What You Don't Know (Sequel to "Secret Love")(Hunter Hayes/James Marsden)

Stress

This is a really short update. I'd be more sorry if I were more sorry, but I'm sorry I'm not all that sorry. Anyway, this book is taking me a really long time to write, so updates will probably continue to be scarce.

I still love you guys, though, and I totally appreciate those of you who have followed Hethany all the way here. (: 

As always, comment, vote, follow me. Guys, I'd really like to start talking to some of you as well, so if you're interested in making internet friends, hit me up! I'm fun sometimes! :D  God Bless and Happy Reading!

She was not certain if she had simply fallen asleep, or if the stress of her night had caused her to faint, but the next thing she knew, she was hearing the door to the apartment open, and Hunter's keys dropping into the bowl next to it. She heard him shuffle into the kitchen, and sighed, remembering that there was a lit candle and a once-beautiful meal on the table. His groan echoed through the house, followed by the sound of his guitar case thudding on the floor. His footsteps moved down the hall, and Bethany stiffened. Should she pretend she was still asleep?

She did not have enough time to decide before his face appeared in the door frame, filled with regret. He looked her over. She knew what he was seeing: her makeup streaking down her cheeks from her brief crying jag, and her hair undoubtedly looking every bit as ragged as she imagined. Hunter's favorite pink dress still clung to her body, and her bare feet swung freely from the end of the bed. His mouth fell open.

"Oh, my gosh, Beth. I'm so sorry! We didn't mean to take so long...it was a crazy day in the studio. Have you been crying? Oh, my gosh, I'm so sorry!"

Bethany let him fold her into his arms, though she no longer felt the need to cry. She reassured him that it was okay, and curled into his chest when he lay down beside her.

She traced patterns in his green V-neck shirt, her mind reeling once again with the events of the past few hours. Should she tell Hunter about the phone call?

"I'm so sorry that I was late, Beth. You should have told me you were planning to make dinner. I would have beat up anybody who tried to keep me there." He chuckled, and she let herself smile at his obvious joke. He did not have a violent bone in his body.

"It's fine, Hunter, really." She fought back a sigh and patted his chest reassuringly.

"Well, for the record, it smelled delightful, and you look breath taking in that dress, as always."

She chuckled softly. A moment of silence passed, and she finally came to the conclusion that she needed to speak to Hunter about the phone call. She did remember that Mr. Willakers had specifically suggested that she not say anything, but she knew Hunter was trustworthy. She needed his advice on this, in any case.

With a sigh, she opened her mouth, but just as she was whispering his name, a soft snore slid from his mouth, and she sat up on her elbow to look at him. Sure enough, he was already sleeping, his mouth hanging open slightly and his arms loose around her.

Well, I guess that will have to wait until morning as well, she thought. She got up and readied herself for bed, but knew she was not likely to get to sleep again. 

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Despite her anxiety, Bethany did finally get to sleep. She had set an alarm to go off a good two hours before her meeting with Jeremy Willakers, hoping that she would catch Hunter before he left for the studio again. Today was the last day he was going to be able to work on recording the new album for a while, though, so she was not too surprised to find that he was already gone.

She sighed and bit her lip.

The more she thought about it, the less it seemed likely that Mr. Willakers was really a "covert operations specialist", as he had claimed on the phone yesterday. He had more likely been some crazy cyber stalker or maybe an attorney who had access to the kind of information he had provided her yesterday.

Of course, she had never had a stalker before, and she could think of no reason an attorney would expend so much effort looking into her past. Hunter had a few radical fans, but she refused to consider the possibility that it was one of them. That was simply too extreme, and they would have practically nothing to gain from meeting with Bethany. Unless they were trying to abduct her...or worse.

She covered her eyes. She was well aware that thinking so hard about this was not at all helpful to her already-unstable state of mind. She sucked in a breath and made a decision: she would go to the address Jeremy Willakers had given her, and simply go from there. She could not take the chance, just in case he really was a member of a national security team.