His Every Defense by Kelly Favor Read Free Book Online

“Sounds perfect.”
    Hunter glanced back at the manuscripts she’d left on the table. “How are you enjoying your temp job as my script reader? Is it everything you’d hoped it would be?”
    “And more,” she said. “Actually, I do like it. It’s fun.”
    “Good. I’ve got thousands of them, so you’ll never run out of fun things to do at my house.”
    They got in his car (Kallie had some difficulty, but with the seat all the way back, she found she could extend her leg comfortably enough). As they began driving, she rolled her window down and enjoyed the fresh air streaming through.
    Before long, they were at the restaurant, seated outside on a beautiful deck overlooking the water. The sun was casting shadows across half of the bay and it was like something out of a postcard.
    Hunter smiled at her as she looked around. The wind whipped Kallie’s hair across her face and she tried unsuccessfully to put it back in place.
    “You’re gorgeous,” he said.
    “This wind isn’t doing me any favors.”
    “You don’t need any favors. You’re the most amazing woman I’ve ever seen, Kallie.”
    She laughed and looked down, having trouble taking the compliment.
    When the waiter came to the table, Hunter ordered them Caesar salads and Porterhouse steaks, cooked medium, and a bottle of red wine.
    “You’re going to love this food,” he told her when the waiter departed. “This place is a local treasure.”
    Kallie unfolded her napkin. “I wouldn’t care if you fed me horse right about now.”
    Hunter’s puzzled and slightly horrified expression made her laugh.
    The waiter came along with their food, and as Hunter had promised, it was magnificent. Kallie didn’t know if it was because she was so hungry, or if the fresh air and the scenery made it seem better than it was—but she couldn’t think of a meal she’d enjoyed this much in a long time.
    The conversation was light, as they talked a little about Hunter’s movie company and how he’d founded it with some of the money he’d made off Blue Horizon’s success.
    “And then I was lucky enough to come across a little script called The Visitors,” he said, sipping his red wine. “We made it for a song—ultra low budget.”
    “What does that mean?” Kallie asked. “I don’t know a thing about movie budgets.”
    “We made it for just under a million dollars.”
    “That sounds like a lot to me,” she said. She took a long sip of wine, enjoying the warmth it created as it went down her throat and settled in her stomach.
    “It sounds like a lot but it really isn’t,” Hunter told her. His dark eyes looked directly into hers and she felt that spark of attraction and recognition. She was hardly able to focus on his comments.
    “I guess movies are expensive,” she said, trying to meet his intense gaze.
    “Most of them cost at least eight or ten million these days. The Visitors cost under a million and ended up taking Cannes and Sundance by storm. We partnered with DreamWorks and the film got wide release.”
    Kallie nodded. “I remember seeing the commercials for it.”
    “You never saw the film?”
    She shook her head. “No. Sorry.”
    “It’s fine,” he said. “Maybe I’ll show you a screener when we get home.”
    “I’d like that.” Kallie had a small bite of steak. “So, the film was a huge success?”
    “Well beyond my wildest dreams.”
    “Kind of like your book.”
    He nodded, his expression conflicted. “Yes. I seem to be lucky in that way.”
    “It’s amazing, Hunter. People would die to have that kind of success.”
    Her comment seemed to stun him momentarily. He almost flinched as the words came out of her mouth. She watched some of the color drain from his face, and he grew quiet, distant.
    She’d seen that look before. “Hunter?”
    He looked up at her with haunted eyes. “I’m fine,” he said. “I just…Give me a second.” And then he got up and left the table.
    She watched him walk away, and wondered if