Hunter chuckled after she burped while placing her empty Coke can on the table.

"Thank you," She placed her fingers on her mouth, "I guess I needed this..." She motioned her hands in the air.

He bowed his head, signaling the waiter to bring the bill. Sienna was already digging her purse for the card when Hunter stopped her by raising his palm, "It’s okay. I’ll pay tonight."

Sienna narrowed her eyes as her hand froze on the zipper of her purse, "You?" Her brow raised a little, "You’ll pay?"

When he nodded, she shrugged and placed her purse on the table, "Fine," She intertwined her fingers and placed them under her chin.

That uneasiness was back at the back of her mind. He handed over his card to the waiter, and Sienna wanted to see if the card belonged to him or his nameless friend.

He must have felt her eyes because he gave her a tight-lipped smile and then reached out to brush the tip of her nose.

The simple touch made Sienna forget all her worries. She still remembered the first time she saw him and how desperately she had wished he would notice her.

Amusement flickered on his face when he found her staring at him with that drool.

"Umm, sorry..." Sienna hurriedly swiped her tongue on her lower lip, "Umm...."

God! She needed a diversion, or she would make it more awkward. He was still waiting for her to speak, and the smile on his face had widened.

"Investors..." She started, "My father had two investors..." Her smile wobbled, "Both of them have withdrawn their..."

She wasn’t ready when he cut her, "Who is Lina?"

The question caught her off guard, "Lina?"

"Yeah... the other day you were talking to her about hacking someone’s computer..."

Sienna chewed her lower lip, making a mental note to tone it down. She was so loud on the phone with Lina that she didn’t realize Hunter and Brian were also in the house.

"She ...she is..." What to tell him about Lina?

He knew nothing about her circumstances, about her life, and about Lina’s death.

At this point, should she even trust him?

"It’s okay..." He raised his hand before signing the payment receipt that was brought by the waiter, "Take your time, menace. I didn’t mean to pry."

His voice sank into a deep whisper as he placed his wallet inside his pocket, "Let’s go..."

The way he held the door for her while coming out of that joint and let her settle in the passenger seat after opening the car door for her... it spoke of refined manners. Men around her rarely bothered with such simple courtesies.

She still remembered that in her past life, he never engaged in any kind of discussions at family gatherings. Nor did he show any kind of affection to Ruby. However, he always opened doors for her and offered her chairs before sitting down.

On the ride back home, he must have felt her silence but chose not to remark. After getting out of the car, she stretched herself and found Hunter looking at her.

"What?" Her arms dropped to her sides.

"Your purse," He pointed towards her purse and then took it from her hands before gesturing for her to take the lead.

A small pang of guilt made its way into her heart. She had been treating him more like her personal servant, dumping her purse and stuff on him.

"Give it back," She stopped walking and suddenly turned around, bumping lightly into his hard chest, "I’ll carry it to my room."

He shook his head with a smile and opened the door of her room, "Why? Didn’t you say that you’ll pay me double my salary for my services?"

She saw him flick the lights on and tried to smile. The man was looking around in the room as if he expected someone to jump out of the dark at her.

He was being protective, she realized, chewing her lower lip.

"Good night, menace," He murmured before going outside. Suddenly, she called his name that made him stop, "Hey, Hunter..."

He turned his head questioningly, "Hmm?"

"Lina... she is my best friend," She tried to smile, trying her best not to remember her friend’s death that left her heartbroken in her past life.

"Okay..." He leaned his shoulder against the door frame and placed his hand in his pants pocket, waiting for her to continue.

"She..." She chewed her lip again, this time a little brutally.

"Can you stop doing that, menace?" He pointed towards her mouth, making her pull her lip free.

Feeling a little embarrassed, she continued.

"My friend Lina... she had been my rock... she is my only best friend I ever had," She lowered her gaze, her composure slipping for a second, "She is... very intelligent..." She looked up, expecting him to mock her. However, all he was doing was silently watching her, that familiar seriousness etched on his face.

"She is a hacker, but ... she just needs a chance. To support herself and her parents, she does part-time photography... but playing with the computer is her thing..."

When she got quiet, he didn’t say anything for a few seconds, and then only a single word managed to get past his lips, "Wow."

She nodded with a chuckle, "I wish she gets a big chance in a renowned company and ..." She didn’t have any idea why he suddenly started walking towards her. She kept her focus on his open collar button, the glimpse of his skin doing nothing to calm this strange flutter in her chest.

Without warning, this sudden urge to reach out to him came out of nowhere. She wanted to touch this man.

She wanted to feel his skin against her palm.

He stopped near her and raised his hand to wipe her cheeks.

Crap!

She was taken aback when she realized that she was crying.

"She must be hell of a friend," His knuckles stayed on her cheeks, making slow circles. It only made it harder for her to focus on whatever she was blabbering.

"Yeah... umm... she is... indeed..."

Stop touching me! Or I’ll attack you, Levisay!

She was screaming in her head. He seemed to hear it because suddenly his arm dropped to his side.

"Goodnight, menace," He said under his breath, "Sleep tight."

Sienna stood in the middle of her room like a dummy even after Hunter left. Slowly, she raised her hand to touch her cheek where his knuckles had lingered.

"What the hell was that..." She whispered to herself, trying to control her erratic heartbeat.