Chapter Three
Hattie
"Ihave to tell you something," I announce, dropping my tote on Tye's coffee table. It lands with a thud, making him scowl.
"Jesus Christ, Hattie. How many books do you have in that thing?"
"My books weigh less than your stupid foot," I grumble, staring pointedly at the boot he has propped on the table. "Worry about yourself, Tyler."
His lips twitch into a grin. "You know what they say about big feet."
"Yeah, small brain. Also, gross. How are you possibly getting married?" I prop a hand on my hip, glaring at him. "You have the mentality of a twelve-year-old."
"Vanessa loves me."
I soften when he grins like he won the lottery. Honestly, he probably did. Vanessa is amazing. I love seeing my brother head-over-heels. He annoys me most of the time, but he's not too bad at being in love. It's honestly shocking.
I expected Briggs to get hitched first. He's easy to love. I don't think Harlan will ever get married. He's too set in his ways, and he basically talks to no one ever. Honestly, he might be a bigger grouch than Sidney.
"So…I should get her a sympathy card for the wedding?" I tease Tye.
He just grins at me, his expression soft. "What did you rush over here to tell me?"
My heart leaps into my throat, my anxiety kicking into high gear.
"Pinky promise you won't get mad," I say, holding out my pinky to him.
He never breaks a pinky promise, so it's better to start there, right?
Right. Otherwise, he may rat me out just to ensure I never date.
If he had his way, I'd probably die alone.
But there is no way I'm going to his wedding with Cory Jenkins. I'll fake my own death first.
I'm not so sure going with Sidney is such a good idea anymore, either. Without the false bravado that comes with vodka, I've been in my head about it all day. Mostly because he kissed me last night. He pretended it was an accident, but I don't think it was.
I don't know what that means!
Tye leans forward, hooking his pinky through mine, and it's too late to back out. "Spill, Half Pint."
"I hate when you call me that."
"Not my fault you stopped growing when you were twelve," he says with a shrug.
"It's not my fault you, Briggs, and Harlan still haven't stopped growing," I complain. "I mean, honestly. Who needs to be six and a half feet tall? It's so unnecessary."
Tye's lips twitch. "Jealous, aren't you?"
"Shut up."
He's full-out grinning at me now. "What are you trying to avoid telling me, Hattie?"
"That I begged Sidney Hawkes to pretend to date me until after your wedding," I blurt all at once. "And you can't be mad because you already pinky promised not to be."
Tye stares at me levelly.
"Say something."
"I already know."
"What?" I gape at him. "Since when? How?"
"Sidney told me at practice this morning," he mutters. "He figured I should hear it from him." Tye cocks his head to the side, his eyes narrowed on me. "He drove you home last night."
"Yes. He thought I had a concussion."
"What the fuck? Why?"
"Because I asked him to date me?"
"You got a thing for Sid, Hattie?"
"What? No!" I say…maybe a little too quickly. "No. I just really don't want Mom calling in reinforcements. If I have to go to your wedding with Cory Jenkins, I'm running away and joining a convent."
"You'd never survive life in a convent. You like to talk too much. And you aren't dating that little prick," he growls. "I already want to kill him for the shit he said to you."
"Sidney told you?" I gasp, heat climbing into my cheeks.
"Yeah, he told me." My brother glowers at me. "And I'm curious as hell why I heard it from him instead of you."
"Maybe because I didn't want to tell you?"
"Try again."
"Fine." I throw my hands up. "It was humiliating, okay?
I knew guys like that existed. I just never thought I'd end up dating one because of my own mother!
And maybe I wanted to prove that I could handle it myself instead of having you, Briggs, or Harlan step in like you always try to do.
I'm grown now, Tye. I can do grown-up things. "
Maybe I make them awkward or uncomfortable. Maybe I'm not outgoing, famous, crazy talented, or wildly popular like my brothers, but I'm not helpless either. Is it really so hard to believe that I can be awkward, a little shy, and maybe even weird and still be a capable, functioning adult?
According to everyone I know, yes. My brothers mean well. They overcompensate. I'm not sure if they're trying to make up for the fact that Dad isn't here to watch out for me, or if they're trying to make up for the way our mother treats me. Either way, them going overboard doesn't really help.
"Yeah, fuck that," he mutters. "You have brothers for a reason."
"Yes. That reason is biology. Dad shot a lot of—"
"Do not finish that sentence."
"I'm just saying," I say sweetly.
He glares at me for a long moment before his expression softens and a rough bark of laughter escapes his lips. "So…you bullied Sid into pretending to be your date, huh?"
"I didn't bully him. I asked nicely."
"Uh-huh."
"I did."
"Sid doesn't date, Hattie. If he agreed to this plan of yours, it's because you bullied him."
"Whatever." I scowl at him, annoyed and a little hurt. Why does everyone on the planet think dating me is so awful? First, Sidney said it was stupid. Now Tye thinks it requires bullying. Maybe I am destined for a future with a guy like Cory Jenkins.
Ugh. I'd rather die alone.
"You know, I may not be you, but I'm not terrible, Tye," I say, staring at the floor.
"What the fuck? Who said you were terrible?"
"You…" I shake my head. "You know what? Never mind."
He stares at me for a long, silent moment. "There's nothing wrong with you, Hattie," he finally says, his voice soft. "You know that, right?"
I swallow hard. "I know."
