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Chapter 2

Hunter looked across the roomful of people at his brother Blake snuggled up against his fiancée, Cadence, on the couch and wondered if settling down was somewhere in his future. No one ever anticipated Blake finding a wife before his big brother, Hunter, who was more laid-back. Drew, forget about it! As the youngest, he was the rebel, completely commitment phobic and having way too much fun running through as many women in as many countries as he possibly could. Jade Donnelly, the only woman the family thought could have been “the one” for Drew, had run off with a chunk of his heart and was never to be seen again. Hunter believed that there was a slight possibility that Drew might have been holding out for her return.

“Hey, bro. You don’t hear me talking to you.” Drew pulled Hunter from his thoughts, bringing him back to the roomful of music and people attending his brother’s New Year’s Eve party.

“What’s up?” he asked, sipping the champagne in his hand.

“I said, look at Blake—he’s a sucker for love.” Drew’s infectious laugh roared, garnering the attention of nearby guests.

“Yeah! Rightfully so, though. Cadence is a great catch.”

“You’re right. I’m just teasing. She’s good people!” Drew took a long swig of his beer. “What about you? You think you’ll find someone that would make you want to quit the singles game?”

“I don’t know, li’l bro. I don’t know.” Hunter sipped again.

For a moment, Drew seemed caught in pensive thoughts. “I don’t know either.”

“What about Alana? The two of you went out before, right?”

For a quick second, Drew looked uncomfortable. “Hmm, Alana,” he said with a puzzled expression. Hunter gave him a look that told him he wasn’t buying his poor attempt at acting as though he didn’t know whom he was talking about. “Oh! Pfft!” He waved his hand dismissively. “She’s cool.”

“Ha!” Hunter shook his head at him and continued sipping.

“Hey, Hunter!” said some girl dressed in baby pink, looking like a happy Easter egg.

“Hey...” He hesitated, trying to figure out if he knew her name.

“Tricia,” she paused a moment, apparently waiting for some sign of recognition to spread across Hunter’s face. “I recently joined the New York Association of Attorneys.”

“Oh! Okay.” Hunter had no idea who this woman was. “Nice to see you, Tricia.” He held out his hand to shake hers. She was pretty enough not to forget. Hunter discreetly took in her curves. Obviously, he wasn’t inconspicuous enough. She smiled seductively and arched her back slightly, giving him an unobstructed view of her ample cleavage.

“I guess I’ll see you around,” she said, then turned slowly and swayed her hips, leaving an imprint on Hunter’s mind with her seductive gait.

“Who is that?” Drew reappeared by his side, ogling the woman as she walked away.

“Tricia!”

“Tricia?”

“Yeah...Tricia,” Hunter said, still eyeing her. Though she was beautiful, he already knew she wasn’t “the one” kind of material.

Hunter shook his head hard. Why was he even thinking like that? He hadn’t been assessing the women he met in order to determine if any of them might be “the one” material before. Maybe he was just caught up in all the love oozing from Blake and Cadence.

Hunter looked over at Drew, who was still taking Tricia in, and laughed. He was at a New Year’s Eve party. It was time to act like it. Old-school R & B floated through the hidden speakers. People were bunched in groups, chatting, laughing and sipping everything from hard liquor to bottles of water.

“Hey, Blake!” he yelled, snaking through the lively crowd with his empty flute leading the way. “It’s almost midnight! We need to get more champagne in here.”

Hunter’s announcement caused a stir of cheer. Excitement rose in the atmosphere.

Blake gave Cadence a quick peck, which brought a sweet smile to her face, and then jumped up. “Let’s get some more bottles from the cellar.”

“Turn on the TV!” Alana, Cadence’s best friend, shouted. “We have to watch the ball drop!”

Hunter and Drew accompanied Blake to his basement to retrieve more chilled bottles of champagne. When they returned, the crowd made a show of cheering them on as they carefully balanced several bottles in their arms on their way to the table reserved for beverages. Blake danced to the music as he opened a few of the bottles.

The party flowed on, getting louder as it drew closer to midnight. Hunter caught Tricia watching him from across the room. Nodding, he acknowledged her but kept his distance—surprising himself. Any other time, he would have had a pretty girl like that eating from his skillful hands, enjoying flirtatious chatter as he competently weakened her resolve—if in fact there was any resolve to weaken. Hunter simply smiled and raised his glass to her.

Despite the frenzy surrounding him, Hunter retreated into his own thoughts. He’d caught Tricia’s continued glances. Her seductive smile was stamped on his mind’s eye. Being a man who was keen on women’s behavior, he summed her up in seconds. Though she was beautiful, she seemed a little too eager. Like many men, Hunter loved the chase. He didn’t mind putting in a little work to earn a woman’s affection. The challenge was intoxicating.

“Thirty seconds!” With her champagne glass held high, Cadence yelled, “It’s almost time!”

Hunter became aware of his surroundings once again, taking in the excited voices and the clamor of the guests gathering in front of Blake’s TV. On the large flat-screen, the camera panned across the thick crowd of people in Times Square before cutting to the crystal-encrusted ball. The ticker on the TV indicated that there were only twenty seconds left in the year. Blake made his way to Cadence’s side. The sight of Drew being so close to Alana wasn’t lost on Hunter. He felt Tricia’s eyes on him from across the room. Everyone joined the countdown for the last ten seconds. As they drew closer to the final moments left in the year, excitement crackled in the air like fireworks.

“Five! Four! Three! Two! One! Happy New Year!” they all shouted in unison.

Glasses lifted in the air before sips and swallows drained them dry. Blake had taken Cadence in his arms. They kissed as if no one else were in the room. When Drew hugged Alana, it lingered. Lovers became entranced in deep long lip-locks. Others shared hearty hugs and friendly pecks. Hunter gave his brothers, cousins and a few male friends high fives.

After pulling back from his cousin Lance Barrington, he noticed Tricia had slid across the room and was now standing at his side. Mischief sparkled in her eyes as she raised her glass and said “Happy New Year” before wrapping her pink-painted lips around the rim of her champagne glass. Hunter felt as though a match had been lit somewhere in his loins. Tilting his glass, he too took a sip, never breaking eye contact.

Hunter licked his lips and winked. A smile exploded across Tricia’s face.

“Don’t I get a hug?” she asked seductively.

“You can have more than that,” Hunter leaned forward to kiss Tricia on her cheek. Just before his lips landed, she turned, surprising him with her plump lips. Hunter wasn’t one to shy away from a challenge and in response gently parted his mouth. She received his tongue zealously.

Hunter knew right then that she would end up in his bed, but he also knew that she definitely wasn’t “the one.”