Page 37 of Strut

“Yes. Try and keep up. And we only have four weeks, right? Four weeks to see if this thing between us has legs. So, I figure I may as well go all in. I may not get to use the B-word for a long time if I fuck this up.”

I shook my head because... what the hell?

Hunter continued, “We’re already way past the get to know you bit. I like you and you like me, and we clearly have chemistry.” He winked and I rolled my eyes. “May as well skip to the chase then, right?”

“Who are you and what have you done with the real Hunter Donovan?”

He laughed.

“Because at the risk of beleaguering the point, may I remind you thatyouran away from me,” I pointed out, wondering when exactly the tables had turned into him convincing me.

“And now, I’m not,” he answered, suddenly serious and reaching for my hand. “Look, Alec, I’m sorry if I’m confusing you. Am I still scared? Hell yes, I am. But I meant what I said. Idolike you. I’ve liked you since I first laid eyes on you. I ran because I knew that with you it would have to be all or nothing. Back then I wasn’t ready and so I opted for nothing. A year down the track and I still like you. I still want you. And so now, I’m ditching thenothingand taking thealloption. Is that a problem?”

Dear God, this man.Earnest brown eyes held mine and my heart tripped in my chest. “No. It’s not a problem. Just... a surprise. To be honest, you’ve got me floundering. I’m trying to be respectful and give you time to move slowly into this, and then you say and do shit like you did today and I’m like, whoa, where did that come from?”

Hunter squeezed his eyes shut and groaned. “Fuck. It’s too much, isn’t it? I warned you, I’m crap at this. Steven said it was like a switch went on when I decided I wanted to be exclusive. I stopped being fun and things got too serious, too fast—”

I gripped his hand. “No. It’s not too much. I love it. And Steven’s an arse.”

A grin broke out on Hunter’s face. “You wouldn’t be the first to say that.”

I shrugged. “If the cap fits.” I circled my thumb on the back of his hand. “I’m all for giving this everything as well. I just hadn’t expected you to be.”

His mouth curved up in a lazy smile. “Well, I am, if that’s okay with you?”

I leaned across the table and pressed my lips to his in a long, slow kiss with just a touch of tongue, happy to ignore the curious glances sent our way. This was The Village, after all. I pulled back just enough to meet his gaze and whispered, “It’s a lot more than okay.”

I dropped back into my seat and Hunter smiled that wide, full-dimpled smile that had me hooked from the very first time we’d met, and in that moment, I knew I was already too far gone to protect myself. If this thing with Hunter went south, I was in for a world of pain. He had the capacity to really hurt me, but my feet were already off the ground, my heart sailing in free-fall.

All in.

I left Hunter outside the loft and headed for my appointment at Cage. As I made my way there, I took a chance on catching my best friend at a decent hour in New Zealand.

Tui answered on the third ring. “Jesus Christ, Alec. I thought you must be dead.”

I laughed. “Fuck off. It’s only been ten days since we talked. And you’ve got fingers and a phone too. You still milking?”

“Just hosing down. Hang on, I’ll head outside.” Tui murmured something to whoever was helping him and a few moments later he came back on. “So, to what do I owe the pleasure, bro? Don’t tell me your parents have finally talked you into coming home cos that means I’m gonna have to kill ’em, and I kind of like your mum’s orange drizzle cake, just saying.”

“No, I’m not coming home.”

“Thank God. I’m living my dream vicariously through you, you do realise that, right? And can I expect another care package soon? I’m wearing last season’s stock, man. I feel like I should be wearing an apology around my neck whenever I go out. Even the cows are pretending they don’t know me.”

I snorted. “I swear you’re the best dressed fucking farmer in New Zealand. And yes, I posted a Hugo Boss jacket to you last week, so stop whingeing. You only love me for my freebies.”

“Damn right. But thank you. The fact God made the two of us the same size is almost enough to get me back to church. Now what’s up?”

I took a deep breath. Tui knew all about Hunter andthatnight. “I, um, I might’ve done something.”

There was a three-second pause. “Okaaaay. So, are we talking something good or something stupid, cos you have to know I’m down with the stupid option. You’re way too good to be true most of the time.”

I laughed. “Yeah, possibly even great. But also, potentially stupid.”

He snorted. “Have you been drinking tequila shots again, because you’re making about as much sense.”

Here goes.“His name is Hunter Donovan.”

Dead fucking silence, then, “Yep.Definitelystupid. What the hell, Alec? I thought you were done mooning over that dickhead.”

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