The Wedding Date Disaster (Harbor City 4)

Was he getting ahead of himself? Definitely, but he was a man who always had a vision and a gut feeling about things. That whole Hadley-is-a-gold-digger thing? That was just the exception that proved the rule.

For the first time in about as long as he could remember, that always-there edginess that acted as an early warning signal for the bad shit about to come seemed too quiet. He wasn’t that kid he’d been when his parents died and left him and Web in the care of their no-time-for-kids grandmother. Nor was he the guy who had been so distracted by the empty space in his life that he’d let Mia fill it before he realized that she was really only there for his money. He knew Hadley was different. How? The alarm bells in his head had finally quieted. If anyone had told him a week ago that he’d feel like this, he would have laughed his ass off. Now, he’d never been more glad to be wrong, even if it was unsettling as hell.

As he was contemplating how weird life was turning out to be, Weston came over and poured himself a glass of sun tea.

He glanced between Will and Hadley. “Stare any harder and people are going to think you two are actually a thing.”

Of course her brother picked just the moment Will had taken a drink to lay it down that he and Hadley had been faking everyone out—right up until they weren’t. Shock made his throat malfunction and the tea go down the wrong pipe. He ended up spluttering for breath while Hadley’s mountain of a brother smacked him hard between the shoulder blades.

Weston chuckled. “There’s no reason to freak out; she spilled the beans last night.”

“She failed to mention that to me.”

Hadley’s brother took a long drink of iced tea. “Must have slipped her mind when she told you about how she’s finally starting up her own consulting business.”

Something scratched against the back of Will’s brain, that you’re-about-to-get-fucked-over alert. When he’d explained his “assumptions” to Hadley, she’d acted as if she’d understood that always-on-edge feeling that a person just couldn’t shake and what it meant when he said it wasn’t there with her.

But what if what she’d really picked up on was a vulnerability that he hadn’t meant to admit to—one that a smart hustler like Hadley could exploit? It’s what he’d do in the boardroom. He’d discover the weakness and find a way to use it to get what he wanted. Of course, he was doing it to improve the company and the lives of those who worked there. She was doing it to fatten her bottom line.

The iced tea sloshed in his gut and his shoulders tensed until he could feel the pinch all through his body. He wanted to hurl.

“Now that she’s finally got the money to set up shop,” Weston we

nt on, “there’s nothing that will stop her. Hadley’s always been determined and ambitious like that. She deserves to be happy in all parts of her life, don’t you think?”

All Will could hear beyond the white noise blaring in his ears was Hadley saying last night that she was done pretending.

Is this what she meant? Had she finally gotten the cash from Web without having to secure a wedding ring first? And was she really on the pill? Mia had thrown a fake pregnancy at him—and he’d told Hadley. Was she one-upping that and going for the real thing? Why go through all the trouble of faking falling in love, waiting for a wedding, and then having to deal with the person long enough to get the good alimony payout when a surprise baby would accomplish the same thing?

Web had said there was something he needed to tell Will about Hadley—was it a warning? He’d told Will to have a good time. He’d never said Will should fall in love.

An icy certainty chilled him from the inside out and his body—making him feel a bit like it belonged to someone else—started to loosen up. He had to hand it to Hadley, it was a helluva plan. He’d never seen it coming. Too bad for her that he did now.

Finishing off his sun tea, Will eyed the woman who’d gotten past all his defenses and slid the shiv right between his ribs without him ever seeing it coming.

“She definitely deserves something,” he told Weston as he set his empty glass on the table and headed for Hadley.

Keeping the smile on his face was work, but he managed as he strolled across the room to where Hadley stood with her mom and sister. Hooking his arm around her waist and pulling her in close, he looked down at her as if she wasn’t due an acting award.

“Do you guys mind if I steal Hadley for a little bit?” he asked.

“We’re done here,” Stephanie said. “Go ahead, she’s all yours.”

Yeah, a few minutes ago, he’d been a big enough fool to think that she was. What a fucking moron he’d been.

…

Something was very off. Will had been all smiles and soft touches inside the barn, but as soon as they walked out in the hot summer sunshine, his jaw had squared with tension and he’d let go of her hand. They marched in silence down the path to the cabin as the breeze that was always blowing across the prairies and twirling her hair around her face, smacked it against her cheeks and got strands of it stuck in her lip gloss.

“Is everything okay?” she asked as she tugged the strand away and tucked it behind her ear.

He held open the cabin door. “Let’s talk about it inside.”

The bed was still a mess of tangled sheets, and her bra from last night was still on the floor where it had fallen last night. The vibe inside now, though, was completely different. Edgy. Cold. Harsh. Rubbing her palms up and down her arms, she went through every possible scenario for what could have happened. The worst-possible scenario landed like a punch to the gut.

Whirling around to face him, fist pressed to her belly, she asked, “Did something happen with Web?”

Will’s left eye twitched, but that was all the reaction he had. “Web’s fine. When were you going to tell me about your business?”