Hunter waited for Laura to give his old friend a tongue lashing but she stared down at the table and said nothing.
‘We’re going upstairs to talk.’ Polly took Johnny’s arm and flashed a cheeky smile. ‘Let’s leave the lovebirds to it.’
Nobody contradicted her.
‘Do you think they’ll sort it out?’ Hunter asked when they were alone.
‘Yes, I do. They’ve got . . . something I never had with Mike.’ Laura’s monotone voice betrayed her deepest emotions more than tears would have done. ‘Do you know what she said when I asked why they didn’t simply live together? Polly told me theywantedto be legally tied because they didn’t want to make it easy to leave.’ Her dull eyes fixed on him. ‘I won’t ever take that risk again.’
The line in the sand. There it was. He could remind her they’d only known each other a few days and weren’t at the point of needing this conversation but sensed shedidneed it. If he could expose Mike for the jerk he was without humiliating Laura that would be some sort of payback for what the man had done to her.
‘Johnny was right in a way.’ Laura cleared her throat. ‘Iamlonely sometimes but what he doesn’t understand is that it’s heaps better than my miserable marriage ever was.’
Hunter had been around enough bullies to recognise one in Mike Russell, white coat or no white coat.
‘I like you. Really like you.’ A rush of colour bloomed in her neck. ‘But I’ve nothing to offer . . . that way.’
You do but you’re afraid and I don’t blame you. We’re more alike than you realise. He didn’t say the words he was thinking.
‘Maybe it would be for the best if I move on,’ Hunter said. ‘I’ll grab a couple hours sleep and leave later if that’s okay?’
‘Of course.’ Laura’s resigned tone tore at him but he needed to do the right thing for once and leave her alone. He’d learnedthe hard way what making the wrong choices did for a person’s life.
Without another word he left the room, shutting the door behind him.
Chapter Seventeen
Laura stripped Hunter’s bed and caught the last hints of his scent nestled deep in the crumpled white sheets. After they saw each other at the wedding on Saturday he’d fly back to Tennessee and that should be the end. The problem was she suspected she’d hear his deep rumbling laughter in every room and taste him on her mouth, remembering the one kiss they hadn’t been able to resist. If the lights hadn’t come back on . . .
‘Where’s Romeo?’ Polly breezed in.
‘If you mean Hunter, he’s gone.’
‘Why?’
‘Uh, maybe because that was always the agreement.’ Laura struggled to sound unconcerned. ‘You asked me to take care of him until after the party and promised he’d do his own thing then until the wedding.’
‘But I thought—’
‘—Well, you thought wrong,’ she snapped. ‘I’m back on duty first thing tomorrow morning so I need to get my house straight and do some food shopping.’ Polly’s smile faded. ‘Sorry, I don’t mean to be . . .’
‘A cow?’
‘I wasn’tthatbad.’
‘Moo, moo.’ Polly teased. ‘In case you’re interested, Johnny and I had a real heart-to-heart talk. He’s never told me much about his family before, only that his parents passed away when he was young and he didn’t have any brothers or sisters. It turns out he got sent to live with a childless aunt and uncle in Bristol who couldn’t cope when he turned into a rebellious, mouthy teenager. They sent him to Greystone because they didn’t know what else to do with him.’ She flashed a bright smile. ‘Anyway I don’t want to harp on about all that now because some of us have a wedding to organise. We’ve checked and the roads are clearso we’ll get a taxi back to the flat. I can hardly meet the florist wearing this.’ Last night’s red sequined dress looked somewhat the worse for wear in the harsh morning light. ‘I still can’t get my head around you letting Hunter go. Didn’t you see the way he looked at you?’
I felt it all the way to my toes. ‘Hunter understands where I’m coming from.’
‘I doubt that. I know your divorce was rough, but surely you aren’t going to be a nun for the rest of your life?’
This was the perfect chance to share the whole truth of her marriage, but at the last second the protective older sister gene kicked back in. ‘I’m fine. Off you go and worry about nothing more serious than flowers and wedding cake. If there’s anything I can do to help let me know.’
‘You said that with a straight face. I’m impressed.’
‘I mean it.’ Laura reached for Polly’s hand. ‘I would doanythingto make Saturday the happiest day of your life.’ She smiled. ‘Anything except invite Hunter McQueen back here and into my bed.’
‘Spoilsport.’
