Officially seven days of being my boyfriend and you think you can boss me around, huh? —Gabby
You love being bossed around. But only by me. Remember? —Hunter
Oh, did I ever. That heated hookup in Club Azul would remain a lifetime highlight.
Fineeeee. What are we busy with, pretty boy? —Gabby
You’re my plus-one. We’re going to a fundraising gala in the city. I get an invite every year and I want to take you. —Hunter
An opportunity to get all dolled up and wear a cute dress? I would never pass that.
I would love to go with you—Gabby
There’s one problem though… —Gabby
Tell me, baby. —Hunter
I really did love it when he called mebaby.
I don’t have a dress for the occasion—Gabby
We both knew I was bluffing. I had an entire wardrobe filled with dresses and I could certainly find one fitting for a black-tie event. If not, Layla and Anna would let me borrow one of theirs.
I’ll leave my card on your console table tonight. Get yourself whatever you want. —Hunter
You’re the best—Gabby
I know. You can repay me by sitting on my face Friday night. —Hunter
I fought the crazy grin threatening to take over my face. I adored this man to pieces. There was no denying it.
It’s a date—Gabby
And that was how I found myself at Anna’s place, forty-five minutes before Hunter arrived to pick me up. The girls wanted to help me get ready for the gala and offered to cat-sit Luna for the night. They seemed to be just as excited as Mamma that Hunter and I were finally dating. I also wasn’t fooled—this was a chance to quiz me about what happened last weekend at Club Azul.
Since our brunch got cancelled last minute, I was all too happy to divulge the details now.
“So you’re saying,” Anna began with a lilting voice, brushing my cheeks with pink blush. “That while the rest of us were dancing the night away, you two were doing the nasty in the office upstairs?”
I met both their gazes in Anna’s vanity mirror, nodding earnestly. “Yup.”
They burst into chuckles.
“I will never look at a dartboard the same way ever again,” Layla mused, running a straightener through my red hair. “Or a champagne bottle, for that matter.”
Honestly? Me neither.
“Platonic, my ass,” Anna tittered, switching the blush compact for a shiny highlighter one, dabbing the product on the high points of my cheeks. “You’ve been lying to yourself this whole time.”
“I really have.” I could openly admit it now. “It was foolish of me to assume that we could only ever be just friends. Especially when I feel this way about him. I’m glad I snapped to my senses before it was too late.”
I could barely fathom the thought of losing Hunter forever because of my self-sabotage.
The girls smiled. It had been two years since I took a chance on someone, and they were firsthand witnessing how Hunter melted the icy layers I built around my heart to keep myself safe.
“And how is it that you feel about him?” Layla prompted, adding the finishing touches to my hair.
I lowered my gaze to my fresh set of sparkly crimson nails. I felt a lot of things where Hunter was concerned. I was doing my best to untangle and make sense of those feelings, but the bottom line was that I liked him. A lot. “Like he could actually be the one.”
