Chapter 5 #2
Our family has grown a lot in the last few years, but while my brothers were falling in love and having babies, I kept my focus on work. Sure, I dated here and there, but nobody ever compared to the woman who branded herself on my heart five years ago.
So, while I’ve been watching Angie give everything to my best friend, I poured everything I had into building a sanctuary for mistreated and injured horses.
We’re still a long way away from the official opening, but it’s already the biggest accomplishment of my life.
I just wish I had someone to share it with.
“So, she proposed?” Jaxon says. “Just like that?”
“Just like that,” I echo back.
“And you said yes?” Callie asks incredulously.
“I’m not a dumbass. No man in his right mind would’ve turned her down.”
“But you weren’t in your right mind,” she adds, pushing her wire-framed glasses up her pert nose.
“Nope.”
Wilder chuckles. “Only took five years, but fuck, Jess would be thrilled to know it finally happened.”
Olivia turns to look over her shoulder at him, her golden blonde hair whipping with the movement. “What do you mean?”
“Jess tried to play matchmaker at Angie’s birthday five years ago.” He glances at me, running his hand down his dark beard. “They had a fling, but Griffin here ghosted her.”
I go rigid before he’s done talking. “How do you know we hooked up?”
“Jess told me, obviously. You didn’t honestly think those two were going to keep a secret, did you? They never had it in them. Besides, you disappeared for the entire weekend. It doesn’t take a genius to put two and two together.”
“Fucking hell. I didn’t ghost her. That’s bullshit. She gave me a bogus number.”
“No. No, I’m pretty sure Angie said you were gone when she woke up. She said she gave you her number, and you never texted.”
What the fuck.
I pinch the bridge of my nose to stifle the impending headache. “I texted.”
Wilder’s eyes widen as his brows draw up. “That’s not what she said.”
Jaw clenched tight, I blow out a harsh breath. Is it possible she put the number in wrong? Could all this have been one big misunderstanding?
Wilder holds up his hands in surrender. “Don’t shoot the messenger.”
“You knew the whole fucking time? Why didn’t you say anything?”
“It wasn’t any of my business. Figured something happened between you two since nothing ever came of it.”
“Fuck.”
Five fucking years.
I spent five years thinking she wanted to forget what happened between us. I sat back while she fell for Tyler, then I watched him break her fucking heart, when the whole goddamn time she thought I ghosted her. She could’ve been mine from the very start.
Olivia interrupts my muddled thoughts. “So, what now? Are you getting an annulment?”
“Not if I can help it.”
“What does Angie want?”
“We haven’t talked much about it. I think she’s still processing.”
She bites down on her bottom lip, and her blue eyes narrow. “Good. That’s good.”
“What’s going on in that scheming little brain of yours, Livie girl?”
“You want to keep her?”
“No doubt in my mind.”
She smiles. “Then you need to show her what it’s like to be married to a Hayes. When she needs you, you’re there. When she doesn’t, you show up anyway. Find little ways to show her you care. Be the man Tyler never was. That’s the important part. You have to do the one thing he couldn’t: commit.”
“Start with flowers,” Jaxon says. “It’s how Callie got me.”
Callie giggles. “Liar. I had you long before that.”
He turns his head up, and she plants a kiss on his lips. “You did.” He runs his fingers through the ends of her dark hair. “I didn’t stand a chance against that mouth of yours.”
I grimace.
“Sunflowers,” Wilder says, ignoring the interaction. “Her favorite. Jess used to get them every year for her birthday.”
“Sunflowers. Got it.” I blow out a steadying breath, standing and dusting my hands off on my jeans. “I’m gonna head home. I’m not built to play the fifth wheel.”
Callie’s smile widens. “All the more reason to bring Angie around. Any chance she likes books?”
“I’m not letting your little book club corrupt my girl.”
“Think of our books as instruction manuals. You only stand to benefit from them.”
A devious smile splits Jaxon’s face, but I don’t stick around to listen to whatever he’s about to say. Sometimes my younger brother can be too forthcoming about his sex life. As thrilled as I am for him, I’d be content to never hear about their sex manuals ever again.
I give them all a backward wave and head out front to my truck.
It’s a short drive up the road to my quiet house on a hill surrounded by evergreens.
I built this place with the future in mind—a wife and a gaggle of kids running around the yard.
It’s a massive four-bedroom, three-bath farmhouse with a sprawling backyard and a wrap-around porch.
It’s way too much house for one person, but I never thought I’d still be single at thirty-seven.
Maybe it’s time to get a dog.
No.
It’s time to bring my wife home.