I shook my head. “Thanks, but I can’t let you do that. It’s toomuch.”
“Are yousure?”
“Yes. It’s so nice of you to offer me something so huge,” I said softly. “But I can’t acceptit.”
“Okay. But if things get worse, promise me you’ll think about itagain?”
I nodded and squeezed his forearm. “Iwill.”
Trina’s eyebrows suddenly shot up. “Shit,” she muttered. “Don’t look to your left,Laney.”
Unfortunately for Trina, the absolute best way to make someone look to the left was to tell them not to do it. I snapped my gaze to the side, and my heart sank as I saw Hunter striding into CaféSeven.
He spotted us and started heading over to ourbooth.
Trina jumped up and ran over to intercept him. “What the fuck is wrong with you?” she said, hands on her hips. “I told you to stay the hell away fromher!”
Hunter looked past her and called out to me. “Laney, can youjust—”
Trina shoved him in the chest, cutting him off. “What part of ‘stay the hell away from her’ do you not get?” shesaid.
Hunter let out a short sigh and focused his gaze on her. “Trina, I’m sorry, but this needs to be said. For once in your life,shut the fuckup.”
Trina’s mouth fell open, and she stared at him with wide-eyeddisbelief.
Hunter seized the opportunity to talk to me again. “Laney, I really need you to listen to me,” hesaid.
I dropped my gaze. I could still see him, but I refused to meet his eyes or even look anywhere near hisface.
His voice softened. “Can you at least look atme?”
I kept staring at the table next to him, jaw clenched. The places where his hands had touched me yesterday burned with a desperate need to feel him there again, but I knew I couldn’t act on thosefeelings.
He let out a sigh. “You said you trusted me yesterday. Now you won’t even look at me or listen to a single word I have tosay.”
Adam stood up. “That’s not fair. Things were different yesterday,” he saidicily.
Hunter ignored his brother and kept his focus on me. “Laney, I know how bad this looks. I know you think it was me, and I know you have a good reason for that. But I swear, it wasn’tme.”
“Bullshit,” Trina hissed, holding out her arm to stop him from coming anycloser.
“Trina, for fuck’s sake,” he said, glaring at her. “I just need ten seconds,okay?”
She glowered at him and looked pointedly at herwatch.
“I know I’ve done shitty things to you in the past, and you only told me about the video a few days ago, so it makes sense that you’d assume I did this,” Hunter said, looking over at me again. “But it wasn’t me. I swear. Someone is obviously trying to drive a wedge between us, and it’sworking.”
“Okay, it’s been more than ten seconds. Feel free to fuck off now,” Trina said with asneer.
Hunter ignored her and kept going. “You need to know that your secrets have always been safe with me, Laney.Allof them,” he said. “I know you don’t believe that anymore, and I know I don’t even deserve for you to believe it after all the shit that’s gone down between us before these last few days. But it’s true. I wish you could trust me again and seethat.”
A tear slid down my cheek. I briskly wiped it away, being careful to avoid moving my head. I still couldn’t bring myself to look at Hunter. If I did, I might start to believe himagain.
That was more dangerous thananything.
“I’m not going to give up on you,” he went on. “I’m going to leave you alone now and give you some time to cool off. But I’ll never give up. When you’re ready to talk, I’ll bewaiting.”
I finally looked up at him. When I met his eyes, I saw a flash of real pain behindthem.