Hunter quirked an eyebrow up.
“Yeah, sure. What’s up?” I asked.
“Computer’s hitching at the receipt printing screen. I know you’re a wizard with it, so I thought I’d check with you before calling IT.”
Confusion clouded Hunter’s eyes. Guess it was time to tell him about my connection to this hotel, huh?
“I’ll be right there,” I said. It felt good to say that instead of having to remote log in from upstairs to figure it out. I was on my way out of this agoraphobia pit, wasn’t I?
Doug closed the door, looking more than happy to leave the room. I even noticed the tension filling it up.
Hunter loomed down at me. “Why would he think you know anything about the computers here?”
“Because I do.” I stepped to the side to get my backpack. “I’ve helped them out quite a few times, only it was remotely from my apartment.”
“Looks like you’ve been keeping some secrets from me.”
“No more than you have.”
He grunted and walked toward the door his hands clenched at his sides. “I better go.”
“Hunter,” I said. He froze at the door, with his hand on the knob. “You can’t be mad.”
“I’m not.”
“There you go lying to me again.” I dug into my bag and pulled out a sweatshirt. “You can shut me out all you want, but I know there’s something between us. I felt it, and I know you felt it. It might scare the crap out of you, and that’s fine, because it scares me, too. So we’re perfect.”
“No. We’re not.” He whipped around. “There’s so much shit you don’t know about me, Lina. Shit that’d make your head spin. I willnotsubject you to that. Iwon’thave you involved in that. Involved with me.”
“Too late.” I stomped toward him. “The night you picked me up off that elevator floor it started. You saw something then or you never would have come back. You never would have talked to me so much.”
“I’m trying to be your friend.”
“That was fine at first. But there’s more.” I pressed my forefinger to his impressive pec, which was totally flexed. Man, hewaspissed, wasn’t he? “We’re more than friends.”
“We can’t be,” he whispered.
“Say that all you want, Hunter. And all thatshitI don’t know about you…please, after theshitI’ve been through, nothing you could say or do could scare me away.” I slung my bag over my arm.
“Lina. I can’t—”
“If I have to be the one to start spilling secrets, fine.” I cleared my throat, preparing for theholy shitlook, and spit it out. “My dad owns this hotel and about twenty-five other ones throughout the country. I work for him, but that’s just a front. He’s embarrassed by the mere sight of me because of my disorder and doesn’t have a clue how to be around me after what happened to me. I’m a disgrace to him, and he shells out the money to keep me up in this place and will give me a nice, quiet job behind the scenes once I graduate.”
“Your dad’s not embarrassed—”
I put my hand up as I walked past him. “Ball is in your court.”
Chapter Fifteen
Hunter
“You’re an idiot, you know that, right?” Mom said as I sat at the table for dinner.
“My day was great, thanks for asking. How was yours?” I reached for the spoon in the mashed potatoes.
Mom glared at me for a long time as I piled food on my plate. I’d had a day filled with exams and studying for the upcoming ones before the holiday break. I missed my study partner, though.
“He’s not going to find us here,” she said.