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I frowned. I remembered Hunter’s interesting comments about Sara during the intervention, but he hadn’t made any statements about her since. That could be telling too. Was he in love with Sara and trying to hide it?
“What do you mean?” I asked.
Sara’s expression turned sad. “I think he feels some guilt about what happened to me.”
I simply looked at her, wanting her to continue.
“My ex kidnapped me. Hunter had stopped it the first time.”
First time?
“But not the second. He was there when I was found. I know he did all he could to find me, but…well…I lost the baby.”
All of a sudden, it was like all the puzzle pieces snapped together. Well, not all, but many. Or, at the very least, there was a hint at what possibly could be tormenting Hunter beyond his time as a soldier.
“Do you or Chase blame him?” I asked.
Sara shook her head, and her eyes looked sincere as she said, “No. It was Glen’s fault.”
“Was it Hunter’s job to keep you safe?”
“He thinks so, I’m sure. But his job is security for the company, not for family. Now, I have James.” She nodded across the room. I looked and saw a young, burly man in the corner. “But I wouldn’t be surprised if Hunter was around somewhere too.”
“I thought he spent his nights trolling for women,” I said.
Sara again looked sad. “He often does unless I’m out without Chase. When I go home, maybe he’ll find one. I don’t know. My sense is he hasn’t done that lately. I like to think it’s because of you.”
I shrugged, not feeling like I’d made much of an impact on him at all.
“I know you can’t tell me about your sessions, but you must be helping. Hunter wouldn’t keep going if you weren’t.”
Well, that was good to know.
She continued on. “I don’t know if this will help, but Hunter isn’t likely to do something for himself. You’ll probably have better success with him if you can connect his counseling to something that will help someone else. Hunter is a big marshmallow on the inside.”
I nearly did a spit-take. “Hunter” and “marshmallow” didn’t belong in the same sentence.
Sara laughed. “I know you think I’m nuts, but deep down, he is a really good and decent man. He has emotional scars from the war that wear him down and a difficult family that has made him hide that part of him.”
“You seem insightful about the members of your family.”
She shrugged. “I’m observant. And I might have picked up a little bit about human behavior from my own counseling, as well as the work I do at the children’s center.”
That piqued my interest. “Children’s Center?”
She nodded. “Yes, it’s a place where disadvantaged and at-risk kids can go for daycare, after school care, tutoring, recreation, and more. I love it. I feel like I make a real difference. I’m trying to get Chase to expand Raven Industries to more philanthropic areas to support programs for kids.”
“He’s resistant?”
Sara smiled. “No. He just hasn’t found a person he trusts to manage a foundation that would handle it all. I’d do it, but well, I’m going to be preoccupied in a few months.” She rubbed her belly.
“Do you know what you’re having?” I asked.
“No. We decided to wait and be surprised.” Her smile was radiant. It was why I didn’t ask about the marriage and baby plan Chase’s father had implemented. Surely, she knew about it, but she looked happy, and the few times I saw Chase he seemed happy too.
Her gaze lifted up behind me.
“Hello ladies,” I heard a man say.
I turned, expecting Kade. I wasn’t wrong, but I hadn’t expected Hunter to be there too. I had to look away because the intensity of his gaze brought me right back to that afternoon when he had his fingers between my legs.
“Hi guys,” Sara said. “Checking up on me?”
“Chase would kick our asses if we didn’t,” Kade said.
“James is there,” she nodded toward where her bodyguard sat.
“We’re also discussing some security issues here. I’m sure Chase told you we had a few break-ins at Raven properties,” Kade said. “But our meeting is done. How about we join you?”
Kade looked at Hunter. “What about you?”
“I wouldn’t mind eating,” he said taking a seat in the booth next to me. I told myself he was only there to look after Sara. After all, she said he often took it upon himself to watch after her. But the heat of his body next to mine made every neuron in my body light up. How was I going to sit next to him through an entire meal?
I knew I should excuse myself. Hunter was my client. I shouldn’t have been socializing with him. This was why I should have turned Sara down. But he blocked me in the booth, his thigh tantalizingly close to mine, and I was powerless to leave.
