And I Love You Read Free Page A

teardrop lights suspended over an island.
    “Have a seat.” He gestured to one of the two bar stools tucked under the extended edge of the countertop. “I ordered a veggie and got several slices of cheese, too. What’s your preference?”
    “Either is fine. I didn’t expect you to share your dinner with me.”
    “I’m happy to share.” He put a slice of each kind on her plate and pushed it across the counter to her. “Wine? Beer? Soda? Water?”
    “I’ll take a beer if you have an extra.”
    “Coming right up.” He opened two bottles—with an opener, no twist-offs for him—and handed one to her.
    She glanced at the label, which she didn’t recognize. Naturally, it was something imported and classy, like him.
    He joined her at the bar, sliding onto the other stool and offering to share his salad.
    “No, thanks. The pizza is more than enough.”
    They ate in silence, and Megan appreciated that he didn’t push her to talk about what had upset her earlier. Being with him on this little detour from her regular routine had helped to briefly take her mind off the bomb Nina and Brett had dropped on her earlier.
    The whole thing came rushing back to her in one big wave of sadness that made it difficult to swallow her pizza. She took a sip of beer and closed her eyes, hoping to contain the emotional firestorm that threatened to erupt again at any second.
    Megan opened her eyes to find Hunter watching her, and Will’s words once again bounced around in her brain.
You’re focusing on the wrong Abbott brother.
Looking into Hunter’s deep brown eyes, which were filled with concern and compassion and something else she couldn’t easily identify, Megan was filled with an awareness of Hunter as a man for the first time. Until right that second, he’d been a customer, a guy she knew from town, Will’s brother.
    She cleared her throat and took another sip of her beer. “Nina and Brett are selling the diner.”
    His expression changed in a heartbeat from compassionate to shocked. “What?”
    “He’s been offered a teaching position in France for the new school year. They’re leaving next week. Apparently, the person the school originally hired had to decline at the last minute, so they have very little time to get there.”
    “Megan …”
    “The diner is closing.”
    “And you just found this out?”
    She nodded. “After we cleaned.”
    “You were crying. Behind the store.”
    “Maybe a little.”
    He pushed his plate away, apparently having lost interest in the food, and reached for her hand. “Are you okay?”
    She glanced down at their joined hands and shrugged. “I will be. It’s just a job. I suppose I can find another one somewhere.”
    “That’s not what I meant. Your sister … You two are close, and she’ll be leaving. Soon.”
    Damn it, he had to say that. He had to home in on the part of the situation that had truly broken her heart, and she was going to cry again if she didn’t get out of there immediately. She withdrew her hand and stood, nearly tipping over the stool in her haste. “Thank you so much for the pizza and the company. I’m just going to … I’ll go now.”
    He stood and took hold of her elbow. “Don’t go. Not now. Not when you’re upset.”
    She shook her head. “You’ve had a long day. You don’t need an emotional female blubbering all over you.”
    “Please,” he said, the note of longing in his tone impossible to deny, “don’t go. Let me help.”
    The wrong brother, the wrong brother, the wrong brother …
    Megan blinked rapidly, wishing intently that she were a stronger person, the kind who didn’t fall apart over news that tipped her world upside down.
    And then Hunter’s arms were around her, and he was holding her, the scent of fine, expensive cologne filling her senses, making her forget, if only for a second, that her heart was breaking.
    “I stink like ammonia and bleach, and you smell like Nordstrom.”
    His laughter rumbled through his body,