He exhaled audibly. “I do. And I’m sorry, too. But I am glad you spent time with your cousins.”
“Me too, actually. They aren’t like the other girls.”
He made an amused sound. “No, they aren’t. Did you think they were?”
Mal sighed and made a face. “I don’t know. No, I guess not.”
“Did you have fun?” he asked quietly.
“Yeah.”
“You sound surprised.”
She smiled as she thought about it. “I am. It’s been years. Literally, at least ten. But tonight, we watched our same favorite Disney movies,Little MermaidandSleeping Beauty, and we laughed at all the same parts we used to, and… I don’t know, I just… I forgot how much I like them.”
That seemed to satisfy him. Then he asked, “So why’d you come if you didn’t know you liked them?”
“Money,” she said bluntly, feeling a hint of shame. “Opportunity. And I remembered being kids together, and we had a ball back then. I couldn’t say no to that. To her.”
“I’m really glad for that, Mal,” he told her softly, and again, she could hear him smiling. “I can’t tell you how much. Whatever it was that convinced you to come, I’m… I’m glad.”
Mal bit her lip on a silent squeal and closed her eyes. “Me too,” she finally answered, trying to keep her voice as calm and casual as possible.
Neither of them said anything for a few moments.
“I miss you,” Hunter groaned petulantly at last.
Mal snickered softly. “You saw me three hours ago,” she reminded him.
“Too long,” he grunted. “I miss you.”
Mal didn’t know what to say. Did she tell him the truth? Did she play it off and back away from the tension she was feeling?
“Mal?”
She swallowed hard. “I miss you, too,” she finally whispered, something in her chest bursting and stealing her breath.
Somehow, Hunter knew. She could hear it in the way he exhaled, could imagine him smiling in the dark, just as she was.
“Good night, baby,” he said, his voice a soft, velvety caress. “Sleep tight.”
She looked up at the ceiling, shaking her head. “Good night.”
She hung up, set the phone on her nightstand, and curled into a ball on her side. A small squeal escaped her, and she grinned into her fisted hand, burying her face.
Where in the world was Mallory Hudson, and what had happened to her?
ChapterFourteen
A wedding rehearsal always seemed like a weird idea in Hunter’s mind. How many times could you mess up walking down an aisle?
Apparently, several.
He was on his fourth time going down with Caroline, who had long since stopped grinning and now muttered things that kept him relaxed.
“You guys are naturals!” Jenna called from behind.
“I’ve never felt less natural in my entire life,” Caroline muttered, blowing hair out of her face.