Page 32 of Hello Trouble

DELLA

My house was looking barer than usual as I got ready for my date with Hayes Friday night. When my parents came over for Wednesday night dinner, Mom insisted we started packing while we watched GBBO.

I’d protested at first, but when she asked, “Are you not moving?” I had to say I was.

Hayes and I had been on two dates. It was too early to change all my plans. Especially with everyone I loved and respected being so worried for me. Maybe it would be different if they were as excited about my relationship with Hayes as I was.

But my parents were busy pretending he didn’t exist, and Liv’s skepticism was clear even when she wasn’t warning me about him. For some reason, I always assumed they would adore the person I wanted to be with. And I had no idea what to do now that they didn’t.

With a sigh, I sat on my couch to wait for his arrival. Maybe all this stress about their opinions was moot.

It was too early to think about a forever type of love with Hayes—if that was even on the table with him.

He’d never been the guy to take a chance on love before, and I had a hard time thinking he’d choose something long-term and monogamous with me when he’d spent most of his adult life with his pick of every other single woman in town.

And I didn’t have time for something temporary. Not if I wanted a family.

All my spinning thoughts had me off-kilter when I heard the doorbell ring.

Hayes was here.

And tonight, we weren’t staying in Cottonwood Falls—he was taking me to a dance hall in Roderdale. So I tried to focus on that, because I was excited to go dancing with him. After seeing his moves at the spring festival, I couldn’t wait to have him spin me around the dance floor.

Maybe part of me thought it would be a good test too. If the dance hall was anything like I remembered, there would be plenty of pretty young women there dressed to the nines. If his eyes wandered, if his focus drifted, I’d have my answer on his priorities, no matter how disappointing it might be.

I zipped my phone into my purse and then hurried in my heeled boots to the door. My turquoise dress swayed around me as I walked, and my hair brushed over my shoulders, curly and wild.

I’d hoped to take his breath away, but when I opened the door, I nearly gasped.

Instead of his usual distressed wardrobe, Hayes had on dark jeans, a black dress shirt unbuttoned to reveal the mural of tattoos across his chest. His sleeves were rolled halfway up his forearms, showing more of the inky designs there.

His lip ring glinted under my porch light just like the glittering dance of trouble in his blue-green eyes.

But he looked just as mystified as I was. “Wow,” he breathed. My cheeks felt hot under his gaze, and he made no act to hide the attraction he felt as he bit his bottom lip. “Stunning, Della,” he rasped.

I smiled at the compliment and how genuine it seemed. “And look who stepped away from the GQ cover shoot to go dancing with little ol’ me.”

He shook his head as he circled his arms around my waist. “I can’t wait.” He drew his lips to mine and took my breath away with a heated kiss.

My thighs clenched, and I had half a mind to ask him to stay here and dance in my bedroom with our clothes off or some other cheesy pickup line. But just as I was about to drag him to my bedroom cavewoman style, he linked his fingers with mine and said, “Let’s get going.”

“Okay,” I whispered begrudgingly, still coming out of my kiss-induced daze.

He led me out to his truck, our feet making soft scraping sounds over the sidewalk. It blended perfectly with the sounds of crickets filling the night air. I always loved this part of spring, when the nights came alive with the sounds of nature, even in our small town.

After helping me into his truck, he walked around to the driver’s side, backed out of the driveway, and laced our fingers over the middle seat. We’d only been seeing each other for a week, and already we were falling into a rhythm.

He drew my hand to his lips. “I missed you.”

I giggled. “We saw each other Monday.”

“And now it’s Friday. Such bullshit.”

I laughed. “Don’t worry. I’m sure my hunk of junk car will bring me back to your shop soon.” I shook my head. “Maybe it’s time to look for something new.”

“Your car isn’t a hunk of junk,” he countered. “It’s one of the more reliable brands.”

I raised my eyebrows. “It’s broken down twice in the last month, and it’s still under a hundred thousand miles. I wouldn’t call that reliable.”

His jaw tensed for a moment, and I wondered what was behind it. “What?” I asked him.

“Nothing,” he said too quickly, staring hard at the road.

“Hayes Brain Madigan,” I warned.

He let out a heavy sigh, a smile threatening at the corners of his mouth. If it was a little lighter in the car, I’d have sworn he was blushing. As it was, I was about eighty-five percent sure he was.

“So that night your car broke down before your date with Bennett...” he began.

“Yeah?” I asked. “Did you overcharge me? I swear, people always say you need to change your filters when you don’t really.”

“No, you need to change your filters,” he said. But he hesitated again.

“Hayes! Tell me!” I pressed.

“I may or may not have... disconnected your car battery while you were working so you couldn’t go on your date.”

My. Jaw. Dropped.

“You made my car break down?”

He cringed. “I fixed it for free too. I haven’t sent you the bill, if you haven’t noticed.”

I used my free arm to hit him. “Hayes! That’s so messed up!” And kind of sweet, too, in a twisted sort of way... not that I was going to tell him that.

With a grimace, he said, “It wasn’t one of my finer moments. But I never said I was smart. Actually, I’m kind of a dumbass sometimes. Like letting that fucker take you out when I knew damn well that I wanted to. I’m sorry I played games, Della. I promise I’m done with that.”

Okay, at least he’s moving in the right direction. My heart warmed a bit, and I said, “You’re fired as my mechanic.”

“Like I’d let someone else touch your car,” he growled.

“Maybe Ethan?” I teased, knowing how he felt about his coworker. “He’s not as hot as the boss, but he’ll do.”

“Fuck off.” He rolled his eyes.

“So romantic,” I teased.

“I like to keep you guessing,” he countered with a smirk.

I chuckled and then unbuckled so I could slide into the seat next to his. He draped his arm around me, and after buckling back up, I leaned my head on his shoulder.

Hayes wasn’t a knight in shining armor.

He made mistakes. He wasn’t always good at saying how he felt. He was rough around the edges and cussed more than my parents would ever approve of.

But against all odds... I was falling for him.

Would he catch me? Or was falling for the town’s bad boy a terrible idea?