Chapter 12 Talbot
TALBOT
“This is going to be harder than I thought.”
“To—?” Lawrence mimes sliding a finger over his throat. “Don’t tell me you’re feeling sorry for the guy.”
“Hate his fucking guts.”
“Seriously?” Lawrence asks. “You don’t get emotional about marks.”
“Misty’s in love with him.” I sit up on Hudson’s bed. “She’s crazy. She’s got like, a shrine to him.”
“You have to make her fall in love with you. She clearly has low self-esteem. If she’s in love with you, you can be like, ‘If you love me, you’ll let me off your ex.’” Lawrence says it in a falsetto.
“Get out of my room!” Hudson thunders down the hall.
Lawrence and I dig in. I grab the headboard, and he latches onto the duvet as Hudson storms in followed by Gracie.
“Help!” we scream.
“Aw, leave them alone,” his wife begs as Hudson grabs my legs, dragging me off the bed as I holler.
“Help!” Lawrence yells as Hudson dumps him and half the duvet on the floor. “Oof!”
“Both of you have jobs to do. I don’t know why you’re even here.”
“Gracie invited us for dinner.” I spring up and dump the pillow back on the bed.
“I did invite them for dinner. It’s nice to have people around for the holidays.” Her mouth turns down.
“Don’t feel guilty for kicking your grandmother out,” Hudson warns. “She was given multiple chances.”
“I should invite her over.”
“We just got rid of her,” Hudson says.
“I think he means,” Lawrence butts in, “that Granny Murray needs time to get acclimated to your aunt’s house.”
Hudson shakes his head. “I’m going to have to redo the wallpaper in that room.”
“Well, you have two helpers.” Gracie smirks.
“I can’t,” Lawrence says automatically. “I have to provide moral support for Talbot. He’s tricking some girl into falling in love with him.”
“Why are you overcomplicating this? I thought you were trying to go skiing,” Hudson says.
“Snowboarding. Skiing is for spoiled trust-fund kids,” I correct.
“Lalala!” Gracie sticks her fingers in her ears. “I’m not listening!”
“Like you haven’t used me before.” I waggle my eyebrows at her.
“What Grayson Richmond does with his money is not my business.” Gracie sniffs.
“Yeah, you’re just at the board meetings following orders.” Hudson grins at her.
I scowl at them.
Hudson swore up and down when we were kids that he’d never fall in love. That he didn’t want to end up like our parents. Now here he is with three pugs and a fancy, renovated Victorian historic home and a wife.
That’s exactly what Misty wants. Well, maybe three kids, not three pugs.
She’s never going to have it with Austen.
And definitely not me, though I’m going to make her think she is.
Somehow.