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What the hell was that? The long look, then the smirk, right before he picked up his axe. I wondered at his response instead of trying to throw him off, so he got another bullseye.

“OK, fine, you win,” I said, throwing up my hands. “So what do I need to do? Service your car for free? Clean your toilet?”

“Nothing like that.” He retrieved the axes and then set them down with a click on the table. “Anyone can do that for me, but this… This is something only you can.”

“Only I can?” I frowned. “What?—?”

“Evening.”

Hunter’s voice was similar to Hayden’s, but not identical. When I spun around, he smirked, but that quickly faded when he took in my dress. I looked down, realising I still had it hiked up. I was probably creasing a dress he’d bought, so I tugged it down and then smoothed it back into place.

“You’re here early.” Hayden shot Hunter an unfriendly look.

“What can I say? I needed to see what Millie had done with my credit card.” Hunter shoved his hands into a very nice suit, the black wool fitting his body perfectly. “And I’ve gotta say I approve. This…?” He waved a finger from the tips of my toes to my head. “You look amazing, Jamie, so are you ready for dinner?”

Onto the next fake date. I blinked and then grabbed my bag, but when I turned around to say goodbye, Hayden was already there.

“I won,” he held me, his hands sliding along my arms, “so I get my prize.”

“You just need to tell?—”

“This.” I froze to the spot as he moved in, hands going to my jaw, his thumb brushing across one cheek before he darted in and kissed me.

Damn.

He wasn’t my friend’s brother right now. He was a man whose mouth was soft and hard at the same time, my own moving to meet his kiss. I could’ve put that down to shock, but that didn’t explain why I took a little step closer. His arms went around me, tugging me firmly against him as the kiss went on and on, getting deeper, hungrier. The first flick of his tongue had something tightening inside me, something I wished he’d do something about, my hands forced to rake across his back.

“Oh my god, he’s kissing his sister? Sick.”

A strident feminine voice had me jerking my head back in time to see Sharon and her party shooting us a dirty look as they walked out of the place. I couldn’t reply, needing to suck in breaths instead. This was a joke, surely. Hayden was playing chicken and I hadn’t veered away, but if that was it, he looked just as stricken as I did.

“Looks like you’ve got what you needed,” Hunter said, taking my arm and tucking it in his. “Now it’s my turn.”

I stared back at Hayden as I stumbled out of the axe throwing place to see him touch his lips and then grin, that same crooked one that set girls’ hearts afire in school.

Mine included.

This was a core memory, one I’d store away and bring out when I was having a sucky day, because teenage Jamie would’ve just about shit at this. I’d kissed Hayden McDonald and now… Hunter escorted me over to his car and opened the door. I was going out for dinner with his twin.

Chapter 23

Hunter

Punching the steering wheel was no way to start a date, but that’s what I wanted to do. Instead, I clenched it hard, listening to the vinyl creak as I struggled to regulate my breath, but all of that fell apart when I dared to look at Jamie.

Millie had done everything she’d promised. I’d asked her to make sure Jamie had something to wear that would work for the restaurant and ensure she was comfortable at the same time, but I had no idea it would look like that. The bust of her dress seemed to separate and prop out her breasts, as if offering them to me personally, before nipping into a waist I longed to wrap my arms around, but I wouldn’t.

Not until she had the truth.

That’s why I’d gone to all this effort, calling in favours to get us a booking. Maybe if I took her somewhere amazing, if she had a belly full of lovely food, she wouldn’t storm off, infuriated at our deception. The only answer I got right now was a conspicuous rumble from Jamie’s stomach, forcing her to slap her hand over it.

“Hungry?” Smiling made me feel a whole lot better as I gazed down at her.

“Um… yeah. This restaurant we’re going to, what kind of food does it have, because I could eat the crutch out of a low-flying duck right now.”

I burst out laughing, then shook my head.

“I have no freaking idea, just that it was fancy, so let’s find out, shall we?”