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email. He didn’t intend to acknowledge my presence.

Downtrodden and miserable, I made my way back to my desk.

“What’s your problem?” Brenda asked. “Do you feel like crap? Because that would make me feel

less jealous of your easy pregnancy so far.”

I set up my computer, and then spilled. “Hunter kinda found me at a café last night standing close

to an ex-boyfriend. It was totally innocent, and not my idea, but he went a little…”

“Crazy?” Brenda turned toward me and picked up her coffee. “Then what happened?”

“Well…he also saw that I had a beer. I wasn’t drinking it—they ordered it for me. But it looked

all kinds of wrong.”

“I’ll say. That certainly didn’t help. Then what happened?”

“You love this drama, don’t you.”

“Yes. New love is like a soap opera. So?” Brenda’s brow lifted.

“He’s super distant now. He won’t even look at me. I don’t know what to do.”

“Uh huh. Hmm. What would not-insecure Olivia do?”

I frowned at her. “I don’t know that version of Olivia. Does she exist?”

Brenda smirked. “What would the Olivia that balked on signing a contract do? Surely she

wouldn’t take this lying down…”

I thought back to that time, when the stakes were nothing more than not giving myself for free. That had seemed like a serious issue at the time. Now I had a baby to think about, not to mention a place to live, a job, a future…

“Uh oh—you’re going haywire.” Brenda got up and grabbed a bottled water from her drawer. She

handed it over. “Drink that. You need to calm down. I don’t want to get in trouble for making you

panic. Mr. Overprotective would probably fire me.”

“I wasn’t too thrilled about the overprotective issue until I landed in this place, where he’s really distant. Now I want that other guy back.”

“You’ll figure it out. It’s up to you, though. You’ve always been the one to steer him where you

needed him to be. Left to his own devices, he would still be in his ivory tower, shut away from the

world.”

Brenda went back to her computer.

“That’s it? Just dump a ‘you’ll figure it out’ and turn around?”

“Yes, Chicken Little. That man thinks the sun shines out of your ass. He’s going to grapple with

this until you drag him out. Bet you.”

I scowled and tapped my phone with a heavy finger. The ranking was as I had left it, Bruce’s and

my game on top, garnering downloads and making a small pile of money.

Why was it when one part of my life was going well, another part fell to pieces? It was one of

life’s cruel jokes.

I clicked into my email, saw a bunch of things I needed to work on, and zoned out for a moment. I

didn’t really want to set up a meeting schedule for the rollout of some new software I didn’t know

anything about. It was mind-numbing work. The alternative, though, was learning about something or

other that I had no interest in. It wasn’t business in general, it was how this company operated. I

really didn’t care.

I glanced longingly back at my phone. I could be writing code for the new levels. I had a dynamite

idea that would bend people’s brain in the right ways. I just knew it. I wanted to get to it.

Hunter’s words came floating back to me. Choosing.

If I chose what I loved to do, I wouldn’t have access to Hunter all day. He’d said I could work

from his office, but if he didn’t want to see me, that offer could easily be revoked. If we had a fight, like now, I’d sit at home thinking about him, hoping he didn’t lose his head and screw the secretary.

“I’m in a fix, Brenda. I really am.” I leaned my face against my fist in a pout.

“Fix a sandwich. Hey—” She turned to me in a sudden gush of impatience. “Get that schedule

done. I need to fit Hunter into it somewhere.”

“Pushy,” I muttered, reaching for my mouse.

THE DAY PASSED WITH ME ACTING LIKE THE COWARD I WAS. I’D BEEN INTO HUNTER’S OFFICE A FEW TIMES,

delivering coffee or papers. Instead of talking to him, as Brenda kept urging me to do, or wrecking his head, like I was accustomed to doing, I just stared like a window shopper. It must’ve been really

weird from his end of things, but he never turned toward me. Never said a word. He was really

putting his all into ignoring me.

At six o’clock I tapped my phone, checked my ranking, and then the reviews. I skimmed passed

the first horrible one, then the next. I’d seen those already. My eyes glazed with all the five-stars.

Some people really did like the game.

