SWNOVELS Finding Hayes: Chapter 16
I’d spent the morning out at the farmhouse, overseeing the renovations and filming online content. My social media was blowing up, and I’d even gotten messages from a few interior design firms asking if I was interested in coming to work for them.
I’d spent hours at the tile store last week, choosing just the right tiles for the kitchen and bathrooms. I wanted to keep the character of the older home but modernize it at the same time.
I called this aesthetic coastal-farmhouse-chic, and my hashtag had even gone viral.
Abe would have gotten a kick out of the fact that I was making a name for myself while renovating his and Lily’s house.
Everything would be light and airy, as opposed to all the dark woods and finishes that they’d had. I was maximizing every single penny, as I only had a deposit to give to King and Nash, but they didn’t seem concerned at all. But they also didn’t know that my inheritance was dependent upon my marriage, which they didn’t know was fake.
In their eyes, I was Hayes’s wife, and they’d do anything for me.
So, I’d saved all the cabinets that we’d torn out during demolition, and I’d listed them online, along with the old appliances and some of the furnishings. They weren’t selling for a lot of money, but a couple hundred bucks here and there would help.
King and Nash had brought a crew out to sand down the original floors throughout the home and stain them in a lighter color. Salvaging the floors had saved us a ton of money, and the lighter stain brightened the whole place up.
I’d told them that I had to get home, and they’d both teased me about the fact that I was getting Hayes to throw a party tonight for the guys at the firehouse.
Saylor, Demi, Ruby, Emerson, and Peyton had offered to come over and help me decorate the house. It was Saturday, so it was really generous that they were willing to help me on their day off.
When I arrived at the house, Hayes was in the kitchen wearing nothing but a pair of gray joggers. His back was to me, and I took in the Ride or Die tattoo inked across his chiseled muscles. My eyes trailed down his wide-set shoulders to his narrow waist. The man was thick and strong, and my mouth watered at the sight of him.
“You going to speak or just stand there staring, Shortcake?” His voice was gruff and sleepy, which didn’t surprise me, seeing as he’d just gotten home from the firehouse.
“How was your shift?”
He turned around, crossing his legs at the ankles, and his chest was on full display.
“Long. We had a few medical calls, and then we had to go out to the Kramer house because Sally put banana bread in the oven to warm up and surprise her mom, but she forgot about it. She also forgot to take off the wrapping, and the paper caught on fire and set off all the smoke detectors. They were able to get the fire out, but it did some damage to the kitchen.”
The Kramers were the sweetest family, and their ten-year-old daughter, Sally, was hilarious. I’d run into them a few times at Magnolia Beans, and that little girl was definitely going to take over the world someday with her drive and determination.
“I’m glad everything was okay.”
“Yeah, me, too. How was your night?” he asked, even though we’d texted several times before I’d gone to sleep.
“Good. Uneventful. I just met King and Nash out at the house, and things are really progressing,” I said, moving to the counter to pour myself a cup of coffee. “Is it going to make it hard to sleep if the girls are here to help me start setting up for the party? I know you need to sleep.”
“Nah. Not at all. I can sleep through anything. The guys are all excited to come over tonight. Apparently, most of them have never been invited over. I’ve never been much of a party thrower.”
“You don’t say?” I chuckled.
“It’s definitely not my thing.”
“That’s what your wife is for.” I waggled my brows.
His tongue swiped out and moved along his bottom lip, as his eyes slowly raked over me from my head down to my toes. I squeezed my thighs together in response.
Why does my fake husband have to be so sexy?
“You’re really going all out for this, huh?” he asked, as his gaze moved to the pile of bags and boxes filled with décor that I’d ordered for tonight. “Kimber’s going to shit herself if your party is better than hers.”
“It isn’t hard to compete with Kimber. Her party was horribly boring. We’ve got karaoke, two food trucks, dancing, and the best part of all…” I said, moving to stand in front of him, because when Hayes was around, I wanted to be close to him. Touching him. Breathing him in. “It’s just the firefighters and their significant others. We aren’t inviting people and asking for money. It’s a party. It should be fun.”
