“Hunter!!” Mama’s voice is getting closer.
But we don’t stop. Like it’s always been between Hunter and me, we go from casual banter to full-on fighting in an instant.
“Not exactly.” Hunter’s jaw ticks. “But just because you can star on Broadway doesn’t make you brave.”
“Well, just because you can handle a hockey stick better than anyone in New Orleans doesn’t make you happy,” I counter just as my mother enters the bathroom.
“Honestly, Winter,” Mama says. “Watch your tongue, young lady.”
“Mama, don’t say anything,” I say as I turn toward her.
But that’s like asking for the impossible.
“Don’t speak that way to the help. You have better manners than that.”
Mama’s well-pressed navy suit is conservative and impeccable, and her dyed, black, bobbed hair is groomed to perfection. But her eyes are hard as they focus on me.
My cheeks flush with humiliation, and I can’t even look at Hunter. “Mama, Hunter is not ‘the help.’ He’s the freaking star of the New Orleans Fire, and he’s being kind enough to help you out with your plumbing problems. Please apologize to him. Now.”
Mama shakes her head at me, but she turns to Hunter, who’s staring at me. His expression has softened, and suddenly it’s back to him and me against the world.
“Hunter, I apologize for my rudeness,” Mama says stiffly. “My daughter has always brought out the worst in me.”
Hunter doesn’t take his eyes off me when he says, “On the contrary, I think your daughter has always shown off the best of both you and your husband.”
Mama actually giggles. “Yes, and did you know? Winter still has her sights set on the lead in Summerset Nights. That’s her dream role, isn’t it, sugar?”
I dig my heels in the ground and nod. “Yes. Hunter knows this already. That role has been my dream since I was a little girl.”
Hunter nods at me. “I remember,” he says softly in a way I know was meant only for me.
“I’m surprised you haven’t been offered the role yet, Winter,” Mama says, somehow managing to make me feel at fault.
“New York City has a lot of talent,” I say like I’ve said so many times before. “One day, maybe I’ll get lucky.”
“You should have seen her in Seasonal Bliss,” Mama says to Hunter. “My Winter stole the show! The audience gave her two standing ovations.”
“Mama.” I tilt my head at Hunter in apology. “Hunter didn’t have time to go to New York to see a show. He’s got games nearly every night. Being a professional athlete isn’t easy, and he’s doing amazing.”
“Just like you are, Win.” With one last look at me, Hunter turns away to clean up and put his tools away.
“I’ll start bringing my stuff out to your truck,” I say as I rush downstairs to grab a suitcase.
Chapter 6
Ifollow Hunter through New Orleans, barely noticing where I am but making sure I stick close behind him so I don’t get lost. With everything that’s changed over the last forty-eight hours, my thoughts are all jumbled.
Hunter Storm was my first real crush. But it was unresolved. We never slept together, although we almost did. And then I left New Orleans, and we stopped being friends and became…nothing at all. Moving away to pursue my dreams didn’t make us lose each other. But life, and time, did.
We didn’t ever date, anyway. We weren’t like normal couples. Since grade school, we hung out, and as teenagers, we sometimes crossed the line.
We flirted relentlessly with one another through high school, but then we always found a way to ignore the fire between us.
That fire is still there, though. And God help me, I don’t want to pretend anymore.
* * *
An hour later,Hunter brings the last of my bags into his guest suite.
