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Chapter seven

Hazel

“You all right?”

Astrid comes up behind me as I fill my wine glass to the rim, resting my hip against the counter in the kitchen. Thank God my brother and his wife decided to serve alcohol at their one-year-old’s birthday party.

I take a large drink from my glass, smacking my lips together before sighing. “Now I am.”

“That was intense,” Cashlynn says, joining us. Like clockwork, Willow darts around the corner a second later and reaches for my hand.

Before she can say anything, words spill from my lips. “Oh my God, Willow. I’m so sorry we—”

“Nonsense. You have nothing to apologize for. Your brother is the one who will be dealing with the heat of my wrath later,” she says, her jaw clenching. But then her proud, motherly smile is back in a flash. “I just wanted to make sure you’re okay.”

My hands are still shaking from the interaction with my brothers, but at least the hard part is over. They all know the truth now .

And Gage sure had your back during that whole debacle, didn’t he, Hazel?

Why was that so hot?

“I’m fine,” I mutter around my wine glass, taking another large drink.

Cashlynn scoffs. “Yeah, you seem just fine .”

“Well now everyone in my family thinks I’ve lost it…”

Willow rubs my shoulder. “I think we’re all just wondering how the hell this happened and, more importantly, how you’re feeling about it.”

I look between my sisters-in-law, the three women I’m so grateful to call my family now. My older brothers may be giant pains in the ass, but at least they’re with women I genuinely love.

I blow out a breath and lower my voice. “It’s been a lot. Of course this isn’t the way I envisioned getting married… But I couldn’t pass up that much money.”

Astrid nods. “I don’t blame you. But…” She hesitates, biting her bottom lip. “I just have to ask…”

I narrow my eyes. “What?”

Her eyes scan the room before she leans in and whispers, “Do you realize how hot your husband is?”

The four of us dissolve into giggles, but then I let out a groan. “Oh, yes. I’m aware. But he’s also off-limits. We don’t want to make this any messier than it already is.”

There’s a collective groan of disappointment among the group.

Cashlynn huffs. “Well, that’s no fun.”

Nodding, I add, “And what’s even more unfair about the entire thing is that I met him before I knew he was Diane’s nephew, and we really hit it off.” I inhale deeply before continuing. “He’s Hummingbird Guy.”

The ir jaws all drop open.

“No way,” Cashlynn says, breaking the silence.

“Way,” I say before taking down a few more gulps of my wine. “When we met at Timothy’s office, I thought he didn’t remember me. It made for a less-than-cordial reunion.”

Willow laughs. “I can imagine.”

“And now we’re married and living together for the next six months so we can both walk away with a life-changing amount of money. Only…it’s not going to be as easy as we initially thought.”

Cashlynn leans forward. “What do you mean?”

“We got a letter the other night from Diane.”

Astrid’s eyes bug out. “Uh, isn’t she dead?”

I shake my head. “And here I thought you were keeping up.”

She swats at me playfully as we all laugh. “You know what I mean.”

“Apparently, she planned out a series of tasks we have to complete while we’re married. If we don’t, the inheritance goes out the window.”

Willow tsks. “Smart woman.”

“What do you mean?” Cashlynn asks.

Willow turns to me. “Diane always wanted the two of you to date, right?” I nod. “So of course she wouldn’t be satisfied with just the paperwork. She wanted you to fall for each other.”

I snort. “Ha. That’s not going to happen. We barely tolerate each other.”

The deflection rolls right off my tongue because in the back of my mind, I’m thinking of all the things Diane could possibly have us do.

There’s no telling… I thought I knew her well, but these past few weeks have proven otherwise.

And perhaps I don’t know as much about her nephew as I thought either.

I g aze out the front window to find Gage talking to one of the servers from Catch & Release. He’s moving his arm around as they stare down at it, so I can only assume they’re discussing his tattoos—the miles of ink on his skin that I have a hard time not staring at.

I seriously wonder about all the other places that man has tattoos—and how many of them are lick-able.

“Earth to Hazel.” Astrid waves her hand in front of my face.

I blink myself back to reality. “Yeah?”

“We lost you there for a minute. You okay?”

Staring down into my almost-empty wine glass, I feel the alcohol settle warmly in my veins. “I’m no longer sober, if that answers your question.”

Astrid grins. “How does it make you feel to have lusted after this guy for a year and now suddenly be married to him?”

“I actually forgot all about him,” I say, trying to sound convincing.

