Page 152 of The Way I Hate Him
“It’s not that they’re from another man,” Ryland says. “It’s that they’re fromyou.”
“So if Abel brought you flowers, would you have been okay with that?” I ask.
Ryland shrugs. “I would have asked him what the occasion was, but I would have accepted them.”
“So you’re telling me we’re not at flower-exchanging level yet?”
“Dude, I can barely look at you, so no, we’re not at flower exchanging yet.”
I nod and stuff my hands in my pockets. “Good to know.”
Hattie clasps her hands together. “Well, this is not how I expected to start this date, but I guess we should get going before anything else happens like you slip and fall and I find your head in my brother’s crotch.”
Ryland shakes his head. “We’re definitely not at face-to-crotch level.”
“Not sure we should ever be at that level,” I say.
“For the love of God, I hope not.” Hattie moves toward the stairs. “Let me grab my things, and I’ll be right down.”
She jogs up the stairs, and I turn back toward Ryland. I nod at where he holds his ice pack and say, “Still shriveled up?”
“It’s going to take a week for my dick to release itself from my scrotum.”
“Fair,” I say. “And hey, sorry about that. Your niece has quite the beating arm on her. She can hold her own.”
“Good to know. Your eye looks a little swollen. Do you need some ice?”
“Nah, I think it’s just a little shocked right now. And if I get a black eye from your niece, I’ll wear it with pride.”
“You better,” he answers just as Hattie comes down with a small backpack draped over her shoulders and a smile on her face.
“Ready?” she asks.
“Yeah, ready,” I answer. I nod at Ryland. “Nice seeing you, man.”
“Remember what we talked about.” He gives me that older-brother glare, reminding me that I might have brought him flowers, but he’s nowhere near ready to trust me with his little sister.
Fair. I get it.
I’ll have to earn that trust back, a task I have no problem putting the time into.
I open the front door to the house and let Hattie out first before taking her hand in mine and bringing her over to her side of the SUV. Before I open the door, I twirl her toward me and say, “You look really fucking good.” I run my finger over the strap of her dress. “I like this. A lot.”
Her cute cheeks blush as she says, “Thank you.”
I lean in and press a soft kiss on her lips before pulling the car door open. I help her in, then grab the seat belt and buckle her up. I smile up at her and then shut her car door.
Once inside the car, I place my hand on her thigh and back out of the driveway with one hand on the wheel.
“How was your day?” I ask her, my nerves starting to ease. I mean, it can’t get worse than getting whacked in the head by a horse and kneeing her brother in the balls several times. Can only be up from here, at least that’s what I hope.
“It was good. I was full of nerves all day in anticipation of tonight, so I kept myself busy with cleaning up Cassidy’s room. I started to go through her clothes, deciding what should be kept and what could possibly go.”
“Wow, really?” I ask. “That’s a big step.”
“I know. I talked to Aubree about it briefly. She said she wanted to go through everything before I donated it, but she also thought it was time. There’s an old cardigan with large flowers on it that Aubree wanted. Cassidy used to wear it whenever she got cold. It has some holes in it, and I thought I’d get it dry-cleaned for her and take it to Elizabeth Gomez.”
“The veterinarian?” I ask. “One of four members of the Peach Society? Why would you do that?”
