Truth or Dare (15 page)

“That it is.” Hunter held her gaze. “Do you remember what I said to you the first time we met?”

Luna thought back. She knew it was a weak pick up line, but couldn’t recall the exact wording. She shook her head no. 

Hunter laughed. “I said, there you are.” 

“That’s right. I remember thinking what a lame pick up line.”

“That’s what I thought when you walked through the door. You know that feeling when you’re looking for something, but you’re ready to give up because it seems hopeless? I didn’t even realize I was looking for you till you walked through the door. I just knew.”

It sounded like a line, but she knew from the serious look in his eyes that it was true. Her throat was achingly tight as she lifted her head to look at him.

“You also told me I wasn’t
that
hot.”

Hunter laughed loudly. “You pissed me off. I thought you were going to feel the same way I did and then you totally blew me off.  I think what I feel about your hotness is quite obvious.”

 She slid her hand down his chest. Hunter’s head dipped down and his lips brushed hers in a soft wet kiss. Her hand lingered lower; he was rock hard. Luna grinned. 

By the time he pulled away, she was gasping for breath. 

So this is what forever feels like. 

Chapter Nineteen

Luna groaned when she looked at her phone. “I really should go to my mother’s. They are all freaking out because they haven’t seen me. Do you want to go with me?”

Hunter looked down and she registered the surprise in his blue eyes. “Does this mean I’ll no longer be your dirty little secret?”

Luna couldn’t help but laugh. “Is that what you think you are?”

“Well you haven’t introduced me to anyone yet. And you never want to stay the night, so yeah, that’s what I’ve been thinking.” Hunter held the door open for her. They had to take Zeus out for his afternoon walk.

They crossed outside into a warm breeze. The sun was about to set, but it was still hot. 

“I guess I have been keeping you all to myself. Haven’t I?”

“And I want to show you off to the world,” Hunter practically growled, pulling her into him. 

Luna glanced up, laughing. He was so damn hot, it made her chest ache just to look at him. 

They continued to walk lazily along the well-worn path. Zeus was not much of a speed walker. Not that she was complaining. The slow pace was nice.

The dog barely made it four hundred feet before he laid down and refused to move. Hunter tried to nudge the dog along, but he wasn’t budging. 

Smiling, Luna lifted her head; his lips were warm and sweet when they met hers. Might as well take advantage of the delay.

He ran his fingers through her hair. 

The dog barked and they pulled apart, smiling. When they looked up they saw another couple walking toward them. 

Hunter pulled her into him to let the couple pass. 

Finally, Zeus got to his feet and continued on. He did his business and turned around, ready to go back to the air conditioner. Luna couldn’t blame him. 

Once they got back in the room, Luna grabbed her purse and carefully applied make-up, trying to cover up the bruises from last night. She leaned out of the bathroom. “We’re going to have to stop at my place so I can change.”

“No problem.” 

Luna dropped the concealer in her purse and headed into the kitchen. “Can you see the bruises?”

Hunter tilted her face side to side. “Not really, but your lip’s swollen on the top.”

“Not much I can do about that.” Luna sighed, and looked at him skeptically. “Are you sure you’re ready to meet my crazy family?”

“I’m sure they are great.” Hunter entwined his hand with hers as they made their way out of the apartment and into his truck.

***

When he pulled into her mother’s driveway, Luna took a deep breath. Everyone’s cars were there. Her mom must have called and informed every one of her visit. “All right, let’s get this over with.”

She jumped out of the truck and met him in front of it, grabbing his hand. She didn’t want to give them cause to worry. Last night sucked, but she wasn’t going to let it get her down. The asshole got what he had coming to him and she just wanted to put it behind her. 

Not bothering to knock, she flitted through the front door of her mother’s house. “Mom, this is Hunter.”

Her mother stood up from the couch, gave him a quick once over, took notice of their entwined hands, and then nodded in approval. “Thank you for protecting my little girl last night.”

Hunter squeezed Luna’s hand. “I just wish I’d gotten there earlier. And she was doing a pretty good job on her own, when I got there the guy was howling in pain.” 

