Page 45 of Bloom

“Never mind.” I almost give myself whiplash, shaking my head so fiercely. “I shouldn’t have asked. I don’t care. Whatever you meant, it’s fine. I don’t think I wanna know. I’m just gonna—”

A palm fitting flush against my mouth puts an abrupt end to my rambling.

Wide-eyed, I watch Hunter’s shoulders shake with a soft chuckle. “Anyone ever told you you talk a lot?”

I pull a face he can't see since his gargantuan hand damn near covers me from chin to hairline. As it falls away, I swear his fingers sweep along my cheekbone for a split second, and I definitely feel him momentarily pinch my chin between his thumb and forefinger, giving my head a gentle shake. “Is that why you were upset with me?”

My lips roll together, neither confirming nor denying.

The desk creaks as Hunter rests his forearms against it, stacked parallel with my thigh, those pretty eyes locking onmine and refusing to let go. “It wasn’t intended as an insult,” he explains quietly. “I just can’t picture it. Not because you’re not beautiful or smart or whatever else you assumed in that pretty little head of yours. Y’all are too similar, it doesn’t make sense to me.”

Beautiful. Smart. Pretty.I feel faint. “Too similar?”

“Quiet. Nice.” The tip of one elbow grazes the skin just below the hem of my dress. “Too polite for your own good.”

It’s not an insult, but it kind of hits like one. “And Luna and Jackson make sense?”

Hunter’s head tips to one side. “Does that upset you?’

“I don't know.” Maybe. I guess it just makes me wonder if everyone secretly thought that and they were just lying to my face when they cooed over how we were ‘the perfect couple.’ It does kind of upset me that I wasted four years of my life with someone completely wrong for me, but then that line of thinking upsets me too because I don’t like thinking about that part of my life as wasted. Iwashappy, genuinely happy. Jackson was my best friend. I loved him, and I think he did love me too. Just… not in the right way. Not enough.

“What happened?”

I shrug. “We broke up.”

It wasn't anything dramatic. It was nice, as far as breakups go. He held me when I started crying. He still offered to take me to prom—I declined. When we graduated from high school and his sisters threw a big, celebratory party on the ranch, he made sure I was invited. It was a perfectly boring, amicable break-up.

Which is apparently exactly what our entire relationship was; perfectly boring.

“What about you?” I shift the attention back onto Hunter. “You got a girlfriend back home?”

“Wouldn't be here if I did.” There's something about the way he says it, something loaded that doesn't quite fit withthe nonchalant rise and fall of his shoulders. “Haven't had a girlfriend in years.”

“Why not?”

Hunter purses his lips, contemplating. As his eyes flick between both of mine, I can almost see the cogs turning behind them. Whatever he’s thinking, he’s on the verge of voicing it until he suddenly looks away. A crease between his brows, he turns towards the corner of the room. “Did you hear that?”

I mimic his frown as I follow his line of sight, not finding anything except for a rusty old filing cabinet. “No.”

Quietly, Hunter gets up and crosses the room. As he grasps the cabinet, I’m half-convinced it’s an elaborate ruse to avoid the conversation, but then he moves it aside and sucks in a sharp breath. “Line,” he murmurs, and I’m so distracted by him calling meLine, it’s not until he repeats the nickname that I realize he’s beckoning me over. “Come look at this.”

I do as he says. And as I get closer, I swear I hear tiny… whimpers?

A soft gasp escapes me when Hunter shifts to reveal a wriggling pile of small, furry bodies “Oh my God.”

Puppies. Teeny, tiny, noisypuppies.

Instinctively, I reach out to pet them, only to recoil when a snarl sounds. So distracted by the puppies, I don’t see what I assume is their mom until she’s baring her teeth at me—not all that threatening considering she’s so small and skinny, she could almost pass for one of her pups.

Quick as a flash, Hunter tugs me backwards, one arm banding across my body like a seatbelt. “Careful.”

“It's fine.” I push his arm away, stifling the shiver its brief presence causes. “She won't hurt us.”

I don’t think she could. My heart aches at the sight of her, skin and bones and not much else. Careful not to make any sudden movements, I grab Hunter’s leftovers. Just as slow, Ikneel down in front of the squirming pile of dogs, hearing another snarl, but it’s half-hearted. When I slide the plate towards the mama, her ears perk up slightly.

“It's okay,” I coo softly. “We're not gonna hurt you.”

She tilts her head at me, then at Hunter and I swear her bright blue eyes narrow. Stifling a laugh, I wrap my fingers around the wrist of the man towering over us and tug. “Sit down. You're scaring her.”

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