49. Hunter

The moment Dr. Ferguson and my mom head out, I hop to my feet. I only caught the tail-end of breakfast, but they mentioned they had some shopping to do. By the time Levi and I wandered down to the kitchen, everyone else was done eating.

I clear away the breakfast dishes to give myself something to do.

"You know the housekeeper will get those," Greedy chides from his seat at the table.

He wasn't in bed when we woke up this morning. At first, I was shocked. But now I'm just angry.

I haven't allowed myself to be in a position like that for years. I assumed that after the way we connected last night, he would still be there in the morning.

Now I feel like a fool. Like it was all wishful thinking.

He was gone. Of course he was. Nothing good in my life ever stays.

"Leave her alone, G," Levi says, standing to clear his own plate. When he reaches me at the sink, he brushes the back of his knuckles against my cheek. "I'll clear and rinse if you want to load them in the dishwasher," he tells me softly.

"What the hell are you two whispering about?" Greedy sneers.

Levi eyes me warily, like he's trying to figure out the play.

Greedy's being an asshole, but I have to assume my mother's appearance has him off-kilter, like me. With a hand on Levi's arm, I clear my throat. "Levi, it's fine—"

"So it's like this, huh?" Greedy bites out.

That remark seals his fate.

"I said leave her alone." Levi turns to block me from Greedy's view, taking a wide stance and crossing his arms over his chest.

Greedy stalks across the kitchen and comes to a stop on the opposite end of the bar. He spreads his arms wide and hangs his head, letting out a humorless chuckle. Then he looks up, and his eyes lock with mine. "Really, Hunter?"

I close my eyes and rub the wrinkle between my brows. "I don't want to fight, Greedy," I whisper.

"Too fucking bad. You don't get to beg for us both in your bed, then ice me out like usual the next day."

"Last night was a mistake," I bite out on autopilot.

Levi slinks closer, pressing his warm palm to the small of my back.

"Like hell it was." Greedy shoves off the countertop like he's going to circle around it and get up in my face.

He stops short when he sees Levi stand taller by my side. Instead of approaching, he paces from one end of the island to the other.

"I've been waiting for months for you to let me in. Really let me in. I gave you space. I let you sneak into my bed, take what you needed from me, then sneak out the next day." He roughs a hand down his face and sucks in a sharp breath. "I told myself that, eventually, it would be enough. That if I was just patient, if I waited you out, you'd come back to me."

This is what he does. He chips away at my resolve. He says beautiful things and makes hopeful promises. I so desperately want to believe him.

"Greedy, that's not—"

He cuts me off with a jagged groan. "I thought last night—I thought last night was it."

I press my lips together and will myself not to cry. "We can't go back, Greedy."

"Bullshit."

Despite what he thinks, it's the truth. What I want doesn't matter.

There's no version of reality where Greedy and I can go back or move forward.

Protecting him—from my mother, but also from the secrets I've kept—is paramount. I'd rather he hate me for pushing him away than ever discover the truth.

"You have to move on," I plead. "Surely there's someone—"

"No." He slaps the granite countertop. "I told you last night: I haven't looked at another woman since you left town three years ago. I haven't kissed anyone else. Tasted anyone else. I waited for you. I'd wait another three years if it meant you'd finally let me in and let me stay."

My already broken heart cracks further. The ache in my chest is acute, and I have to lean against the island to keep myself upright.

He… waited?

For me?

Three years of heartache swirl into a cyclone in my gut. Anxiety churns as usual, but it's mixed with something new. Something hopeful.

When I woke up and found Greedy gone this morning, I was sure he was ashamed of what we'd done. Or maybe that after he'd been with me again, he decided I wasn't worth it after all.

But knowing that he waited… that I left, but he stayed.

That he's been waiting all this time…

I'm frozen in place, mouth agape and mind reeling, as all sorts of new considerations flood my consciousness.

We're older now. Could it be different? Maybe he's right. Maybe we could try again…

Greedy interrupts my thoughts and makes his case.

"Last night? It worked. I never would have fucking imagined a scenario like that, but it worked for me." With his palms on the island, his arms spread wide, he hangs his head and breathes in so deep his shoulders heave. Then he blows out the breath. "I'm not asking you to choose. I'm not asking you to give up what you and Leev have going. I'm asking you to give me a chance. If your heart is open, then let it be open for me, too."

My head is spinning as I try to dissect his words and formulate a response. I'm ripped out of my mental reverie when the doorbell chimes. We're all frozen around the island, processing the place we've found ourselves and what comes next.

We're all silent for so long that the doorbell chimes again.

A few more seconds pass.

And then the pounding begins.

"This isn't over," Greedy whispers, looking from me to Levi and back again. Then he disappears from the kitchen.

