Chapter 2
Emilia
I’m glad I ate before Haden arrived because there’s no way I could possibly swallow right now. It’s a wonder I’m making any sense when I speak.
Why does he have to be so damn sexy? Every inch of him. He’s tanned and fit with brown hair, always maintaining what I call the two-day-old beard. I suppose it’s probably more like a week, but he keeps it groomed. I’ve wanted to touch it since the first time I met him.
I can tell he’s overwhelmed. I know Brody told him some things, but Haden seems to be rather uninformed about other aspects of this mansion.
He’s genuinely shocked to realize he’s welcome to join us for meals.
It would be silly for him to shop and cook his own food in that tiny RV while a full spread is available a few yards away.
Granted, he might choose a room in the mansion. But I doubt it. I suspect he’ll want some privacy and quiet. He won’t get that in this monstrosity.
For my own sanity, when Brody returns to the kitchen and starts talking to Haden, I slip out of the room. I need to breathe. I’m not sure I have since he arrived.
I don’t know what possessed me to rush outside and greet him. That was madness. I should have let Brody handle it and found a way to casually bump into Haden later.
But no… I was eager and not thinking clearly. When his truck pulled up, I darted out of the kitchen with Brody. Hopefully, my brother thought I was simply being friendly and a good hostess. I don’t need him finding out I’ve had the hots for his friend for four years.
I head for the library. It’s quiet in here. Well, quieter. I can still hear the hum of voices coming from the kitchen. I shuffle toward the windows, lean against the sill, and stare out at the expanse of land that my grandfather once owned.
It’s so strange. None of us ever met the man while he was alive. We didn’t even know anything about him. My father and his three brothers left this estate almost fifty years ago and never returned. None of their wives ever met Amos Wilde. To my knowledge, not one grandchild ever came here. Why?
Our parents are rather tight-lipped about the subject. It’s like they have some odd pact between them. They moved away and never returned for a reason, though.
I need to put some distance between me and Haden.
It’s foolish for me to fawn over him. He probably thinks I’m still a kid.
If anything, he’s humoring me with his politeness.
I never should have mentioned my infatuation with him to the other women.
I should have kept it to myself. Now they’re going to get nosy and ask questions and probably push me toward him.
The idea is horrible. I’ll end up getting hurt. The only way to protect my heart is to stop thinking of Haden as someone who could possibly ever see me as anything other than Brody’s annoying little sister.
It doesn’t matter that I’m a grown woman, and I was over eighteen the first time I met him. He’s twice my age. He would never be interested in someone like me.
After wandering along the rows of books, I slide one out of its snug spot and carry it over to the armchair under the window. I like to sit here occasionally. It’s relatively peaceful when no one else is around. I can curl up in the chair, see the estate out the window, and read.
Today, I fail, though. I can’t focus. I let the book fall into my lap and stare out the window yet again. Until voices jar me from my wandering thoughts.
Glancing over my shoulder, I find Brody and Haden entering the library. Brody is yammering about the structural concerns he has with this room. I assume he’s giving Haden a tour of the mansion so he’ll have the basic lay of the land.
Brody notices me first. “Hey, squirt.”
I roll my eyes as I uncurl my legs and sit up taller. “Stop calling me that.” He and Dallas nicknamed me “squirt” when I was a newborn, and they refuse to let it go.
Brody snickers. “Never. It’s ingrained. Just like all the times you projectile vomited formula when you were a baby.” He fake shudders. “You earned that name. You’re stuck with it.”
As if I wasn’t already concerned about Haden thinking of me as a baby, Brody is not helping the matter at all. On top of that, my face flushes. I can’t stop it. I’m embarrassed. Is it really necessary to share my formula allergy with everyone we meet?
Haden is staring at me. He’s not laughing with Brody, though.
His brow is furrowed, and his lips are flat.
That doesn’t really mean anything. It’s his usual look.
Serious. Pensive. Perhaps even aggravated.
Though I’m not sure why he often has that expression.
It’s possible he finds me to be a nuisance and sets his face like that only when I’m around.
The thought makes my face heat further. Fuck.
“I’m just giving Haden a tour. Shouldn’t take more than about a week,” Brody jokes.
But suddenly his phone buzzes, and he digs it out of his pocket.
He reads a text and cringes before lifting his gaze to Haden.
“Sorry. I need to go help Melody.” Shifting his attention to me, he continues, “Would you mind giving Haden the tour? We’ve barely started. ”
Me?
I try not to react to his suggestion. Not physically, anyway. I just spent the last hour or so sitting here reinforcing the fact that I should stay away from Haden. Now I’m tasked with spending the afternoon with him? Fuck.
Haden’s brows lift at my hesitation. Is he smirking again?
I stand and set my unread book on the chair. “Sure. No problem. Is Melody sick?”
Brody winces. “Yeah. I’ll be lucky if she doesn’t start throwing things at me. Her new favorite phrase is ‘You did this to me.’ And I can’t blame her. I hope she stops feeling like shit soon. She’ll end up killing me in my sleep if this goes on for the whole pregnancy.”
Haden chuckles. “Go hold your wife’s hair back. After all, she’s right. You did this to her.”
Brody turns and jogs from the room, leaving me alone with my infatuation, who is now stalking toward me. “Squirt, huh?”
I groan. “Don’t you dare call me that. I hate it.”
Haden lifts a brow. “Did you flee the kitchen and come in here to hide from me?”
I gasp, my eyes widening. “What? No?” Yes. How the hell did he figure that out?
“Are you sure?”
I lick my lips. He’s so intense. He’s staring at me without blinking as he continues to approach. Clearing my throat, I manage to say, “Why would I be hiding from you?” I’m kind of curious about his response.
