Ryan Hunter Read online

  She noticed they were lying there exactly when I did and grabbed them before I could. “Don’t. Touch. Anything.”

  Aye sir! I lifted my hands, palms up to show my innocence. “Nothing,” I solemnly swore. But then I couldn’t resist mocking her. “Apart from your diary and maybe your lacy underwear.”

  I knew she wanted to smile at that, because a set of lovely dimples appeared on her cheeks, but she tried to look more shocked than infatuated.

  When she disappeared from the room, heading for the shower, I really intended to be nice and not touch anything. But after a couple of minutes I got bored and started to look around the room. At the end of her bed, a bit of plaid flannel peeked out from under the comforter, and I leaned forward to pull out whatever it was. It turned out to be the bottoms of her jammies, really cute boy shorts. A gray tank top was there too, and I had a very intense vision of her wearing it when I would press her against me for a hot goodnight kiss.

  Stuffing the things back under the quilt, I stood and walked over to her desk. There must have been a pile with a billion books, but nothing that I would be interested in. There wasn’t any Stephen King or Joe Hill. Just loads from someone called Kenyon, and there were pictures of half-naked guys on most of them. Hunky guys. Was that Liza’s preference? I looked down at myself, lifting my shirt, and decided if she went for the muscular built, then I was just her man.

  Lowering into her desk-chair, I spun around a few times, until I started to get dizzy. I did the same amount of spins into the opposite direction, then I stopped, grabbed the edge of the desk, and pulled myself toward it with the chair. It was a nice place to sit and do homework…if you were a girl. Because she had this really terrible poster of High School Musical hanging above her desk.

  The drawers to my right called to me, and I thought it would be okay to take a look inside, because Liza was only gone for five minutes and she wouldn’t be back too soon. There were all kinds of note pads in the first drawer, some pens, and a box of tissues. Probably for the moments when her books turned into real tear jerkers, I thought with a grim smile.

  As I moved to the second drawer, I immediately regretted opening it. Fuck me blind, there lay her diary. I slammed the drawer shut. But after a half-minute of chewing my lip, I opened it again and took out the little book with a heart drawn around the word diary on the front. There could be a page or two about me in it. I gulped, fighting a hopeless battle against my curiosity. Because, let’s face it, it wasn’t a question of wrong or right, it was simply a matter of never leave a guy alone in your room.

  With my heart thumping like that of a silly little girl, I opened the book and skimmed to the last entry.

  August 17. That was yesterday. I cut a glance to the closed door, making sure no sound came from outside, announcing Liza would come back. Then I started reading…

  Chapter 9

  Dear Diary,

  I don’t know what’s happening. One moment I think the entire world is okay, and the next—BAM—I’m totally knocked out of my shoes. I’m a soccer player now. Well, I try to be, but we’ll see how much of a good idea that turns out to be. I did it for Tony, because he’s behaving really strange since he came back from camp. There’s this Barbie Clone, who doesn’t leave his side ever. I hate her.

  Yeah, that was totally Liza. Grinning at the name she’d picked for Summers, I skimmed over the next paragraph to where she pointed out exactly why Cloey was the wrong girl for Tony, and why she was the right one. I couldn’t contradict in any point, but it was the next passage that I read more carefully again, because my name stood out.

  But that’s not the only thing I’m confused about. There was a party at Ryan Hunter’s house. And this time, I was there. The evening went from crazy to confusing to blurred to hot. I think Ryan flirted with me. And holy cow, batman, that guy smells amazing. I woke up in his bed. Somehow wrapped around him. He touched my leg, and I forgot how to breathe.

  A fuzzy warm feeling streamed through my body at that information. How very nice. Reading faster, I had to find out what else she said about that moment with me.

