Free Honest Betrayal by Dara Girard Page B

suitors with it?”
    Brenna glanced up then frowned at the picnic basket in his hand. “We’re here to work.”
    “Yes, I realize that. Come on. I know a spot that will suit us.”
    “Where?”
    He pointed. “Over that hill.”
    She sighed. “Great. Go ahead and I’ll follow you.”
    He glanced at her cane. “You can’t make it?”
    “I can if you promise not to watch me.”
    He squatted in front of her. “Get on my back then.”
    Brenna stared at him. “What?”
    Hunter glanced at her over his shoulder. “You heard me.”
    She looked around. “You can’t do this.”
    “You don’t know unless you try.”
    Her curiosity overrode any doubts. She wrapped her arms around his neck. He easily rose to his feet and began to walk.
    “You’ve never done piggyback before,” he said after a few steps.
    “No. Why?”
    “You usually don’t try to strangle your carrier.”
    Brenna loosened her grip. “Oh, sorry.”
    “Thank you. Now I can breathe.”
    She rested her chin on his shoulder. It was dangerous being this close to him. Close to his scent, his warmth, his vitality. She could feel the inherent strength of his back muscles. He was so strong, yet he didn’t use it as a method of intimidation. She felt safe with him.
    Hunter stopped under a large maple tree. In the distance, a pond glimmered with the light of the sun. Brenna jumped down stumbling a bit but quickly regaining her balance.
    She watched him spread out the blanket a blue cotton/linen mix. “May I help?”
    “No.”
    She glanced towards the pond, watching people feeding the swans. Not since she was a girl had she sat in a park to relax. She usually walked through it to get somewhere. Not to enjoy it as she did now, sitting with someone else. Not talking, just being. Strange that he’d be someone she felt comfortable with. He was too patient and very cunning. She should feel cautious, instead she felt at ease.
    He handed her a plate piled with potato salad, grilled fish and green beans. “So what should I know about you so I can impress your Mom?”
    “First of all, you and I met in a greeting card shop. You were shopping for your mother.” Brenna took a bite of the fish.
    “Impossible.”
    “Why?”
    “I don’t know where she is.”
    “I’m sorry.”
    He shrugged. “Don’t be. My stepmother did a wonderful job.”
    “Okay, so you were picking up a card for your stepmother and asked me for my opinion. We started talking then you asked me out. Our first date was at the Thai restaurant on the corner of Mistleton Road. Our next few dates were scattered because of your hectic schedule. That’s why you’re only meeting her now. Do you think you can remember that?” She asked as Hunter finished his first helping of potato salad and went for a second.
    Hunter leaned against the tree. A piece of bark fell on his shoulder. He picked it up and stared at it. “I’m sure you have it all written down for me.”
    “For the sake of consistency we will use the same story for your banquet.”
    He threw the bark aside. “All right.”
    “Now about me. I have a BA in Sociology, I’ve never married, I don’t smoke, I am thirty and—”
    Hunter held up a hand. “That won’t work. You’re not filling out one of your questionnaires. I need to know something personal.”
    “I floss my teeth every evening.”
    He scowled.
    “We’ve only dated a few times. I wouldn’t have told you any dark secrets.”
    “No, but I would know more than what you’d put on a survey. For example, you could tell me about your childhood. The name of your best friend or your first kiss. What do you plan to do in five years? Do you want to get married?”
    “I’m not sure.”
    He looked surprised. “You’re not sure?”
    “I’m not sure I’m suited for it.”
    “If the right man comes along you’ll—”
    “He won’t,” Brenna said with a certainty that made her heart ache. She brushed the feelings aside. “My childhood was painful and my first kiss was