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her body. The way he said it
seemed to mean so much more. “I’m willing to break the rules for you.”
    The
fact that someone was willing to break anything for her sent a giddy, girly
feeling through her. It was stupid, but whatever. She always thought of herself
as just another girl, a plain Jane, but the knowledge that someone noticed her,
even if it wasn’t Abe, made her feel really good, like she was worth something.
      “So if you’ve noticed me, why wait until now
to ask me on a date?” Was she so desperate for praise that she’d fish for more
from Hunter?
    He
glanced down and for a moment he looked a little uncomfortable. “To be honest,
I always thought there was something going on with you and Abe. I mean, the two
of you are inseparable. I’ve seen you carry his drunken ass out of the bar too
many times, and it’s hard not to wonder what happens after that.”
    Sophia
averted her gaze and started messing with the hem of her shirt. She really
didn’t want to talk about Abe, especially after their conversation that
morning, but if she was going to move on, then she would have to get used to
it.
    “Yeah,
well, he has been my friend for a long time.” Hunter nodded and brought his
iced tea to his lips to take a drink. He didn’t prod her for answers, just let
her explain at her own pace. “For a long time there wasn’t anyone else but Abe
in my life. He helped me get through a lot growing up.” She shifted in her
seat, a lot of emotions swarming through her. “He’s my best friend.” She lifted
her eyes and stared at Hunter. “But that’s all we are, just friends. You see
how he is, know how many women he picks up in your bar. There are absolutely no
feelings for me when it comes to him, aside from friendship.” Hunter didn’t say
anything for a long while, and she wondered if he caught the way she didn’t
admit that she didn’t have feelings
for him. If he did catch it, he was kind enough not to call her out on it.
    “That
doesn’t freak you out, does it?”
    His
smile was soft, not like the blinding one he had graced her with earlier. “No,
it doesn’t freak me out, but you’d have to be blind not to see the attraction
Abe has for you.” His words stopped her heart.
    “What
are you talking about?” Her voice was unsteady, and she wondered if Hunter
heard it.
    The
way he watched her was a little unnerving. It was like he could see everything
about her. “When you’re not looking, he stares at you, Sophia. It’s the look a
man has for a woman he longs for.” She was shaking her head before he even
finished.
    “No,
you have it wrong.”
    “Do
I?” There was a challenge in his voice.
    Her
spine straightened. “Does a man sleep around when he longs for another woman?”
    Hunter’s
whole posture was relaxed, like their conversation wasn’t affecting him the way
it affected her. She supposed it didn’t, though.
    “Sometimes
a man doesn’t know the prize he has, even when it is right in front of him.”
    Sophia
didn’t respond to that, didn’t know how to. “It doesn’t matter in the end,
Hunter. I need to start my life. I can’t wait for something that may or may not
happen. Abe has a lot of problems that he needs to work out, and all I’ve been
doing is going through the motions and essentially being his enabler.” Hunter
cocked his eyebrow at that, but she chose to ignore it and continued. “I sit
back and watch him drink himself into a stupor. I carry him home and have to
put him to bed. I can’t count the number of times I’ve walked into his house
and seen naked women strewn all over the damn place. I’ve never said anything,
never told him how much he’s hurting himself. Maybe if I did, things would be
different, but I think it might be too late for that now.” Why she even told
him any of this was beyond her, but it felt good to finally tell someone. She
took a deep breath.
    “Look
at me, Sophia.” She lifted her head. Hunter was leaning forward, his