I follow him to the front door out of curiosity, with Levi on my heels.

Greedy swings the door open wide—a bold choice based on the intensity of the pounding. Whoever's out there isn't going away until we face them head-on, apparently.

As Levi and I inch closer, a man comes into view.

He's tall and broad shouldered. Impeccably dressed in a bespoke three-piece suit. He's strikingly handsome, all sharp lines and enigmatic power. The kind of man who commands attention.

"Bloody hell, Hunter," he huffs when he sees me. His tone is softer than his appearance. The tension in his posture eases a bit as I make my way closer to the door. "I make my pilot and crew work all night to get here, and you turn off your damn phone?"

"Spence?" I ask with my heart in my throat. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm your emergency contact." He scowls at Greedy, who's standing tall in the doorway. "You really think you can request an urgent appointment with Dr. Squire, then turn off your phone and not have anyone follow up?"

Oh. When he puts it like that…

"You flew all the way from London to check on me?" My heart pitter-patters as I study him. Was the gesture over the top? Probably. But it's so genuinely on brand for Kabir Spencer.

His gaze softens another fraction. "I'd circle the goddamn earth to ensure your safety, love. You know that."

Obviously tired of being out of the loop, Greedy inserts himself into the conversation. "Who the hell are you?"

Spence straightens to his full height, then reluctantly drags his gaze away from me to assess first Levi, then Greedy. "Sir Kabir Kareem Alexander Louis Cornelia Spencer."

Neither Levi nor Greedy utters a word. I stifle a laugh. We're clearly not in London anymore.

"Of Spencer Enterprises and LC Entertainment?" he adds. As if that's going to provide clarity to the men standing in front of him.

He's met with silence. Welcome to America, Spence.

"Right. Okay, then." He straightens his tie, then he lifts a large bag from his feet and holds it out to Greedy. "Can I trust you to ensure my belongings make their way to Hunter's room?"

Greedy takes a step back so we're nearly standing side by side. He holds his hands up and glowers at Spence. "I'm not your butler, and there's no—"

"Of course not," Spence interrupts. "I would never expect a butler to open the door, or to be dressed like that."

"Spence," I chide.

Pissing off Greedy is not the flex he thinks it is. Especially considering this is Greedy's dad's house. I rub the spot between my eyebrows, smoothing out the furrow.

He should not have come here.

Here being America.

Here also being the house of my stepfather.

But before I have the chance to tell him that, his gray-blue eyes bore into me, tracking the nervous habit, and he frowns. Then he opens his arms. "Come here, love."

His tone brooks no argument. This isn't a request, and I don't have any fight left in me this morning. Furthermore, I want to go to him.

Spencer has always been my protector. My safe place. My sanctuary when the recesses of my mind become too much to bear. He traveled across an entire ocean to make sure I was okay.

I take a step forward, but before I can take another, the boys shift forward to form a wall, all but blocking me from Spence's view.

"Really?" Spence deadpans. He gives Levi a nonplussed look, then he fixes it on Greedy. "Love," he says craning his neck and locking eyes with me. "Call your henchmen off. We need to talk."

"We're not her henchmen," Levi quips. "We live here. And we're Hunter's…" He trails off, his shoulders sagging almost imperceptibly.

Kabir cocks one eyebrow, unamused and clearly unimpressed. "Do you own this residence?"

I'm growing tired of their pissing match. Either they need to let him in, or—

"This is my father's house. Dr. Ferguson's house," Greedy clarifies.

Recognition sparks in Spence's gray-blue eyes. "So that makes you—"

"Greedy." Then, standing taller, he corrects himself. "Garrett Reed Ferguson the Third."

Spence's perfectly manicured eyebrows shoot into his hairline. "Really, Firecracker?"

I try to move around Levi and Greedy. To get to Spence. To stop him.

But the boys are already on high alert.

I move quickly, but they move faster.

"Spence," I warn.

Gritting my teeth, I grip Greedy's bicep, desperate to switch places with him. Desperate to protect him. If my gut instinct is any indication of where this conversation is headed, he'll be devastated.

Spence blinks at me, his expression one of disbelief. "You live here, with him?"

"It's not like that," I defend.

"It's not like what?" he challenges, running a hand down the front of his suit jacket. "It's not like you're in crisis and cohabitating with the surprise stepbrother who knocked you up the summer after high school? Because from where I stand…"

His words fade away. My vision blurs.

Levi curses. Then Greedy turns.

His face goes ashen, and his eyes are round with shock, seeking a truth I never wanted him to know. He zeroes in on me, and I feel it in my soul, the moment it clicks. The moment the secret I've kept for more than three years is revealed to the one person I never wanted to find out.