The Wedding Date Disaster (Harbor City 4)

She rolled onto her back, wondering if it was socially acceptable to pull the covers over her head and scream silently. Not only did she not need to be in his business, she didn’t want to be in his business. She wasn’t going to be fooled by fake cowboy Will, who she happened to have had sex with in PawPaw’s bathroom! Oh God, she was never going to be able to use that bathroom again. Good thing she only visited a few times a year.

You. Are. So. Naive.

She had no clue how to break the awkward, heavy silence that enveloped them, punctuated only by the creepy coyote calls that sounded like babies crying for help, so she opted for staring at the ceiling. Maybe she’d get lucky and a chunk of plaster would come crumbling down and put her out of her misery.

“She refused to sign the prenup after telling me she was pregnant—which I found out later she most definitely was not,” Will said, his voice an unexpected boom in the dark. “That wouldn’t have been a big deal, but she let it slip that this was basically going to be an arranged marriage anyway, so she should get one thing out of it. Turns out our engagement was a scheme cooked up by her family and my grandmother as some kind of melding of two old-money Harbor City families—only one of whom still had cash—and all the relevant parties knew it for what it was except, of course, me.” He grimaced and went quiet for a second, working his jaw back and forth as if he were chewing on the distasteful realization that he’d ever believed it. “I thought the whole thing was real.”

“I’m sorry.” Sliding her hand across the warm cotton sheet, she didn’t stop until her fingers were intertwined with his. “That’s awful.”

“I lived. I learned. I know better now.” The words came out cold and unyielding. “I should have known better then. Our grandmother has never been interested in anything but herself and her own interests. She’s made it abundantly clear in nearly every interaction with us since she shipped Web and me off to boarding school a month after our parents died.”

He locked eyes with Hadley and she shivered, the temperature in the room dropping to arctic levels.

“Her schedule didn’t allow for children, let alone two who were grieving,” he said, answering her question before she could have asked it.

“Will—”

“It is what it is,” he cut her off and flopped back on the bed, his gaze turned toward the ceiling. “So trust me, being on the inside of Harbor City society isn’t always so great.” The words came out slowly, as if he’d never before put it into words. “Everything is so close, so in your face, that you can’t see the stars at all and it’s easy to still feel like you’re the only one there.”

“But you have Web,” she said, giving his hand a squeeze.

“And you have an entire extended family who want you around so much, they’ll handcuff you to keep you close. I don’t think you realize how lucky you are for that.” He let out a harsh breath and pulled his hand away. “If you think Web’s money will give you that sense of belonging, I hate to break it to you, but it won’t.”

Hadley lay there, an angry white buzzing noise filling her ears, her cheeks burning with heat as if he’d smacked her across the face with his words. She didn’t want anything from Web other than his friendship, and if Will couldn’t see that, he could go jump in a lake because she wasn’t about to justify his wrongheaded belief with a response.

She rolled onto her back and pulled the covers up to her chin. “Good night, Will.”

She forced her eyes closed and timed her breaths with his long, steady ones. Miraculously, her thoughts got slower, the blanket got heavier, and before she realized it, she was being woken up by the not-so-gentle nudging of her brother Knox poking a stick against her shoulder.

“Wake up, sis,” Knox said, keeping his volume low.

Hadley glanced over at Will. His eyes were still closed, his breathing even, and he had his hands tucked up under his chin. Before she could stop herself, she let out a mental awwwwww.

Come on, Hads. Wolves probably look sweet when they sleep, too.

“What are you doing here?” she asked in a harsh whisper, giving him the bug-eyed, twisted-mouth, get-the-fuck-out-of-here face.

Forever the youngest brother, Knox ignored her silent leave-now message and lifted the two large sticks in his hands. “Time to go snipe hunting.”

Oh, for the love of hazing the city slicker. “You cannot do that to him.”

Knox shrugged and grinned. “It’s a tradition.”

“Since when?” Oh my God, the ridiculousness of this whole situation.

He looked down at his watch. “About five minutes ago.”

“Knox,” she whisper-shouted, reminding herself that her parents would be really pissed if she killed him. “I’m warning you—”

“I am awake, you know,” Will said.

“Good,” Knox said, dropping any attempt at whispering. “Let’s get on out there. Best time of the day to catch snipes is right after dawn when they’re tired after staying up all night. Not that you two would know anything about that.”

“Shut up, Knox,” she said.

“You’ve known me your whole life; you know that’s not gonna happen.” He headed toward the door. “Let’s go, you two.”

Sitting up, she tried to figure out how to explain that her brothers weren’t wanting to make a fool out of him so much as bust his chops in a way that they’d no doubt document on video so the whole family could watch later. “There’s something you need to know.”