"Good, because it's true. I don't give a shit what bullshit our mother tries to put in your head. You're allowed to be whoever the fuck you want. You don't have to be like her or like anyone else, and you don't need her permission to live your life."
My bottom lip quivers. "Thanks."
As much as my brothers annoy me sometimes, they're also always my first line of defense. No matter how many times she's tried to change me since our dad died, they swoop in to remind me that I don't need to change to please her. I adore them for that, more than they know.
"You want to stay for dinner?" he asks after a moment. "I'm cooking."
"No, thanks. I do not need to see you trying to grab Vanessa's ass all night." I scrunch up my nose at the thought. "I have things to do."
"Like what?"
"Things, Tye."
"Uh-huh. Well, those things better not involve Sidney Hawkes," he says, climbing to his feet to stretch his arms over his head.
"I'll let this shit ride for my wedding because I know our mother never backs off, and I want you to actually enjoy yourself, but don't get any ideas about trying to make it real. "
"I don't have any ideas. He isn't even my type. Besides, you just said he doesn't even date," I remind him, rolling my eyes. "He's doing me a favor because he took pity on me. That's it."
Tye stares at me for a long moment, like he's trying to decide if he should buy that or not. "Right," he finally says. "Well, keep it that way."
"Fine." I snatch my bag off the table before whirling to face him again. "And just for the record…you aren't the boss of me, Tyler Ward."
"You aren't fucking one of my teammates just to get one over on our mother, Hattie."
"Fine," I smirk at him as I sail toward the door. "I'll just bang your coach instead."
His loud laughter chases me out. It also tells me that he knows I'm full of it. His coach is more terrifying than Sidney. He's also three times my age and married.
I stomp toward my car, annoyed and out of sorts. I hate that Tye knows me so well. I hate that our mother gets to me like she does. Mostly, I hate that I let her get to me.
She's been trying to mold me into a more acceptable version of myself for as long as I can remember.
I think it was the only thing she and my dad ever fought about until he died.
Once he was gone…she went nuts trying to turn me into a replica of her.
And to her, women should be pretty, desirable objects who make the men in their lives look good.
I'm not that. I'll never be that, and I don't want to be that. I just want to live my life on my own terms. But she's never going to quit trying to shrink me into a predesigned box I was never meant to fit. And still, I let it bother me.
I sigh, climbing into my car before tossing my bag into the passenger seat. I'm barely out of Tye's ridiculously long driveway before my phone rings.
My brows furrow at the unknown number.
"If you're selling something, I'm on my way to prison for smuggling drugs in my vagina, so I can't use whatever it is," I say as soon as I answer.
"Jesus Christ," Sidney rumbles. "I hope you're joking, butterfly."
Well, this is awkward.
"Oh! Um, hey. Please ignore everything I just said. I thought you were trying to sell me something."
"Uh, no?"
I bite my lip to keep from laughing. "I know that now, Sidney."
"Where are you? You better have been joking about being on the way to jail."
One brow rises toward my hairline. "Well, hello to you, too, Cranky Bear. My day at work was great. I helped an elderly man get his first library card, and then he asked me to marry him."
"What the fuck?"
Oh, wow. I didn't know it was possible to feel a growl from the other end of a phone, but that one definitely made things twitch.
"I'm pretty sure he was only kidding. His wife was with him. How was your day?" I ask, trying desperately to pretend that my panties aren't getting suspiciously damp.
I do not like Sidney Hawkes.
I do not like Sidney Hawkes.
I do not like Si—
"Better now," he growls. "Where are you?"
"Jeez. You're like a dog with a bone over this jail thing. I'm on my way home from Tye's. I didn't even do anything illegal today."
"Only today?"
"Mind your business, Hawkes."
He chuckles, the deep sound making my stomach flutter. God, he's got a great laugh. "You busy tonight?"
I think about the stack of books in my bag, waiting to be read so I can decide if we'll stock them. "A little bit."
"Doing what?"
"Reading."
"You're a little bit busy reading?" he asks, a smile in his voice.
"Yes," I huff. "I'm a librarian, Sidney. Librarians read."
"What about tomorrow. You busy reading then?"
"Um…no?"
"Good," he grunts. "Be ready at six. I'll be at your place to pick you up."
"What? Why?"
"You want your mom to believe we're dating, butterfly?"
"Yes…"
"Then I'm taking you out."
I gape at his number on my navigation menu. "But I thought…"
"What?"
"I thought we'd just start this weekend, when we go to Aspen?"
"Nope," he says. "We're laying the groundwork now. That way, by the time we land in Aspen, everyone will already know about us. Your mom won't have any reason to suspect you're trying to pull one over on her."
"Tye isn't going to like this," I whisper, my stomach fluttering with nerves. He wants to be seen with me? Yikes. I can see the headlines now…and none of them will be flattering for either of us.
"I'll deal with Tye," Sidney says, his voice firm. "You just be ready when I get there tomorrow night."
I should tell him no. I know I should.
"Are you sure?" I ask instead. "You really don't have to do thi—"
"Be ready at six, butterfly," he growls.
"Okay," I whisper.
"See you tomorrow, baby."
"Hey, Sidney?" I say quickly, before he can hang up.
"Yeah?"
"Thank you."
"You don't owe me thanks. Just don't stand me up, butterfly." He disconnects, leaving my head spinning. I'm halfway home before I realize I didn't ask him where we're going or what I should wear.
Crap. I guess I have to figure it out myself.