5. Liam
CHAPTER 5
liam
Unlucky for me, our annual Hayes brothers snowboarding trip to Mount Baker was this week. There was no way I was going to tell Hannah the shit news and leave her to pick up the pieces by herself. I couldn’t come up with a decent enough excuse to skip the trip, so I set myself a deadline to tell her the day we came back.
Lucky for me, Sawyer couldn’t stand to be away from Ivy for longer than forty-eight hours, so we got back to Aspen Ridge much quicker than our typical three full days. Dallas was also itching to get back here, but I’ve had too much on my mind to get to the bottom of that . Too bad for him, it all came crashing down on us not long after we got to work after driving straight through from Mount Baker. Literally.
Turns out brother dearest is sleeping with the event coordinator of our distillery, whom he “hates.” Blaire was hired last fall and has brought so much visibility to us that we’re feeling the pressure to keep up with our rapid growth on the property, even through the harsh winter months. After the mess my brothers and I just walked into, and seeing how pissed Sawyer is about it, I feel the need to check on his ass. He’d do the same for any of us—after rubbing our faces in it a bit.
Finding Dallas in the hallway coming from Sawyer’s office, which I’m sure was a fun time considering the bomb he just set off, Dallas nods his head at me to follow him into his down the hall.
“She alright?” I ask as I shut the door behind me to give us some privacy, worried about how our newest employee is feeling now that we’ve discovered their relationship.
“Mortified, but she’s the strongest woman I’ve ever met,” he says, seemingly okay despite the circumstances. But that’s just Dallas. He owns his shit and moves on.
“Well, shit, that’s sayin’ something considering the last six months.”
Life has been fucking nuts around here. What the fuck could be next?
“How’s Han, everything okay?”
Running my hand nervously through my hair, I start to pace the length of his office. I came here to check in on him, and typical Dallas, he wants to make sure that I’m doing okay.
“Still trying to process how I’m going to break it to her that her boyfriend-slash-ex-boyfriend-slash-baby daddy is a cheating piece of shit with a live-in girlfriend and another baby on the way. Oh, and he’s most definitely not going to marry you, so plan on losing your family’s business that you love so much.”
“Shit. Yeah. So, advice?”
“Please.”
“I wouldn’t say it like that.”
“Well, no shit, Sherlock. Thanks for helping.”
Dickhead.
“Like I said before, you know Hannah better than anyone in the world, and you literally were the first person to see Charlie when she delivered her on the kitchen floor. No one knows how better to help them through this than you do.”
“Shit sucks, man,” I admit, feeling helpless as fuck. I just want to fix this. I would do anything to make life easier for her.
“Trust me, I get it. Just be there. It’s all you can do. Give her a safe space and shoulder to lean on, something you’ve been doing for twenty years already.”
His words trigger something inside me. That isn’t all I can do, is it? I can fix it. It may be a hard sell but if her parents want her settled and married, I can get her to marry me . Her parents have wanted this since we were little, and they would definitely get off of her case about settling down. Plus, with me behind her, Levi wouldn’t fuck with her anymore. And this would keep her and Charlotte here, because I’m not letting them go. Yeah. This could work.
“Thanks, brother. I got shit to do but I’ll see you Sunday.”
“Sounds good.”
Decision made, I leave Dallas’ office on a mission to make Hannah mine. Levi’s loss is my gain. She’s always been mine anyway, Levi was just a heartache that she needed to endure to bring Charlotte into the world. And I am more than okay with that. I wouldn’t trade that girl for anything, no matter who created her. And Hannah’s parents? Fuck them. That girl has been running Bean Haven by herself for years, and if Ms. Nettie has faith in her, then her parents can fuck themselves.
Swinging into Carter’s office before I head out, I find him tapping away at his computer.
“Hey, Casanova, I got some shit to take care of, I’m out of here.”
“Everything good?”
“Yeah, it’s all good.”
“Thank fuck,” he sighs as he leans back in his chair. “Between all that shit with Ivy, and now Dallas fucking Blaire, I can’t take another damn thing in this family. You all are working overtime to make me look good.”
I inwardly cringe, knowing that I’m about to drop a bomb of my own when I get Hannah to agree to be mine. Carter is about to look like the golden child. Even if he’s slept his way through our town and the next three. We’re surprised a baby or two haven’t resulted from his extracurricular activities.
“Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll find a way to top us all,” I say with a wink before heading out. I want to be ready for tonight. And the sure way to Hannah’s heart is pizza and old slasher movies. Both of which just happen to be my favorite, too.
Unsure when the last time I was this worked up over something, I step through Hannah’s apartment feeling anxious as fuck. I know that this Band-Aid needs to be pulled off, but being the one to cause her pain makes me feel like dog shit. But I already have a plan to pick up the pieces, she just needs to trust me. I won’t abandon her now, not ever.
“Yo! Why do you look so pale? Are you getting sick?” Hannah says as I walk into the living room, finding her curled up on her side of the couch flipping through old slasher movies on Netflix. Great minds think alike. She’s wearing a thin tank top and loose pajama pants with Freddy Krueger masks all over them that I bought her for Christmas.
“I wish. That’d be easier than this is gonna be. Look, we need to talk, Han.”
She sits up straighter, pulling her legs under her, and faces me as I drop the pizza onto her coffee table. Fuck, this sucks. I have no idea how she’s going to take the news. I pace in front of her, taking off my backwards hat and running my hands through my thick hair.
“Oh for fuck’s sake, bear, sit down and spit it out. I’m not made of glass.”
“Fuck, I know that, Hannah. Just . . . okay, wait, first we’re going to need alcohol.”
Walking to Hannah’s kitchen, I grab a bottle of tequila from the cabinet above the stove and return to the living room. I plop down in the middle of the couch, my big body taking up the entire cushion and part of the one she’s on. Opening the cap, I take a swig before passing it to her.
