Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 62643 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 313(@200wpm)___ 251(@250wpm)___ 209(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 62643 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 313(@200wpm)___ 251(@250wpm)___ 209(@300wpm)
“Oh, I’m very familiar with exactly that kind of mom, babe. Our mothers are peas in a pod,” Hunter said. His eyes took on a calculating look. “I’m guessing your mom doesn’t know about our conversation at the event barn yesterday, then, hmm?”
“No.” I frowned. “Why would she?”
“No reason. Except, thinking back, I’m not sure you were entirely…” He adopted a sorrowful expression and sighed pitifully. “…nice.”
For once, I recognized the teasing light in his eyes for what it was and refused to be conned. I closed the distance between us with a single step and poked him lightly in the stomach. “Excuse you. I was every bit as nice as you were, Hunter Jackson.”
“See?” he said plaintively. “I feel very attacked.” He grabbed my hand and used it to pull me against him, then grinned down at me. “And, just to say, I’m not the one who has a niceness bet to win… or lose. So.”
I shook my head slowly, torn between laughter and outrage. How the hell could someone so annoying be so damn adorable? And why the hell did I like it so damn much? When had being teased by Hunter Jackson started to feel as necessary as coffee, or oxygen, or sunshine, like the sort of thing I didn’t want to live without?
I lifted an eyebrow. “You are not telling my mother I was cranky,” I warned.
“No?” Hunter gently pushed me back against his front door and blocked me in with his body. “I’m sure if you were extra nice right now, it would… help me forget.”
Heat washed down my spine and made me suck in a breath. “That is what I’m here for,” I reminded him breathlessly. “That’s what we were in the middle of doing when we were rudely interrupted.” I nipped him lightly on the chin. “I can be extra, extra nice.”
Hunter’s breath hitched in a gratifying way. “Extra, extra nice? Because I have an idea, but you might not like it…”
“Anything,” I said rashly, surprised to find that I meant it. “I trust you.” Hunter would never hurt me.
“Fuck, Charlie. So sweet,” he sighed into the sensitive skin right below my ear. I shivered, my hips tilting up to meet his… and found nothing but air since Hunter stepped back at precisely that moment and held out a hand. “Let’s talk.”
I blinked. “T-talk,” I repeated. Then, in a higher pitch, “You want to talk? I don’t suppose that’s a… a quaint Thicket euphemism for things that don’t involve talking at all?”
“Nope.” He led me over to his sofa and dropped down into the seat. “It’s a thing people do when they like each other. When they’re friends as well as… whatever else they might be.” He pulled me down to sit beside him and added in a lower voice, “When they know they have all night to do anything and everything else they might want. It’s foreplay.”
I swallowed hard. This was an excellent point, and I couldn’t argue with it. But also, “Just to be clear, after talky time is over, then…”
“Then I’ll be extra nice to you.” Hunter’s grin was dirty, molten perfection. “And that is a euphemism, babe.”
I let out a shuddery breath and gripped his hand tightly. “Fine. I can talk. Heck, half my life is talking. I can talk for hours. That’s… easy peasy.” I stared at him for a long moment, but the only thoughts in my head were X-rated and far better suited to action than words. “What should we talk about?”
Hunter sank back into the cushion, pushing his knee against mine. “Start with this: How was your day, Charlton? How’d it go with your family? Was it overwhelming? Was it fun? Were you glad you came back?”
I blew out a breath. “It was… nice?” I winced, and Hunter chuckled. “No, seriously, though, it was overwhelming and fun. It was special. Made me realize I shouldn’t have waited so long to come home, but also that maybe…” I bit my lip, and Hunter watched patiently as I figured out how I was feeling. “Maybe I needed to stay away as long as I did so I could see it more clearly on this visit. If I’d come home more often, I wonder if the changes around here would have been too subtle for me to notice.”
“Changes?” Hunter cocked his head curiously. “I feel like the Thicket’s mostly the same it’s always been.”
“It’s definitely not. Don’t get me wrong, plenty of things haven’t changed. But there’s so much more business here, more diversity, more open-mindedness. The town is thriving. When we were at the Stuffin’ yesterday, I couldn’t believe how packed all the storefronts were with shops and businesses. Don’t you remember when we were in elementary school and half of those buildings were either falling down or empty? I noticed Quinn’s wedding planning showroom—that’s not something the Thicket used to be able to support. And the fact you and your sister can open up an event space in addition to the community center and expect it to book up is something you wouldn’t have been able to do back then either.”