Queen of Hearts (Gambling on Love Series Book 4) Read online

  Chapter Two

  Hunter

  The blonde seated next to me at the juice bar is yammering on and on about some shit I could care less about. Her desperate attempts at flirting and flaunting her fake tits at me are having no effect. I take my phone out of my pocket, pretending to be checking my messages, but really, I’m looking at the one picture I have with me and Lucy together. It was from the night of Brooke’s wedding. I remember every moment of that night. Her singing Pat Benatar with the band, how she smelled of fresh cut lilies when we danced, and the way her laugh echoed through the tent when I showed off my break dance moves. The thing that stands out in my mind the most was the way she felt in my arms when we took this picture. Every soft curve fit perfectly against me. Like she was made just for me. That night she tore at the bindings wrapped around my heart, and I haven’t been the same since.

  “Can I buy you a juice?” The blonde pulls me out of my memory.

  “Sorry, I’m meeting my girlfriend for coffee,” I lie. Disappointment washes over her face as she turns her back to me and walks as fast as she can to the locker rooms. A few years ago, I would have taken her up on her offer, except we would have skipped the juice, headed straight to my hotel room, and I would have fucked her pretty little brains out. That Hunter no longer exists. It’s more of a shock to me than anyone else. The longest relationship I’ve ever had was a two nightstand with a pair of twins I met while on a job in Brazil. I’ve photographed every continent in the world, I’ve been with my fill of some of the most beautiful women. To me they were just a willing pussy to get my dick wet. I was an asshole, which is why Brooke told me to stay far away from her best friend Lucy. I’ve never been one for following the rules. Brooke should be proud I made it this long before making my move.

  I’ve been biding my time, showing Lucy and my sister that I’m not the womanizing ass hat I once was. I haven’t been with a woman since that night at the wedding. That has been a hell of a challenge for me. Blue balls are no fucking joke, but it was a sacrifice I needed to make. Not just to sleep with Lucy, but to be a better man for her and for myself. Watching how my father fell apart over losing my mom was my greatest fear. I never wanted to be that vulnerable, that broken over anyone. But damn if a sexy little blue-eyed coffee shop owner didn’t fuck that all up.

  I grab my gym bag and head out to the parking garage to my car. The hunt for a new home starts today. Brooklyn has been my home since I moved to New York right after high school. My first apartment was smaller than my room back at my grandmother’s place in Boston. It didn’t bother me, I was barley home as it was. My internship with Travel Magazine kept me working long hours doing grunt work. Prepping location shoots, fetching coffee, and backup cameras. It was shit work, but I learned so much about photography and how to run a professional shoot.

  My mom gave me my first camera when I fifteen. Back then my father and I had battles over what my future should be. He wanted me to follow in the family footsteps and be a cop. That was never what I wanted. Behind a camera was and still is a peaceful place for me. After blow ups with my dad, I would steal my mom’s cheap camera and sneak out of the house. I would spend hours roaming the streets of Boston taking pictures. One afternoon after a particularly nasty fight, I climbed out my bedroom window and there waiting for me at the bottom of the drain pipe was my mom. To my surprise she wasn’t mad that I was sneaking out. Instead, she handed me a brown leather camera bag and inside was a vintage Rolleiflex camera. She said a real photographer needs a good camera. Nobody understood me the way she did. I took that camera everywhere with me, even today, as I travel the world, that camera is always in my bag. Every time I look at it, it reminds me of her. It’s like I still have a piece of her with me.

  Brooklyn no longer feels like home. It hasn’t since Brooke moved across the country to live in Seattle. Brooke and I have always had a special bond. I practically raised her after our mother passed away. She’s more than a sister to me, she’s my best friend. We’ve been there for each other through some of the worst times in our lives. I helped put her life back together after the death of her fiancé. I loved having her there with me and it hurt like hell when she moved. I understood why she needed to get away, but it didn’t stop me from trying to convince her to stay. In the end, her moving was the best thing for her. She found the happiness she needed. Seeing her so happy with Brian, Ella, and Matthew gives me hope that even after suffering such heartbreak, you can still find a way to put the pieces of your heart back together.

