The song ramped up, and Lucas turned his focus to the audience, playing to their excitement and enjoyment, while Mal and the girls turned into a trio, playing off each other and having a blast while they did it.
Hunter couldn’t pay attention to the others, not even with the charm and beauty of Jenna and Caroline to contend with. They might have been the ones everyone else watched, but not him. There was no one but Mal, for him—Mal on the stage, Mal behind the camera, Mal drinking cocoa in the mornings… Mal as she was at any given time.
She was a constant surprise, and for the first time, he really liked surprises.
Thunderous applause met the end of the song, and all the cousins were laughing hysterically.
Sophie, not to be outdone, forced Alexis on stage with her, and they butchered “Hips Don’t Lie,” raising several concerns from patrons about their blood alcohol content level. Pity they did not have any such excuse.
Lucas saved the evening again with Reed and the rest of the guys by leading the room into “Friends in Low Places,” but Hunter only pretended to sing along. He kept looking over at Mal, now back with her assistants and taking pictures, invisible to everyone else again.
In his opinion, Mal had never looked more gorgeous than laughing with her cousins on stage. And all he wanted to do was pull her onto his lap and tell her how proud he was of her and how beautiful she was. And ask her to sing for him again. But he couldn’t.
He texted her instead.
And her blush and smile was worth it.
ChapterTen
Sunrise was becoming a favorite time for Hunter. It didn’t matter where they went or how much they talked or didn’t talk. Being with Mal was enough. The opportunity to hold her and steal several kisses was enough. Even without that, watching her work was enough.
She was truly brilliant, visionary, and artistic. The most inconsequential things were fascinating and of great interest to her. Mal could make something beautiful out of things that Hunter couldn’t even see. She tried teaching him, showing him what she saw through her lens, and the two just did not seem to be comparable. She tried and tried to get him to understand what she did and how she could do it, but his brain just did not work that way.
That didn’t mean he couldn’t appreciate her genius and find her work absolutely brilliant. He told her that so much she was beginning to hate him for it. He knew that for certain because she kept telling him.
“If you don’t stop that,” she said with a very pointed glare, “I really will hate you, and you will not get any kisses from me.”
He grinned at her from where he was leaning on a rock near the old ruins. “Stop what?” he asked, folding his arms. “I’m only staring.”
Mal rolled her eyes. “Exactly. But your stare is one thousand megawatts stronger than a regular person’s. I refuse to be stared at like a piece of hamburger.” She gave him another look and went back to taking pictures.
Hunter gave her a second, looking her over. She was in her jeans and hiking boots, the white jacket from the first shoot, and one of his beanies. She was gorgeous and natural and everything he had ever wanted.
“You’re not hamburger,” he said slowly.
“Thank you.”
“You’re a perfectly cut, seasoned, and tender piece of prime rib-eye steak.”
Mal stumbled as she whirled, cheeks flaming and eyes wide. “Stop that!” she screeched.
He shrugged one shoulder, curving his mouth into a smile. “What? What did I say?”
“You say things like that, and then I get all fluttery and nervous. And stop staring at me with those intense eyes!” She waved a hand in the air and turned away from him, facing the lake.
Hunter pushed off the rock and slowly sauntered toward her. He didn’t say a word, and she didn’t move when he got close. He simply slid his arms around her waist, pulled her against him, and waited. Soon enough, she relaxed in his hold and leaned back with an irritated sigh.
“Am I ever going to be really mad at you?” she asked with a hint of a smile in her voice.
He chuckled and pressed a kiss against her ear. “Probably not,” he whispered. “You like me too much.”
“Maybe.” She leaned her head back to rest on his shoulder. “How long is this going to last, Hunter?”
That gave him pause. “What are you talking about?”
“This,” she said, tugging briefly at his arms, but not dislodging them. “How long is this going to last? Because it’s moving really fast, and we’re in our own lovely little world here. How long until you realize that I’m just some solidly middle-class girl with impossible aspirations who’s dipping her toes in water she doesn’t belong in?”
Hunter dropped his arms from her and turned her to face him, his emotions suddenly going haywire, his vision turning an interesting shade of red. “What are you talking about, Mal?”