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“Joanna.” He reached across the table and covered her hand with his. “It’s okay. You can tell me the truth. You’re running from something. Someone. I get it. I just want to have some clue so that if he shows up, I can protect you.”
“I…” She stared at him with an open mouth. “How…?”
“You’re much easier to read than you think.” He pulled his mouth into a half-smile and took another sip of his beer. “Your hesitation toward someone new, the fake name thing, the way you seemed so nervous over going out with me. It all points to one thing. A woman on the run.”
# # #
Vanessa gaped at him. She couldn’t believe he’d figured it out so easily. She thought she’d done a good job of hiding things, but she wasn’t fooling anyone. Who else might have guessed she was running from someone? What should she do now? Try to lie? Tell the truth?
Something about him made her want to open right up and confess it all. But that also seemed reckless. She didn’t know him well enough. Then Mari’s words came back to her. If she wanted help, she’d have to trust someone. She had Mari to help her, but having Hunter on her side would only help keep Opal even safer. Two people to trust was a better situation than only one, wasn’t it?
“You’re right,” she said. She took a long sip of her wine before continuing. “We’re running from my ex. We were married for over eight years, and it was after our first anniversary that he hit me for the first time. He was a drug addict, and he got worse and worse. He’d either get high and pass out — if I was lucky — or he’d go on a rampage and beat me. I thought it was best for our daughter to have her parents together. Even if it wasn’t the best marriage, at least we were all together. And he only ever hit me, not her. Until one night he did. We left the next day, when he was out scoring drugs. I filed for divorce, and he’s trying to take her from me. You were right about the names, too. We had to change them to make it harder for him to find us. I’m really Vanessa, not Joanna.”
“That’s a lot to go through.” He moved his hand to hers again. The warmth and his touch soothed her.
“I’m so afraid all the time now. That he’ll find us, that he’ll show up and take her. I have nightmares about it almost every night. I dream that I go to her from class, and she’s gone. Or I wake up in the morning, and he’s been in the apartment and has taken her, or that he breaks into my bedroom and…” She dropped off and looked away from him. That was one dream she didn’t want to think about long enough to talk about.
“You’re safe here. You’re safe with me. I happen to be the protective type. I feel much better when I have someone to look out for.”
“Well, thank you, but you barely know us. I can’t expect you to be on bodyguard duty.”
“I’d love to have the honor of protecting you,” he said. He squeezed her hand.
“I wish I could just go out with a handsome man and have a good time. But I can’t. I’m too busy looking around for a sign of my ex, or for someone who might be watching us. I’m the only thing keeping Opal from the meanest father you can imagine.”
“You never met my old man.”
Her lips parted, but she didn’t know what to say to that.
“And from now on,” he added, “You’re not alone. I won’t let anything happen to Opal. Or Katrin, or whatever name she has to go by to be safe. I’ll do my best to protect you both.”
“Thank you, Hunter. It’s strange to me to be able to trust a man, but I feel like I can trust you. It’s kind of nice, actually.” She smiled at him, and a warmth filled her. She was starting to really like him, despite herself. And his attraction was undeniable. It’d been years since she felt any sort of sexual desire for a man. She’d been so disgusted by sex and the way it was often used against her and forced from her that the idea of letting someone get that close and being that vulnerable was impossible before. But now, with Hunter making her feel as safe as he did, and her wanting him as bad as she did, she thought maybe it was time to see.
She took a deep breath and tried not to think too hard about what she was about to say. She squeezed her eyes shut and said it as fast as she could. “Do you maybe want to come back to my place for a little while?”
When she opened her eyes again, Hunter was looking at her with a raised eyebrow and a gaze full of desire. He stood up and went to the bar to pay the tab.
