Page 5 of Hunter

And on some level, I admit to myself,they’ll be right.

Being trapped with Isabella for a few weeks should guarantee that I get an opportunity to talk to her and find out why she couldn’t, or wouldn’t, give us a chance. Because the kind of heat we had? The connection? The chemistry? Whew. You just don’t find that every day.

To be clear, when Tanner arranged for McKenna’s best friend to come north last summer and asked me to pick her up from the airport, Ineverexpected to fall for her. It never even occurred to me. Like Tanner, I’d dated seasonal employees off and on over the years and even fallen pretty hard for a couple of the girls I’d dated. But truth told, I hadn’t been serious with anyone for a long time. I liked being single. I liked playing the field.

Until I met Isabella.

From the second I picked her up from the airport,

It. Was. On.

Our conversation back to the campground was packed with innuendo, and when I dropped her off at McKenna’s cabin, she dropped her eyes to my crotch, raised them slowly to my face, and asked if we could get together later.

I told her I’d pick her up at eleven.

She snuck out of bed after McKenna was sleeping, jumped in my pickup, and I drove us out to my favorite stargazing spot. The back of my truck was our bed. The stars were our witnesses. And our cries blended in with the night.

Fuck, that girl was hot.

Two more nights followed the first, and instead of feeling exhausted by the end, I felt…bereft. I felt so fucking sad to say goodbye to her, I couldn’t believe it. I’d fallen for her and how.

So when I drove her to the airport, I asked if she wanted to give us a shot, positive she’d say yes.

“I know you live in Seattle, and I live here, but you’ll be back to see McKenna, and it’s easy enough for me to fly south for visits once the summer ends, so I was hoping—”

“You want to keep in touch,” she’d said bleakly.

“Definitely,” I’d told her. “I’d like to give this a chance and see what happens. How about you?”

“Normally,” she’d said, her eyes severe, “I’d say no. I’m not a fan of long-distance relationships. They don’t work. Theyneverwork.”

“Maybe we’d be the exception?” I’d suggested with a small, hopeful shrug.

“Unlikely,” she’d whispered.

“Hey. C’mon. Why not give it a try?”

“Why not?” she’d asked with a scoff. “I can give you a million reasons why not.”

“Then I’ll give you one great reason for why we should,” I’d said, deciding then and there to shoot my shot, emotionally speaking. “I like you, Bella. Ireallylike you. And I think you really like me, too.”

She’d gasped softly before slamming her lips into mine, and we’d kissed each other like the world was ending…which, in some ways, felt accurate.

“Text me,” she’d said, her voice terse and doubtful. “We’ll see what happens.”

Then she’d grabbed her suitcase, jumped out of my truck, and slammed the door shut behind her.

I’d watched her strut into the terminal feeling hopeful.

And for a few weeks, we did it—we gave things a shot.

We exchanged some of the hottest texts I’ve ever written or received. We had the kind of phone sex that made me come almost from her words alone.We could do this! We were going to be a long-distance dating success story!We were beating the odds. We were the exception.

Until we weren’t.

Right around the time McKenna’s grandmother died, I got a text from Isabella that read:Hi, Hunter. Sorry, but this isn’t working for me. I told you from the beginning that long-distance never works. I think we need to call it quits before someone gets hurt. I wish you the best.

Shocked and hurt by the abruptness and finality of her message, I asked her if I’d done something wrong. I begged her to give us a little more time. I bought a ticket to fly down to Seattle and told her I was coming. I tried calling, but she wouldn’t pick up.