My gaze snagged on a new one-star review.

“Stop hating the game!” I seethed at the phone. Then I groaned. I had been waiting for a review

like this. It was a long, drawn-out affair from an educated person who could string a couple words

together. Proper grammar and no typos made this person’s critique so much more valid.

I read the person’s opinion in trepidation. Apparently, my game was trite and unoriginal. The

graphics were pleasing but play was clunky. It wasn’t hard in the least and it price-gouged. This

person thought that the designers were beginners, and it showed.

My heart sank. This person had exposed the weaknesses perfectly. We
were
beginners, for the most part. And there
were
some clunky places. Trite, unoriginal? Yeah, I could see that.

I hunched in my chair. Something snapped. I could only be the victim for so long.

“I can’t have this many critics in life!” I stood in determination.

“There you go! Give him hell!” Brenda put her fist into the air as she put her glasses into her

handbag.

I marched into Hunter’s office, pushing aside my fear of what would happen if this conversation

went badly. If he lost his marbles and pushed me away, I’d lose the love of my life, sure, but I

wouldn’t be destitute. Bruce was still paying me, the game was increasing in momentum instead of

decreasing, and I could stay with Kimberly until I found another place to live. I could even move

somewhere cheaper. Working for Bruce meant my laptop was my office. He lived in Middle America

where rent was a quarter the price of San Francisco. I could easily move near him.

Strapping on my big-girl panties, I came to a stop right in front of Hunter’s desk. Face schooled

into a bulldog-looking expression, I stared down at him with my hands on my hips.

He ignored me.

I’d heard of people
staring harder.
I had to admit, however, that I didn’t know what that meant.

Should I lean forward with the bulldog expression? Was that what would do the trick?

Couldn’t hurt.

I added a lean to the situation.

Now I was just staring closer with what was probably a constipated expression, I had no doubt. If

he didn’t look up at this, he was being obtuse on purpose.

“I’m not posing for a wax sculpture, Hunter. Look at me.”

His hands stilled over the computer. His arms flexed. Slowly, he turned his head in my direction.

His power and command blasted through me, turning my spine to Jell-O and setting nervous tingles

through my body. His hard eyes and clenched jaw made me want to back up and apologize for

bothering him. He was firmly in his business pants, cast away from the world on his secluded island.

This was the Hunter Carlisle the world saw. The one that hadn’t opened up to me. That hadn’t kissed

me.

“What do you think is going to happen, Hunter?” I said, standing tall despite my desire to roll

over and play dead. “Do you think I’m going to leave you for Jonathan, or something?”

He didn’t speak. Just stared at me. If this was a video game, my skin would probably melt off

from his laser vision.

“Even if I did, Hunter, it would still be your baby. This isn’t like with your dad. That baby wasn’t yours. It was a lie. This isn’t. I’m pregnant with your kid, and if you pull out, and leave me, I’ll be trying to raise this little beast on my own. And I don’t know that I can do that. I’m scared, too, Hunter.

I’m scared of how this will change my life. I’m scared of giving birth. And I’m scared that something will go wrong and I’ll lose something that I’ve grown to love so, so much.”

I wiped at my face. I hadn’t expected to break down. I’d planned to yell, if need be. Not whimper.

I couldn’t help it, though. What I had said was true. I
was
scared. I needed him. I wouldn’t lose anything by letting him know it.

“I need you to be a man, Hunter. I need you to be
my
man, and not go running at the first small issue we come across. Because there will be many more things that remind you of your past. I’m sure

of it. Are you going to fly off the handle for all of those?”

I tried to regain my hard stare. Instead, I had soggy eyes and a trembling lip. So much for the

tough-girl approach.

Hunter sagged a fraction. He lowered his eyes to his desk. With a small shake of his head, he

stood slowly and came around the desk. When he reached me, without a word, he pulled me into his

hard chest. “This isn’t easy for me to let go of,” he said in clipped tones. “I am swinging between

wanting to walk away from you to save myself eventual pain, and locking you up so I don’t have to

worry about someone else getting you. I realize both of those things are ridiculous, but do you see

how an innocent encounter morphs into a disaster? All I hear is that I’m not the father. That it was all a lie.”