  This is totally weird, because I know I’m in love with Tony, but when Ryan Hunter smiles, something happens to me. Something that makes me go stupid and dreamy over him. I never thought I’d go for demonic black instead of angelic blond, but that’s just what’s happening. This afternoon, I threw Tony out of my room because I couldn’t stop thinking about Hunter. He has those beautiful eyes that remind me of—

  The door opened. Shit! In a panic-reflex I snapped the diary shut, jumped out of the seat, and hid it behind my back. I held my breath, totally ready to find an excuse for snooping in her personal stuff. But it wasn’t Liza coming in. In the doorway, looking as shocked as I was, stood a much older version of Liza with her hair cut to her shoulders.

  “Hello—” With all the surprise, there was no room for accusation in Mrs. Matthews’ voice.

  “Hi,” I said back, with my heart waiting in line for the next beat, and after a second I remembered I could smile, too.

  She slowly walked in, carrying a pile of laundered clothes, and scanned around her. “Where is my daughter?” There was a baffled smile on her face, which made her look a lot friendlier than one would expect from a mother coming into her grounded daughter’s room, finding a total stranger inside.

  “She’s having a shower.” I dropped the book into the drawer again and closed it with a small step backward then leaned against the desk.

  Only a little taller than Liza, she didn’t match my six foot two, so when she put the clothes on a chair next to the wardrobe and turned back to me, she tilted her head a little to look at my face. “And you are?” she drawled.

  Totally screwed. I crossed the room to her and reached out one hand, which she immediately took. “My name is Ryan Hunter, Ma’am. I’m a friend of Liza’s. We play soccer together.”

  She didn’t let go of my hand. Frowning, she searched my face. “You’re doctor James Hunter’s son, right?”

  I nodded.

  It was cute to watch how a woman in her mid-forties was stunned speechless in her own house. She looked back at the door, stroking her lips with one finger. Then she faced me again. “Just how did you get in here? I know you didn’t come through the front door.”

  I coughed and rubbed the back of my neck. “Um, no. I actually came in through the window.”

  Suddenly she laughed, and I liked it because she sounded exactly like Liza. “You guys really make that a habit,” she said, reminding me that I wasn’t the only one coming in that way.

  “Yeah…for what I’ve planned, this was the only option.” I grimaced, but it was too late to find excuses. The truth was probably the best way to deal with this awkward situation.

  “And what have you planned?”

  Taking a deep breath, I squared my shoulders. “I’m going to kidnap your daughter.”

  “Oh, really?” Mrs. Matthews made a small step back and folded her arms over her chest. “And may I ask why?”

  “Because I think she needs a little distraction. She’s having a really bad day.”

  Abandoning her recently adopted defense, she suddenly made a compassionate face. “I noticed that something was wrong with her today, but she didn’t tell me what happened.” Coming forward, she placed a hand on my forearm. “Do you know what it is?”

  “Yes, Ma’am, I do. But I can’t tell you. That’s her choice, not mine.” Automatically, I put a little distance between us. “But if you want Liza to feel better as much as I do, then it would help if you could bend the rules tonight and let me steal her.”

  To my absolute astonishment, she didn’t throw me out for that. Instead she seemed to actually deliberate my words. “You look like a nice boy. And I know Liza is hurting a lot today. If I let her go with you, will you promise to take care of her?”

  The thing with the nice guy, she probably just said that because she knew my dad. Everyone knew Jim Hunter, the vet in this town. No one believed th
at his son could be any less honorable than him. Lucky me.

  In a conceding gesture, I lifted my hands and told her, “I promise to bring Liza back in one piece…and happy.”

  “I’ll take your word for that, young Hunter.” She pointed a manicured nail in my face. “And she’d better be back in her room before one o’clock.”

  “Absolutely.” What a cool mom. She reminded me a lot of my own, and I could totally picture getting acquainted with her as the mother of my girlfriend. There was just one more thing. “Would you mind if we didn’t tell Liza that you found me in here?” Reading her diary…

  “You still want to kidnap her?”

  “M-hm.” I nodded and grinned. “It would make the night a little more adventurous for her. And help her forget.”

  Liza’s mom heaved a deep sigh. “All right. I won’t tell if you don’t tell.” It was adorable how much flak she was taking just to see her daughter smile again. She walked to the door, but before leaving, she cast me a glance back over her shoulder. “It’s because of a boy, right? I guess it’s about Tony?”

