appreciated sharing this time with her two best friends from high school—Maureen Santana, whom everyone fondly called Mo, and Kathryn Elliott, whose nickname was Kat. Both had been bridesmaids in her wedding and because they’d kept in touch over the years, they’d known about her rocky marriage and subsequent divorce from Carter Robinson. Mo, a divorcée herself, thought Hunter had given Carter far too many chances to get his act together, and Kat, who was still holding out for Mr. Right, had remained neutral until Carter had begun showing his true colors.
“Here you are, ladies,” the waiter said, placing their drinks in front of them. “Compliments of the gentleman sitting at the bar.”
Their gazes moved past the waiter to the man in question. As if on cue, he swiveled around in his seat and flashed them a smile. Hunter immediately felt a flutter in the pit of her stomach, a flutter that should have been forgotten long ago. But just that quickly, after all these years, it had resurfaced the moment she stared into the pair of green eyes that could only belong to a Steele.
“Well now, isn’t that nice of Tyson Steele,” Mo said with mock sweetness. “I wonder which one of us he wants to take home tonight.”
“Take home?” Hunter asked, while her eyes remained on Tyson. For some reason she couldn’t break her gaze. It was as if she was caught in the depths of those gorgeous green eyes.
“Yes, take home. He doesn’t really date. He just has a history of one-night stands,” Mo replied.
“Do we have to guess which one of us he’s interested in?” Kat asked, chuckling, and then took a quick sip of her drink. “If you recall, Mo, that particular Steele was hot and heavy for Hunter back in the day.”
“That’s right. I remember.” Mo turned to Hunter. “And if I recall, you dumped him. Probably the only female in this town with sense enough to do so.”
With that reminder, Hunter tore her gaze from Tyson’s to take a sip of her drink. In high school, Tyson, along with his five brothers, were known as the “Bad News” Steeles. Handsome as sin with green eyes they’d inherited from their mother, the six had a reputation as heartbreakers. It was widely known that their only interest in a girl was getting under her dress.
Galen Steele, the oldest of the bunch, had been a senior in high school when she’d been a freshman. Tyson was the second oldest. After Tyson came Eli, Jonas, Mercury and Gannon. Each brother was separated the closest in age by no more than eleven months, which meant their mother had practically been pregnant for six straight years.
“Tyson gave me no choice,” Hunter said, finally replying to Mo’s comment. “I liked him and for some reason I figured he would treat me differently since his family had been members of my grandfather’s church. Boy, was I naive.”
Kat chuckled. “But like Mo said, when you found out that you’d be just another notch on his bedpost, at least you had the sense to dump him.”
“I didn’t dump him,” Hunter said, sitting back in her chair. She didn’t have to glance over at Tyson to know he was still staring at her. “When he told me what he wanted, I merely told him I saw no reason for us to continue to date, because he wasn’t getting it.”
“That’s a dump,” Mo said, grinning. “And be forewarned, nothing about the Steeles has changed. Those brothers are still bad news. Hard-core womanizers. Getting laid is still their favorite pastime.”
“At least three had the sense to get married,” Kat added, taking another sip of her drink.
“Oh? Which ones?” Hunter inquired.
“Galen, Eli and Jonas.”
Hunter vaguely remembered Eli but she did remember Jonas since they’d graduated in the same class. And she couldn’t help but recall Galen Steele. He had gotten expelled from school after the principal found him under the gymnasium bleachers making out with the man’s daughter. His reputation around school was legendary. “So, Galen got married?”
“Yes, a few years ago, and his wife just gave birth to twins,” Mo explained. “Last night, in fact. The announcement was in the papers this morning. It was a huge write-up in the society section.”
Hunter nodded as she tried ignoring the fact Tyson still had his eyes on her. “What does Tyson do for a living?”
“He’s a heart surgeon at Phoenix Baptist Hospital,” Mo responded.
“Good for him. He always wanted to be a doctor.” She recalled their long talks, not knowing at the time their conversations were just part of his plan to reel her in. Unfortunately for him, she hadn’t been biting.
“Don’t look now, ladies, but Tyson has gotten up off the bar stool and is headed this way.”
Although Kat had told them not to look, Hunter couldn’t help doing so. She wished she hadn’t when Tyson’s gaze captured hers. He’d been eye candy in his teens and now eighteen years later he was doubly so. She couldn’t miss that air of arrogance that seemed to surround him as he walked toward them. He appeared so powerfully male that every step he took conveyed primitive animal sexuality. There was no doubt in her mind that over the years Tyson had sharpened his game and was now an ace at getting whatever he wanted.
He was wearing a pair of dark slacks and a caramel-colored pullover sweater. She was convinced that on any other man the attire would look just so-so. But on Tyson, the sweater emphasized his wide shoulders, and the pants definitely did something to his masculine build.
“I understand whenever a Steele sees a woman he wants, he goes after her. It appears Tyson’s targeted you, Hunter,” Mo said as she leaned over. “Maybe he thinks there’s unfinished business between the two of you. Eighteen years’ worth.”
Hunter waved off her friend’s words. “Don’t be silly. He probably doesn’t even remember me, it’s been so long.”
It took less than a minute for Tyson to reach their table. He glanced around and smiled at everyone. “Evening, ladies.” And then his gaze returned to hers and he said, “Hello, Hunter. It’s been a while.”
Hunter inhaled deeply, surprised that he had remembered her after all. But what really captured her attention were his features. He was still sinfully handsome, with skin the color of creamy butternut and a mouth that was shaped too darn beautifully to belong to any man. And his voice was richer and a lot deeper than she’d remembered.
Before she could respond to what he’d said, Mo and Kat thanked him for the drinks as they stood. Hunter looked at them. “Where are you two going?” she asked, not missing the smirk on Mo’s face.
“Kat and I thought we’d move closer to that big-screen television to catch the last part of the basketball game. I think my team is winning.”
Hunter came close to calling Mo out by saying she didn’t have a team. She knew for a fact that neither Mo nor Kat was into sports. Why were they deliberately leaving her alone with Tyson?
As soon as they grabbed their drinks off the table and walked away, Tyson didn’t waste time claiming one of the vacated seats. Hunter glanced over and met his gaze while thinking that the only thing worse than being deserted was being deserted and left with a Steele.
She took a sip of her drink and then said, “I want to thank you for my drink, as well. That was nice of you.”
“I’m
