Chapter One
For whoever loved, that loved not at first sight?
- Christopher Marlowe

Six months ago
He was running late.
Hunter anxiously glanced at his watch and breathed a silent prayer of thanks that he still had fifteen minutes to go and his parents' house was not that far. He drove as fast as he can from the grocery, a frozen whole turkey and a sack of yams in tow. He knew at this very moment his mom was going crazy. Patricia Helmsley was hosting a thanksgiving dinner for her bible study group and she lovingly requested her son to do all the shopping for her while she attended to the last minute preparations. The dutiful son that he is, he gave in to his mother's demands for the simple, ever so practical reason that he didn't have much choice.
A few minutes passed, he turned to glance at his watch and shook his head in amusement. It was already six in the evening.
Now his mom's really going to wring his neck and serve his leg to her guests.
He got so caught up with the time that he didn't notice an auburn haired beauty crossing the street. He shifted his attention to the wheel and trusting his reflex, immediately hit the breaks.
His jeep came to a screeching halt.
He almost killed her. Hunter got out from his jeep to check up on her. She was sitting up and leaning on the jeep, holding her right elbow that was badly scraped and grimacing in pain. He also noticed the books and papers scattered on the road, and the contents of her purse have been emptied out into the pedestrian lane. He was in big trouble.
He carefully approached her, hoping to God she wasn't badly hurt and that the only thing she had was a scrape and not broken ribs or to a larger extent, a bleeding brain.
"Miss, are you okay? I'm sorry about that—"
"Do I look okay to you? You almost killed me there!" The woman bellowed at him. He can't really blame her, he almost killed her for crying out loud! She looked pissed, even without looking at him. She got up and dusted off her pants. He heard her sob when she saw the huge tear on it.
Hunter swallowed hard. Oh, yeah, he was in deep, way too deep trouble. "I'm sorry, it's just that I was checking the time and…" That didn't sound like a smart answer. He wanted to bash his own head with a broken beer bottle for saying the most ridiculous things.
"You were checking the time? Are you having trouble with your motor skills or something that you can't even look at your watch without taking your eyes off the road?! What could you possibly be thinking?!" When she was done tending to her scraped elbow, she bent down to gather all her stuff scattered on the road. He heard her snort in angry disbelief.
She was all riled up and she was shouting at him now. She sounded like she wanted to cry.
Gosh, he felt frustrated now. The woman, beautiful as she may be, was driving him crazy. All he wanted was to help her but she's being very difficult. The whole time he was apologizing, calming her down, and trying his damnest to engage her in a sensible and civil conversation so they can arrive at an agreeable arrangement and she didn't even look at him!
"Miss?" He tried to get her attention in a gentle tone of voice.
"You're such a clumsy oaf of a motorist!" She was so preoccupied with picking up the contents of her purse.
"Miss?"
"Checking the time my foot!" she was muttering incoherently now.
"Miss?"
"I almost got squished there all because he lacks hand-eye coordination!"
"MISS!" He bellowed at her.
"What?!" She snapped at him. Finally, she lifted her head to look at him.
Her eyes turned from angry blue flames to huge sapphire orbs that were staring at him with interest. She had the most beautiful blue eyes he had ever seen.
"I'm so sorry." He whispered, only for her to hear. All her anger seemed to dissipate when she heard the sincerity in his voice. Not to mention his voice was wonderfully deep and husky. She just stared at him, looking directly into his amber eyes. She had to admit, he's one beautiful male, and she resigned herself to the fact that this man, whoever he is, looked good enough to eat.
She snapped out of her thoughts when she heard his voice once again.
"Miss, are you okay?" He placed his huge hand on her right shoulder. He was afraid she might pass out.
She shook her head and placed her hand over her forehead.
"Yeah, I'm fine."
"Do you want me to take you to the hospital so the doctor can tend to your wound, to make sure you're fine?" Hunter forgot about the turkey and his mom. First he had to make sure this woman was okay.
She raised her hand to stop him.
"No, it's okay, really, I'm fine. You don't have to worry about me." She found her first smile after the accident.
Hunter grinned back at her.
"I'm really sorry about this." He looked embarrassed now.
"Well, for one thing, you almost killed me there…" She was trying to make him feel better, but he frowned instead.
"But you didn't so, there's no harm done. Just an ugly scratch that's all," She winked at him.
"I think I should be the one to say sorry, for shouting at you. I was just so scared."
If anything, this woman amazed him. She can scream like a banshee and be an angel the next minute.
"okay so, um, I got to run. Don't worry, I'm okay, really I am." She picked up her stuff and beamed at him. She threw a light punch on his heavily muscled arm and started to walk away from him.
"Well, that's a relief. I'm really so—" She stopped on her tracks and turned around to face him again.
"If you say 'I'm sorry' again, then I'll be forced to sue for damages…" He gaped at her.
"I was kidding." She said slowly. Hunter chuckled—that was a bad joke but what the heck, he didn't care.
"By the way, I'm Hunter." He extended his hand to her in friendship. She took it.
"I'm Stephanie." They stared at each other for a few seconds but the moment was all dissolved when they heard the impatient blowing of car horns behind them. She gently pulled her hand away, and tucked a stray lock of her auburn hair behind her ear.
"I think they're getting a bit restless, don't you think?" she asked as she glanced surreptitiously at the bystanders and the angry motorists on the background.
"I think they've had enough of the drama." Hunter replied.
"Well, Hunter, it's nice to meet you, though in a very unsafe fashion." She smiled at him. She had a beautiful face and a beautiful smile. She really is something.
"Same here. Take care, Stephanie." He grinned at her. She saw her wink at him again.
"Don't go running innocent people over, okay?" were her last words as she got into the other side of the street and disappeared into the crowd.
Hunter shook his head and went back to his jeep. As he started the engine, the image of Stephanie entered his mind once again. First meeting, and there was something about her that drew him to her.
"Maybe it's her eyes." He muttered to himself. Maybe it really was her eyes, but whatever it was, only one thing's for sure. He was hoping he would see her again, and he really hoped it wouldn't be through a hit and run accident. Suddenly he remembered the frozen turkey and yams at the back of the car. He slapped his hand on his forehead.
"Mom." His mom was probably ripping her hair out of her head now. He really needed to get there as fast as he can. But he wasn't worried.
During the drive to his parents' house, he wasn't worried about the frozen bird. Instead, his mind was wandering off, filled with the images of the woman with the chestnut brown hair and the big blue eyes. It was really a chance meeting.
He wondered if he can get over her that easily.