“I’m a big girl. Let’s hear it.”
“Take a swig then, big girl .”
With a dramatic eye roll, she puts the bottle to her plump lips and takes a hefty pull of tequila without a wince. It’s been our alcohol of choice since we were dumbass teenagers, stealing it from my parent’s liquor cabinet and refilling the bottles with water. Kind of ironic considering my family owns a successful whiskey distillery and that I’m now a master distiller, maybe that’s why we always went for the tequila. Maybe we figured they weren’t reaching for that one as much.
“After I walked in on that meltdown from Levi and all the shit with your parents, I’d reached my end of the bullshit—and before you get pissed, I didn’t touch him. I wouldn’t do anything to make things harder on you, you damn well know that,” I declare, pointing my finger at her before her crazy comes out.
“So you drove all the way to Seattle? And then what? Drove back home and worked all day?”
“Yeah,” I say sheepishly, scratching the back of my neck.
“Well, seeing as he’s not here, I guess whatever you said didn’t work. Plus, I’ve since gotten into it with him. Again . ”
“Han, it’s not about anything either of us said. It’s what I found.”
Her eyes squint into slits, her head cocking to the side a bit as she waits patiently, something that’s not usually her strong suit.
“I love you, beauty. Remember that, okay?”
“Unless you want me to knock your teeth out, bear, talk.”
“Levi’s got a pregnant girlfriend living with him.”
Her face pales, her mouth dropping open a bit and forming an “O” before closing and opening again like a fish. My lungs seize up, and my palms get sweaty as I watch her take it all in, bracing myself for her reaction when it hits.
“HOLY SHIT! That lying motherfucker! Holy fucking shit! Whelp, our last conversation makes so much more fucking sense. That cheating asshole! Holy fuck!” Hannah stands abruptly, pacing back and forth in front of me. Her hair is dancing around her face, the violet color reflecting the light and making it almost shimmer. “You know, I can’t even say that I don’t believe it because it makes so much fucking sense. Ugh! I goddamn hate him, bear!” She stomps around for a moment before the information seems to settle in before the crash.
“This ends it completely between us. What about Charlotte? Bean Haven? Oh my god, I don’t know what I’m going to do.” Aaaand there it is. Panic. Fuck. Hard part over. Now the final blow.
“I do. But you need to sit back down first.” I pass the tequila bottle back to her. “And drink more.”
She looks at me, her eyebrows arching in confusion. Mixed with the anger, it would be pretty cute if her world wasn’t crashing down around her. She takes a seat across from me, pulling her knees up to her chest and grabbing the bottle roughly from my hand.
“You’re going to marry me. ”
“Ha. You’re smoking crack,” she says, brushing me off as she takes another long pull and wipes her mouth with the back of her hand.
“Beauty, listen to me. You’re out of options, and that fucker will never be an option again. We’re going to start dating, right now,” I tell her firmly, pointing to the ground. “We’ll make it a whirlwind romance and then we’ll get married. Everyone in this town thought we would end up together anyway, so that’s just making it that much more believable. This is how you get your parents off your back so you can keep Bean Haven. You never loved him, Hannah.”
“Holy shit balls, you’re actually serious right now. We can’t do this. We’re best friends, you idiot, what about Charlie?”
“Even better, because it’ll make it easier for everyone to fall for it. The three of us are together all the time, we just need to date a bit first. Beauty, if you think about it, it’s not that farfetched.” I try to keep the desperation from leaking through my words. Am I doing this for Hannah or because I’m so desperate for this woman to be mine that I’m willing to do anything to make that happen? Probably equal parts of both.
“Bear . . . this is a bad idea.”
“Is it? You get to keep Bean Haven, your parents will fuck off with their bullshit, and Levi will finally realize that you’re off the market to be continuously fucked with. It’ll allow you to really stick it to all of them. And nothing has to even change much.”
“What do you get out of this, freak? You trying to get in my pants after all these years?”
If she only fucking knew. God, the things I would do to her if I could.
“I’m not going to say no if it’s in my face, Hannah, have you seen yourself? ”
As if I was only attracted to her sexy, tattooed body. It’s that personality of hers that brings me to my knees.
“Listen to me, I fucking hate that they’re hurting you. That Levi continues to fuck with you. You deserve so much more than that piece of shit. So does Charlie. I’m pissed at your parents for their archaic beliefs and that they can’t see what a hard worker you are and how deserving you are of running Bean Haven. You can handle anything on your own. But if it makes things easier for me to be behind you while you give everyone the finger, then that’s what I’m going to do.”
Her face softens as she listens to my words, and my heart melts right there.
“I love you. You’re an idiot, though. This will blow up in our faces.” Her rage has melted away, and I’m not sure if it’s the tequila she continues to sip or if she is actually leaning into this idea.
“I’ll make sure it doesn’t. Trust me, beauty?”
She really looks at me now, her eyes filled with uncertainty before resignation slowly sets in, and a bolt shoots through my entire body. Holy shit, she’s going to do this. My heart nearly beats out of my chest. Dropping down to my knees in front of her, I take her left hand in mine. Her head drops back as she nervously laughs, the soft sound floating through the air and easing some of the tension I’m carrying. I try to swallow hard, my mouth suddenly devoid of any moisture, and work to steady my voice when I speak.
“Hannah Jade Haven, I promise that someday you will get the proposal of your dreams, but for right now, will you fake marry me?”
Because I will make all your dreams come true.
Because I’ll show you what it means to really be loved.
Because I’m so in love with you that I can’t bear another moment that you aren’ t mine.
“You’re absolutely crazy. I can’t believe I’m agreeing to this. Yes, bear, I’ll marry you.”