  That’s why I decided to move here to Seattle. I need to be surrounded by that kind of hope on a daily basis. Lucy has left my heart open and raw, and the thought of giving it to her scares the shit out of me. My dad was never the same, but Brooke was able to find herself again after getting her heart broken. I just hope I’m as strong as she is.

  ****

  “Hunter, this place is so you.” Brooke beams at me from over her shoulder. I couldn’t agree with her more. The two-bedroom loft sits on the second floor of an old bread factory. There is exposed brick and metal beams everywhere. Floor to ceiling widows that let in all the natural light. There is space for a dark room, and if I want, I can lease out the space below and open my own gallery.

  Being a photojournalist has been an amazing dream come true. I’ve taken pictures on every continent, but it’s time I settle down. I’ve spent my entire life hiding behind my camera, capturing the biggest moments in other people’s lives. It’s time I step out from behind the lens and have a life of my own. Plant some roots, that includes a job that keeps me local. It wasn’t until I saw the photographs at Lucy’s coffee shop that I realized I wanted to start my own gallery, featuring local photographers and artists. Give people with real talent a place they can showcase their work.

  “I’m glad you like it, because I bought it,” I admit. The moment I walked through the door I knew this was my new home. It was only the second place my realtor showed me. It being just a couple of blocks from Lucy’s coffee shop may have had another hand in me picking this place. I’ll be able to see Lucy every day.

  “Hunter that’s so amazing. I’m so happy for you.” Brooke squeals as she slings her arms around me, giving me a big hug, well, as big as she can do with her pregnant belly. Even Logan, the little man growing inside her, gives me a congratulatory kick. “Did you hear that Logan, Uncle Hunter is staying in Seattle,” she says to her stomach.

  “Uncle Hunter is going to be around for a long time. I’m going to be around for this little guy and for Ella and Matthew, and most importantly, for you, Brookie.” I love my niece and my nephews so much, and I want to be there to watch them grow up. To be there when they need someone to vent to when their parents are driving them crazy.

  “I’m glad to have my big brother back. I’ve missed you, we’ve all missed having you around,” she says.

  “I know, and I regret not moving here the day you said you were relocating to Seattle. But I’m here now, and I give it six months before you are threatening to kick my ass back to New York,” I tease.

  “Not in a million years.” Her words get masked by the loud growling coming from her stomach. We both look down at her bump to see a little foot pushing against her shirt. “I think Logan is hungry.” She giggles.

  “Let’s go get the little momma some food, and we can talk about how you are going to decorate my new place.” I’m not even going to pretend I have any say in what will be going in my new place. Brooke took over the decorating of my place in Brooklyn after she moved in with me. She said my taste was too much college dorm room on crack and that I was a grown ass man who shouldn’t still have milk crates as end tables. Thanks to her eye for design, my place looked incredible and sold for triple the value.

  “I want a mountain of tacos.” She gets a crazy taco fiend twitch in her eyes.

  “What the pregnant lady wants the pregnant lady shall get.”

  Chapter Three

  Lucy

  My feet are screaming by th
e time I walk through the door at home. Four-inch heels were a big mistake. I was on my feet from the moment I arrived at work all the way until I got in my car to head home. My feet are screaming. I kick off my heels and wiggle my cramped toes, silently tell them I’m sorry for torturing them all day.

  “Mom is that you?” Bailey calls out from the kitchen.

  “What’s left of me,” I reply with an exhausted sigh as I walk into the kitchen. Bailey is seated at the kitchen island with Lucky, my childhood best friend, while she is staring with great concentration at the paper in her hand. I can almost see the smoke coming out of her ears as her mind tries to process what she is reading. I walk over to Bailey and kiss the top of her head. “What’s got her stumped?” I ask Bailey.

