9. Quade
Hadley is quiet for so long I wonder if she’s about to run. I’d understand if she did. This isn’t what she signed up for.
Hell, we’re not even twenty-four hours in and nothing is what either of us thought it would be. One thing I know for sure is this is my fault and I need to make it right. “I’ll find?—”
“It’s fine. Let’s not worry about it now. Your grandmother is expecting us to come back and help.”
She’s out of the car and heading for the trunk before I have a chance to speak. As much as I don’t want her to leave, I’ll gladly turn the car around and drive her back to Charleston if that’s what she wants.
Knocking on the back window, she calls out, “How do I open this thing?”
A glimpse in the rearview shows her feeling up the back of my car and I’m grinning when I press the button to open the back. I switch off the engine, pocket my keys, and climb out to join her. I make it to Hadley’s side just as she’s pulling her duffel bag out.
“Here, let me grab that.”
“I’m capable and you can’t handle all of these bags on your own.” She punctuates her argument by shouldering her bag and reaching for another.
I want to fight her, want to be a gentleman like Mom and Gram taught me, and take care of her but I’m expecting her to stay in close quarters with me for the foreseeable future after promising her she wouldn’t have to and while neither of us has control over how the situation is playing out, I can at least give her this. “Okay.”
“Quade.”
Glancing up, I find Hadley looking at me with what appears to be sympathy and I don’t like the way that look makes me feel. Pity is the last thing I want her to feel when she looks at me.
“Don’t worry so much. Things aren’t what we agreed to but they aren’t bad or a deal breaker.”
“I can’t believe my luck. Then again, it wouldn’t be summer if either Aunt Millie or Aunt Maude wasn’t hurt in some way. Last year, Aunt Millie had a concussion and Aunt Maude had ten sutures in the back of her head.”
Hadley grins. “They sound like a pair.”
“They are. A pair. They’re twins. And for as long as I’ve been alive, they’ve been getting into one incident or another.”
“How old are they?” she asks as she pulls her second bag from the back of my SUV and drops it on its wheels.
“Old enough to know better.” I have to think for a moment. “Actually, I’m not sure of their age. They’re somewhere between Gram and my parents.”
“And how do they fit into the family?” She grabs the handle on each of her suitcases and starts wheeling them toward the cottage.
“They’re my grandfather’s younger sisters. The babies of that branch of the family.”
“I can’t wait to meet them.” She looks over her shoulder sheepishly and says, “And everyone else of course.”
“I’m sure everyone will be all over you like a rash, but the twins especially; they’ve been the most vocal about my single status and need for a wife.” I laugh as I follow her to the front door. “Good thing they’re both laid up for a while or you’d never get away from them.”
“I wouldn’t mind. It’s just me and my dad, has been for years. I’m very intrigued by your large family. Maybe a little envious too.”
“Littlest never told you about us?” I ask, shoving the door to the cottage open and motioning her through before me.
“No. A lot of vague mentions of her super-rich self-made older brother but nothing about sisters or parents.”
“She really went incognito.” I get her dropping Sanderson as her last name, but it sounds like Delaney went a step further. I make a mental note to talk to her about it later. Right now I have to deal with this unexpected sleeping arrangement.
When I follow Hadley inside, I’m brought up short by the size of the space. I knew what to expect but it still causes me to pause.
It’s no bigger than a large hotel room. A small kitchenette runs along one wall and faces the living room which leads straight into the bedroom area. Not that either are rooms in their own right. The only distinction is the long sofa separating the spaces and the two different rugs covering the timber flooring.
“Wow. It’s smaller than I remember,” I murmur.
“It’s cozy, that’s for sure.” Hadley’s gaze is on the large bed. “Is that a king…”
“Yes.” Although it doesn’t look like one even though the headboard takes up most of the wall it’s pushed up against. There isn’t even room for bedside tables which is why the headboard is so big with built-in shelves above pillow height. My gaze lands on the sofa. “I can sleep?—”
“Don’t be stupid.” Hadley bumps my arm with her shoulder as she moves around me toward the bed. “It’s big enough for the two of us, and if you’re worried I’ll attack you in your sleep we can build a pillow and blanket wall between us.”
She sounds serious and so sure sleeping together won’t be a problem, but after the kiss that was basically sex with our clothes on back at my house, I don’t think she’s the one we need to worry about attacking the other in the middle of the night.
Swallowing down the arousal the memory of her writhing in my arms sparks isn’t easy and I can only hope I can find the same confidence she seems to have before we have to come back here tonight.
“I’m assuming that’s the bathroom.” She tips her chin in the direction of the only other door beside the front one.
“Yes. It used to be a woodshed attached to the back of the building…” I shake my head. “You don’t need to know that. Yes, that door leads to the bathroom.” I’m rambling because I’m nervous. I don’t remember the last woman who made me nervous. Has one ever?
“I’ll want to know all the details of this place later. But right now we need to get back and help out.” She’s cradling a bundle of clothes against her chest. I’ve been so distracted by my thoughts I didn’t even notice her taking them out of her bag. “I’ll freshen up and change. Should only be five minutes, tops.”
I watch her walk across the room and push open the door then close it behind her. I want to follow. Want to watch her take that flirty little dress off and before she can put on whatever it is she’s deemed fit to wear to hurricane-proof the estate, press her against a wall and re-enact our encounter in my bedroom.
Only this time she’d be naked and I’d soon be the same.
Hell, I could save time and strip on the way to the bathroom.
The groan of old pipes as water rushes through them snaps me out of my lust daze. It doesn’t remove the fantasy from my head but at least I’m thinking with a bit of common sense. Putting my bags on the floor behind the couch, I pull out jeans and a t-shirt, my sneakers.
It takes me less than a minute to strip out of my travel clothes and change. The water is still running behind the bathroom door and I wonder if Hadley’s idea of freshening up is a quick shower.
Looking at my phone I see it’s not even five minutes since she closed herself in there. Nervous energy buzzes in my veins; the urge to join her hasn’t abated. A glance around the cottage, at the bed, reminds me I’m going to need to ignore the urge—or squash it.
If I can.
I’ve always prided myself on my self-control, my determination; surely both of those characteristics can get me through the next three months.
The goal is for everyone in my family to believe Hadley and I are in a relationship, not for either of us to believe it or make it real.
Except when it comes to Hadley Calla Knowles, I’m not sure I’m up to the task—or if I want to be.