Chapter Eleven
Sidney
"What the fuck?" Tye says again, his voice booming across the conference room. Hattie didn't hear him the first time. She does this time.
She gasps, her eyes flying wide open. They land on him, all the color draining from her face. "I…I…"
"Tye, respectfully, get the fuck out," I snap, not concerned about his feelings right now. I'm concerned about hers. Her goddamn brother just walked in on us fucking. There's no way she's going to handle this well.
"You have two minutes before I break your fucking jaw," Tye growls and then stomps out. The door slams behind him so hard the walls vibrate.
Hattie whimpers into the silence.
"Look at me, butterfly," I demand, cupping her cheeks.
She fights me for a moment before her eyes lock on mine, a tear slipping down her cheek.
"It's going to be okay," I whisper, my heart cracking at the look on her face—like her whole world is crashing down. "I promise you, it's going to be okay."
"He's so mad," she whispers. "You're going to fight again."
"I'm not going to fight him," I say firmly. He may hit me. There's nothing I can do about that. Hell, I probably deserve it. But I will not hit him back.
"V-Vanessa is going to hate me." Her bottom lip quivers.
"Why is Vanessa going to hate you?"
"The wedding," she sobs. "I p-promised to t-tell him that I want to be w-with you before the w-wedding. Now, it's all g-going to be m-messed up anyway!"
"Christ." This is the worst possible time to feel bulletproof, but that's precisely how I feel right now.
She wants to be with me. If that isn't proof that she loves me, nothing is.
I press my lips to hers in a hard kiss before regretfully sliding her down my body.
"It's going to be okay, Hattie. I swear to you that I will make it okay. "
I don't currently have a fucking clue how I'm going to keep that promise, but I will keep it. That's what she needs me to do right now—protect her heart and make sure her life doesn't implode.
Her bottom lip quivers again. "I s-should go talk to him."
"No." I brush my thumbs under her eyes, mopping up her tears, before I tuck myself back into my pants. "It's on me to talk to him, butterfly."
"But—"
"Trust me."
Her watery eyes meet mine. "I do trust you, Sidney. I…"
I press my forehead to hers, taking a deep breath. "I know, baby. I know. Let me talk to him first, and then we'll talk about everything, okay?"
Her teeth sink into her bottom lip before she nods reluctantly.
I help her back into her clothes and then pull her into a tight hug before leading her out into the hall. Tye is pacing like a caged lion, clearly still pissed. He turns as soon as he hears the door open, his wild gaze landing on us.
Hattie flinches.
He notices, and his expression softens incrementally. He stomps across the hall to her, pulling her into a hug. "Vanessa is going to take you home."
"You're mad at me," she says, her bottom lip trembling.
"No. I'm not mad at you, Half Pint." His eyes come to me, and I know damn well the same isn't true for me. He's livid. "We'll talk later. Right now, I want to talk to Sidney."
"Be nice," she whispers. "He's important to me."
Tye grunts non-committally.
"It's okay, butterfly," I murmur. "Let Vanessa take you home."
She hesitates for a long moment and then sighs and nods before hurrying to where Vanessa is waiting a few feet away. Vanessa wraps an arm around Hattie, leading her away.
I wait until I'm certain they're out of earshot before turning to Tye. "Say whatever you need to say."
"Fuck you," he growls. "That's my sister."
"And she's the woman I plan to marry," I say, leaning against the wall.
"I'm fucking sorry you walked in on that.
It shouldn't have happened. I'm sorry I hit you yesterday, too.
But I'm not sorry for loving your sister.
I'm not sorry for being with her. And I'm damn sure not going to apologize for a single thing we do together. "
"You're an asshole."
A rough bark of laughter escapes my lips.
"Oh, I'm aware. But, be honest. Would you rather have this asshole worshipping at your sister's feet, or have some little prick, like the one your mother tried to force on her, smothering every ounce of light out of her?
Because, real talk, that's not something I'm going to let happen.
" I meet his gaze. "Your sister is perfect, Tye.
And I think we both know, even though you're pissed, that if the decision were yours, I'm the kind of guy you would have chosen for her. "
"You're full of yourself, aren't you?"
"No," I say softly, "I'm not. But I know you.
I know how much you care about her. I know how hard you've fought for her.
And I know that, even if you're too goddamn stubborn to admit it, you know that I'll fight for her the same way.
" I meet his gaze, holding it. "I love her.
I've been in love with her for months, but I didn't think I stood a chance, so I kept my damn mouth shut and kept my distance.
I'm not doing that anymore. She deserves to be with someone who treats her like the queen she is. That man is me."
Tye stares at me for a long time, his jaw pulsing, and then he mutters a curse. "I want to hit you right now."
"Don't blame you," I mutter honestly. "You shouldn't have walked in on that. It shouldn't have happened here. But what we do has nothing to do with you."
"You weren't wearing a fucking condom, Sidney."
"I know."
"Jesus Christ." He shoves a hand through his hair, pacing in circles. "You're trying to get her pregnant."
"I'm not trying," I say. "It's going to happen."
He shoves me up against the wall, breathing hard. "Not unless there's a fucking ring on her finger, motherfucker."
I cock my head to the side, smirking at him. "Is this you giving me your permission?"
"Hell no," he growls, but then his lips twitch, and he shoves away from me. "Asshole."
"Good, because I'm not asking you. No disrespect intended, but it's her choice to make, not yours. She's the one I'll be begging, not you."
"You'd beg?"
"In a fucking heartbeat."
He processes this for a long moment and then softens ever so slightly. "I still want to hit you."
"Still don't blame you." I shrug. "But I think we both know you aren't going to do it because you want what's best for her too, and what's best for her isn't the two of us splashed all over the fucking news because we're at each other's throats. She's happy, man. Let her be happy."
Tye stares at me for a long moment, his expression unreadable.
I'm not sure if he's going to tell me to fuck off, if he's going to say fuck it and hit me anyway, or if he's going to swear to make my life hell.
At this point, any of the three is possible.
So I'm shocked when he growls a curse and grabs my arm, yanking me into a hug.
"Don't fuck up with her," he rasps, slapping me on the back. "Protect her like she's the most precious thing in your life. And I swear to God, if you don't love her the way she deserves, failing her will be the last thing you ever do."
"She is the most precious thing in my life," I mutter, my throat tight.
"Yeah, she is." He steps back with a soft sigh. "She deserves a man like you, Sidney. I know I'm an asshole, but…she deserves you."
"Jesus."
"I'm sorry for what I said yesterday. I wasn't trying to disrespect her. You know I'm not that guy," he says. "I was just…" He shakes his head like he doesn't have words. "I swore to my dad that I'd look out for her. Most days, I feel like I'm failing."
"You aren't, brother. She idolizes you for the way you've always stood up for her and tried to protect her. Harlan and Briggs, too."
"It wasn't enough." His jaw pulses, anger glinting in his eyes. It's not directed at me this time, though, but at himself. "You should know that we cut our mother off today. Unless she gets therapy and apologizes to Hattie, we're done with her permanently."
"Good," I growl. "It's about damn time."
"Yeah," he says softly. "It is."
"Hattie will be okay, Tye. I'll make sure of it."
He jerks his head in a nod, giving me a tight smile. "I know."