She wouldn’t look at him, and he didn’t want to force her, so he just squeezed her arms.
“What?” he asked again.
She swallowed once. “You’re too good for me,” she mumbled. “Way too good. And I don’t want to be played.”
It was as if some cosmic vacuum had sucked all the air from his lungs. He couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think, and his equilibrium was suddenly and entirely focused on her as its center. She thought this was some off-the-cuff fling? That he was some rich guy with nothing better to do?
“Do you really think,” he began slowly, fighting for control, “that I am playing with you? That this is a fling?”
She shrugged, still not looking at him.
He exhaled carefully, drawing it out. “Then I have been doing a miserable job of courting you.”
Her head finally came up, and her curious, red-rimmed eyes met his. “What?”
He took one hand and cupped the side of her face. “Mal, I don’t fool around. I don’t play or fling, and I most certainly don’t care where you think we are on the class and fortune spectrum. None of that matters to me. How many times do I have to tell you that I like you, that you’re beautiful, that I want to be with you, for you to believe me?”
“I just… I didn’t think things like this happened,” she whispered. “They don’t happen. Not to girls like me.”
He stroked her cheek softly. “Well, it’s happening, baby. To you. Despite what you think, there are no girls like you. There’s just you. You need to stop putting distance between us that isn’t there.”
She reached a hand up to pull his head down and touched her forehead to his, swallowing hard. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, her voice choking.
He shifted to kiss her forehead gently, then went back to touching foreheads and let his nose graze hers. “Don’t be sorry,” he told her. “Just see what I see. I’m getting tired of fighting you for you.”
She leaned her head to kiss him softly, then buried her face into his shoulder, and he held her for a long while, the sunrise unnoticed by either of them.
She eventually stirred and smiled at him. “Have I ever told you how ridiculously good you smell?”
He grinned and raised a brow. “Really? What do I smell like?”
Her smile turned impish. “A man.”
A hiccup hit his chest, and he laughed to cover it. “Well, good. I would hate to smell like something else.” He looked up at the sky. “I should get you back and let you get ready. We get to spend all day together.”
“Do we?” she asked, taking his hand and letting him lead her back to the truck.
“Lake Day,” he reminded her. “We rented the tour boat and reserved it for the party only. Fun in the sun, on the water, and a fully stocked bar and concessions.” He stopped and turned to look at her with a suggestive quirk of his brows. “What kind of swimsuit do you wear, Mallory?”
She laughed and shoved at his chest. “I will be fully clothed at all times, dude. Best thing I can say is I might wear shorts, and maybe, just maybe, you’ll get a glimpse of my shoulder.”
Hunter gasped dramatically and clamped a hand on his chest. “I don’t know if I can take it…”
Mal rolled her eyes and got into the truck before he could get the door for her. He chuckled and got in himself. He opened his mouth to say something when Mal suddenly turned to face him.
“Did you call me baby out there?” she demanded, looking a touch irritated.
He clamped his lips together on a laugh, then returned her look with one of his own. “You would prefer muffin? Or maybe pumpkin? Snookums? How about my little kumquat?”
Mal winced and rubbed at her forehead where the beanie sat. “Fine, fine, call me whatever you want, but nothing stupid or cheesy. And absolutely nothing in front of the others, you got that?”
“Yes, ma’am,” he said obediently as he started the truck.
“And keep your gorgeous megawatt eyes to yourself,” she muttered. “I need to have brain capacity in public.”
Hunter smirked and backed the truck up. “Yes, dear.”
Hunter behaved himself rather well on the boat. It was Mal, actually, who was having trouble. She couldn’t stop staring at him. Whether that was his fault or hers would be up for serious contention later. He knew the effect he had on her. His near-constant smirk today told her everything.