But Molly didn’t laugh at him. Instead she looked over each platter and inhaled deeply. “I’d love a little of each. How about you?”
That easily, she broke through his anxiety and they shared a meal. He asked about her parents and her life, but like a lawyer, she deflected his questions with ones of her own. They sparred and he enjoyed her company. But none of their conversation offered him any openings to ask about Dumont .
“So Anna Marie tells me you know my soon-to-be-stepfather,” Molly finally said, as Hunter handed her dishes and she rinsed them clean.
She’d made it easy on him after all, giving him the entry he sought. He shook his head and laughed. “I forgot gossip runs both ways.”
Molly slanted her head his way. “Meaning?”
“Anna Marie was only too happy to feed me info rmation about your mother’s upcoming marriage. Then she turned around and told you about Dumont and me.”
“Actually all she mentioned was that you shared a past. Care to elaborate?”
“Not really.” He braced his hands on the white Formica countertop. “But I suppose if I want info rmation from you about Dumont , I’m going to have to share what I know.”
Hunter knew the minute she realized his dinner had been more of a ploy to question her about Dumont than a ruse to get that long-sought-after date.
Disappointment clouded her eyes. “So you’re not here just for the company.” Molly placed the dish towel on the counter and turned to face him. “You know what, Hunter? You suck,” she said, plainly. “We may have spent years tiptoeing around dating each other but I never pegged you for a guy who wouldn’t just outright ask for something he wanted.”
Unless he cared about the woman he wanted something from, Hunter thought. He had no answer for Molly. Not one she’d want to hear, anyway.
“So what do you want to know about Marc Dumont that’s so urgent you showed up here tonight?” she asked, her disgust with him clear.
“Do you like the man?” He figured he’d start with basic questions and lead up to his big revelation.
Molly shrugged. “He seems like a decent guy. He may be my mother’s soon-to-be fifth husband, but he’s the first one who’s brought me into the family instead of pushing me out.”
The same man who’d thrown Lilly out of her own home now chose to give one to Molly. What a goddamn mess. Hunter hadn’t known about Molly’s history with her mother but now he had a clue. Like Hunter, Molly’s family proved that sometimes having parents didn’t guarantee a good life.
“Why do you ask?”
Hunter inhaled deep. “Let’s say my past with Dumont doesn’t paint him in a favorable light. But you like him?”
“Like I said, he seems decent. He makes Mom happy and he’s been nice to me. But I can’t say I know him all that well. The romance or whatever you want to call it happened pretty fast. Then again with my mother, all her romances happened fast. The marriages materialized even faster.”
“Is your mother…..” He sought for a delicate way to ask his next question, then decided what the hell. He’d blown any shot with this woman already. “Is your mother wealthy?” he asked.
Molly burst out laughing. Not the light ringing laughter that usually drew him but a loud, droll sound.
“God, no. Well, I take that back. My mother marries wealthy men, ends up divorced with a decent settlement, blows through the money and moves on to the next catch.”
“ Dumont ’s her next wealthy catch?” Hunter asked incredulously.
Molly nodded. “If he isn’t now, he will be after he inherits his late brother’s trust fund.”
Which explains why good old Marc Dumont was the future husband who wanted Molly around.
The man needed her legal skills to help him gain his fortune. And what better way to get it than to push his fiancée into renewing her relationship with her lawyer daughter? He’d endear himself to both Molly and to his soon-to-be wife.
Molly exhaled and pinched the bridge of her nose with her fingertips.
He stepped forward, placing his hand on her shoulder. Her skin felt hot and feverish beneath his palm. “Are you okay?” he asked.
“I’m fine. It’s just a headache. I’d really appreciate it if you’d tell me what your connection is to Marc Dumont and why you’re here grilling me about my family. It’s not like you gave a damn before now,” she said, her voice deep and gravelly.
“I always gave a damn,” he said so low he could barely hear himself speak. “I just didn’t know what to do about it.”
“Well, I can tell you that showing up here with a meal and an agenda is one hell of a way to show you care.”
He wasn’t surprised by her words. She had a valid point. “You’re going to have to cut me some slack here. I’m not exactly a pro at forming relationships.”
She laughed. “You’d never know it from the courthouse rumors.”
He wanted to treat her to a cocky grin but a real smile was all he could offer. “You said it yourself. All rumors.”
He’d never had a relationship with a woman that involved his emotions. Unless he counted Lilly and he realized now that he’d loved her but he hadn’t been in love. The truth came as a relief.
He’d always be there for Lilly. He’d bail her out or help her in any way he could because they’d bonded years before.
Yet what he’d begun to feel for Molly was stronger than his feelings for Lilly because of what he sensed he could feel in the future—if he opened himself up to the possibility of being hurt. He’d betrayed her tonight. At this moment. Because he stood in Molly’s house, in need of info rmation to help Lilly, a woman Molly thought was dead.
The ironic thing was, the women were very much alike and Hunter could even see them being friends. In another life or in this one, if only things were less complicated.
But they weren’t. And they’d only get more complex when Molly found out the truth.
Five
H unter sat in Molly’s kitchen, asking her to give him a break because relationships weren’t and never had been his thing. He couldn’t believe he’d laid it on the line that way but he had.
She placed one hand on the counter, her expression a mixture of disbelief and what Hunter wanted to think was hope.
For them.
She studied him. “Is that what we’re doing here? Forming a relationship? Because I have to tell you, I’m lost.”