Her mother smiled and patted Luna’s arm. “That’s my girl. And don’t beat yourself up over the timing, some things have to play out the way they do. Let me see your hand.” 

Hunter looked at Luna with a raised eyebrow.

“Oh God, Mom. Seriously? No!” Luna groaned. Why did her mother have to be such a fruitcake? 

Hunter pulled his hand from hers and held it out to her crazy ass mother. Luna cringed as her mom ran her fingers down his life, head, and heart line. Her mother didn’t say a word, then she flipped his hand to the side and ran her finger where Luna knew the relationship line was. Her mom dropped his hand and pulled him into a hug. “Welcome to the family.”

Hunter hesitantly patted her mom on the back while looking over her head at Luna. She took her finger and twirled it around near her temple, as if to say her mom was crazy. But secretly she was thrilled at her mother’s response. 

Grayson gave her a look. Luna knew she was analyzing her, to see if she really was okay or just putting on a front. Her sister knew her well, but she was better than okay. She was happier than she had been in a very long time. Grayson seemed to get that because she just smiled and gave her a thumbs up. 

Grayson’s eyes moved over toward Hunter. “You must be Hunter. I have to say, I’ve been dying to meet the man that captured my big sister’s attention.” 

Luna elbowed her sister in the side. 

“And I’ve been looking forward to meeting Luna’s mirror image,” Hunter said with an easy smile.  

“Do you realize you’re the first date my sister has ever brought to any of our gatherings?”

“Is that so?” Hunter looked down at Luna and grinned, she couldn’t help but notice the heat that flared in his eyes. And she thought she was insatiable. 

“Don’t let it go to your head.” She bumped her hip against his. 

“Too late for that.” His rough voice made her skin tingle. 

Her mom grinned and shook her head, before leading them into the kitchen where the rest of the family was sitting down drinking tea. Her brother jumped up, hugged her, and shook Hunter’s hand. They’d heard of each other through work, but never actually met. Of course Ethan wanted a play by play detail of what went down last night. When Hunter told him about calling the cops for drinking and driving. Ethan looked impressed. 

“I think I’ll have to pay him a visit myself.” Ethan cracked his knuckles. 

Luna rolled her eyes, but didn’t doubt for one second that he wouldn’t go through with it. She wouldn’t be surprised if the jerk didn’t hightail it out of town. Which would be fine by her. Hopefully, the jackass learned his lesson and wouldn’t try to bring a knife out on someone again. She felt a twinge of guilt. What if he did try to hurt someone else? Had they really done enough? Was it too late to press charges? She’d have to give it some more thought. 

Luna went around and introduced everyone else in the family. If Hunter was uncomfortable, he didn’t show it. In fact, he seemed completely at ease. 

“Sit down and have some tea,” Derrick said, raising his mug. 

“No thanks, I don’t drink tea.”

“You do now.” Derrick laughed. 

Hunter looked at Luna like, is he for real? 

Her mom looked over her shoulder. “Sugar and milk?”

“Umm, no. I guess I’ll have it plain.”

“Plain? How barbaric. I’ll just put a little sugar and milk in it.” 

“Mom! He said he didn’t want any.”

“Clearly he’s never had tea with milk and sugar. If he doesn’t like it, he doesn’t have to drink it.”

She handed Hunter the mug and watched as he took a sip. A smile spread across his beautiful face. “It’s actually pretty good.”

Her mom patted his shoulder and went about bothering someone else. 

Luna should have been mortified by her mother’s behavior, but the way Hunter took it all in stride made it bearable. Besides, he might as well get used to it if he planned on sticking around for a while. 

“All right, Mom, let’s see this dress you made.”

Grayson jumped up and pulled Luna down the hallway into their mother’s bedroom. “You’re not going to get over how incredibly gorgeous it is.”

Luna glanced back at her mother skeptically. She was trying to hold judgment until she saw the final product, but was really finding it hard to believe her mother actually pulled it off. 

Grayson grinned and slipped into the bathroom. A few moments later, she stepped outside and spun around. Luna didn’t know what was more shocking: the fact that her tomboy sister was positively glowing and spinning around the room in a dress, or the fact that the dress was perfect. It looked like it was hand-sewn by a European designer. 