“It’s yours, Hunter. I’ll repeat it as often as I have to. Seriously, Jonathan was just trying to get a job. He wanted to meet us both to chat. It’s you he’s after. I need to be jealous of him running off with you, not the other way around.”

I felt a tiny squeeze. “I wanted to kill him. Still do. Stay away from him, Olivia. I can’t be rational where this is concerned. There’s too much at stake.”

“I was already trying to stay away from him. Kimberly didn’t know he’d be there. She didn’t

know he was with Tera, either. The whole thing was weird, actually. But you have nothing to worry

about.”

“And the beer?”

“I tried to order a Sprite. I was distracted by Jonathan wanting to tell you some ideas he thought

you’d be into. Before you jump at it, he has a job. He’d be willing to hear your offer, though. Just so you know.”

I felt another squeeze. “I’ll have to go with you to these meetups. Make sure they know not to

pressure you.”

I thrilled at the idea. “You don’t need to be overprotective, but hanging out with my friends might

be nice. Having a life isn’t just a young man’s game, Hunter.”

“I need to try harder, is that what you’re saying?”

No, it wasn’t. But if that was what he took from it, I wasn’t going to say boo!

“I’ll arrange it,” Hunter said softly.

“You don’t have to arrange a meetup. You need to loosen up. I’ll just call Kimberly and see what

she’s up to next time you take an hour away from work. No biggie.”

“I saw that your game is still on top. Congratulations.”

Ah. The ol’ diversion technique. He was going to arrange it anyway.

I decided not to push. One thing at a time. “Yes. I saw the latest terrible review before I came in

here. It’s a doozy.”

“You shouldn’t look at reviews. It won’t help you.”

“Some might. The critical ones.”

“You’ll dwell. It won’t do you any good. There isn’t a single game in the charts with that high of a rating. What you designed is working. When did you plan to develop new levels?”

I leaned my forehead against Hunter’s chest. “I’ll start working on it tonight.”

I expected Hunter to remind me about my forthcoming decision, but he just stood and held me

silently. It was louder than if he’d uttered the words.

I ran my hand up his chest and angled my face to him. His came down immediately, connecting his

lips with mine. I fell into the kiss, into the solid warmth around me, his firm touch. My body heated up.

Before I knew what I was doing, I had his jacket halfway off.

“Are you sure?” he asked with a heady voice.

I hadn’t seen any more evidence of danger, and the doctor had given me the go-ahead shortly after

I was discharged. It was a green light.

I ran my hand over his bulge, deliciously hard. It was all the answer I needed.

He scooped me up and carried me to the couch. Once there, he set me down on my feet and kissed

down my neck before sliding his lips over my collarbone. Air caressed my skin as he worked my

blouse open. Then his hands felt up the outside of my thighs.

I worked his buttons down, opening his shirt to reveal smooth skin. His glorious pecs and cut abs

greeted me. I kissed down his chest as I undid his pants. Reaching in, I captured his smooth shaft.

He moaned softly. I stroked as I ran my tongue around first one of his nipples, then the other. I ran my palm over his pec again. His chest might’ve been cut from stone; it was so perfect while being

intoxicatingly warm.

I straightened up to capture his lips. I lifted my skirt so his manhood could reach between my

thighs, rubbing just right.

“We need to go easy, okay, baby?” Hunter murmured, lowering himself to sit on the couch.

“Not
that
easy,” I responded, straddling him. I gyrated my hips forward, reaching behind me and through my legs, capturing his hard cock against my lace-covered core. I kissed him harder, needing

him. Loving him with everything I had and wanting to show it.

Without preamble, I pulled my panties to the side and angled up. His tip slid across my wetness. I

moaned, directing it to my opening, and then sat down.

“Hmm, Livy,” Hunter said against my lips. “I love you.”

I ran my fingers through his hair as I let my head fall back, savoring the feeling of him filling me up. I moved my hips in a slow circle, enjoying the friction. Feeling the intimacy with Hunter, I rose before lowering again, straight down, taking him deeply into me. I moaned as my body tightened up.