Chapter 3
THREE
CASPER
Isee her as soon as I make it to the venue.
Inky black hair falls in soft waves down her back, bangs framing her round face. The curves I’d noticed in her interview photo are even more prominent in person, shaped by the tight jeans and Henley she wears.
I stay back, eyes locked on her. There’s a light flush to her cheeks, and it looks like the others in their group are annoyed by something. Lucy, Foster’s fiancé, is talking about something to do with portfolios, but I’m not paying attention to what she’s saying. I’ve only got eyes for Hattie.
She looks great, better than the last I saw her. When she’d said goodbye the day after graduation, there’d been tears in her eyes and a sadness I hadn’t been able to shake.
Now, though, there’s determination in her green eyes that takes my breath away. A certainty that hadn’t been there all those years ago.
I swallow hard when Foster and Lucy start guiding the others into the barn, likely to Lucy’s makeshift office.
Hattie hangs back like she’s wondering whether she wants to follow them or not.
No one else seems to notice her. They’re too wrapped up in planning to care.
And Hattie looks like she wants to run while no one is watching.
After a moment, though, she squares her shoulders and starts for the barn.
It’s like a switch flips in my brain. Before I realise what I’m doing, I grab her by the hand and pull her off to the side of the building where there’s crates stacked to hide the leftover building materials.
Hattie makes a sound in the back of her throat, eyes widening with shock. My heart pounds as I take in her dark green eyes, the red stain to her lips, and the pink blooming across her cheeks.
“Casper?” she whispers, brows raised. “What? What are you doing?”
My hand still holds hers as I shake my head. “I wasn’t sure you would be here.”
She glances down at our joined hand, pulling her bottom lip between her teeth. “Casper…” Her eyes flicker back up to meet mine. “I need to go.”
Hattie starts to pull away. Heart pounding, I grab her by the waist, pulling her into my body. It’s hard to ignore the way we fit so easily together. How she still feels like that missing piece of my heart.
A gasp comes from her as she tilts her head up to meet my eye. We’re close enough now that our lips are a breath apart. It shouldn’t even cross my mind; I came here to finally put whatever this was to rest. To say goodbye to that part of my life and focus on what I have now.
I should just apologise to Hattie. Let her go and leave.
But then someone screeches and everything falls apart.
Hattie tears her gaze from mine to take in whoever found us. And based on the look in her eyes, it’s not anyone good.
I follow her line of sight and fight back the urge to grimace. Shit. Stella, her fiancé, and Hattie’s mom all stand there looking like they’ve seen a ghost. Or worse—me holding Hattie like I’m about to kiss her.
“What the actual fuck?” Stella shouts, hands on her hips. Rage burns in her blue eyes, a flush darkening her cheeks.
For someone who moved on pretty quickly and is about to be married, she looks a little too pissed about this scene.
I expect Hattie to pull away, but she doesn’t. Instead, she rests her hand on my forearm, fingers warm as they wrap around me.
“Stella, it’s not what it looks like,” Hattie says, but still, she doesn’t move. Her eyes flash to mine, and she gives me a look that says help.
Except I know exactly how this will play out. I remember the way Stella tormented her, and by extension, how her mother made everything worse.
It doesn’t matter what Hattie says, because they’ll assume the worst and make her life a living hell again for it.
This time, though, I’m not letting them get away with it.
Clearing my throat, I tighten my hold on Hattie and turn to them. “We didn’t want to say anything before, but it seems like we have to make something clear.”
Hattie stiffens, eyes burning through me. But I don’t meet her stare. I direct this at her mother. “Hattie and I reconnected recently. We’re together.”
Hattie’s Mom gasps, the angry flush to Stella’s cheeks darkens, and the fiancé just looks…confused. I don’t blame him. I doubt Stella told him about her past with me.
For a moment, Hattie says nothing. Her confusion only lasts for a moment before she shakes her head and adds, “Sorry, didn’t seem appropriate to say anything before.”
She’s still stiff in my embrace, but at least the attention shifts from us for a moment as Stella storms off, Hattie’s mom following close behind.
The fiancé stares after Stella for a moment in confusion before saying, “Congratulations,” and walking away to find his bride.
