Page 16 of Sultry Summer

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My hands reach out, groping. But nothing’s there. My eyes open and I sit up quickly.

I push my hair out of my eyes and then I hear the radio softly from the other room.

But when I sit up and slip my t-shirt on and pad out to the living room, my heart stops.

He’s sitting in front of the windows and his soft voice is crooning so gently that I can barely hear the words.

But I know them. And I know that voice. My heart pounds and tears sting my eyes.

“Hunter Mills.”

He freezes, his body going so still that I’m not even sure he’s still breathing.

And as the tears trail down my cheeks, I’m not sure I’m breathing either. My chest is tight, my head pounding to match my heartbeat. “Why didn’t you tell me who you are?” I whisper. “You told me your name was Hunter Devon.”

“It is.” He sits the guitar down and studies me quietly. His fists are tight at his side. “That’s my real name. And I didn’t tell you because…”

“Because you had no intention of being anything but a quick romance and then running,” I say. “A quick fuck. That’s all I am.”

“No!” he yells. “No, that’s not it at all. I fell in love with you that first time I saw you. I didn’t tell you who I am on thestage because that man hasn’t been me for a long time. I haven’t played a concert for over a year.”

My brows scrunch. “Why?”

“Because my agent had me seeing a woman. It was just supposed to be one of those celebrity relationships. Short and nothing. But I ended up thinking that we were more than that. I proposed. And then I came home from the studio six months ago to find her fucking the pool guy in our bedroom.”

I wince. “I’m sorry.”

He waves his fingers. “It’s okay. I dodged a bullet. But I haven’t been able to write or sing since that night. Until tonight.”

My chest warms. “Why?”

He grins. “Because I don’t think I’ve ever been happier in my life.”

Happiness curls in my belly. But fear coils there too. Because this man has a life that’s nothing like mine. He’s got fans and paparazzi stalking him all the time. He’s got it all

And I’m a barely functioning woman who doesn’t have the guts to tell her family that she needs something more than just the flower shop.

“Can you play something for me?”

And he smiles and pats the seat beside him.

He runs his fingers along the strings and then croons in his deep, rich voice. A song about love and loss and life.

Tears trickle down my cheeks and I sit there, enthralled.

This man can’t stay here. He needs to be shared with the world. I wish that I had the guts to talk to my cousins.

But even if I did, who’s to say that he actually wants me to go with him.

CHAPTER 10

Hunter

She seems quiet when I drive her home. Her little house on the outskirts of town doesn’t seem as safe as I wish she was. There’s still a haze over the mountain and the charcoal smell in the air.

She jumps out as I stop the car and stumbles, catching herself when I slam the truck into park.