He shrugs. “I don’t know. You tell me.”
“Well, I’m not. It was just loud in that kitchen. I’d already eaten.”
“Mmm.” He holds my gaze as if searching for something. Finally, he turns to the side and looks around the room. “So this is the library.”
“Yep. Books. Reading corners. Ancient desk. Cool ladders that my bossy brothers and cousins think aren’t safe for women.”
Haden saunters toward one of the sliding ladders that should allow visitors to reach books on the upper shelves.
They’re structurally sound. I know this because Ryder had someone come out and inspect them when he first arrived.
That has not stopped the men from enforcing a standard rule across the household that none of us “girls” are permitted to climb the ladders.
Haden gives the wooden steps a slight shake before sliding the coolest part of this old mansion to one side and back. Eventually, he turns to face me again. “I agree. I’d spank your ass if I caught you climbing one of these.”
I gasp harder than ever before. I suspect my eyes are about to pop clear out of my head.
Did he say he would spank me? Surely I misheard him.
My heart is racing at the suggestion. But that’s not all.
Now all I can picture is the subject of my dreams taking me over his lap, pushing my skirt up, and swatting my butt.
The craziest part is that I’m so fucking turned on at this moment that I can’t move, speak, or even breathe. My pussy pulses with my heartbeat, and my panties are damp.
Haden chuckles. A low, deep sound that reverberates through the room. I’m sure I can feel the vibrations from his timbre crawling up my body. Irrational.
My mouth hangs open, but I don’t have the first clue what to say.
“Come on, squirt. Give me a tour.”
I cross my arms, narrow my gaze, and cock out a defiant hip. I’ve done this a few times so far this afternoon. I don’t care. I say nothing, watching Haden head for the doorway.
It takes him a few seconds to realize I’m not following him, and then he turns around.
My hackles are up. When he threatened to spank me, I grew aroused. But calling me “squirt” is not going to work for me. Not at all. Not even in jest. I want to punch my brother for bringing it up. I’m not a fucking child, and I don’t want to be treated like one.
Sure, spanking is also childish. I shouldn’t want that either. Especially if Haden was thinking of me as a kid when he said it. If so, I want to punch him, too. I might survive him not seeing me like I’d prefer, but I will not tolerate him adopting the stupid nickname I’ve hated for years.
His smile drops as his expression turns serious right before he walks across the room to stop in front of me. He surprises me when he lifts a lock of my hair and runs his fingers down it. “I’m sorry. I won’t do it again.”
“Thank you,” I manage to murmur. He’s never stood this close to me. He’s never touched me. He’s never looked me in the eyes the way he is now. Or spoken to me in that tone.
I don’t know what it means, but he’s dead serious. He won’t be calling me “squirt” again.
His expression is the one I’m used to—brows furrowed, mouth in a straight line, intense eyes. This is the Haden I picture when I think of him. It’s like he’s trying to read a room. Or read me.
I swallow and shake myself back to the here and now. “I’ll give you a tour, but I’m warning you, we might get lost. Never wander around this monstrosity without a phone on you. It’s always possible you will get lost and not be able to find your way out.”
He gives a soft chuckle. “You’re teasing.”
“Nope. Definitely not. You’ll see.” I step around him and head for the door. I need to break the weird spell. Something sizzles in the air between us. I’m not sure it’s a good thing. I’m probably setting myself up for a world of hurt.
Why must I be so freaking attracted to my brother’s best friend? I haven’t seen him for several months. Part of me had thought perhaps I would feel nothing when he showed up. Then I could stop daydreaming about him. But no… Instead, he’s everything I’ve fantasized about and more.
I lead him down the first-floor hallway, pointing out rooms that have been taken over as offices by Dallas, Ryder, Tiago, and Brody, as well as the workout room they installed. In between are several rooms that no one has claimed for any particular purpose.
Haden pauses inside one of them. “It’s like stepping into a flea market,” he comments.
I giggle. “That’s a great way to describe it, including the fact that some of this shit is worthless and some of it is extremely valuable. Luckily, Dallas knows his antiques. He’s slowly working through everything to ensure we don’t throw out some million-dollar heirloom.”
Haden trails his fingers over an end table. “I see the problem. It’s hard to tell if this table was picked up at an estate sale for a dollar or purchased in the early nineteen hundreds from a famous furniture designer.”
“Exactly. So we go through these rooms one at a time, meticulously cataloging and looking things up. It’s tedious.”
He turns to face me. “Are you staying?”
“In Wilde?” I shrug. “I’m not sure.”
“Do you have a job lined up? I know you got your degree in early-childhood education.”
I’m stunned that he remembers that so specifically. “Uh, no. I intended to start my master’s in the fall.”
“But now?”
After a deep inhale, I respond, “I’m not sure. This place is addictive. I might decide to stay.”
He gives a curt nod. His expression is unreadable, as usual. I can’t tell if he’s glad I might stick around or if he’d prefer I get out of town.
“Show me the upstairs,” he demands, the abrupt change of subject giving me whiplash.
I lead him toward the front of the house. “This is the main entrance. These ornate stairs go up to the second floor. We almost never use these doors or steps. Most of us come in through the kitchen where you parked. There’s a back staircase in the corner of the kitchen. It’s just easier.”
“Got it.” He grabs the railing and gives a gentle shake as we ascend, probably to assess how sturdy it is.
I don’t blame him. I’m half afraid I might fall through the floor one of these days. All of us will sleep better once Haden gets a handle on the safety of this mansion. Not just structurally, but also the electricity.
Clanky pipes that need replacing are one thing, but faulty electrical wiring could be a fire hazard with the pressure on the framework now that the house is filling with occupants.
I take a look around, seeing the mansion through new eyes.
Let the renovations begin.