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It was locked.
He didn t want her in there. Well, damn it, she wanted to talk to him. Gretchen knocked, hating how
embarrassingly awkward it felt to wait for him to deign to let her in. All the while, she kept thinking
about what the editor had said.
I m sure you can wrangle an extension out of him.
She felt dirty at the thought. She knocked on the door, ignoring the twist in her gut.
A long, interminable moment passed before the door opened. Hunter glanced at her, his face rigid,
and then turned away, walking back to the large desk in the center of his office. He hadn t spoken a
word to her.
Gretchen followed him in, unsure of how to begin the conversation. Apologize for Daphne s
behavior? Explain the sarcastic conversation he d overheard between her and Kat that made her look
bad?
But she kept coming back to something else, instead. Why does my editor think that if I ask you for
an extension, I ll get one?
Hunter looked up from his computer screen, then flicked his gaze away again as if she were
unimportant. He began to type once more. He has a big mouth. It seems to be a trend with our dinner
guests.
Daphne s not herself. Gretchen moved toward his desk, wishing that he d stop typing for just a
minute and look at her, really look at her. She s under a conservatorship because she can t seem to
stay out of drugs and alcohol. Audrey s spent half her life cleaning up Daphne s messes.
I don t give a shit about your sister, Hunter said coldly. Is that what you came in here to talk
about? I m busy.
She flinched. You overheard me talking to Kat, didn t you? You can t possibly think all that is
true.
What part s not true? You weren t exactly refuting her claims.
I would never sleep with you just to get to your wallet. I m a little hurt that you think I would.
What am I supposed to think, Gretchen? Your sister proclaims to our dinner party that you enjoy
the company of men. Quite a few men, it seems.
So I was a little loose in my teenage years. So what?
And that you re sleeping with an ugly man for money. And you don t deny it. He stopped typing
and gave her an icy look. And I find you having the exact same conversation with your agent, and
again, you don t deny it. Exactly what am I supposed to think?
Well, for starters, you can trust me, Gretchen snapped.
His jaw flexed, as if he were trying hard to keep his temper in check. He said nothing.
You really think I m sleeping with you because you re rich? She was incredulous.
I m trying to think of another reason why you would, Hunter said, his voice crisp. After all, it is
acknowledged that I m quite ugly. And looking back, you came on to me. So yes, it s looking rather
suspicious in my mind.
Your feelings are hurt, she said, shaking her head. And you re taking it out on me.
He shook his head. You re not the person I thought you were. That much is clear.
And who did you think I was? I ve never lied about my family or my finances. You never asked.
Why do you think I work all the time at a job that makes me miserable? She snorted. It s not my
stunning work ethic.
He said nothing.
And for the record, I came on to you because I wanted you. Because I was drawn to you. You
seemed lonely and ached to have someone touch you. And I guess I m stupid, because I wanted to
touch you and rock your world. I guess that was a bad call on my part.
I guess it was.
She bit her lip, thinking. This conversation was going nowhere. Worse, it was making her
confused. She d come in here to apologize to him for her sister s behavior, and now she was having
to apologize for her own? For the grave crime of falling for a man who didn t trust her? It was
laughable.
No, it was heartbreaking.
Gretchen crossed her arms over her chest. I m sorry if my friends hurt your feelings
They didn t hurt my feelings. They simply showed me the truth of who you are. I should have
known you were too good to be true. All those words you said, just words.
She flinched again. What words?
Your talk of not caring what a man looked like as long as he made you happy. It turns out that you
don t care what a man looks like as long as he has a full wallet.
That s a lie and you know it. And what are you talking about? When did I ever say anything about
men and their looks? Where on earth was this coming from? She couldn t recall having a
conversation with him where they discussed what she looked for in a man. Strange.
Ask Brontë. Remember? You told her that rich men thought they were the heroes of the fairy tale
but they were truly the villains.
Huh? She stared at him, trying to piece together the whirlwind of accusations. The last long
conversation she d had with Brontë was when they were picking up books on Audrey s request.
They d talked about men then, but they d been alone in the empty house. Unless . . .
You were spying on me, she said slowly. That day at the house.
He gave her a cutting look and turned away, but not before she saw the hint of red rising in his
cheeks.
It s true, isn t it? You saw me that day. How? And what does that have to do with anything?
He was silent.
Her mind raced. She vaguely recalled her conversation with Brontë in the empty house, but only
because she d tried to give her friend relationship advice. Not that she was a great expert on
relationships herself. I don t understand what that has to do with anything. We didn t know each
other then. I didn t meet you until I moved into this house.
This house.
Something clicked. Her publishing contract specified that she had to live in the house that Hunter
Buchanan owned. Hunter, who d been spying on her before she knew he existed. She gasped. And
you own a new publisher that contacted my agent out of the blue and offered a big paycheck as long as
I lived on location. At your house. You set this all up, didn t you?
He stared at her, silent, his jaw clenched. But he wasn t denying it.
Suddenly, things clicked into place. The weird contract. The editor s odd comments. The fact that
Hunter didn t seem to know a thing about what kind of books she wrote. Eldon s dismissive dislike of
her. Her mysterious bestsellerdom.
She gasped again. I didn t become a bestseller, did I? Not really? Did you buy all those books?
I wanted to do something nice for you. It seems I am a fool.
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