Baby Be Mine(Spinsters & Casanovas Series Book 1)(58)

Since arriving in town, Hunter had felt like he was trapped in a cage, with Caroline sticking to him like glue. Now that she’d gotten over her initial stage of being shy, she was such a hyperactive person, grabbing his arm here and dragging him along there as if they were a couple in love.

Well, at least his dad would be happy now. Caroline could report his behavior as being the perfect host, even though he’d wanted to grind his teeth many times at her tactics. It was like she was bipolar, undergoing a one-eighty change from that timid mouse to a sly cat with sharp claws. Where was the quiet girl from before? He just hoped she wasn’t the clingy type.

Hunter almost gasped when he had a look over their itinerary upon arriving. Their day was filled to the brim with activities, like jam-packed sardines in a metal can. At this rate, he wouldn’t have any room to breathe at all. In the morning, Hunter took Caroline up to the Gondola, and for lunch they ate at a fancy restaurant, followed by the Earnslaw boat lakeside viewing along Lake Wakatipu, and in between they went shopping at all the high-end boutiques in the area.

Hunter felt like his arms were about to fall off his shoulders, what with all the bags he had to carry for her. He couldn’t believe a girl could spend that much money on clothing and accessories. All the time, he was cursing under his breath as he followed her from one shop to the next. If not for his father, he wouldn’t be seen holding anyone’s baggage like a bellboy and following her footsteps like a damn loyal dog. But now, as the sun set along the horizon of Lake Wakatipu, showing off its brilliant orange hue on the lakeside, Caroline had finally voiced her tiredness and asked to retire to her room.

At last he was free, he thought, almost weeping with joy. At last, tonight he could enjoy before dawn appeared and he would be dragged into Caroline hell again.

Where was the best place to enjoy, to wind down for the night, but at Torque? But he soon came to the realization that his joyful night would once again be ruined when Anton came to his suite and asked him to stand in as the face of Silverton Enterprises for his VIP guest social gathering at Torque, the same place he planned to have fun.

Yeah, he wanted to go to Torque to have fun, but not as the face of Silverton Enterprises. He didn’t want to deal with business right now. Why did Anton have to come and ruin his night like this? Wasn’t it enough already to be punished by Caroline?

Bastard, he wanted to yell at Anton. Just because he didn’t have the social skills to entertain people like Hunter, now he had to take over. He wanted to tear out his hair. He’d never been so utterly frustrated before. But if he didn’t go in Anton’s place, then Anton would simply cut off his credit card spending spree, since his dad had given Anton full authority over his spending. What a way to blackmail him.

Anton must have something up his sleeve to ignore his responsibilities like this. Hunter couldn’t think of anything Anton would be doing if not work. Could he have caught a maiden here in Queenstown? Unlikely. Anton was the type to work at all hours around the clock. The only woman who would attract his old-fashioned cousin would be someone boring and old.

“Anton, you bastard.” Hunter couldn’t help cursing his cousin under his breath. Now he was sitting here grinning like an idiot, with his facial muscles aching from all those fake laughs and smiles, pretending to crack up at any lame joke those old croons came up with, like he was having the time of his life, when in actual fact he just wanted to kick the backsides of all of them to get the hell out of Torque so he could have some real fun with the ladies and maybe end this miserable day on a more pleasurable note.

After a grueling two hours of entertaining the old croons, though, they all managed to disappear, much to his relief, without a lot of fuss. If they started moaning and groaning like fifty-two-year-old ladies who have gone through menopause, then he would surely kick their backsides for real.