<b>Chapter 164 </b>


    -HUNTER-


    “Derek, I need you to look into someone.”


    My private investigator’s voice crackled through the phone speaker as I stared out my office window at the café across the street.


    The same woman had been there every morning for the past week, always positioned with a clear view of my building.


    “What do you have?” Derek asked, all business.


    “Middle–aged woman, brown hair, usually wears dark clothing. She’s been watching me from Romano’s Café. Daily surveince for seven days straight.”


    “Could be a journalist. Or someone working for apetitor.”


    “Maybe.” But my instincts said otherwise. This felt personal. “I need everything–name, background, connections. Fast.”


    “Give me twenty–four hours.”


    After ending the call, I tried to focus on the Files on my desk, but the woman’s presence nagged at me.


    In my world, surveince usually meant trouble. Corporate spying, hostile takeovers, or worse–threats against my family.


    The thought of someone watching Celine and Caesar made my blood run cold.


    Derek called back at exactly 4:47 PM.


    “Her name is Margaret Torres,” he said without preamble. “Fifty–three years old, works part–time at a grocery store in Queens. And Hunter?


    She’s Celine’s aunt. Her mother’s sister.”


    The words hit like a physical blow. “What?”


    “Margaret Torres, née Brown. Celine’s maternal aunt. ording to my sources, there’s been bad blood in that family for years. Margaret and Celine’s mother had some kind of falling out before Celine was thrown out.”


    My mind raced.


    Celine rarely talked about her family, but when she did, the pain in her voice was unmistakable.


    Her mother had sent her packing, the moment she found out Celine was pregnant, cutting all tiespletely. Her sister viewed her aspetition rather than family.


    So why was her aunt watching me?


    “What does she want?” I asked.


    “That’s the million–dor question. It could be curiosity. It could be she’s reporting back to the family about Celine’s situation. Or…”


    “Or?”


    “She could be looking for an opportunity. Your rtionship with Celine isn’t exactly secret anymore. Maybe the family thinks there’s money


    to be made.”


    29


    15.08 <b>Sat </b>9 AUG


    Fairt


    The test thing Celine needed was her towic family trying to worn their way back into fier life, especially now that she was pregnant


    “keep monitoring her,” I told Derek. “I want to know everywhere she goes, everyone she talks to


    “Already on it.”


    After hanging up, I sat in my chair for a long moment, processing this information. Celine was finally happy, finally healing from the wounds her family had inflicted.


    I would be damned if i let them hurt her again.


    But i wouldn’t tell her about Margaret. Not yet. Not until I knew what the woman wanted.


    Instead, I should focus on the good things. Like the fact that I was about to be a father again, and Caesar was going to be the best big


    brother in the world.


    I grabbed my jacket and headed for the door. Time to go shopping for my family.


    The florist on Fifth Avenue knew me by name now–a side effect of dating someone who lit up every time I brought her flowers.


    Today I chose white roses mixed with baby’s breath, Celine’s favorites.


    “The usual arrangement, Mr. Reid?” Maria, the owner, asked with a knowing smile.


    “Actually, make it bigger this time. And add some pink roses. For the baby.”


    Maria’s face softened. “Congrattions. Boy or girl?”


    “Girl.” The word still sent a thrill through me. “We just found out.”


    “How wonderful. I’ll make this extra special.”


    From there, I headed to the toy store a few blocks away.


    Caesar had been eyeing aplex Lego set for weeks–something about space stations and alien battles that wentpletely over my head but fascinated my Three–year–old.


    The children’s section was a maze of bright colors and overstimted parents. I wasparing Lego sets when I heard a familiar voice


    behind me.


    “Hunter? What a surprise.”


    I closed my eyes briefly, recognizing the voice before I turned around.


    Mia ckwood stood near the doll section with an older woman who had her same sharp features and a younger brte I vaguely recognized from various social events.


    “Mia.” I nodded politely, hoping this interaction would be brief.


    Her eyes swept over my armload of purchases–the flowers, the Lego set, and a pregnancy pillow I had grabbed for Celine.


    Her perfectly trained expression didn’t change, but I caught the sh of calction in her green eyes.


    ?????


    “Shopping for someone special?” The older woman stepped forward with a predatory smile. “I don’t believe we’ve been properly introduced. I’m Victoria ckwood, Mia’s mother.”


    Of course, she was. The resemnce was unmistakable–the same cold beauty, the same assessing stare.


    “Mrs. ckwood.” I shifted the packages, trying to signal that I was in a hurry.


    “Those are lovely choices,” Victoria continued, her gaze staying on the pregnancy pillow. “Very… domestic.”


    The word dripped with disgust, and I felt my jaw clench.


    These people thought they were unpretentious, but their judgment was written all over their faces.


    “Mom, why don’t you and Jessica continue shopping?” Mia said suddenly, her voice bright but strained. “I would love to catch up with Hunter privately.” <fn21fe> This content belongs to find?novel</fn21fe>


    Victoria’s face lit up like Christmas morning. “What a wonderful idea, darling. Take all the time you need.”