  “She’s looking over my math syllabus for the year,” Bailey replies. I feel Lucky’s pain. Junior high math has advanced since I was a kid. I’m going to have to hire a math tutor for myself just so I can understand what Bailey is learning.

  “Lucky, put down the paper before you short circuit your brain, sweetheart.” I chuckle under my breath. “Are you staying for dinner?”

  She drops the paper on the counter and uncrosses her eyes. “Yeah, Ryder is working a double tonight.”

  Lucky’s husband Ryder has been working longer hours since he was made Lieutenant on the police force a couple months ago, so Lucky has been spending her time here with us. After the year the two of them had, she needs to be surrounded by people who love her. Last year Lucky suffered a miscarriage that resulted in her having to get an emergency hysterectomy. It was completely devastating for them both.

  I grew up with Ryder and Lucky, I was there the day they met on the school playground, and I was there when they got married. Their relationship has been through some major ups and downs. Just when we all thought they were finally going to get the happy ending they so deserved, the floor was ripped tragically out from under them. We almost lost Lucky to the darkness that has plagued her for most of her life after that miscarriage, but by the Grace of God and Ryder, she was able to pull herself back, and the Lucky I know and love is coming back. But she still doesn’t like to spend too much time on her own for fear the demons will return. So, on the nights Ryder works late, she crashes on our couch. I am perfectly okay with that, because I know she will be safe here with me and Bailey. Plus, it’s nice to have another adult around to talk to. Loneliness is a bitch.

  I never really knew how lonely I truly was until all my friends started getting married and moving on with their lives while I seemed to stay in the same position. Once upon a time I was the one who was light years ahead of all my friends. Now, everyone is flying past me in leaps and bounds. Don’t get me wrong, I love my life, and I am incredibly lucky to have a successful career and a healthy, smart, beautiful daughter, but there is no hiding the fact that we both feel like our home is still missing something.

  I open the fridge and stare into the emptiness. Ugh, I suck. Thanks to my flakey mom brain, I forgot to go shopping. Most days I marvel at how long I have been able to keep Bailey alive. I slam the door shut and ask, “Who wants pizza for dinner?” Both Bailey’s and Lucky’s hands shoot up in the air.

  ****

  I finish reading the last chapter of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire to Bailey. Bailey can read these books on her own, but she insists that I read to her every night, saying I do a better job with the voices. My Voldemort is pretty badass. It makes me happy that she still wants me to read to her. The days are so hectic and crazy that I don’t get as much quality time with her as I would like, and I hope that will change with Connie’s help, but for now I will take what I can get. I set the book down on the nightstand, lean over and kiss Bailey on the forehead, and tell her goodnight before I slip out of her room.

  Waiting in my room when I walk in is Lucky. She has made herself at home in my bed and is scrolling through my Netflix. Not the exact image I would like to walk in on, but it’s better than the emptiness that I usually find.

  After changing into my pajamas, I slip under the covers next to her. My body melts into the soft pile of pillows. It feels damn good to be off my feet for the first time today. I pull the blankets up to my chin and sink further into the fluffy goodness.

  “Did you hear Hunter is moving to Seattle? Brooke was helping him find a place today,” Lucky says between bites of popcorn. “I guess he already sold his place in Brooklyn.”

  “Yeah, I ran into them this morning. It will be nice for Brooke to have Hunter so close now,” I say between yawns. “I’m sure the women of Seattle are rejoicing that Hunter McCoy is coming to town.”

  “I’m pretty sure they aren’t the ones he’s concerned with.” She gazes over at me. My only response is to roll my eyes at her.

  “What is it with everyone today giving me that stupid look when they hear Hunter is moving to Seattle?” First Connie and now Lucky.

  “Lucy, you cannot be that dumb. Hunter is totally moving here for you.”