Cashlynn snorts. “Yeah, okay. Did you forget that I was at your apartment the day after you met him? You looked like you slept with a hanger in your mouth as you recounted the incident. You couldn’t stop smiling.”

“Personally, I’d find a man who looks like that hard to resist,” Willow adds.

“Need I remind you all that you’re taken…by my brothers?”

“And need we remind you that you’re Hazel Sheppard, the same girl who spent years dreaming about what her future husband would be like?

” Astrid says, lowering her voice. “I just want to make sure you’re doing okay because even though I totally understand why you agreed to this, I also know you , Hazel.

” She reaches down and squeezes my hand.

“I know your heart and what you wanted for your life.”

I s wallow hard, because Astrid isn’t wrong. But if I acknowledge that—if I let myself want something I know I can’t have—it’ll only hurt worse when this is over.

I take my hand back and bring my wine glass up to my lips. “Well, not everyone gets what they want.”

Willow and Astrid share a look as Cashlynn frowns.

“Don’t feel sorry for me, okay?” I say, forcing a smile. “I’m going to be a millionaire in six months. Who needs love when you have that amount of money?”

But as the words leave my lips, I’m not even sure I believe them.

***

“Uh, what’s going on here?”

Standing on the sand, I watch nervously as my brothers and Gage square off in an intense game of cornhole, their competitive energy rolling off them like the salty breeze coming in from the shore.

The birthday song has been sung, the cake served, and the presents opened, now Willow is putting Michael down for a nap, signaling that the party is coming to an end.

I came outside to collect Gage, fully expecting him to be eager to leave, only to find him laughing and talking shit with my brothers like old friends.

How much wine did I drink in there?

I begin ticking off the number of glasses on my fingers before Dallas’s shouting pulls me from my focus.

“Fuck yeah!”

“Shit!” Penn yells from the other side as Dallas races across the sand and high-fives Gage.

Uh…I’m seeing things, right?

“ That’s game!” Gage declares before shaking hands with Penn then Parker.

Just a few hours ago, all three of my brothers looked like they were about to murder my new husband, and now they’re slapping him on the back like he’s one of them?

“Will someone please explain what’s going on here?”

Dallas steps up to me first, catching me off guard. But judging by his lopsided grin, he’s either feeling the effects of the couple of drinks he’s had since the day started or—against all odds—Gage has somehow managed to charm him.

“What’s going on is that your husband completed the even number we needed to play cornhole, Hazelnut. And after the way he sunk those bean bags, I’m ordering you not to divorce him. Ever.”

Laughing, I grip my older brother by the shoulders. “You’re drunk.”

Dallas waves me off. “I am not. Just riding a winner’s high, is all.”

Parker comes up beside me and mumbles in my ear. “He always loses to Penn and me when he plays with Grady.”

“The man used to play professional baseball but can’t play cornhole for shit,” Dallas says, referring to our family friend, Grady Reynolds, who left earlier with his wife Scottie, which explains why Gage was recruited to play this game.

I turn to the man I haven’t seen in a few hours, checking him for injuries or a facade that he’s perfected while spending time with my brothers.

But all I find is that annoying smirk plastered on his lips as he shoves his hands in his pockets.

“What can I say, Spitfire? Guess your brothers don’t hate me after all. ”

Penn turns to him and leans in slightly. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, man. But after today, I think it’s safe to say it won’t be horrib le having you around for the next six months.” He extends his hand, and they shake.

I blink in disbelief. “So you guys are cool with this now?”

“Oh no,” Dallas interjects quickly. “I still have some concerns…”

“Of course you do,” I mumble.

“But we can talk about those later.”

My eyes shift to Gage. “Apparently we can leave now since my oldest brother has given us his blessing.”

As we turn to go, Dallas grabs me by the hand, leading me to a secluded spot by the side of the house. “Hazelnut—”

“I’m a grown woman, Dallas,” I interrupt, ready to defend myself, but my brother presses a finger to my lips, silencing me.

“I know that. Just…let me say something, okay?”

I nod, relenting to his request but crossing my arms over my chest in preparation for a battle.

“The moment you told us you were getting married, I knew something was off. My little sister, the girl who used to dress up as a bride every Halloween, wouldn’t be getting married out of the blue like this.

And even though I understand why you agreed, I’m worried about how this is going to affect you long term. ”

Hearing the concern in his voice, the protectiveness morphing to worry, has tears building in my eyes. “I know what I signed myself up for. I’ve had many emotions about it over the past week, but I’m managing.”