“Okay, so you’ll call me if you need anything?”
He sent her a knowing look. “We’ll be fine. Enjoy your free time. And try not to spend it all on chores. If I return and those dishes are gone from the sink, I won’t be happy.” He winked.
“Hunt,” Abby said. She’d already made her decision. It had come to her sometime between the pull-ups and the slide. “The answer is yes. To your question. I’ll—marry you,” she said quietly, though Noah was nowhere near earshot.
Hunt blinked, and then a smile slowly spread across his face. “It’s going to work out. You’ll see.” Before she could gather her wits, he was out the door and headed for his car.
Abby collapsed on the couch, shivers racking her body. “Holy shit.”
Had she really agreed to this? And if it was a marriage in name only, how would she fight her attraction to the handsome man in her house?
Chapter 16
“Getting married? As inmarried, married?” Levi made a practice swing with his golf club like he was swinging a baseball bat, ready to blast the ball into outer space. Emily thought her boyfriend was soft on the inside, but Hunt never saw that side of Levi. He was all brute force.
Hunt furrowed his brow and set his golf bag down. “Is there some other form of marriage I’m not aware of?”
Levi glanced at their brothers standing around the first tee holding similar expressions of disbelief. He dropped the head of his driver on the tee box and leaned on the handle. “Leave it to you to do things ass-backwards. This isn’t some game, Hunt. We’re talking about a single mother and her son you’ll be responsible for.”
Hunt looked up and slowly let out a strained breath. “I’m aware of that. I’m not some impulsive eighteen-year-old.”
Levi chopped his hand through the air. “You’re always playing with the kids at the club—”
“Because it’s my job! You should try it sometime. It’s cathartic.”
“—and you go out almost every night looking for hookups.”
Don’t have to look, Hunt thought but didn’t say. “I’m capable of commitment.”
“Oh really?” Levi said, again turning to their brothers for backup.Dammit.
So Hunt hadn’t committed since the disaster with Lisa nearly ten years ago, but still. “I don’t need hookups. They simply kill time.”
Wes bounced Harlow in the BabyBjörn she’d nearly outgrown. But they couldn’t let her loose on the course. That one was a runner. “There’s no reason to believe Hunt will mess this one up,” Wes said.
“Thanks.” Hunt rolled his eyes. Did none of them have faith?
“No, really,” Wes continued, taking a practice swing one-handed. He couldn’t do it with both hands without jostling Harlow. “You’re great with the kids at Club Kids. Kaylee says so all the time.”
Levi glared at Wes. “And that’s supposed to make him a family man?”
Wes shrugged, then ducked at the sound of someone yelling, “Fore!” from a mile away.
Hunt looked up, but the ball landed nowhere near them.
Crouched and blocking Harlow, who already wore a specially designed baby golf helmet, Wes said, “None of us were raised to be family men. That doesn’t mean we can’t adapt.” Wes gestured to himself.
True, Wes had shocked them with his dad skills. And they couldn’t fault him for his overprotectiveness of Harlow, because they all behaved that way around her.
Harlow swung a short plastic golf club and smacked her father in the head.
“Good job, Harlow,” Wes cooed, and kissed her on the cheek.
Bran walked up to the tee and took a practice swing. “As much as I enjoy these family discussions, I gotta get back to the restaurants. If we’re going to play, let’s play.” He shot a look at Levi. “You can’t control who Hunt marries.”
The only brother missing from this diatribe was Adam, and only because he was running late.
Levi’s expression didn’t change.Shit.Hunt wasn’t going to like what his brother said next. “You’re the most fucked up of all of us. Maybe it’s because you never knew Mom. Never had that maternal influence in your life. I’m not sure why you are the way you are, but I don’t want to see you hurt that woman and her child.”
