King of the Friend Zone (Power of the Matchmaker) Read online

  Hunter still hadn’t said congratulations. He hadn’t stood or given her a hug or anything. He hadn’t done anything more than sit there with a beer in one hand while talking about some hypothetical TV show starring himself and the sale of Esme’s dream home.

  Had he somehow missed the memo that she was engaged? To be married?

  Esme’s mom would be screaming right now—crying! Hunter had barely even made eye contact and was acting like she’d announced that she’d have the chicken, not a hamburger, off of the barbecue.

  She sent a warning look at both Hunter and Daryl. “Really guys? I come down here to make sure you all are the first to know I’m engaged and I haven’t been sprayed by beer yet? I really misjudged you two.”

  “No, you didn’t,” Hunter said, standing and walking around to her left side and gripping her hand. “Hey, everyone!” he called out in a booming voice that got every fireman’s attention and even some of the civilians outside of their circle. He raised Esme’s ring-hand high up into the air. “Guess who’s marrying a doctor?”

  “What kind of doctor?” one of the firemen yelled back. “That matters!”

  Hunter arched a brow her direction. “Well?”

  They were definitely going to tease her for this for the rest of her life, so Esme just needed to own it.

  “Cosmetic surgeon!” she yelled out.

  “All right! Boob jobs for everyone!” someone yelled out before everyone burst into cheers and came in close to congratulate her. A dozen hands reached for a view of her ring while others patted her shoulder in congratulations.

  This. This had been the reaction she had been expecting when she’d shown up.

  Between her thank yous to all the guys, Esme turned to tease Hunter about how this was an appropriate response to an engagement announcement—not the stunt he’d pulled. But when she looked over, Hunter was far outside the circle and definitely out of earshot. She sent him a playful look that he was in trouble, but he only smirked a little and took another drink as if to say, What? You got what you wanted out of this.

  That wasn’t exactly true. She’d imagined this moment a dozen different ways, and none of her imaginings had played out remotely like this. That was her own fault, though. Any thoughts of how she hoped this might have played had been sabotaged when she flashed her ring at Kambri. No point in obsessing about it, though. She couldn’t go back and change the past. The only thing to do was move forward with what she had.

  Later, she mouthed to Hunter across the large group now surrounding her, and he answered with a casual nod before throwing his plate and bottle in the trash. He wanted to talk, but not there.

  Meet me, he mouthed back and started for his truck.

  Again, Esme didn’t need any of her apps to know where he was going next. He wanted to meet her in the one place she should have asked to meet him in the first place—their place. Although it was a place she shared with Jon now, since he’d proposed there.

  As she watched Hunter walk away, part of her was irked that he’d leave her like this. Then again, they would be driving separate cars anyway, so why should he wait for her?

  It took about another ten minutes before Esme broke away from her fire family and headed back to her car to finally have the conversation she wanted to have with her best friend.

  Chapter 3

  She found Hunter on the same bench where their mothers had always sat and talked, tucked off to the side where the ducks and turtles liked to mingle in a shady part of the pond. The spot was green with life and framed by a blue sky and a sun shining bright enough to make the early September breeze feel good.

  “You’re cold, you know that?” she said walking up to him. “I fully expected you to carry me around on your shoulders in celebration back there, not ditch me.”

  He looked up at her and smiled. “Count yourself lucky. I haven’t even approved of this dude. When that happens, then you’ll get the Super Bowl treatment.”

  Esme dropped down on the bench next to him, bumping shoulders on purpose. “You’ll love Jon. He’s so great.”

  “And it sounds like he can finally give you that boob job you’ve always wanted.”

  “Ha-ha,” she drawled. “But no. He’s actually made it a point that he never wants to work on me because he thinks I’m perfect the way I am.”

  “Well, then, maybe he isn’t a total idiot.”

  Esme smiled at the implied compliment, and gave Hunter’s leg a little pat. “You really are going to love him, Hunter. He’s funny, he’s kind, and so thoughtful. He’s always listening and following up—”

  “Sounds like you’re marrying yourself,” Hunter said, looking over with those blue eyes of his. “You look happy. Really happy.”