  “That is ridiculous, Lucky. Hunter is moving here to be closer to Brooke and the kids.” Lucky is delusional. Hunter is not moving here for me. I roll over and cover my head with my pillow, so I don’t have to listen to anymore of her insanity.

  “You are the only one being ridiculous Lucy. That man is dying to get into those panties of yours. The man looks at you like you’re a fucking snack whenever you are in the room. He’s been lying in wait for four years. Lulling you into a calm before he strikes and taps that ass.” She smacks my ass through the blankets.

  “Lucky, please shut up about this and pick whatever dumb teen movie you are going to watch,” I snap. I’m so done talking about this subject.

  “He’s not going to fuck you with that attitude.”

  I grab my pillow and smack her in the face with it. “Enough,” I scold her.

  “Yes, Mom.” Lucky sinks down under the blankets. “All I’m trying to say is you like him and he likes you, so why not just give it a shot.”

  “Lucky, I will stab you with my nail file if you say one more thing about me and Hunter.”

  “You’ve been watching too much Orange is the New Black.”

  Chapter Four

  Hunter

  After the movers left me standing in my new loft, surrounded by boxes, I decide I need a coffee break before I start unpacking and make my way through the rain to Lucy’s coffee shop. Her shop is a couple of blocks from my place, it’s a short walk for the best coffee in the city and Lucy’s beautiful smile. The smile that could make even the toughest of men fall to their knees. Hell, I’d burn down cities for that smile.

  I shake the rain from my jacket before stepping inside. The scent of coffee and cinnamon fills the air. I look around the shop for Lucy and notice a large number of men looking in one direction. I follow their gaze right over to Lucy standing on a ladder, restocking books on one of the bookshelves. Now I see why they are all staring. The hem of her skirt is caught on the edge of the ladder, exposing her white lacy panties and the gentle round curve of her ass. I can’t have all these assholes gawking at my Lucy. I stomp over to her and put a wall between her ass and their prying eyes.

  “Lucy darlin, you might want to rethink wearing skirts when you are up on this thing,” I say, as I free her skirt from the grips of the ladder. A scowl takes over my face when I hear the men behind me groan in disappointment as I cover her back up.

  She looks down at me with a flushed face. “I was flashing the entire coffee shop, wasn’t I?”

  I nod, and she covers her face with her hand out of embarrassment. “Thank you for coming to my rescue.” I help her down to the ground. She looks around at the full coffee shop and her face turns about three different shades of red when she realizes everyone got a nice view of her ass. “I guess this explains why the tables are still full.”

  “It was probably the highlight of their day.” I half smile. Out of the corner of my eye I see a few of the tables clearing out. Show’s over, assholes.

  “I’m just g
lad I remembered to put on underwear this morning. Now that would have really been embarrassing.”

  The thought of anyone but me seeing her exposed like that makes my blood boil. No, she’ll only be that way with me. Easy access for me to give her all the pleasure she deserves. To touch her, taste her, to make her come. That will be my job.

  “I owe you a cup of coffee for coming to my rescue.” Her soft pink lips give way to an appreciative smile. “Maybe a cinnamon roll cupcake too,” she adds with a wink.

  Lucy turns on her heels and strides over to the coffee bar. Watching Lucy walk is like watching a symphony of long legs and soft curves moving in perfect harmony. Every move she makes grips me tighter into her web. She is the personification of sexy and she doesn’t even know it.

  I slide onto one of the stools at the bar while Lucy works on my coffee. Over the sound of the steamer I hear her humming to herself. I live for that sound, she does it every time she makes coffee. It’s damn cute.

  “Brooke told me you were moving into your new place today.” She slides the finished coffee across the wooden bar. I glance down and see an outline of a camera in the foam.

  “That’s cute,” I say with a wink. She responds with a giggle and shy grin. “The movers just finished unloading the boxes. I have a long day of unpacking ahead of me and this will help.” I bring the cup to my lips and take a swig. The hot liquid warms my soul. Best coffee in the city. “If you have time you should drop by and see the place.”