Page 197 of Bridesmaid Undercover
“I learned that it will never be anyone’s business who I love. And no one will ever get in the way of that.” She softly smiles. “Hardy, if you like Everly, if you have feelings for her, who am I to stand in the way of that?”
I feel all the air escape my lungs from sheer disbelief. “Are you serious?”
“Yes.” She scoots in and takes my hand in hers. “Hardy, I appreciate you worrying about how this would affect me and the business, but what it comes down to is I want us all to be happy, and if that’s being with Everly for you, then I want you to be happy. All I ask is that you don’t hurt her.”
I wince. “Well, a touch late for that.”
Her eyes narrow. “That you don’t hurt heragain.”
“Now that’s something I can do,” I say and then exhale deeply. “Fuck, Haisley, I don’t think you understand how much I appreciate this. When Hudson reminded me of how you freaked out when he tried to ask out one of your employees a few years ago, I thought it was done. I told Everly it was over before it even began. That was after a few other less than ideal things I said and, well…let’s just say I have a lot of making up to do.”
“Seems like you do—because if she hates you, that’s on you, not me. You two idiots should have asked me first before reacting.”
“Yeah.” I grip the back of my neck. “Probably should have done that.”
“Now you have an uphill climb, don’t you?” she asks.
“A big one.”
“Well, better get wooing. If I know anything about Everly, it’s that she’s very serious and doesn’t give in easily.”
“I’ve noticed.” I let out a sigh and catch Haisley smiling at me. “What?” I ask.
“You know, I never thought I’d see the day when you fell for a girl.”
“I was with Maple for three years,” I remind her.
“You were with her, but let’s be honest, if you were truly into her, you would have followed her to Denver.”
I rub my eye, because Christ, everyone keeps saying that.
“Yeah, I know.”
“Tell me this, if Everly was moving somewhere else, would you follow?”
I look up at her and ask in a panic, “Why? Did you hear something?”
She chuckles and shakes her head. “No, it’s just hypothetical.”
“Jesus.” I lean back in my chair. “I mean, I don’t think we’re at that point of moving in and shit. Hell, I haven’t even taken her on a proper date. But if she were to move, I’d attempt a long-distance relationship until we got to a point where we were thinking about more serious things.”
“If you’re not serious, then what’s with the panic?”
“I mean, I’m serious about how I feel about her right now, but at the moment, she’s not talking to me. She’s hurt. She doesn’t want to talk to me, and I haven’t even been able to ask her out properly. Would I consider her one of my best friends? Yes. And after the other night, I’m suffering from the silence. So, I’m right there. I want to explore this. I want more. But I need her to be on the same page, and she’s far from it.”
Haisley smirks and nods.
“You know, you almost make it seem like you get joy out of my pain.”
She holds up her fingers and presses them together like some sort of supervillain. “Maybe a little.”
I shake my head at my sister. “Wow, Haisley.”
She chuckles and then nudges my leg again. “What’s the plan? How are you going to win her back?”
“Good question. I’m going to try to talk to her first, text her, warm her up. And if that doesn’t work, I’m moving on to plan B.”
“And what is Plan B?” she asks.