  “I am,” she said, unable to hide her silly grin. “We click, you know? We like the same things and enjoy the same events. And being on the same page all the time makes life so much easier, you know? It’s like, for the first time in my life, I’m floating downstream with the current and going exactly where I need to go without any effort. That’s what being with Jon feels like.”

  “Wow,” Hunter said, looking impressed. “The Queen of Anxiety feels like she’s floating downstream for once? You’ve got to lock that man down. When’s the wedding?”

  “Not sure yet,” she said as she leaned back on the bench. “Not too quick. I mean, I’ve always said I want to know a guy through every season before I married him. And I’ve seen Jon in Spring and Summer, but not Fall or Winter. So definitely no wedding for another six months, I would think.”

  “Probably wise,” Hunter agreed.

  There was a brief moment of silence.

  “How did he propose?”

  Esme felt her heart pitter-pat at the memory as she pointed over to the photo opp spot that was currently out of sight on the other side of the trees. “Right over there, actually.”

  “Here? At the Palace of Fine Arts?”

  She nodded. “He asked me where my favorite spot in the city is last week and I told him it was here. So he proposed to me here. Isn’t that romantic?”

  “He’s smooth,” Hunter agreed. “When do I meet him?”

  “Anytime!” Esme said a little too loudly, tattling on the fact that she wasn’t quite as calm about the prospect as she wanted to let on. “We should set up a double date when both you and Jon have a night off.”

  “I’m sure you’ll figure out what day that is in no time flat.”

  “That’s right,” Esme said. “And when I do, I expect a firm yes from you. No excuses.”

  He sent a small salute her way. “Yes, boss. Now show me where this proposal went down. Are you talking about the spot where you peed your pants for the first time after being potty trained?”

  “No, but like twenty feet from there,” she said, gripping his hand in hers and pulling him up as she stood. Even in her four-inch heels, she felt pint-sized next to Hunter’s tall, muscled frame. The guys that made it onto his fire truck had to have the right mix of skills, courage, brawn, and agility, which meant she couldn’t have pulled Hunter anywhere he didn’t want to go—a fact she frequently forgot until he offered her token resistance. His hesitation was only slight before he stood to follow, but she felt it and sent him a curious look.

  He ignored it and fell in step next to her. “So what’s the new last name I need to get used to?”

  “Bauer,” she said, smiling through a sigh. “Esme Bauer.”

  “And tell me, Mrs. Bauer, when did you know that Dr. Bauer was the man for you?”

  “It kind of crept up on me,” she said as they strolled to the proposal spot. “I don’t know that there was a moment, so much as a sequence of moments that all added up to a conclusion.”

  “That you’d found the man for you?”

  Esme smiled. She couldn’t help it. “Yeah. Everything about Jon is tailor-made for me. We don’t even have to talk half the time because we both want the same things. I can’t tell you how good that feels.”

  “
So have the two of you had a fight yet, then?”

  “That’s the thing,” she beamed. “We don’t really fight. In six months, we haven’t really found anything to fight about.”

  “Wow. Are you marrying a man or a unicorn?”

  Esme threw her head back and laughed as they reached Jon’s spot in her tapestry of memories. “Maybe both,” she said before planting her feet and announcing, “Here! This is where Jon proposed.”

  “Hmm,” he said, not looking totally impressed.

  Esme grinned like a school girl. “Grumble all you want, but it was romantic. I told him I loved this spot because I love taking pictures of tourists here, and he decided to give me another reason to love it.”

  “Again with the smoothness,” Hunter said with a shake of his head. “Sounds like he should teach a class.”

  “If he does, you should take it,” Esme teased. “The man has moves.”

  “Please,” Hunter said, rolling his eyes. “I have more moves than I know what to do with. He can keep his.”

  Esme laughed until she realized her friend was watching her closely, his eyes reading her as only he could. When he spoke, it was with sincerity.

  “Well, I’m sorry that you felt you needed a ring on your finger before you could introduce me to the man you love. But I love seeing you this happy, so I guess you’re forgiven.”

