she wouldnât leave him because she had too much to lose, and that no matter what she accused him of, his family would stick by his side.
And they had.
Even his mother, whoâd said she sympathized with Hunter over her sonâs wretched behavior, had stuck by him in the end. For Hunter, that had hurt more than anything because sheâd assumed she and Nadine Robinson had had a good and close relationship. At least they had until the day Hunter had decided to bring her eight-year marriage to Carter to an end. Then Nadine had proven Carter right. Blood had been thicker than water.
Even with Carterâs high-priced divorce lawyer, at least the judge whoâd handled the divorce had sided with her and ordered Carter to give her fifty percent equity out of the company. He hadnât even wanted to do that. And the judge had been more than fair in making sure he did the same with their home, as well as all the other assets Carter had acquired over the years. Some she hadnât known about until the day the private investigator sheâd hired had uncovered them.
So now she was back in Phoenix. In a way she felt like a stranger in her own hometown, since sheâd made Boston her home ever since enrolling in MIT for her graduate degree. Sheâd been working a few years when sheâd met Carter at a fund-raiser her architecture firm had given. He was a member of the Boston Robinsons, a family that took pride in their old-money status and the rich history that came with it.
Theyâd been married three years when sheâd first found about Carterâs affairs. He swore they meant nothing and begged her to forgive him, and she had. He became attentive for a year or two, and theyâd even tried having a family, but with no success. Hunter wasnât exactly sure when his affairs had picked back up again, but sheâd begun noticing the usualâlipstick on the collar, the scent of another womanâs perfume and suspicious text messages. Thatâs when she hired a private investigator. The PIâs report had been the last straw. There was no way she could remain married to Carter after that, regardless of what her in-laws thought. In the end, they had sided with Carter in his campaign to destroy her.
She drew in a deep breath, refusing to give in to her sorrows. Somewhere out there were women in far worse situations than she. Her grandmother used to repeat that adage about making lemons into lemonade and Hunter intended to do just that.
At that moment the image of Tyson Steele came into her mind. Not that it had actually ever left since theyâd run into each other last night. In fact she had dreamed about him. Of all things, in her dream she had let him do what she had refused to let him do eighteen years ago, and that was to take her in the backseat of a car.
Hunter shook her head. She couldnât believe how scandalous that dream had been and it was even worse that she had totally and thoroughly enjoyed it. Luckily it had been just a dream and not the real thing. But the dream had been enough. She had awakened panting, with heated lust rushing through every part of her. It had taken a long cold shower to calm down her body.
During the four years of her sexless life, the last thing she had thought about was having an affair. So why now? And why Tyson Steele? He was arrogant, confident and too cocky to suit her. They hadnât held a conversation for more than a few minutes before he was telling her of his plans to seduce her.
She shook her head as she headed for the door. Some menâs attitudes simply amazed her. But then again, he was a Steele. Hearing three of his brothers had married meant there could be hope for him, but she wouldnât be crazy enough to put any money on that assumption.
But what really should be hilarious was that Tyson Steele thought he could seduce her. She figured heâd been all talk and that his words had been meant to get her sexually