    She practically dragged the brte… Jessica….toward the exit, leaving me alone with Mia in the middle of the toy store.


    “You shouldn’t have done that,” I said once her mother was out of earshot.


    Mia sighed as she felt her calmness start to fade.


    “I needed the space. Mom’s been trying to set me up with every suitable politician’s son in the city. Apparently, I’m getting too old to be


    picky.”


    Despite everything, I almost smiled. “Wee to my world.”


    “Your mother can be… persistent.”


    “That’s one word for it.”


    We stood in awkward silence for a moment, surrounded by toys and the chatter of families.


    It struck me how surreal this was–having a semi–normal conversation with the woman my mother wanted me to marry while holding gifts for the woman I actually loved.


    “So,” Mia said eventually, gesturing to my packages. “Caesar and Celine?”


    The directness of the question caught me off guard.


    There was no point in lying–half of Manhattan’s social scene already knew about my rtionship, thanks to various paparazzi pictures and my mother’s less–than–subtle disapproval.


    “Among others,” I said carefully.


    Mia’s smile was sharp. “You’re not hiding it anymore. Smart choice, considering the cameras.”


    She was right. Paparazzi had gotten shots of me with Celine at restaurants, even walking in Central Park with Caesar.


    My private life wasn’t private anymore.


    “I was never hiding anything,” I said. “I just prefer to keep my personal life separate from business.”


    “And yet here you are, shopping for baby supplies in the middle of the day.” Her tone was light, conversational, but her eyes were calcting.


    UY SBLY <b>Aug </b>


    “She must be getting close to her due date.”


    Warning bells went off in my head. Mia was fishing for information, and I had no intention of giving her any


    “I should go,” I said, adjusting my grip on the packages. “Enjoy your shopping.”


    “Hunter, wait.” She touched my arm lightly, her expression suddenly vulnerable.


    第44%


    “I know this isplicated, with our mothers and their expectations. But I want you to know–I don’t need their matchmaking. If something were to happen between us, I would want it to be real.”


    The sincerity in her voice was almost convincing. Almost.


    “Mia, I think you’re a lovely person,” I said carefully. “But nothing is going to happen between us. My heart is already taken.”


    Something shed across her face–hurt, maybe, or anger quickly masked. “She’s lucky,” she said finally.


    “Celine I mean.”


    “I’m the lucky one.”


    As I walked away, I saw her reflection in the store window. She was watching me leave, looking thoughtful and calcting.


    Something about that look made my skin crawl.


    ~MIA-


    I stood in the toy store long after Hunter left, my mind racing.


    Pregnant. That woman was pregnant.


    The pregnancy pillow had been a dead giveaway, but it was more than that. The way Hunter had said “among others” when I asked about his


    shopping.


    The protective way he had held those packages, like they contained something precious.


    He wasn’t just ying house with a nobody like Celine. He was building a family.


    My phone buzzed. A text <i>from </i>my mother: “How did it go with Hunter? Did you make progress?”


    Progress. As if seducing a man was just another item on my to–do list, like nning a charity luncheon or updating my LinkedIn profile.


    But maybe it was. Maybe that’s exactly what this was–a project that required strategy, patience, and the right leverage.


    I thought back to Hunter’s face when he talked about being lucky. The soft way his voice changed when he mentioned his “heart being


    taken.”


    He was in love. Really, truly in love.


    Which meant I was fighting more than just some temporary infatuation. I was fighting against someone who had already imed the part of


    him I wanted.


    But I would never back down from a challenge before.


    My phone rang. “Mom?”


    <b>4/5 </b>


    “Darling, you disappeared so quickly. How was your chat with Hunter?”


    “Illuminating.” I said, walking toward the store’s exit. “I think I understand the situation better now<i>” </i>


    <b>“</b>And?”


    I thought about Hunter’s protective stance, the way he had deflected my questions, the obvious evidence that his girlfriend was pregnant.


    Most women would have walked away. Would have epted defeat and moved on to the next suitable bachelor.


    But I wasn’t most women. I was Mia ckwood, and I’d been groomed my entire life to get what I wanted.


    “I think,” I said slowly, “that I need to be more strategic.”


    “What do you mean?”


    I stepped out onto the sidewalk, watching the crowds of people hurrying past. Somewhere in this city was Celine, the woman who had captured Hunter Reid’s heart.


    The woman carrying his child.


    The woman standing between me and everything I wanted.


    “I mean,” I said, my voice growing stronger with each word, “that if I want Hunter, I need to remove thepetition.”


    My mother’sugh was sharp and approving. “Now you’re thinking like a ckwood.”


    As I hung up and hailed a taxi, I was already formting ns. Hunter Reid was going to be mine, one way or another.


    His current distraction would just have to be dealt with.


    After all, I had learned from the best. And Eleanor Reid had made it very clear that she wanted her son with someone suitable.


    Someone like me.


    It was time to give her what she wanted–and take what I deserved.