No. Because every time I see you, I want to shed my clothes and seduce the hell out of you.
Adie pulled a fake smile onto her face. “Sure. Everything is fine.” She stamped her feet. “Damn, this weather is ridiculous.”
“Yeah, I wish I could blow off work and head for the islands,” Hunt told her, placing his hand on her back and directing her to walk south. “Hot sand, pretty girls in bikinis, big surf.”
Icy mojitos, warm water...bliss. “Do you surf?” Adie asked him.
Hunt nodded. “Whenever we could, Steve and I used to head to Hawaii to catch some waves. We’d spend our days surfing and our nights partying, drinking and chatting up girls.”
Wanting to dig a little deeper, Adie tossed out another question. “You and Steve were pretty close, right?”
Hunt stared off into the distance and took a moment to respond.
“He was my best friend and my brother, in every way that counted. When I lost him, I felt...adrift. When you don’t often connect with people, you treasure the people with whom you do experience that connection.”
She’d tried to connect with everyone when she was younger. Hunt, it seemed, hadn’t tried at all. Different people, different paths.
“Kate and I are relatively new friends, but I tell her more than I do most. Or maybe I end up telling her stuff because she won’t let me keep any secrets,” Adie admitted.
Hunt laughed. “Steve was like that, as well. He’d push and push until you eventually realized it was easier just to tell him. But he was a great secret keeper.”
She trusted Kate, as well. “Were Kate and Steve very alike? I mean, I know they looked alike but were their personalities similar?”
“Peas in a pod,” Hunt replied, dipping his hands into the pockets of his jacket and shortening his long stride so she didn’t have to hustle to keep up with him. “Steve knew all my secrets and if you are not careful, Kate will soon know all yours.”
She already did. Not that Adie had any great and dark secrets; her parents were selfish and being around them hadn’t been fun. She worked too hard and because she’d been so in love with the idea of love, she no longer dated, especially at Christmas. She might be a workaholic but her life wasn’t that complicated.
“Around this time of year, and after days like yesterday, I miss him the most.”
Adie’s step hitched at his unexpected statement and she darted a look at his face. Under his scruff, the muscle in his jaw was rigid with tension as were the cords in his strong neck. He also looked slightly paler than he had minutes before. Yeah, this was a very tough, touchy subject and Adie knew he wouldn’t appreciate any sentimentality or trite expressions of understanding.
In fact, she was amazed they’d gone this deep, this quick. After all, Hunt kept telling her he didn’t do emotional connections.
Adie felt the intense desire to comfort him, to wrap her arms around his waist and bury her face in his neck. Hunt, she was sure, wasn’t familiar with the restorative powers of a hug, with how good it felt to lean on someone else.
Knowing she needed to take baby steps, Adie pushed her hand into the pocket of his jacket, sliding her fingers between his. She ignored the look of surprise he sent her and just squeezed his hand, hoping he understood that, just for this moment, he wasn’t alone.
Hunt’s hand tightened around hers and she laid her head on his shoulder, grateful for his big body sheltering her from the icy wind. Reminding herself that they were associates and not lovers, she reluctantly straightened and tugged her hand from his.
Hunt, however, refused to let her go.
Well, okay then.
Trying to ignore thoughts of how wonderful she felt snuggled up against him, she reminded herself they were just colleagues—even if they were holding hands—and asked him why he’d wanted her company this Sunday morning.
Hunt pulled a folded piece of paper out of his back pocket with his free hand and shook it open. He handed it to Adie and she scanned the typed notes.
“It’s a list of names, denoting age and sex.” She looked at Hunt and saw the hint of red blooming on his neck. Hunt was embarrassed? She didn’t think he had it in him.
“An explanation, Sheridan?”
They approached a crossing and stopped behind a young couple pushing a toddler in a pram. Adie was about to tell him to hurry up with his explanation, but he gave her a small shake of his head. Frowning, she looked around and saw that his presence was gathering interest. The young father nudged his wife and mouthed “Hunter Sheridan,” and another man surreptitiously pulled out his phone to snap a photo. The young mom and the other women standing around were content just to look at him, their eyes filled with female appreciation.
Adie couldn’t blame them; he was eye candy.
Hunt took the paper from her, folded it up and placed it back into his pocket. Ignoring his admirers, he placed his hand in the middle of Adie’s back to usher her across the road.
Adie turned around and looked back at the crossing and noticed that people were still watching. “I know that you are a Manhattan mover and shaker, but I didn’t realize you were so recognizable.”