3. Hadley
Chapter three
Hadley
“A favor?” Weston asks, glancing at my hand still resting on his arm.
Shit.
I snatch it away so fast you would have thought it was on fire. And in some ways, it was. But we’re not going there.
“Yes, Weston, Whatever the Fuck Your Middle Name is, Reynolds.” I wave a hand around. “A favor.”
He raises an eyebrow. “It’s going to cost you, Hadley Jane.”
I huff out a breath. “You haven’t even heard what it is. For all you know, I need you to kill a bug in my bedroom or untie a knot.”
“I know that’s not what you’re going to ask me to do. You could easily ask your brother or your father.”
I put my hands on my hips, glaring at him. “Weston.”
“Fine. After I help your brother put these away.” He holds up the grocery bags in his hands. “And see if your mom and Becca need help with dinner.”
I soften at his words. He might drive me up the fucking wall sometimes, but Weston is a good man. A great man. A man I would love to date.
But I won’t.
Because I’m not good enough for him. Besides, he’s the one guy who I think breaking up with would absolutely break my heart.
I’ve been sad when my relationships have ended, but there’s something about Weston Reynolds that makes me think dating him and then breaking up with him would destroy me. And I can’t go there.
I mean, he’d probably go on to meet the woman he’s meant to marry, which I guess would be good for him.
But not good for me. So I’ll keep my fantasies about him tying me up tucked away for late nights when the house is asleep and I pull out my vibrating friend.
And ignore the crush I’ve had on him for years.
“We can talk after dinner,” I tell him.
We make our way into the kitchen, where we’re greeted by my mom, who’s already busy at the stove, and Becca, Holt’s girlfriend, who is feeding Hazel, my niece and the bestest girl ever.
“Hi, kids,” Mom says over her shoulder.
“Hi, Mom.” I set the grocery bag I was carrying on the counter. I tried to grab more than one, but Weston and Holt shooed me away. I only managed to get this one because I snagged it as Holt was opening the trunk.
“Hi, Momma A. Need any help?” Weston sets his bags on the counter and begins to unpack them.
“Once you put that away, you can help me chop up the veggies for the salad.”
“Sure thing.”
“Where’d Holt go?” I ask, glancing around.
“Upstairs.” Becca tips her chin toward the stairs. “Your dad is on a ladder fixing a light bulb on the landing, and Holt bolted up there to make sure he didn’t fall.”
Hazel finishes her cereal, and Becca wipes her face and hands off.
Holt got so fucking lucky falling in love with Becca.
She’s perfect for him, for both of them.
I couldn’t have asked for a better woman to raise my niece; she’s one million billion times better than Hazel’s biological mother, who, thank goodness, is not in the picture.
“What’d I miss?” Holt asks, breezing into the kitchen, his eyes lighting up as he makes a beeline for his daughter and girlfriend. He drops a kiss on Becca’s forehead before taking Hazel out of her high chair.
“Be careful. She just finished eating,” Becca tells him.
“What can I do?” I ask.
“Sit down and share what happened at the grocery store,” Holt says, turning to give me a pointed look.
“What happened?” Becca asks.
“N-nothing happened,” I stammer.
“Sit.” Holt points to the chair, and I do as he says. “Now spill.”
“No.” I scowl. “You were there.”
“But the rest of them weren’t, and I’m sure they want to know what happened.” He takes a seat at the table next to Becca.
And he says I meddle.
“Know what?” Dad asks, coming into the kitchen.
I groan. I can’t help it.
“Something happened at the grocery store with Hadley, dear,” Mom says over her shoulder, smiling at my dad.
“Hadley Jane, are you okay?” Dad asks, a concerned expression on his face.
“I’m fine. If you must know, I ran into Henry and his fiancée in the pasta aisle.”
“I bet that was awkward,” Becca chimes in.
“I mean, it wasn’t not awkward, but it wasn’t too bad. Our breakup was mutual, so …”
“I didn’t hear the entire conversation, but since Hads is being tight-lipped, I’ll share.
