Chapter 256
719 Words
Sully tapped on Cordelia’s bedroom door, feeling a bit hesitant. She’d gone straight there after they’d gotten back from the meeting, and he’d left her alone for an hour now. He figured she needed a bit of recovery time. Hell, he’d been shaken up by that meeting too, and he’d been in plenty such situations before.
If the woman had been a man, or a young, aggressive, harsh woman, he’d have accepted the other person in the meeting without even batting an eyelid. But the quintessential Sweet Granny taking the cash had been disconcerting – and even more so because it was crystal clear that she had no idea what she was really involved in.
Sully had gone to the office and shut the door, got on the phone to Dallas. His boss had been equally surprised at how the meeting had gone, and the two men had discussed next steps. Of course, nothing much could be planned: not until they got the call in a few days. Until then, Garrett and Millie were rich people in town for Garrett’s business, and they’d act appropriately.
“Come in, Hunter,” Cordelia said now.
He opened the door a bit, poked his head in. She was sitting cross-legged on the bed in jeans and a t-shirt, her hair pulled back, her face scrubbed of all makeup. She was amazingly fresh and beautiful right now, and his heart squeezed to see her.
“You doing OK?” he said.
“Yes.” She nodded at her laptop. “I was just finishing my report about the meeting.”
Intrigued, he leaned against the wall. Here he’d assumed that she was hiding out in this room feeling upset, maybe even crying, but in reality, she was working. Yet again, the woman kicked ass. Not that he should be even the slightest bit surprised about that at this point.
“To send to Dallas?” he asked.
“And Jack.”
“Oh, yeah… right.”
She stretched a bit, and his eyes zeroed in on the few inches of stomach that appeared when the t-shirt rode up. “So. What did Dallas say?”
“That we act like a married couple until we get the call.”
She nodded. “Foxburg Falls all over again, huh?”
He grinned, loving that idea. “Yep. Coffee mornings and dinners and window shopping.” All while holding your hand, putting my arm around you, kissing you. I f*****g love my job sometimes. When I’m not hating things about it, of course. Things like kidnapping rings.
“Uh-huh.” She stood up, set the laptop on the bedside table. “So. What do we do today?”
“Well, it’s almost dinner time. How about I go out and grab some groceries and then I cook for you?”
She stared at him. “You can cook?”
“Hell, yeah. I’m a great cook.”
“You are?”
“Why do you sound so surprised?” he teased her.
“I have no idea.” She blinked. “I guess I just assumed you were a take-out kinda guy.”
“Not conducive to this body, sweetheart. I need to stay in shape, and pizza and Chinese food don’t help with that very much.”
As if he’d given her permission to openly ogle his body, her eyes wandered over him as he casually lounged in her bedroom. Hunter Sullivan was unapologetically pure, sexy man, masculine and untamed. Yeah, he clearly worked at it and as a woman, she appreciated that effort; it was blatantly obvious in his hard muscles, his powerful frame. She remembered how it had felt when he’d held her in the SUV: his chest had been like solid rock, but his lips had been soft fire. The man was one contrast after contradiction after another, and she loved that about him.
“OK, then,” she said. “Show me what you’ve got, Sullivan. Dazzle me with your culinary prowess. Just remember, though… I have an online culinary blog so I know good food. I’ll be a harsh critic, I promise you.”
“Yeah, my wife the foodie.” He pushed himself off the wall in one strong movement. “So, game on, baby. Challenge accepted.”
- Writer
