The unexpected emotions meant one thing. He needed a new plan and he needed it fast. He swallowed a groan and accepted that he’d just have to admit and cope with the fact that he hadn’t put her behind him the way he’d hoped. But he would. By the time this situation with her father was resolved, Hunter promised himself that he’d bury his feelings for her once and for all.
Molly finally turned away from her sister and faced him directly. “You came,” she said, shock obvious in her tone and expression.
Hunter nodded, still off balance himself. “We need to talk.”
“I know.” She glanced at the teen who stared at them with undisguised interest. Apparently she had no intention of leaving them alone. “Jessie?” Molly asked pointedly.
The young girl flipped her long dark hair back over her shoulder. “Yeah?”
“Go away. Now.”
“Nice way to talk to your sister,” she said sarcastically.
“I’m only your sister when it’s convenient or you want something. Right now, I’m sure I hear the Internet calling you.”
She frowned. “Fine.” Jessie turned and stomped her way up the stairs with more force than necessary.
Molly sighed. “Okay, the Drama Queen’s gone and my grandmother’s busy learning knit one, purl two. We can talk alone for a while. Come into the kitchen.” She gestured for him to follow and they walked through the entry hall filled with pictures and past a decorated family room.
He absorbed his surroundings, admiring the very lived-in, nicely put-together home. The brief tour ended in a cozy kitchen and she settled into a chair, gesturing for him to do the same.
He sat in the chair beside her and decided to jump right in. “I’m not used to seeing you juggling family.”
“A lot’s changed.” She inclined her head, her gaze uncertain.
Considering how they’d parted in the parking lot of his building, he understood her wariness. But he’d already decided that in order to take this case, they had to make peace, and in order to make peace, he had to be civil.
Silence echoed around them and he knew the time had come to address the question that had been on his mind, the one that had kept him up nights.
He cleared his throat. “So, has finding your family given you everything you were looking for?” Everything she’d left him to find, Hunter thought.
She glanced away, obviously well aware of what he was thinking. “It’s been a whirlwind of ups and downs.”
Hunter resisted the urge to cover her hand with his, to tell her he understood, and that he wanted to help her through the turmoil. She didn’t want comfort from him. She never had.
“Was your real father happy to hear from you?” he asked, because he only had Jessie to judge by.
For his part he couldn’t imagine finding his parents after all this time. They hadn’t given a shit when he was a kid, and he didn’t need them as an adult. But Molly clearly felt differently.
She nodded. “My father couldn’t have reacted any better.” Her eyes lit up at the memory.
“I take it Jessie didn’t share the sentiment?”
“You noticed?” Molly asked wryly. “To say she hates me is an understatement.”
He wasn’t sure how to reply to that, so he changed the subject. “You two look alike.”
Molly crinkled her nose in a way he’d always found cute and endearing. “Do you really think so? I’m blond, she’s brunette. At a glance, we’re polar opposites.”
“In hair color maybe, but I see similarities in your profiles and expressions.”
“Really?” She seemed to mull over that notion for a while, running her tongue over her full lower lip.
His gaze lingered on the moist spot she’d created, the desire to taste her as strong as ever.
“I’ve actually been looking for similarities between myself and Jessie since I got here. I’m glad to hear you found some. It gives me a sense of family no matter how she feels about me.” Molly met his gaze with a warm, open one of her own, so different from the guarded woman he used to know.
It unnerved him. She unnerved him.
“So, to answer your earlier question more fully, in coming here I’ve found the pieces that were missing inside me.”
He was surprised by her sudden, personal revelation. And though he’d always wanted her to be happy, her words sliced deeply into his heart. “Well, I’m glad you’re happy,” he said, unable to control his curt tone.
“I didn’t use that word. I didn’t say I was happy.” In fact, that was one word she’d avoided, because in finding family, she’d still discovered that so much more was needed.
Seeing Hunter again reminded her of exactly what. Molly tried to hold his gaze, to make him understand, but he looked away.
She’d be an idiot not to know his unwillingness to even meet her gaze was deliberate. He didn’t want to have a personal conversation, but he’d asked a question and even if he hadn’t anticipated her being open and honest in her answer, he was damn well going to listen to her reply. He’d traveled all the way here and they had a lot of subjects to cover before they could clear the air and move on with her father’s case.
Her reasons for leaving him were one of them. “I’m sorry.” She let her words stand on their own.
He shrugged. “It was a long time ago. I’m over it.”
She narrowed her gaze. “Liar.”
“Tell me about your father’s legal mess.”
She rose from her seat and stepped closer to him. His musky scent invaded her personal space and she almost forgot to breathe. His scent was warm and familiar, comforting yet arousing at the same time. Her desire for him hadn’t diminished one bit.
“Don’t change the subject. We have unfinished business and—”
Without warning, he stood, too. His height gave him an advantage she didn’t appreciate, not only because of his attempt to be intimidating but because she was even more aware of him as a man. A sexy, gorgeous man in a leather jacket staring at her intently.
“I’m here because your father needs a lawyer. Don’t read any more into it than that.”
She tried not to wince, but she couldn’t ignore the pain in her stomach his cruel words caused. “In other words, there’s no reason to discuss anything personal even though you brought it up first.”
He treated her to an abrupt nod. “My mistake.” He stepped aside, walking across the room, adding physical space to the emotional gulf he’d already created.