I release a breath, turning back to Hattie, but she shoves me away before I can say anything. “What the fuck was that?” she hisses, stepping away from me. “What the hell did you just do?”
“I didn’t protect you from them before,” I reply, moving towards her. “And I sure as hell won’t let them get away with their crap again.”
Hattie runs a hand through her hair in frustration. “You have just made things so much worse,” she mutters. “I have to get out of here. I’m going back to New York. This is too much.”
Before she can walk away, I take one last step towards her, backing her into the wall of the barn. Hattie’s dark eyes widen, the deep green of her irises shifting in the light of the sun.
“I’m sorry,” I say, lump forming in my throat. “I should have said this to you the day you left for college. But I am so sorry for letting her get in the way of our friendship.”
Hattie’s gaze darts away as she shakes her head.
“No offence, Cas, but this is too little too late. That was a long time ago. You chose Stella, and that’s fine.
But I’ve changed, and this—” She waves a hand, releasing an exasperated breath, “—I’m not dealing with the drama this will bring.
If you want to apologise, go tell them the truth. But I’m out.”
My heart sinks at her words. She’s right, and she has changed. The Hattie I knew in high school would have let Stella and her mom walk all over her. Would have apologised to them for Stella’s overreaction. She’d have followed her mother and tried to explain that what I said was a joke.
But she’d played along, even if it was for only a moment.
“Think about it,” I murmur, trapping her against the wall of the barn, one hand above her head, the other near her waist. Hattie sucks in a breath. “You saw Stella’s reaction. She’s pissed. Either she’s mad about me, or she’s angry you’re one-upping her.”
Hattie tilts her chin, eyes narrowing. Uncertainty glints in her eyes, but by the way she purses her lips, I can tell she’s thinking about it.
“You deserve to be seen by your family,” I continue. “Not overshadowed by Stella. You clearly want to be here, so don’t let them push you away.”
“I am a successful, single woman who has seen so many countries, met celebrities and fashion designers. But the only reason I was invited to this thing today was because Mom and Stella wanted a free photographer. I don’t even photograph weddings.
” She shakes her head in disappointment, and I notice tears brimming her eyes.
“Then that shows how little they know about you,” I reply softly. Hattie meets my stare, the fight gone. “So, why not have a little fun? At the very least, it’ll show that poor bastard why he shouldn’t marry into your family.”
Hattie chokes on a laugh, covering her mouth with her hand. “He seems…nice.”
I snort. “If Ma has learned anything from your Mother, it’s that he has money. And that’s it.”
“Yeah.” She nods, dropping her hand. “There’s a Bora Bora honeymoon awaiting Stella from what I’ve heard.”
I can’t help but lean in closer. “I know I sound like a jackass,” I say, bowing my head.
Our lips are a breath apart, but she doesn’t move away.
“And I know I don’t deserve your forgiveness.
What happened a decade ago…it shouldn’t have ever happened.
But…” I stop. I don’t know how much she knows about my relationship with Stella, but I don’t think she knows the truth. Why I did what I did.
“Just know, I’ve always cared about you. Just you, Hattie,” I finish, eyes straying to her lips.
I’m close enough that I could kiss her. I’ve wondered what it might feel like; the idea has been playing on my mind for years.
Hattie sighs, gaze flickering from mine to where the others disappeared. Like she’s expecting them to reappear now. It would be perfect if they did.
They’d see me holding her against the side of the barn, our bodies pressed together, our lips inches apart, moments away from kissing.
It would sell the lie almost perfectly.
Hattie pulls her bottom lip between her teeth, a strange look passing over her face. It’s been a long time, but I can read it immediately.
She’s thinking about it. Really considering it.
“I have missed being home,” she admits, glancing back at me. Her lip falls from her teeth, and I’m almost tempted to steal it with my own.
I raise a brow. “Miss Paris and New York misses Willow Ridge?” I ask.
Her cheeks darken with a flush as she shakes her head. “Sort of. I’ve loved seeing the world. I’ve got a passport full of experiences.” She stops for a moment, swallowing hard. “But there are other things I really want to do before I go back out.”
