“I’d never think less of you.” I gripped his knee tight. “Never. Do you hear me, cowboy?”
A weary smile pulled at his lips. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Good. Now, you have no more reasons to keep anything from me. I want to be the first to know if you’re in trouble. I mean, for real. Who was the first person I called after I made an idiot of myself and nearly drowned?”
He let out a puff of air and grinned. “Me...”
“Yeah. That’s right. I’m the queen of stupidity, but I still called you. That’s what best friends are for—to get us through the worst and best in life.”
His hazel eyes flicked up to mine. “Okay...you’ve got a point.”
“Dang right, I’ve got a point.” I huffed and tossed my hair over my shoulder. “I’ve matured a lot too, over this year, you know. You’re not the only one.”
He chuckled low and throaty, his thumb rubbing a small circular pattern on my hand that was still holding tightly to his. The sensation lit my skin on fire and all at once, those feelings and emotions from dancing close to him cascaded over me again like Niagara Falls.
“I’m sorry I lied to you.” Hurt echoed in his eyes as he stared down at our hands. “I’m sorry I wasn’t a better friend. I’m sorry I wasn’t here for your terrible year. And I’m sorry you had to see all that.”
I watched his lips form the words, but all I could hear was the heart-breaking sorrow that came from deep within him. Moving closer, I splayed my free hand on his chest. Every part of me wanted to pull him toward me and wrap him up in a hug so tight he’d never doubt the affection I had toward him.
“You don’t have to apologize to me.”
His gaze darted up to mine and then back down. “But, I do. You’ve always been there for me.” He laughed softly. “I mean, you even had my back against that roid-rage jerk out there. I’m not sure what I’d do without you. I’d be lost if it wasn’t for you—”
I leaned forward and pressed my lips softly to his. I couldn’t help myself. There was no questioning the move. It felt completely and totally natural, as if I’d done it a hundred times. But as I did, Hunter stiffened under my palm, his thumb ending its soft caress of my hand.
“Char...” His voice was low and full of warning.
I pulled back, fear jolting through me. What had I done? Hunter would never be able to look me in the eye again. I’d completely ruined everything. All because I couldn’t control one stupid urge.
“I’m...I’m sorry.” I gasped for breath, looking anywhere but his face. “I don’t know what I was...I don’t know why I did that.”
I needed to get out of there. To flee like Cinderella, except without the prince in pursuit and the fancy glass slippers. To be anywhere but here.
My attempt to rise from the grain bags was halted by Hunter holding tight to my hand. He used his other to cup my chin and gently turn my head toward him, drawing my gaze directly back to the smoldering intensity in his eyes.
“Charlotte, wait.”
It was a whispered order that held the weight of a mountain. He stared at my mouth, the hunger in his expression making me weak. Moving his hand to my cheek, he stroked the pad of his thumb over the corner of my mouth, his eyes following its path. Every nerve he touched on my body was on fire. Every cell crying out for more. I froze in place, my lungs not daring to inflate.
He leaned slightly toward me, his mouth parting as his hazel eyes darted from my lips, to my eyes, and back down again. I saw the indecision in his face and the widening of his pupils as he paused slightly. A battle raged inside his head, and he was waiting for one side to win out. Still, my body cried out for him, my breathing becoming difficult as I tried my best to not jump on him and kiss him again.
In a reflex I couldn’t control, I flicked my tongue over my lips. That tiny movement seemed to add fuel to the fire raging in his eyes. The battle was over. His jaw hardened and his nostrils flared with a deep intake of breath as he suddenly moved in closer.
His lips brushed gently against mine, causing the low-burning embers in my gut to burst to life. This was it. The point of no return. I sighed, fully ready to give into this powerful urge inside my head demanding more of him. Wanting Hunter felt so natural. So right. But when his fingers drifted toward the back of my head to pull me closer, the door swung open behind him, causing us both to jump away from each other in shock.
“There you are.” Sarah stood in the doorway, the lightbulb from the hallway illuminating the back of her head like some sick joke of a halo. She wore a smile that looked like it had been carved into a wooden puppet. “You promised me a dance tonight, Mr. McNally.”
“Oh. Um...yeah.” Hunter rubbed a hand over his face, his shoulders drooping. He glanced at me and I could see the millions of questions whirling about behind his eyes, but he covered them with a pained smiled. “I’ll catch up with you later, Charlotte?”
“Yeah. Sure.”
I breathed in shakily. I should’ve realized the impending sense of doom that had followed Sarah into the room was affecting Hunter just as much as me. It had settled deep in my gut, and I could barely contain the blips of anxiety shooting
