Page 117 of The Troublemaker
“Yep.Anyway… years later, they got back together, married, and now have a kid.”
“And this shaped you how?”
I set my fork down.“My parents think that I didn’t like not being picked.”
“Is that true?”
“No.”I sip my coffee and put it on the table.“I just never wanted the mess that seemed to come with a relationship.The ups and downs, breakups and makeups.Seemed too stressful and too much drama.I just wanted to focus on my baseball career.And I didn’t want to end up doing something that might hurt someone like I’d hurt my cousin.Sure, it hurt when Kenzie didn’t want me back and picked Lance.But I almost lost my cousin for what?A kiss?How stupid could I be?”
She touches my forearm.“It was years ago.I think you can let the guilt go.”
“After that, I preferred to keep things casual with women, no strings.It’s not like my heart was involved, but I just decided to close myself off from all of it before I hurt someone else.Add on the fact that I never know if a woman’s intentions are pure with me, and then there’s my parents’ happily ever after fairy tale.”I shrug.“It’s pressure I didn’t want… until?—”
“Hearts and feelings suck,” she interrupts me, and I’m not sure if it was on purpose or not.
I laugh and put down my coffee.“I agree.So do you think less of me?”
“Not at all.”She pushes a plate.“I thought she was the love of your life and you were still pining away for her.”
“Not at all.But I’m kind of pining for someone else lately.”
She looks up, and her fork falls to the plate.“Easton.”
“Come on, Hadley, you know it, I know it, all of our friends know it.Shit, Tanner probably knows it.”I suck in a deep breath and ask what it is I really want to ask.“What do you say?Want to give this an honest try?”
She pushes back from the table and stares at me.
Not the reaction I was hoping for.
ChapterForty-Four
Hadley
Easton’s eyes close when I push back from the table.
“Let’s give this an honest try?”
He stays seated, patiently watching me.Not pushing or filling the silence with a joke.Just waiting… for me… to say something more… anything.
My mouth opens but closes.
“You have the Kenzie thing that was holding you back, but I have my family,” I say because he needs to know what he’s getting into.“I’m sure at the dinner you could tell that I’m the odd one out in the Hargrove family.First, I have no idea where my dad is, I haven’t seen him since I was five, but regardless, he’s been a constant presence in my life because I’ve always been told that I got all his genes.”I swallow hard.“Can you imagine?The man walked out on his family, never to be heard from again, but everyone has compared me to him my entire life.I rebelled in high school, like I imagine most teenage girls do, but my mom just put her thumb that much firmer down on me.”
I stare into my lap, aware that Easton hasn’t said a word.
“So, I did what they wanted.I went to my mom’s alma mater, got my degree.At my graduation party, which was mostly just my mom’s way of networking to get me a job, I couldn’t stomach the rest of my life being dictated by her.And I knew that was what was gonna happen if I stuck around.My mom would get me the job, she’d be on me to impress whatever friend she had pestered enough, and I would never live up to her expectations.I’d mess it up somehow.So when I finally had a break from shaking hands and smiling and pretending I’d be an asset to their business, I went upstairs to my room, packed a bag, and left.Went to the airport and booked a flight with the graduation money I got.”
I glance at him, and his hazel eyes shine with sympathy.
“And I’ve been running ever since.I’ve never had a serious relationship.Sure, I’ve dated guys here or there, but as crazy as it is, I’ve slept with you more than any other guy in my life.”
That cocky smirk returns.“You’re only feeding my ego and proving my point.”
“Maybe.But it’s just… Easton, we’re two people who have never had a serious relationship with anyone.Why do we think this is going to work?”
He doesn’t look away when he says, “Because I’ve never felt this way about anyone.”
I look at the table.The shared plates, the coffee he poured for me without asking how I take it because he already knows.
