“I would pay you, of course,” he quickly added. “How about a hundred bucks per night?”
“Ahundred bucks?”I asked. “Hunter, that’s way too much…”
“It’s cheaper than my hotel. And I’d have a lot more room. Trust me, staying here would be anupgrade.”
My every impulse was to say yes, to beg him to come back and live here even if it was just for a few nights. But the pain of him leaving five years ago was still sharp.
Hunter gulped the rest of his beer. “Actually, what am I thinking? It’s incredibly rude to invite myself over, especially a month after your parents passed. The last thing you need is someone in your way while you deal with everything. Forget I mentioned it.”
“No!” I blurted out. “You wouldn’t be in my way at all. Of course you’re welcome to stay here, Hunter. But you don’t have to pay for your room.”
He waved a hand. “Nonsense. I can write it off as a business expense. Besides, you’re doing me a huge favor. It will be nice to do the videos in my old room. As long as you’re sure I won’t be a bother…”
“I’m sure,” I replied. “I would love to have you.”
I groaned internally.I would love to have you? I sound so freaking desperate.
“Then it’s settled.” He stuck out his hand to shake, and then laughed it off and pulled me into a half-hug on the couch. I savored the feeling of his arm around me again, physical contact I had dreamed about for the past five years, and then he pulled away.
“Brad would love to see you when he gets back. How long are you going to be here?”
“Depends on how long it takes to record these videos,” he replied. “Three, maybe four weeks. Is that too long?”
“You can stay as long as you need,” I said, meaning every word. “Brad gets back from Houston in two weeks. I’ll let him know you’ll be here when he gets back.”
Hunter smiled warmly at me, instantly transporting me five years into the past when we were both teenagers on the couch, trying to pretend like we weren’t attracted to each other. Except now we were adults, and there was nobody around to judge us for what we did.
I’m a different woman now,I thought while smiling back at him.I’m more outgoing than I used to be, and I’ve had a few serious boyfriends. If I want to make a move on Hunter…
Just then, his phone rang. He looked at the screen, and I was sitting close enough to him to see the name that popped up.
Carmen Piscotty
Ice filled my veins as I read the name. Hunter looked at the screen, then pressed the button on the side of his phone to silence it.
“You can answer that if you want,” I said.
He shoved the phone in his pocket. “It’s okay, I can call her back later.”
“That’s your fiancée, right?”
He hesitated a moment before saying, “Yeah, Carmen.”
“She seems really nice,” I said. Then I hastily added, “I mean, based on the couple of videos she was in. There was the one where you proposed to her, and the one where you let her try driving a manual transmission…”
“Carmen’s great,” he said simply. “You’ve watched a lot of my videos, huh?”
Crap. I just contradicted my story from earlier.Lying was tough after three beers.
“Oh, um, I haven’t watchedthatmany. Sometimes when I’m bored I’ll put them on.” A spurt of courage filled me and I added, “Like I told you when you lived here: if you ever became famous, I would be your biggest fan.”
Hunter ran his fingers through his hair again, the strands falling back into place on his head. “That means a lot to me, Erica. Although I wouldn’t say I’m famous.”
You have three million subscribers,I thought to myself,and you’ve been on Jay Leno’s car show. You’re definitely famous.
He got up from the couch. “I’m going to grab the bags out of my car.”
“I’ll help you.”