  Esme felt a pang of guilt run through her. “Hunter, I didn’t mean to hide him—”

  “Yes, you did.”

  She took a slow breath. “Okay, I did. But only because you can be crazy intimidating.”

  He shrugged helplessly. “Hey, if a guy doesn’t have it in him to stick around you after meeting me then he doesn’t deserve you anyway.”

  “Fair point,” she agreed. “I guess somewhere along the line I decided that I only wanted to introduce you if I was really serious about a man.”

  “Which means I should have met this guy pre-proposal, right?”

  “It just…happened fast,” Esme said. “Faster than I ever imagined, for sure. I mean, he’s a doctor. What doctor proposes within six months in this city?”

  “To you? A sane one.”

  She gave his chest a slap with the back of her hand as a blush crept into her cheeks. “Aw, Hunter. You keep talking like that and I’m going to have to check your temperature.”

  “Please,” he scoffed. “Some women have their choice of men, Esme. You’re one of them. Don’t pretend you don’t know that. Not with me.”

  She bit her bottom lip, trying to hide a smile, but it was useless. Hunter knew all her tells, which was why he smiled in victory without her saying a word.

  “Congratulations, Esme,” he said, offering her a hug. “I hope you’re really happy with this guy.”

  Hunter hugs were few and far between, which was why Esme held on when she got one. Wearing heels, the top of her head barely reached his shoulder, allowing her to lean into that fireman chest of his and feel weightless. Esme may hate the risks that Hunter took to make his living, but the body he’d carved out to train to take those risks was Grade-A hugging material.

  “I am happy,” she said against his chest. “For the first time in my life, I really am, Hunter.”

  “If you’re happy, I’m happy,” he said, pushing her away so she could see his playfully stern look. “But I still need to meet this guy.”

  “Oh, it’s happening,” she promised, then fell in step as Hunter started back toward the parking lot. “So you’d better start looking for a date to double with.”

  He shrugged. “I’ll find one on the way over to wherever we’re meeting. Shouldn’t be too hard.”

  Cocky as ever, and Esme would have called him out on it if it had been an exaggeration. “Or you could try something new and bring someone you like and have actually been out with more than once.”

  He gave her a patronizing pat on the arm as they stepped back out into the sunlight on the main walkway. “You’re always full of bright ideas, Ez. That’s why you get paid the big bucks.”

  She swatted Hunter’s chest in feigned annoyance a moment before the Cookie Lady caught her eye.

  “Two o’clock,” she muttered, directing Hunter off to the left. “Don’t make eye contact. Just follow my lead and keep walking.”

  She could tell Hunter wanted to look. “Why?”

  “I insulted that lady’s cookies yesterday,” she confessed. “She took our picture when Jon proposed then had us try one of her cookies.”

  “And you thanked her by insulting her?” Hunter asked, looking fascinated. “You? The master of diplomacy?”

  “I don’t know what happened,” she hissed, pulling Hunter along as fast as she could. “She asked me how the cookie was and I…told her. It was like I could not tell a lie all of a sudden, and blurted out how bland and forgettable her cookies were.”

  Hunter threw his head back and laughed, and Esme felt her chest clench in panic as she glanced over to see if Miss Pearl had noticed. She had. The little woman was looking right at her.

  Crap on a stick. Maybe she’d be lucky and the lady wouldn’t recognize her.

  “You!” Miss Pearl called out. “Come try new cookie!”

  Was it just Esme, or was her accent heavier and her English more broken than the last time she had seen her? Not that it mattered either way. After yesterday’s disaster, it wasn’t like Esme was going to start critiquing the woman’s grammar.

  Hunter beamed down at her, mimicking the woman’s broken cadence. “You heard the lady, Esme. New recipe. You go try.”

  “No,” Esme pled, gripping his hand. “Keep walking, Hunter. Let’s make our excuses and keep walking.”

  “And miss the cookies that broke your manners? Nuh-uh. That’s not happening.”

