“Hunter was my first,” I correct Barrett. “And he’ll be my last. He’ll also be my next. Andverysoon.”
“He can have you,” Barrett mutters, limping away.
“Oh, and I’m sorry about the table in your private jet,” I call after him, loud enough for anyone to hear. “It was fine taking my weight, but not when Hunter was on top of me.”
Rory laughs the loudest. “I think I should take that key card back. I don’t want you wrecking the joint.”
“You can have it back in an hour,” Hunter says, his voice low and deep as he starts pulling me away.
As we cross the room, I spot Alice back at her table with Barrett. There’re taking their time gathering their things. They don’t want it to look like they’ve been frightened off.
“We should dance first,” I say, tugging on Hunter’s sleeve.
Reluctantly, he lets me guide him onto the dance floor. It’s not a slow dance, but it’s slow enough for us to hold each other close. Hunter hooks a finger under my chin and tips my head back. He shakes his head, but he’s smiling.
“You did it again, Maddie,” he says, his thumb tracing my mouth. “Just when I think I know you, you pull another stunt that has my jaw dropping.”
I thread my fingers through his hair. “You do know me, Hunter. Or as much as I know myself. I didn’t know I was going to confront Barrett until I was practically in his face.”
“You did well, little bird.”
“So did you,” I reply.
It’s only now, as the adrenaline washes out of my bloodstream, that I can process what just happened.
“Are you OK?” I ask. “The news about Alice…”
Hunter looks about to dismiss it, but he knows I won’t let him get away with that. “I’d like to say it means nothing – that I feel nothing.”
“But?”
He thinks on it a moment. “If I have to grieve, it’ll be for the mom I never had. The imaginary person that Alice could have been, but wasn’t. She’s making out she wants to build bridges, but she’s only doing it for Barrett. She wants us to form some kind of alliance, because she knows, without her around, there’ll be more battles until Barrett becomes an issue we can’t ignore.”
“He wanted to cause a fight tonight.”
“He probably had the headlines all set. ‘Hero tries to rescue stolen bride.’”
“I prefer, ‘Dark, brooding billionaire steals blushing bride and ruins her – utterly and completely.’”
Hunter’s lips ghost mine when he says, “I thought we agreed that it was you who ruined me.”
“And I’d do it again.”
“I’d let you,” he whispers huskily. “There’s you, and only you, Maddie.”
He kisses me harder and deeper as our bodies grind together. If Barrett’s watching, we’re putting on quite a show, but I no longer care. Everything and everyone around us falls away as Hunter pulls me into our own little universe. We’re safe here. I’m safe. I’m whoever I want to be, and Hunter will love me for who I am, and whoever I become.
His little bird has been set free. But she’ll always be his.
