Devastated (Anger Management, #1)(46)

“So, the worst job that I ever had was for this man-”

“Gunter,” he supplied for her.

“Gunter,” she said with a sad shake of her head. “I’m not sure where to start.”

“Probably at the beginning,” Hunter murmured helpfully.

“That would probably be for the best,” Kylie agreed, nodding solemnly.

“Just get on with it, brat,” he said, chuckling as he took a sip of his Coke.

“Are you sure you want to hear this?”

“I’m waiting with bated breath,” he assured her, watching as she absently reached up and pushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear while he sat there, watching the move as he thought about how many times he’d done the same thing, the way it felt to have her silky smooth hair slide through his fingers, the way it felt to brush his hand against her skin, how it felt to press his lips against the back of her neck and couldn’t help but wonder if she realized how much he wanted her.

“Then I probably should get on with it,” Kylie said with a teasing smile.

“You probably should,” Hunter murmured in agreement.

“It’s such a sad tale. I’m not sure if it was because he was so old, but he had a hard time remembering my name,” Kylie said with a sad shake of her head that had his eyes narrowing.

“Did he now?” Hunter drawled.

“He did,” she said with a heavy sigh before adding, “He was also cranky.”

“Well, he was old,” he reminded her, making her smile.

“Well, this is true,” she said, nodding in agreement. “He also cheated at board games, but that probably had something to do with the fact that he couldn’t accept losing to someone half his age,” she said with a thoughtful frown.

“Probably,” he murmured in agreement.

“He also hogged the bed,” Kylie said with a sad shake of her head.

“And sharing a bed was part of your job?” he asked even though they both knew damn well that she was the one that hogged the bed.

“I did wonder about that,” she said with a thoughtful frown.

“Must have been in the fine print.”

“Must have been,” Kylie agreed with a smile that had him thanking God that she didn’t know exactly what that smile did to him.





Chapter 25

“Can I ask you something?” Hunter asked, as he absently toyed with the small glass candle the waitress placed on their table a few hours ago when it started to get dark.

“Maybe,” Kylie said, watching as his emerald eyes flicked up in surprise.

“Maybe?” he asked softly with a look that left her struggling not to think about that kiss that she’d liked probably more than she should, but even knowing that this was a bad idea didn’t stop her from hoping that he would kiss her again.

“Maybe,” she repeated, unable to help but smile at the man that made her forget how terrified she’d been only a few hours earlier. But that wasn’t really a surprise, was it? He made her feel all the things that she’d never thought she would ever experience and he did it all with a simple look.

“Okay, then how about I just tell you instead?” Hunter said, slowly nodding as he reached for her hand and-

“I’ve been looking everywhere for you,” Ryan said, sighing heavily as he dropped down in the chair between them.

“And now that you’ve found me, you can fuck off,” Hunter said, keeping his eyes locked on her.

“As much fun as that sounds, I can’t. We need to talk,” Ryan said, trying to get the waitress’s attention.

“It can wait,” Hunter bit out.

“It really can’t,” Ryan assured him as he gave up trying to get the waitress’s attention and decided to help himself to her drink.

“Did someone win the challenge?” Hunter asked, continuing to reach for her hand when Ryan’s next words stopped him.

“The author of the letter that I showed you yesterday is here.”

---

“Get out of my way,” Hunter bit out through clenched teeth as he shoved Ryan out of his way and headed towards the hotel.

“Don’t do this, Hunter,” Ryan said, quickly catching up with him and grabbing hold of his arm.

“Consider it already done,” he snapped, tearing his arm free and kept going, eager to make that piece of shit pay for every fucking mark he’d left on Kylie.

As he made his way inside, there was no doubt in his mind that he was going to kill the asshole. He was going to make that piece of shit pay for everything he’d put Kylie through. He was going to-

“Don’t fucking do this, Hunter,” Ryan said, rushing to stop him.

“Hunter?”

“Hunter!”

“Goddamn it! It’s not the father,” Ryan said, making Hunter reluctantly come to a stop.

“Her mother and sister showed up at the challenge with a sob story,” Ryan explained, as he moved in front of Hunter.

“Who did they tell?” Hunter asked, slowly exhaling as he rubbed his hands roughly down his face.

“Everyone,” Ryan said after a slight pause.

“Fucking bitch,” he said, dropping his hands as he shook his head with disgust.