  “Hunter,” she hissed, feeling like a puppy being dragged on a leash as Hunter made his way over to the little cookie cart.

  Miss Pearl had two cookies ready, one in each hand. “You try again!” she declared in broken English.

  Oh, yeah. Her accent was definitely stronger this time around.

  “We’ll take two,” Hunter said, gesturing to the cookies in her hand with a nod as he reached for his wallet.

  Esme panicked. “No. Hunter. It’s not like—”

  “You kiss her,” Miss Pearl demanded. “Then you get cookie.”

  Hunter looked as confused as Esme had felt the day before. “I, uh, I’d rather pay.”

  “You not read sign?” Miss Pearl asked, voice stern. “I write in English, just for you. Kissing Cookies.”

  It was a rare moment when Hunter was at a loss for words, but this little spitfire of a lady had him questioning himself it seemed.

  “I did see it,” he managed before gesturing Esme’s direction. “But my friend here is engaged. Kissing her wouldn’t be very respectful to her fiancé.”

  “One kiss. Two cookies. Fair price!” Miss Pearl said as if she hadn’t understood what Hunter said, and Esme gripped his hand.

  “On the count of three, let’s run,” she whispered.

  Not yet ready to quit, Hunter held up a ten dollar bill. “Ten bucks for two cookies is also fair, don’t you think?”

  Miss Pearl scowled and shook her head. “No kiss? No cookie.”

  “Trust me, you’re not missing anything,” Esme said as softly as she could, gently pulling him toward the parking lot. “Let’s make a run for it.”

  “But I’ve heard so much about these cookies,” Hunter said to Miss Pearl. “This once, can’t you sell one? Just for me?”

  Oh, he’d pulled out the puppy eyes. Those didn’t come out too often, but he had mastered the look on lunch ladies back in elementary school. The look he was giving Miss Pearl now had bent many wills and definitely won him more than his fair share of cookies in his childhood, but Miss Pearl was seemingly impervious to his charm.

  “Kiss is final ingredient,” she insisted. “No kiss. No cookie.”

  “Well, that settles that then,” Esme said brightly.

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nbsp; Next to her, Hunter sighed and stuck his wallet back in his pocket. She looked up at him in relief, ready to give him the signal to run for it when his lips darted down and met with hers in a lightning fast peck of a kiss that was gone before she even knew it had landed. Still, it sparked as if she’d been shocked with static electricity, leaving her a bit shaken.

  “There!” Hunter announced, turning back to Miss Pearl. “Now let me try this famous cookie of yours.”

  “Hmm,” Miss Pearl said, hands still clutching the cookies as she seemed to decide whether what she’d witnessed was a kiss or not. “Very fast.”

  Very fast, indeed, Esme thought, pressing her lips together to get rid of the tingle the light touch had left in its wake.

  “But a kiss nonetheless,” Hunter pointed out to the little lady.

  “Hmm.”

  “A deal’s a deal,” Hunter pressed.

  Miss Pearl’s eyes narrowed as she extended a finger so she could wag it at him. “You very sneaky man.”

  “Guilty,” Hunter said, reaching out for his cookie. “But a deal’s a deal.”

  There was a moment of hesitation before the little lady nodded. “Lick lips first. Then I give cookie.”

  Hunter blinked in surprise. “Lick my lips?”

  “Both of you. Otherwise recipe no good.”

  Hunter looked over at Esme as if to say This woman is nuts before his tongue darted out between his lips and did as instructed. Rolling her eyes, Esme did the same and they were immediately presented with a cookie each.

  “Now you try cookie again!” Miss Pearl announced.

  Hunter made a point of looking at Esme as he opened wide and took a big dramatic bite. But the second his mouth closed around the cookie, his expression changed from playful to…what?

  His mouth froze mid-chew, his body growing very still before he closed his eyes and let out a little moan.

  A moan?

  Suddenly, his hand shot out between them. “Give me your cookie, blasphemer!”

  “What?” she said, guarding the cookie out of instinct.

  “You called this bland? You don’t deserve it!” he declared around a full mouth of cookie. “It belongs to me.”