I was hoping she’d say that.
Maybe it’s selfish of me. Now that she’s home, it’s like she never left.
I feel that light again. That presence of hope.
There’s a flutter in my chest that hasn’t been there in years.
If Calder could see me now. He’d be having a field day with this.
There would be a whole lot of ‘I told you so’s’ about Hattie and our relationship. Well, on my side.
I still don’t really know how Hattie feels. She’s hiding her emotions well, even around me.
“We have a deal,” she says, pulling me out of my thoughts.
“A deal?” I pull back slightly, eyes narrowing on her.
Determination darkens her eyes as she gives me a single nod.
“Yeah. A deal. While I’m home, we’ll play the role of boyfriend-girlfriend in front of my family.
You get to protect me like you want to in front of them, and I get to keep Stella and Mom off my back for the rest of the week.
And once I’m gone, it won’t matter anymore. ”
My heart drops at the words once I’m gone. The deal might be to protect her while she’s home from her family, but there’s more I want.
“How about I make you another deal?” I ask, heart pounding against my ribs. “Like the old days.”
Hattie cocks her head, dark hair falling over her shoulder. “And what kind of deal might that be?”
“Give me a week to convince you to stay.” Blood thrums in my ears as I press myself against her, our bodies completely flush now. “Give me a week to show you why you want to be in Willow Ridge.”
Her gaze softens as she shakes her head. “My entire career is…out there,” she says quietly. “While I like being home, I can’t give that up.” And yet, something in her gaze says otherwise.
“Let me show you that isn’t true,” I tell her. “Make the deal.”
Hattie presses her lips together like she’s considering what it could mean. I can tell she wants to accept, but there’s also something holding her back.
Is someone holding her back?
Before I can ask, her mom rounds the corner of the barn and makes a sound of disapproval in the back of her throat. “Harriet Simms,” she hisses, stomping towards us with her hands on her hips. “This is your sister’s day and now she’s inconsolable!”
Hattie stiffens. I pull back, ready to put myself between Hattie and her deranged mother. Why the hell does Stella even care? Why should Hattie?
But before I can open my mouth, Hattie moves in front of me, arms crossed. “If Sella doesn’t want me here, that’s fine. I don’t really care,” she replies, keeping her voice even. “But what I do with my boyfriend is none of her concern. She’s supposed to be getting married, remember?”
Hattie’s mother turns an odd shade of red.
I’ve spent the last decade avoiding this woman.
When she isn’t boasting about Stella, she’s bemoaning Hattie.
Willow Ridge is enough of a gossip mill that Ma knows everything about everyone—much to Dad’s dismay—and there’s plenty about the woman across from me.
Either from her own mouth, or the mouths of others.
And they’ve had a lot to say about the woman who ignored her own daughter in the hopes of winning the heart of her stepdaughter.
“You know how sensitive she is,” Mrs Gibson says. “Seeing you with him is a lot.”
The emphasis on ‘you’ makes my blood boil. “What’s that supposed to mean, Mrs Gibson?” I ask, wrapping an arm around Hattie. For a moment, my girl stiffens, but she’s quick to melt into my embrace.
I don’t know why I like that so much, but it feels too damned good.
Hattie’s mom huffs, stamps her foot, and walks away without responding.
I can almost feel the disappointment in Hattie when she sighs and pulls away. “We know what she means,” Hattie murmurs, glancing up at me with a shrug. “My mom just knows you’ll probably tell your mom, and then she’ll be a social pariah.”
I grit my teeth, looking in the direction she stomped off in. I’m pissed all over again. At that woman, at the situation Hattie has been in for a decade.
A situation you helped put her in, I remind myself.
Yeah, dating her evil stepsister for a couple of weeks didn’t help. Even if it was the last thing I wanted to do.
With a shake of my head, I grab Hattie’s hand. “Fuck them,” I say. “Don’t you want to see the venue while you’re here?”
Hattie releases a breath that almost sounds like a laugh. “Yeah, I would.”
“Good.” I pull her with me away from the barn. “Oh, and our deal is on.”
“Fine,” she replies, shaking her head. “We have a deal.”