Page 42 of The Fake Fiance's Billionaire Adversary
A situation had come up with one of the flip houses, and with the way Hunter had secluded himself, it must have been bad. He hadn’t seemed overly stressed, but she’d also given him space to deal with the problem.
It worked out well since the women of the family decided Gabby needed some girl time and they’d gone to Amarillo on New Year’s Eve. Reagan was pretty sure it was an excuse for Caroline, Pauline, and Carrie Anne to buy baby clothes. This first grandchild was going to be set for life based on the number of onesies they’d purchased. Reagan had to admit part of her envied Gabby. This family, the way they went whole-hog loving each other…Reagan couldn’t see anyone not wanting to be part of it.
Only a few hours ago they had returned, and now they were getting ready to watch some fireworks. Apparently, the year before there had been a wedding and an engagement. Instead of taking a chance something would catch fire, they’d held off on them.
Now dressed, Reagan wanted to find Hunter. A phone call here and there wasn’t the same thing as being held in his arms. As she reached the study, she could hear him talking to someone. Just as she’d decided to turn around, she heard him say something about The Sandy Pelican.
Her heart rate double as she crept closer, trying to hear what was being said. Part of her wanted to trust him, but the other part, the one still trying to figure out where the bed and breakfast fit in her life, wanted to know what was being said.
She peeked through the crack in the door and found Hunter with his back to her and the phone to his ear.
“Yeah, go ahead and gut the last two bedrooms. There’s no point in updating one room and not the others,” Hunter said.
Reagan smiled. Not long ago, she would have been furious, but things had changed. Hunter helping her wasn’t him saying she wasn’t good enough. It was saying he cared about her and the things that mattered to her.
“I know, Stone…Well, I’m going to have it fixed up and then see about buying it…No, she has no idea…I guess I charmed it out of her.” He laughed.
Reagan’s pulse raced faster as she leaned her back against the wall. She had to be hearing things wrong. Hunter wouldn’t do that to her. But then again, he’d wanted the bed and breakfast. Badly. Enough that he’d said he’d wait her out because he knew it would fail.
He also knew she didn’t have the funds to keep it going for more than a year. With the damage from the hurricane affecting tourism, it would take well over a year to bounce back.
She put her hand over her heart and felt the shatter as it happened. His parents knew they were faking it. All this time, what if this was his plan? To get her defenses down and make her think he cared about her, only to fix the place up under the guise of helping? That way, when she ran out of money, all he’d have to do is buy and move in.
Pushing off the wall, Reagan made her way back to her room, a numbness spreading from her heart and encompassing her. He’d used her, lied to her, and she’d fallen for all of it. Fallen in love with him. How could someone with a family so incredible be so ruthless and cruel?
Was that why he wanted to stay in Georgia? So they wouldn’t know what kind of person they’d raised? That seemed to be the only way she could explain it.
After locking the door to her room, she curled up on her bed, wondering how she was going to survive the next two days. They’d planned to leave the day after tomorrow. A whole forty-eight hours with a man who made her physically ill. How was she going to do it?
A knock came from her door. “Hey, Reagan, the fireworks are about to start,” Carrie Anne called through the door.
Reagan sat up and took a deep breath, and as the numbness subsided, anger took its place. If Hunter could keep up pretenses, she could too. Plus, she loved his family. They were good people, and she had no doubts they had no idea who Hunter truly was.
She stood, squared her shoulders, and walked to the door. As she unlocked it, she plastered a smile on her face and opened it. “Hey, I’m ready.”
“I’m ready for some sweet iced tea, some Texas chocolate sheet cake, and a sky filled with colors. How about you?” His sister’s smile was wide and bright.
“I’m absolutely ready for it, especially that cake. It sounds delicious. I may have to put it on the menu at The Sandy Pelican.” She grinned.
Two days. She could do anything for two days. When they got back to Tybee, she’d be ready for war. He’d never see it coming.
Chapter 21
The fireworks display going on was incredible, and the night sky was lit with an array of colors. Not only had Bear set it all up, but he’d even gone so far as to get outdoor seating. Hunter suspected there’d be a movie screen at some point. With the ranch being so far away from a major city, entertainment was a little sparse.
The past week when Hunter wasn’t working on selling his share of the business, he was helping his brother herd the cattle away from the house. A couple of nights, they’d even camped out in the pasture so they could get done in time for New Year’s Eve. No one wanted to take a chance on them getting spooked and hurting themselves because of the noise. Plus, it was just good stewardship to take care of the animals the right way.
Hunter leaned over to Reagan who was sitting to his left. “This is pretty good, huh?”
“It’s beautiful.” Her tone seemed laced with iciness.
“Have I done something wrong?” he asked.
She shook her head, but her body language screamed in disagreement.
Hunter studied her a second. What could he have done? They hadn’t even seen much of each other. As soon as he’d had the chance, he’d called Stone to discuss Hunter’s desire to retire from flipping. It had never crossed his mind that Stone didn’t want to be full owner, but once Hunter knew that, they came up with a different plan.
Together, they’d approached Ryan with the idea that he could purchase Hunter’s half. Since the man had been with West Stone Renovations for three years, he knew the business well enough that he could help Stone. What he didn’t know, Stone could teach him. It had been the best solution for all of them.