” Holt gives me a cocky grin, and if he wasn’t holding my niece, I’d punch him in the arm.
I glare at him instead, hoping my expression conveys what I’m feeling.
“She told him she was engaged. I think her exact words were that she was visiting with her fiancé.”
Weston coughs, and the knife he was using to cut up a cucumber clatters to the counter.
“Hadley.” Becca gasps.
I shake my head. “It was an accident.”
Holt snorts. “An accident? He invited you and your fiancé to a party.”
“I’m well aware. I was there.”
“Sounds as if you got yourself into a right pickle, Hads,” Dad says.
Thanks, Captain Obvious.
“You’re going to set him straight, right, honey? Tell him you were joking?” Mom asks, turning around and leaning against the counter.
I shrug. “Or I could just go to the party with my fiancé.”
“And where are you going to find one of those?” Weston asks.
“Welllllll …” I drawl, wringing my hands. This was not how I wanted to ask him to go along with my ruse.
“Hadley Jane, please clue us—me—in,” Weston says.
I get to my feet and amble over to him, very much aware that everyone is watching. “I was hoping maybe you would pose as my fiancé.”
“No,” Holt growls from his spot at the table. “That’s ridic—”
Becca shushes him, and if I didn’t love her already, I would now.
“Please, Weston.” I clasp my hands together. “Don’t let me make a fool of myself in front of my ex.”
His gray eyes are sparkling with something as he watches me. Mischief maybe? I hope this doesn’t turn into a disaster.
“You’ll owe me a favor.” He repeats what he said to me earlier in the driveaway.
“I’m well aware, Weston Joseph.”
“We’ll have to act as if we’re in love.” Pretty sure that won’t be too difficult for me. Him on the other hand, that remains to be seen. “Can you do that? Are you a good actress, Hadley Jane?”
“I can act just fine, Weston Anderson.”
He props his hands on the counter, hanging his head and staring down at the cutting board.
I wish I could read his mind so I know how much shit he’s going to give me.
How much he doesn’t want to do this, because I’m sure the last thing he wants to do is pretend to be his best friend’s little sister’s fake fiancé.
“Hads, there’s got to be another way,” Holt says. “Tell your ex that your fiancé had to go back to Florida …”
I wave a hand over my shoulder.
“Well, Weston, will you do it?”
This was not the way I wanted to do this. I wanted to get him alone so it wouldn’t be so awkward. He inhales before finally meeting my eyes, and I see a flash of vulnerability on his face before it disappears as quickly as it showed up.
“Sure, Hadley.” He gives me a small smile. “We’ll have to come up with a story, though.”
“It’ll be fine.”
“This is crazy,” Holt mutters.
“This is like that one trope in the books you read, dear,” my dad says.
“Oh, yes, fake dating, except this is a fake engagement.” Mom claps her hands together.
“You’re okay with this?” Holt asks our parents.
“They’re adults,” Becca interjects.
Holt says something else, but I ignore it, focusing my attention on the man in front of me.
“Thank you.”
He sighs, running a hand over his face. “Yeah, no problem.”
At this moment, I’d give anything to not be surrounded by my family.
I want to know what he’s thinking. Probably that I’m crazy for asking him to do this.
Or about what he’s going to ask for in return.
I hope it’s not something ridiculous. There’s no way.
He’s too nice to ask me to do something crazy. Right?
I’m sure it’ll end up being something like baking him cookies every week for a month or going to a random bakery in another city to get him a dessert he read about online.
More of an inconvenience than anything else.
But at this point, I don’t care. I’m that desperate to not have to show up to the party alone.
“Time to get back to making dinner,” Mom says, clapping her hands together. “Hads, can I get you to help me brown the beef? Holt or Becca, would one of you mind chopping up the garlic? We’ll mix it with the butter to make garlic bread.”
We snap into action, and I’m grateful for the distraction that is making dinner with my family, so I don’t have to think about what I proposed. What Weston and I are going to do.
It’s dangerous.
It’s playing with fucking fire. And I am going to get burned.