Page 96 of Bargain with the Bachelor
My insta-fever had cooled a little, but in its wake, a sense of numbness was rising.
“Well… thanks for letting me know. That was… nice of you. I guess I’ll let you go—”
“Wait,” Hunter interrupted. “How are you doing? How are things going there? I mean, other than the bombshell I just dropped on you.”
“Oh. Good. Yeah, everything’s good. The city’s interesting. I like my job—most days. The people are nice. How are you?”
“You’d be proud of me.” He gave a snarky laugh. “I’ve been taking some time away from work, and guess what? Things run just fine without me there fourteen hours a day. Hey, I was down at Brady’s Wharf and saw some of your photographs in the front window of the Sandcastle Gallery. Looks like your asking price has gone way up—they must be selling well.”
“Yes. They are—thanks.” I wasn’t quite sure what I was thanking him for, but now that my shock was dissipating, my nerves were coming back.
“I uh… one of my shots placed in that photography contest. I didn’t win the grand prize, but I took first in the landscape division. It did wonders to raise my profile in the photography world. Toni said people have actually been coming into the shop asking for my work.”
“Wow. That’s amazing. Congratulations. You deserve it. Now that the demand is there, you should really think about setting up a website and selling your work online. I know someone who can help you with online payment processing,” Hunter quipped, obviously referring to his own company, Chipp.
“I’ll think about it. I haven’t really had any time to go out and take any new photographs lately though. Even if I did, I’m kind of at a loss for subject matter here in the city. Urban scenes aren’t my area of expertise.”
“You could come home,” Hunter said softly, then, as if catching himself, he added, “I mean… maybe when you come home to deal with the trust fund issue, you’ll get a chance to get out and take some new shots.”
“That would be nice. Yeah, I guess the investigationdoesgive me a reason to come back and visit.”
My heart was screaming, begging him to give me abetterreason, to tell me he missed me and still loved and wanted me.
In spite of what I’d vowed before, I found myself sorely tempted to beghimfor a second chance, to take whatever scraps of time he could afford to give me and just let it be enough. Anything to be with him.
There was a prolonged silence on the line before Hunter spoke again. “I wouldn’t ask you to come back for me.”
“You wouldn’t?” I blurted, in shock that he’d actually addressed the elephant in the room head on.
“No. You’ve made a nice life for yourself there. You’re happy now, and I’m really happy for you.”
“Well…” I started to argue, but he continued.
“You deserve better than anything I could offer you. I’m sorry I kept trying to throw money and ‘things’ at you. It’s not that I was trying to buy you—I know you can’t be bought. It’s just… I knew thatIdidn’t deserveyou. No matter what I did, what I had, what I earned, I could never deserve you. I tried so hard to prove otherwise, but I knew it. It killed me because you were always what I wanted most in life. Not just ‘want’—Ineededyou—too much.”
“Hunter,” I whispered, unable to say more with my throat constricted as it was.
Tears ran down my cheeks as he continued pouring his heart out.
“But I wouldn’t ask you to come back, to be with me. Because I’m no good for you. That’s the thing I never wanted you to figure out. That’s what I was hiding from you. I’m like that poisoned apple in the fairy tale that looks shiny and delicious on the outside, but inside, it’s all rotten.”
“Why would you ever say such a thing?”
“That night… after that kiss in your room… when I was out all night… I was with my brother. And my father.”
He paused to draw a ragged breath.
“Dad had gotten into a traffic accident. He was drunk. He was always drunk. Back in high school there wasn’t a day he wasn’t wasted by noon. Jack and I covered for him. We lied when his boss would call—back when he still had a job. We forged signatures on each other’s report cards. We took care of the house, the yard. Jack started driving without a license at fourteen so he could be sure I got home safely from sports practices and games. When he went off to college, I had to quit all my teams and extracurriculars so I could work. Otherwise, Dad and I would have been living in a house with no heat or power. We would have literally had nothing to eat.”
Shock competed with overpowering sympathy for him—for that innocent child he’d been, for the brave teenager who took on the role of caretaker and breadwinner while his friends and classmates went about their lives in carefree ignorance of his horrible circumstances.
“Hunter, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know. How terrible for you.”
“It’s fine. I’m fine. I’m just trying to explain to you the kind of stock I come from.”
“No—that’s not true—”
“Please. Just let me finish, okay?”