“Oh. My. God. Mom. Did you really do this all by yourself?”

“I did.” Her mother smiled impishly and gave a little curtsy. 

Suddenly, crazy ideas started filling her head. “Do you think you could do it again? Like make more dresses as incredible as this one?”

“I don’t see why not. Why, are we planning another wedding?” Her eyes twinkled.

Grayson’s head snapped toward Luna.

“What? No. Definitely not that. Mom, you know how I’ve always wanted to open a boutique. There really isn’t any place around here to get gowns of this quality. And with all the military formals, proms, et cetera, I think we could make a killing.”

“Luna, are you suggesting that we go into business together?” her mother asked, making a face.

“I know. It sounds crazy and it is insane, but it could seriously work. We could order gowns, too, of course. Not all handmade. There are so many new little store fronts popping up all over the place.”

“Mom, it’s actually a great idea,” Grayson said.

“Definitely something to think about. I haven’t touched the money I got from your father’s insurance. And truthfully, being retired is boring as hell.”

Luna squealed and threw her arms around her mother. It’s not very often they saw eye to eye, but Luna was super excited about the prospect of starting their own boutique. She might not have the skills to make gowns, but she certainly had an eye for what worked and what didn’t. She couldn’t wait to tell Hunter about the idea. 

Chapter Twenty

A week later

“You look stunning,” Hunter whispered in her ear when she walked out of her mother’s room. She was wearing an off-white silk dress that looked like it was made just for her. The dress was strapless and short with the bottom fanning out around her. However, the four inch heels were going to be a bitch to walk in on the property … the things you do for fashion. She might have to join her sister and go barefoot.

“You clean up pretty nicely yourself.” Hunter was dressed in a black suit with a white shirt with the collar open. She was glad he skipped the tie; it would have looked too constraining on him. 

“I guess we should get going. It’s a long drive and we can’t be late.” Everyone else was already on their way. 

“After you.” Hunter placed his hand on her lower back, and Luna smiled at him. She hoped she never got used to the feeling of his touch. 

Once they reached the ceremony location, Luna jumped out of the truck. The fading sun glittered down through the trees, feeling warm on her skin.

She looked around, pleased with what she saw. They’d spent the past week getting the area ready for the wedding and it looked amazing. 

Hunter took her hand and led her toward the gazebo. Grayson’s favorite flowers wrapped around the archway. Taking wooden slats, Derrick had built a pathway for the guests to keep their shoes from getting muddy. It looked very much like her sister’s ideal wedding. A few rows of seats had been set up and were quickly filling up with Derrick’s rowdy friends and their family members. 

Luna looked around for her mother. When she saw her, she left Hunter and hurried over to her. “Where’s Grace?”

“She’s in the barn composing herself before the ceremony. She told me to send you down when you got here.”

Luna slipped off her heels and ran down the narrow, winding pathway. She hesitated at the door. “Grace, you in here?”

“Yep.” She peeked out from behind a makeshift wall. 

“Get out here. Let me see you!” 

Grayson came out and she was breathtaking. Her hair had two small braids on the sides and the rest of her hair was pulled into a messy up-do. “I knew you’d look like a wood nymph.” 

“You really think I look okay?” 

“You’re stunning. Derrick is going to have a heart attack when he sees you.”

Her sister’s face flushed. “I can’t believe I’m getting married.”

“You’re not having second thoughts, are you?”

“What? No. Of course not. It’s just all so surreal. I didn’t know it was possible to be this happy.”

Luna smiled, knowing exactly what her sister meant. 

“Do you need any help with anything?”

“You can finish my makeup.”

Luna nodded, and when Grayson sat down on a chair, she got to work. 

“You about ready in there?” Ethan yelled.

“Come in,” Grayson replied. 

She stood up and Ethan’s face broke into a grin. “Look at you little sister.” He pulled her into a hug. 

“Watch it, you’re going to mess up her makeup. Before we all get sappy here let’s get this show on the road. We can’t have Grayson’s wedding pictures messed up by tears.”

Grayson laughed and blinked back the tears that were threatening to fall. She took a deep breath. “I’m ready.”