Total pages in book: 108
Estimated words: 103159 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 516(@200wpm)___ 413(@250wpm)___ 344(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103159 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 516(@200wpm)___ 413(@250wpm)___ 344(@300wpm)
“Why?”
“I don’t know. What if your truck breaks down and we’re stuck outside in the cold?”
He looked at me like I was crazy. “My truck isn’t going to break down.”
“It might!”
With a frustrated sigh, he motioned toward the stairs. “Go get your coat, and I’ll grab mine.”
“Perfect!” I said, lifting to kiss him before I dashed up the steps.
Two minutes later, we were about to walk through the door when it suddenly opened—and the most stunning young girl came to a stop, smiling at us both. Her sapphire eyes were unlike anything I’d ever seen. And with the Shaw family, that was saying something.
“Avery? You finally made it!” Hunter said, picking the girl up and spinning her around.
Laughing, Avery took off her hat, and her light brown hair tumbled down her shoulders. “I thought I wasn’t going to be able to catch a flight out of JFK, but Claire arranged for a private plane to get me home. She said if she didn’t have me home for New Year’s Eve, my parents would say no more Paris!”
From what I understood, Claire was the model who’d taken Avery under her wing, acting as her mentor in France.
Hunter laughed and took her coat from her.
“Avery, this is Kipton. Kipton, my cousin Avery.”
I extended my hand, but she pulled me in for a hug. “I’ve heard so much about you from the girls. I couldn’t wait to meet you and—oh my God!” She grabbed my hand. “That’s Grams’s ring!”
Hunter laughed. “Not anymore. It’s my fiancée’s ring.”
Avery screamed and threw herself at Hunter, then turned and hugged me again.
“What’s all the noise out—” Lincoln started to say before she stopped and let out a scream of her own. “Merit! Avery’s home!”
Suddenly, people filled the foyer, wanting to welcome Avery back to Hamilton. Hunter slipped his hand into mine, and we slowly started to make our way to the front door.
“And where do you two think you’re going?” my father said, stopping us in our tracks.
I spun around to see him and Brock, standing side by side.
Hunter pulled me closer. “For a ride.”
My head snapped to look at him.
Hunter quickly added, “Horseback riding! Not the…other…kind of ride.” His cheeks turned red.
I closed my eyes briefly. When I glanced back at our fathers, mine looked about ready to kill Hunter, while Brock looked ready to high-five his son.
“Isn’t it a little cold to be going for a ride?” my father said, folding his arms over his chest.
“Daddy, it’s not that cold.”
He gave me a once-over and quirked up a brow. “And in a dress?”
Busted. I pressed my lips together to keep from laughing, while Hunter made a frustrated noise under his breath.
Hitting him on the side of the arm, Brock leaned in and said something to Hunter that only he could hear. Then he turned to my dad. “Come on, Gilbert. I’ll pour you a scotch.”
Giving Hunter a warning look as he turned, my father said, “Better make it a double.”
Once they walked away, Hunter and I both relaxed—and burst out laughing.
He finally sighed, reaching for my jacket. “Let me take your coat. It doesn’t look like we’re going anywhere.”
After hanging up our coats, Hunter took my hand, and we started back toward the living room, where the noise levels were almost ridiculous now.
Before we got there, I pulled him to a stop. “What did your father whisper to you?”
A smile so sexy appeared on his handsome face, I thought my knees might buckle on the spot.
“He told me he’d make sure your folks stayed in a guesthouse tonight…far away from your room.”
My face instantly heated, and I slapped him on the chest. “I told you they probably heard us last time!”
He laughed and pulled me to him. “They didn’t hear us. But I am my father’s son.”
I gazed into those blues and sighed, exasperated. “Kiss me.”
“Anything for you.”
He cupped my face in his hands and captured my mouth, giving me a kiss so passionate, my toes literally curled in my shoes.
Somewhere from the living room came a shout. “Get a room!”
We broke apart, both laughing.
“How long until we can get married?” Hunter asked.
“Five months.”
He wrapped his arm around my waist and led us back into the living room. “We’re going to have to be sneaky until then.”
Laughing, I looked up at the man I was madly and passionately in love with. “Did you forget we’re both heading back to school? Two different schools?”
“Ahh, but I already have that route down. It takes me less than three hours to get to Bozeman. I don’t have classes on Friday or Monday, so that means I get to spend every long weekend with you.”
“At my parents’ house…”
He stopped and looked down at me. That wicked smile back on his face. “Did I forget to mention I might have already rented an apartment near the university?”