  Pressing my lips together, I gave a helpless shrug.

  “I see. You’re a good friend.” She smiled then closed the door silently behind her.

  I exhaled a deep, relieved breath and dragged my hands down my face. Shit. That was a close call. I had already seen myself being dragged out the front door by my shirt collar.

  Giving up the hope of getting a chance to read more of Liza’s diary, I sat back on her bed and waited the remaining minutes until she came back from her shower, working on my poker face. Unfortunately, I seemed to overdo it.

  Her first expression when she saw me still sitting on her bed was one of total mistrust. “You look too innocent. What have you done?” she growled.

  “Nothing. I was sitting here since you left and bored the hell out of me,” I lied, taking in the low neckline of her purple T-shirt. It stretched nicely over her boobs and flat stomach, ending half an inch above her dark blue jeans. Holy shit, she looked delicious.

  “Why don’t I believe that?”

  Giving an innocent shrug, I rose from the bed and nodded at the open window. “Shall we?”

  “I guess I don’t have a choice, do I?”

  “Nope.” I took her hand and pulled her out of the room over the sill. Holding both her wrists in a tight grip, I lowered her as much as I could without falling headfirst off the roof. There was no chance to put her down on the ground, so when her feet dangled about three feet above the ground, I said, “I’m going to let go now. It’s not a far fall.”

  With her eyes on my face, she nodded, not all too happy about my plan.

  “On three,” I told her. “One, two, three—” I loosened my grip until she slipped away and landed nicely in her garden, bending her knees and touching the ground for balance. When she straightened and looked all right, I swung on a branch on the tree and made my way down there.

  We ducked out of her garden and walked to my car. I wondered if Mrs. Matthews was spying through the window, and it was then that I remembered what Liza had told her dear diary about me. So I didn’t only smell good, I smelled amazing. And my smile turned her gaga. I looked down at her with a jumpy feeling in my chest. All this information made her startlingly vulnerable to me.

  Out on the pavement, Liza sneaked a suspicious side-glance at me. It prompted me to test the theory, so I smirked a little with just one corner of my mouth tilting up and angled my head a little. As if in response, Liza narrowed her eyes at me briefly, but an instant later, her cheeks took on a rosy color, and her lips curved up. She looked away.

  Damn, I’d found her trigger. And it was as simple as a smile. If I’d had any idea, I would have smiled more often at her in the past. But then, with her mind set on Mitchell, she might not even have seen it.

  I led her to my Audi parked at the other side of the street. A stunned expression settled on Liza’s face as she scanned it from heck to front. “Nice car.”

  “Thanks.” The Audi was a babe magnet, so I wasn’t surprised she liked it. “You have your license?”

  Her gaze lifted to me. “Yeah, got it last summer.”

  “Want to try her out?” Since I’d been away for most of the summer, the car was still brand new, and I wouldn’t let anyone drive it. Not even Justin when he begged on his knees. That I offered her the exclusive chance surprised even me. But then, she’d certainly enjoy it, and I really wanted to see her happy again. I figured out that I couldn’t handle her sad eyes.

  “Why?” Liza demanded with a startled laugh.

  I shrugged then opened the door on the driver side for her and leaned one arm on it. “Fun. And distraction.” She looked more than a little skeptical, so I added with a mocking tilt of my brows. “Unless you’re chicken.”

  That swayed her. With a broad show-off grin, she planted her butt behind the steering wheel. “How fast does she go?”

  I liked how Liza called my baby a she like me. “I promise you’ll never find out.” Tossing the keys into her lap, I slammed the door shut and walked to the other side. Being the passenger in my own car was a new experience. One that made me a little uncomfortable—not because I didn’t trust Liza’s driving skills, but because I preferred to be in control of things. Always.

  Liza fumbled with the seat, adjusting it to her height, then pushed the button and tipped on the gas to coax out a mighty roar from the engine.

  “Think you can handle manual?” I asked.

