Page 23 of The Hunter’s Affection

Not drunk, he decided, but most definitely tipsy. Her guard was down again, and Torr was thoroughly enjoying it.

“Pardon? It sounded like you said—”

“The senator. I promised my mother I would go to a stupid fundraiser for the senator in two weeks, so I’ll need my car by then.”

“Sounds . . . fun.”

“No,” she said. “Not like tonight, for sure.”

“I’m glad you enjoyed yourself.” He cleared his throat. “And I’m sorry I ‘kidnapped’ you,” he said, using her earlier words.

“You could kidnap—”

Eyes widening, Charlotte clamped her mouth closed just a second too late.

He would help her out.

“I could what?” Torr asked, pretending not to have heard that last part.

“Nothing.” She closed her eyes again. “So tired . . .”

You could kidnap me anytime.

It didn’t matter that she hadn’t actually said the words aloud. She’d thought them.

And that was what mattered.

“Why do you have to go to a senator’s fundraiser?” he asked, aware she was awake although she was pretending otherwise.

“Because my mother still thinks she’s a millionaire, living on top of the world, with everyone to impress.”

She didn’t so much as flutter her eyelashes as she made that declaration. Torr didn’t know what to say. This level of honesty was the last thing he’d expected.

“So she had a lot of money?”

“She and my dad, yeah. Gobs of it.”

Gobs? Definitely not Charlotte-like.

“I see.”

“And then one day, poof, all gone. And my dad, thrown in prison. But if you’re worried about my mother, don’t be. She found a new guy just after their divorce. Not quite as rich, but no pauper either.”

He waited for her to elaborate, but she didn’t. She either didn’t want to talk about it or really had fallen asleep.

Presuming it was the former, he shifted to another topic.

“So how does an English teacher end up in Stone Haven, sans her millionaire parents, a long way from home, which is”—she had the slightest of accents, which came out more when she was tipsy—“South Carolina?”

When her left eye peeked open, Torr laughed aloud. This version of Charlotte was both charming and highly entertaining.

“Toni told you.”

“She didn’t.”

“Lawrence.”

“Nope.”