Gabriela
The sun was setting, melting into the horizon, and shading the blue sky in gorgeous tones of yellows and oranges as evening fell upon the city. Normally, I’d have pulled out my phone and taken a picture to add to my gallery of sunset images. However, today was far from normal circumstances and my hands were otherwise occupied, fidgeting anxiously over Luna’s carrier in my lap.
The only thing that seemed to calm me down was the scent floating in the sports car—a mixture of Hunter’s cologne and the pine-scented air freshener suffusing the inside of his luxurious car.
“Gabby?” Oh, and Hunter’s voice, calling out to me in his deep, husky tone.
It was a soothing sound in the chaos buzzing through my mind.
I dragged my gaze away from the blurring scenery in the passenger window and shifted in the beige leather seat to face him. “Yes?”
The hands holding the steering wheel tightened and I couldn’t help but stare at the veins exposed due to his sleeves being rolled up. I’d always had a weakness for strong arms, and Hunter’s physique was clearly honed from years of training and playing football.
Thepièce de resistancewas the realistic snake tattoo wrapped around his left forearm. The one I hadn’t been able to properly see last night in the dark. Shaded in blacks and greys, it disappeared under the cuff of his shirt, no doubt stretching all the way up to his shoulder.
My goodness. Athletic, tall, muscular, and tatted?
Hunter was easily the handsomest man I’d ever seen.
His blue eyes met mine when he caught me staring. “You okay?”
Was I okay? Far from it. But would I be once we figured out who broke into my apartment and dealt with them accordingly? Yes.
“I’m fine,” I croaked. “Thank you for driving me.”
“You don’t have to keep thanking me, Gabby,” he insisted. “This is the least I can do for you.”
I was correct in my assumption last night that Hunter was a well-bred gentleman. Offered me his services to conduct homicide and now he was driving me home like a personal chauffeur. All because he saw someone in need and was willing to extend his help.
The last twenty-four hours came crashing back to me and I sagged in my seat, completely spent. Finding my sanctuary broken in and knowing I may not be safe anymore was a harsh pill to swallow. And now, on top of all that, I couldn’t believe I shared the hottest kiss of my life with a beautiful man who was my new neighbour.
I wasn’t one to believe in cosmic interventions, but this felt pretty damn close. Like fate was playing with Hunter’s and my strings, forcing us to collide with no choice but to obey.
The car suddenly rolled to a stop.
Lost in thought, I hadn’t realized Hunter veered off the GPS-guided route and brought us to a café.
Before I could say anything, he directed a sheepish smile my way. “I’m really hungry after an entire day of moving and I could use a bite. I’ll just grab something quick to-go. Can I get you anything?”
I recognized this place. Le Petit Moulin was one of the cafés in the city I liked going to during the week to get some work done. Pink, flowery, and with romantic girlish décor, they had a great selection of pastries and I had a voracious sweet tooth.
“Actually, can we sit inside for a bit?”
I was exhausted and not exactly eager to face Mamma and Papà. Though I loved them dearly with all my heart, they were loud, passionate, overbearing, dysfunctional, and I feared being in their presence would only speed up the headache that was already looming close. Before leaving Hunter’s apartment, I’d texted my parents in our group chat, saying that we needed to have a family emergency meeting in an hour. I didn’t build up on what was wrong, just that it was urgent. But anticipating their reactions made my stomach flip. Mamma would cry and Papà would go berserk.
“Yeah. I’d like that.” He threw a glance at my cat. “Will Luna be okay inside?”
“Yup. She’ll be okay. Plus, this café is cat friendly.”
Chivalry obviously wasn’t dead because Hunter turned off the ignition, unfolded out of his car, and quickly rounded the front to come open my door. Wordlessly, he grabbed Luna’s carrier from my lap.
My throat tightened at his kind gesture and the way his gaze moved over my body in a lazy perusal that had my toes curling in my red platform heels.
Now that the adrenaline from the horrible situation was wearing off, I finally registered the polished loafers, the black slacks moulding to his muscular thighs, the grey Henleywrapped over his roped torso, and the same silver chain and watch from last night.
Hunter was a pretty rich boy if I’d ever seen one.
When he wasn’t in football gear, it was clear he enjoyed the finer things in life.
