Page 26 of Unwrapping His Naughty Secret

“Wyatt likes you, you know. And my brother is an excellent judge of character.” Hunter’s gaze searches my face. “My daughter likes you, too.”

“I know.” I worry my bottom lip. “The nickname was a strong clue.”

“Practically kidnapping you and demanding you attend her family holiday gathering was another one?”

“Yeah.” I nod. “Is she always that…forceful?”

“Only if she loves you.”

“I…” I don’t know how to tell Hunter that my relationship with Hannah is a bit lopsided.

He smiles softly. “It’s okay if you don’t love her back in the same way.”

“She’s just a lot.”

“She is.”

“Raising her must have been hell.”

“No.” He shakes his head. “I mean, yes. To the outside observer, that’s a likely guess. But no. I love being Hannah’s dad. I love how willful she is. It’s going to take her far in life, even if it does sometimes knock the wind out of anyone trying to make her slow down.”

I blink in surprise. It’s not what I expected him to say. It’s…better.

And the guilt that missed me earlier now floods my chest like a dam burst.

I have been a horrible friend to Hannah. “She really is remarkable.” A lump forms in my throat. “And, um… I should go back to my room.”

“Why?” He frowns. “Cara, wait?—”

“I can’t get between you and Hannah.” I shake my head and go to step around him. “She might not believe in Santa anymore, but she still believes you are the world’s greatest dad, and I can’t be a part of ruining that for her. Or for you, for that matter. If we do anything more than what we’ve already done, I think you’ll regret it in the morning.”

Chapter 12

Hunter

Oh,fuck no.

I catch Cara’s wrist as she tries to slip by. “Wait. Don’t go back to bed just yet. I’m not going to regret anything, I swear.”

She glances at the closed door. Down the hall, my daughter is sleeping.

And fuck, I know she thinks it’s wrong, but the jolt of off-limits temptation doesn’t stop me. If anything, it fires me up. It just underlines how right our connection is.

“Cara, I’m a grown man. I won’t deny that I was shocked to seeyouwhen I opened the door, because for the last week,youhave been wholly separate from the rest of my life.A fantasy. But that was just a stupid, immediate reaction. I’ve spent the rest of the night thinking about you. All of you. Not a fantasy, not my daughter’s friend, but the very real woman in front of me. And I’ve been looking at you in this silky top, wanting to unwrap you. It can’t be a coincidence that you show up on my doorstep on Christmas Eve. Even if you had to be delivered here by my daughter.”

Cara huffs a little protesting breath. “Then maybe it’s just me who has a problem with looking her in the eye, knowing that I’ve called her dad Daddy.”

I laugh. God, that’s funny. Genuinely. “Okay, fair deal. Call me Hunter if you’d rather.”

Her lower lip plumps out in a pout.

I lean in, heart pounding with confident anticipation. “You don’t want to, do you?”

She shakes her head a little. “No,” she admits.

“Then we have a little secret to keep, don’t we?”

Desire wars with the duty of friendship, and she twists her face.