Page 30 of Faking Ties

“Damn.” Quincy bursts out in laughter. “You’re my hero.”

“I get it now.” Jake surveys me intently. “Why he likes you.”

“Your approval means so much to me,” I say. It should’ve sounded nice, like Stella, but I can’t help the sarcasm that bleeds into it.

Hunter speeds toward us with the kids and depositsthem into Quincy’s arms. Quincy kisses each of them before setting them on their feet. The second they’re back on the ground, they take off and join their friends again.

I pass Hunter his beer, and he slides his arm around my waist. His fingers rub my hip as he makes conversation with Quincy and Jake, but I’m too distracted by his touch to pay attention. After a few minutes, other people arrive and pull his friends away into a new conversation. Hunter makes no move to join the new group and instead hangs back.

“You hungry?” I ask.

“Sure.” Hunter grabs my hand and guides us to the nearest food truck. Hot dogs in hand,we set off to explore the grounds.The vibrant energy buzzes around us,but the further we go, the quieterHunter becomes.

He doesn’t greet any of his other teammates, and they also ignore him. I’m not sure what’s going on, especially when Jake and Quincy seem like they’re close to him, so I pull him off to the side and ask, “Are you okay?”

“Sure.”

I grab his hand in mine and lift to my tippy-toes to reach his ear. “Squeeze my hand two times if you need saving.”

“That was for you. I don’t need that.” He removes his hand from mine.

I hold in my flinch. Him pulling away hurts, but hewas there for me on the red carpet. I won’t leave him hanging when he’s clearly going through something, even if I don’t have a clue what it is.

I try again. “But a good captain anticipates the needs of the team. Help me out here.”

“Nothing’s wrong,” he snaps.

“Okay, so you’re just pissy for no reason? Ohhhh, wait. I get it. You’re insecure because your teammates are attractive.”

He gives me a dirty look, and I smile wider, begging him to react, to play with me. But he doesn’t take the bait.

“Do you want to hunt down the cookies I brought?” I ask.

He shakes his head. “Not now.”

I frown. Where did the Hunter I’ve come to know go? The one who promised to set up a table just to showcase them? The one who actually seemed to enjoy my company. Because right now? He’s acting like I’m the last person he wants to be around.

Hunter stalks away and I hurry to catch up. He doesn’t hold my hand or touch me in any way. If anyone were to look at us, they’d think we’re in a fight. That’s unacceptable. This is only our second official appearance together as boyfriend and girlfriend, and I can’t have people already doubting our relationship. Not when Jax’s face was priceless on the red carpet when he realized Hunter and I are still together. I might have a vendetta against him after Stella told mehe cheated on her. Cheaters can rot in hell, just like my dad.

I grab his hand in mine, trying to act like we’re together, as we continue our loop around the yard. Every attempt to draw him out of his funk results in him shutting me down. What the hell happened between meeting his friends and now?

He grabs another beer for us and chugs his before grabbing another and chugging that.

“Whoa, slow down,” I say. “You drove here.”

“So? We can order a car. Or you can call your bodyguard to get us.”

Okay, that’s it. I’ve had enough of his shit. I drag him into the house, over white marble floors and into a pristine bathroom that smells like the ocean. I slam the door shut, lock it, and whirl on him.

“What’s going on?” I ask.

“Nothing.”

“It’s not nothing. You’re acting like we’re not together and that you hate it here.”

Hunter remains silent, his jaw clenched.

“Who the hell are you?” I ask, leaning against the door.

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