The Girl Cried Wolf

They kissed softly, quietly. Their kisses were gentle breaths and b.u.t.terfly wings, soothing and delicate. The white bed was warm and safe, and as long as they lay together they could float away, kissing cool slow kisses.

Hunter traced his thumb along Ash"s lips: her eyes were closed and she breathed softly. For a minute he wondered if she had fallen asleep, tired perhaps from jet lag. But then she opened her eyes and looked up at him.

He bent toward her and kissed a corner of her mouth.

"I"ve never been here before," he said.

"You"ve never been in your own guesthouse before?" Ash said, raising an eyebrow at him.

Hunter laughed. "No, I mean, I"ve never been in this position before."

[Lying down?] Ash thought, sarcastically.

"You"re the first girl I"ve brought home with me," he said.

Ash was not impressed. She knew she was being flattered and she put her guard up immediately.

"Sweet. I"m not the first girl you"ve been with though," she said.

"No, but you"re the first one to meet my parents."

"I"m sorry I can"t do the same for you. Mine are dead."

"You"re really killing the mood here, Boots."

"Sorry. I"m sorry."

Ash buried her face in Hunter"s chest. She was grateful to be a guest in his house, but she couldn"t help herself. She didn"t want to get too attached to him just because he had invited her to spend the holidays with him at his family"s home. She was a charity case and her sarcasm was already making her benefactor feel uncomfortable.

"It"s okay, baby," Hunter said, kissing the top of her head.

Ash looked up at him.

"Baby?" She looked at him like he was a creep trying to hit on her. Why was she so unyielding?

"Can you just shut up and let me take care of you? Just be baby, okay?" Hunter said in an exasperated tone.

"Okay," Ash laughed. He was clearly getting annoyed and she thought it was cute.

"Okay, baby," Ash said. She gave him a quick peck on the lips.

[Baby,] she thought. She"d never been anyone"s baby before. It had a nice ring to it.

RING RING RING

The phone in the guest bedroom was ringing. Hunter rolled over and picked up the receiver.

"Yeah. We"ll be right there. Thanks."

The staff from the main house called. Mr and Mrs Guzman were at the informal dining area. The table had already been set and they were waiting for Ash and Hunter so they could begin their dinner.

Ash sat up and wondered if she should change into nicer clothes. Not that she had a lot of clothing options, but she could at least wear a nice dress to dinner.

Hunter held out his hand to her. "Let"s go," he said.

"Should I change into something nicer?" Ash asked him.

"No, you look great. Maybe fix your hair a little, but other than that, you look perfect."

***

Hunter"s parents were already seated at the table when Hunter and Ash walked into the dining room. Silverio had close-cropped dark blond hair and gray-blue eyes. He looked like an older gentleman version of his young son. He sat at the head of the table and his dark-haired wife Lavinia was seated at his right. On Silverio"s left were two place settings for Hunter and Ash.

The food was already on large serving dishes in the middle of the table and no servants were around. Ash wasn"t sure if this was how they normally ate their meals, but it felt like they were having this particular dinner in secret.

"So, this is your guest?" Silverio asked Hunter as he and Ash sat down at the table. Lavinia glanced at her husband as he spoke, her dark brown eyes sparkling with a barely contained delight.

Hunter nodded.

"Papa, Mama, this is Ash. She is my girlfriend," he said.

Ash"s turned her head to the side so fast she almost gave herself whiplash. She stared at Hunter with an expression that dared him to explain himself.

Silverio looked from his son"s face to his son"s "girlfriend" and smiled in amus.e.m.e.nt.

"It appears your girlfriend is not aware of her t.i.tle, my boy. Perhaps you should reintroduce her to us."

Lavinia smiled at her husband"s words. Even before their meal began, she already sensed that her son"s introduction of his guest would be amusing in its awkwardness.

She had not expected her boy to bring a dark-haired girl to the table; she had a.s.sumed her son would bring home a pale blonde female version of himself: perhaps someone who looked like she could be an actress or a model or something similarly frivolous. This "girlfriend" however looked more like her own daughter than her own son did.

She saw the immediate change in Ash"s face when her son referred to her as his girlfriend. She had sensed that the girl was a good sort and the openness of her expression showed that she was honest. The girl"s face held no secrets and did not hesitate to question. Lavinia liked this about her.

Hunter looked at Ash and stared down at his empty plate. His mother reached across the table and filled his plate with mashed potatoes. He watched as his mother did the same for Ash, smiling at the young girl as she pa.s.sed the plate back.

Hunter speared a cut of skirt steak and put it on his plate, and he did the same for Ash. When both their plates had been filled, he reached for Ash"s hand beneath the table and squeezed hard.

Ash looked at him, concerned.

"Papa," Hunter began, "this is Ash Parker. She is one of us."

Silverio raised his chin and stared down at his son, as if prodding him to continue.

"She is like us, Papa. Like you, and me . . . and Grandpa."

Lavinia"s fork clattered as it fell onto her plate.