  She didn’t answer but just flashed a you-bet grin at me. Without any trouble, she steered the car out of the lot then started a cozy cruise down the road.

  “Is that all you can do?” I mocked her, casting an exaggerated glance at the speedometer. “This car wasn’t made for strolling. It’s a fucking racing car.”

  From her chewing her lips, I could read that she really wanted to try the Audi, but she seemed a little concerned about whatever—tickets, accidents, hitting something.

  “You’re thinking too much, Matthews.” I sneered when she cut a glance to my side. “Let go and ball the jack.”

  It didn’t take any more convincing. With the engine howling beautifully, I was pressed into the seat. That was fun. And I knew she had some, too, as she raced my baby toward to the beach.

  I had her taking a right turn at the ocean. “Have you ever been to Club Tuscany?”

  She gave me an appalled look. “I’m sixteen for another few weeks. Of course not.”

  “Ah, right.” Sometimes she behaved a lot older than that. Sometimes a lot younger…I didn’t care. I’d take her at any age.

  “How old are you?” she wanted to know then.

  “Eighteen.”

  “Since when?”

  July first. She’d come to watch Tony at training that day and she hadn’t said happy birthday. “Last month.”

  Her brows furrowed to a line. “But that’s still not old enough to go clubbing.”

  “It is when your brother-in-law owns the club.” I had never had any trouble getting in. Paul, the bouncer knew me, and Rachel would always cover for me if anyone was snooping around, demanding a license. “Follow that road for another ten miles,” I gave her directions, then scooted a little lower in the seat and pulled my cap deeper down my face. She handled my car quite well on her own, and there was no need for me to watch like a driving instructor. In fact, it was pretty cool to have a chauffeur for once. It gave me time to study her delicate hand on the gearshift while thinking about her diary confessions. So, she liked it when I touched her. What else did she like about me? I should have pocketed that damn diary and read every little bit she’d said about me in there. It was too damn tempting to know.

  A quarter of an hour later, we reached the outskirts of San Luis, and I directed to her to big building with the dark red façade, that had spelled Club Tuscany in huge beaming letters across the second floor level.

  Liza cut the engine and climbed out. When I walked around the car, Paul had her already captured
with his most intimidating glare. “You need to wait till you turn twenty-one to get in, sweetness,” he said and made her back off immediately.

  “Hi, Paul. She’s with me,” I told him and tucked Liza under my arm, realizing with a start how very well she fit in there. “Is Rachel in tonight?”

  “Hey, Ryan. Didn’t know you were coming,” Paul answered and pulled down the evil bounder masquerade, replacing it with a welcoming expression. “Rachel won’t be in until later, but Philip’s here.”

  “Cool.” We bumped fists, then he opened the door for us, and I dragged a shy Liza with me.

  “Is Rachel your sister?” she whispered.

  I resorted to my normal voice when I told her, “Yeah. Philip is her husband. He’s cool. You will like him.”

  As the stomping beat grew louder the farther we walked down the windowless aisle that was dimly lit by neon bars, Liza pulled on my arm and stopped me. “I don’t think I should be here,” she whined. “On second thought, you shouldn’t be here either.”

  “You worry too much.” I pulled her on, giving her no chance to back out. “I’m here almost every weekend. Everyone knows me. And no one will bother us.”

  I pushed the thick metal door in front of us open. A cloud of dry smoke and sweat immediately stabbed us in the face. The strobe light made focusing impossible, but I knew my way around here and maneuvered us through the bumping and grinding crowd of clubbers. “C’mon, let’s dance.”

  The word dance shifted down a gear in Liza’s pace, but I came here for a reason, and feeling her body close to mine was definitely one of the most important. Holding her hand tight, I dragged her along onto the middle of the dance floor, then I turned her around and pressed her against me. Her skin and hair were the only things smelling good in this place, and I dragged in a deep breath when I lowered my head to hers. “Loosen up, Matthews. You’re supposed to have fun.” Giving her a soft push, I twirled her under my arm, then caught her again, and pressed my lips to her ear. “Or at least look like you do.”