Page 36 of The Reason I Married Him
I chuckle. “Makes sense.”
“I heard she’s expanding the wine section to take over this part of the store, but it will take some time.”
“Wine probably brings in more income than ibuprofen.”
“Sold together, and you have a winning combo.” He smirks.
“Fuck, you’re right.” I nod at his pickles. “A fan?”
“Hattie is.” He holds up the jar. “I don’t know if you remember, but Cassidy and Hattie used to eat these pickles together all the time.”
“That’s right,” I say, remembering catching Cassidy hovering over a pickle jar at the farm once. I assumed it was because she was pregnant and had weird-ass cravings.
“These are Hattie’s favorites, and she ran out last night, so I thought I’d stop by and grab some for her.”
“That’s a good boyfriend.”
He scratches the side of his head. “Some might call me that.” He then nods at me and asks, “Do you have a girlfriend?”
A fiancée and she left me at the altar, but that’s neither here nor there.
“Nope,” I say.
A slow grin spreads across Hayes’s lips. “Ever think about chasing Aubree?”
If only he knew.
But this is the perfect opportunity to lay a foundation for my plan.
“You know, not when I first met her. Never really spoke to her, but I have to admit, I realized just how beautiful she is last night when I saw her again.”
“It’s in the Rowley genes,” Hayes says as we move around the store together. I grab a few things while we speak.
“Not sure she’s too fond of me, though. I tried to talk to her this morning, and I’m positive I made her hate me even more.”
“Probably,” Hayes says, not even sugarcoating it. “Aubree’s always been a touch on the serious side, but you have to realize where she’s coming from.”
I grab a bag of trail mix—one of my favorite things to snack on when I’m writing. This bag has cashews in it, which is a total score. “Where is she coming from?”
“Well, they didn’t have the greatest childhood, you know that. Their father was an absolute dick. A drunk. Treated them terribly. Ryland and Cassidy were in charge most of the time, and because Hattie was so young, they focused a lot on her. Aubree was the assistant, if that makes sense.”
I pause in front of the fruit and grab a bag of apples. Turning toward Hayes, I ask, “So what you’re saying is, Hattie got the motherly attention from Cassidy that she needed while Aubree was there to help dole out motherly attention when she was too young to do so?”
“Yeah. She was just old enough to help but still young enough to need that reassurance of love. Having some of that attention would have benefited her. I’m not criticizing Cassidy because she never should have been put in that position, but yeah, it was all pretty fucked up, and Aubree was sort of left behind.”
“That makes sense.” I move over to the cucumbers and grab a few. “But why would she be so closed off?”
“I think she’s just trying to prove herself, you know? Make something of herself because she was lost for so long.” Hayes shrugs. “I could be way off base here, but she is very different from Cassidy or Hattie. Colder. I think there’s warmth inside her, I’m just not sure she will ever let it out. I mean, I see it on occasion with Mac and sometimes with Hattie, but she’s very guarded.”
“Interesting.”
“Which means . . .” Hayes turns toward me, and in a serious voice, he says, “Don’t fuck with her. If you want to take her out on a date, make your intentions clear.”
“What makes you think I want to take her out?”
“You mentioned she’s beautiful, and she’s half owner of the farm. I’m not sure exactly why you’re here. You said reconnecting, but I think there’s more to it than that. Just be careful, cautious. She’s been hurt, man. Her father...he was cruel, and Aubree bore the brunt of that cruelty more than the others. Verbally, anyway. Don’t hurt her more. She’s bendable, but at some point she will break.”
“I don’t plan on hurting her,” I say.
