‘I wouldn’t quite say that!’
‘I would.’ Hunter laughed. ‘I shop at big and tall stores, bump my head on low hanging lights and wish I was a good six inches shorter on most airplanes. Even a polite Brit can’t phrase it any other way.’
She gestured towards the front passenger seat and he obediently folded himself into the narrow space and buckled hisseatbelt. Before she managed to suppress it, a fleeting glimpse of amusement pulled at her mouth sending an unwanted tingle of interest shooting through him.
No one would label Laura as beautiful. The slightly too long nose, a narrow face at odds with her soft curvy body and a wide mouth that worked on Julia Roberts but not so much on this woman. He hadn’t yet nailed the colour of her eyes but suspected they might be a muddy-brown shade.
‘My home’s about twenty minutes away in Crownhill. You’ll stay out there with me until the party and Polly said you’d be doing your own thing after that until the wedding.’
‘That’s kind of you, ma’am but I can make myself scarce now if it suits you better.’
‘Pleasing Polly suits me better. She asked me to take care of you and that’s what I’ll do.’ Her grim determination made it almost impossible not to laugh, but she’d take it the wrong way. ‘I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to sound—’
‘—No beating around the bush, right? It’s all good.’
‘Have you visited this part of the country before?’
‘No.’ He kept the answer short because too many details would stir up questions he’d no intention of answering. When he stepped onto English soil this morning for the first time in twenty years it had all flooded back. The grim brutality of Greystone and everything connected to the London school where he spent two long years. Danny Pearce’s thin pinched face when Hunter betrayed him. Hunter’s complicated relationship with Johnny Matthews. All of these things had shaped his adult life but they definitely weren’t something he intended on discussing with this woman. ‘When I’m on the lookout for a change from Nashville I prefer to soak up the sun on a hot, white, sandy beach with a strong rum drink in one hand.’
‘And a beautiful girl in the other?’
‘You got a problem with that? I’m single and my New Year’s resolution last week was to stay that way.’ Hunter grinned. ‘I’ve made the same promise every year since Mary Lou Kowalski broke my heart in eighth grade.’
‘She must’ve been special.’
‘Oh yeah she was that all right. Without being crass let’s say she . . . developed before any of the other girls and made the most of her assets.’
‘I assume she didn’t know you existed?’
‘She knew all right.’ He chuckled. ‘Mary Lou granted me one heart-stopping kiss after the Christmas school dance and promised much more the next day.’ Hunter shook his head. ‘Didn’t sleep a damn wink that night I can tell you, but in the morning she cut me dead in the hallway. In the cafeteria at lunch she was draped around Troy Madden, handsome quarterback on the football team and prize jerk.’
‘That’s life.’
The grim set of Laura’s jaw hinted he’d strayed into dangerous territory. ‘What resolution did you make?’
‘None.’ She scoffed. ‘If people don’t have the willpower to diet, give up smoking or stay single without an idiotic public promise it’s not going to happen.’
‘Wow. You cut to the chase, don’t you?’
‘I thought that was your philosophy too?’
He’d suspected he’d been hoist on his own petard, whatever one of those even was.
‘Anyway, believe it or not, it’s beautiful around here when it isn’t raining.’
‘If there’s a set day of the year that happens I might make a point of coming back.’
She tossed a brief smile his way before turning down a street of unremarkable, older houses.
‘Why are they divided up that way?’ He couldn’t help comparing the drab identical homes to the modern, custom-designed log cabins he built back in Tennessee.
‘Because a semi-detached house gives the impression of living somewhere much larger while being much more affordable.’ Laura pulled her car into a narrow gravel driveway and killed the engine. They both got out, although it took more effort on Hunter’s part. ‘That only works if the two sides choose the same paint colour.’ Her eyes gleamed and Hunter followed her gaze to register a bright red door on the right and solid black on Laura’s side. ‘See what I mean?’
‘Yep, it’d be kind of hard to pull off in your case.’
‘Most things are.’
Her muttered words pulled him up short. Any interest he might have in this woman was a bad idea.
