hers. And, as he’d told her at the starting line, he regularly ran ten miles.
And competitive, dear Lord, he was competitive!
They were in Chelsea on the fourth of seven legs and Adie, breathing heavily, was dodging tourists and residents, trying and failing, to keep up with Hunt’s long-legged stride. They were, as far as they knew, in either second or third place and Hunt was determined to be first. He was the head of the foundation, he’d reminded her, he needed to lead by example.
His leading by example might just kill her, but whatever.
It wasn’t in his nature to trail behind anyone, Adie thought, keeping her eye on his broad back in the insulated lime green running tops they both wore. He hadn’t created a massive business empire by allowing other people to take the lead. No, he was determined and driven and he fought for what he wanted. And today he wanted to win, and if he had to drag Adie to the finish line, half-dead, then that was what he’d do.
Adie was starting to think that death was a distinct possibility.