“You never do anything half-assed, do you?” he asked, as the corners of his lips turned up.
“If fun were an Olympic sport, I’d for sure get the gold medal.”
He didn’t laugh; he just stared at me. It was this look of adoration that had my chest squeezing. “Thanks for doing this, Sav. It means a lot. I’ve never been good at playing the game.”
“Are you kidding? I live for this stuff. But I’m not happy about you paying for it.” We’d had an argument when he’d seen all the things I’d ordered. He’d demanded receipts and reimbursed me for everything.
“I’ve never thrown a party. The least I could do is pay for it. I just don’t want to plan it. And maybe I’m an old-fashioned husband, but I don’t want my woman paying for anything.” He tapped me on the nose playfully, but I knew Hayes well enough to know he was chivalrous that way.
Hell, that’s why Kate sank her claws into him. Hayes Woodson was the whole package—he was the only one who didn’t know it.
“If you want this to be believable, don’t act like a caveman. I’m a modern woman.”
His hand moved to my hip, and he leaned forward and kissed the top of my head. “My wife is a stubborn woman. I’m going to catch some sleep. I’ll see you in a few hours. You hid everything in your bedroom for tonight, right? We don’t want anyone getting suspicious and finding out that we’re sleeping in separate bedrooms.”
“Yep. It’s all shoved in my closet. There are no signs of life in the guest room.” I chuckled as he made his way down the hall.
And I watched him move toward his bedroom.
His walk was so manly, the way his strong arms moved beside him. His legs were thick and long as they strode away.
The knock on the door pulled me from my Hayes daze, and I hurried to the entryway. When I pulled the door open, Peyton was holding two bottles of champagne in her hands, and Ruby, Emerson, a very pregnant Demi, and Saylor were standing behind her.
“Party’s here!” she shouted as she stepped past me.
“Well, we’ve also got muffins,” Demi said as she shook the pastry box in her hand and waddled through the door in the most adorable way. Her body looked exactly the same, aside from a ginormous protruding belly. From the back, you’d never know she was preggers, but then she’d turn around, and it was impossible to miss.
“I’ve got the flowers to make the arrangements,” Ruby said, because she’d volunteered to pick up the flowers from Janelle at Magnolia Blooms, but we’d decided to put them together ourselves.
“I brought unicorn Krispies because Cutler insisted that you try them,” Emerson said.
Saylor came in last and kissed my cheek. “And I have the orange juice. Let’s get this place decorated.”
We spent the next three hours covering every inch of the family room, living room, and kitchen in red and white Valentine décor. We made floral arrangements and set them all around the house. Everything looked perfect. Even better than I’d expected.
“Damn, it looks like Cupid puked in here,” Ruby said over her laughter. “You’ve even got red and white pillows on the couches. Hayes is going to be stunned when he wakes up. You didn’t miss a thing.”
“Have you seen her Instagram? This is why people follow her. The girl can decorate and design a house like nobody’s business,” Peyton said.
“I had no idea what a big following you had until Demi showed me this week,” Saylor said. “It’s amazing. My brother is going to love it. I’m glad you guys were able to put that mess from the past behind you after all these years.”
“I still can’t get over everything with Kate.” Demi shook her head in disbelief.
I’d filled them in on what we’d uncovered and why we hadn’t spoken in all those years. They were all stunned to learn just how devious the woman was, especially considering she was just a teenager back then. But Kate had always been spoiled and self-entitled, and she was probably still evil to the people who had to deal with her today.
“You know, that’s why people get so mad at a miscommunication trope.” Saylor tipped her head back as she drank the last bit of her mimosa.
“What the hell is a miscommunication trope?” Ruby grumped. “I swear you make this shit up.”
Saylor owned a romance bookstore, and it had become one of my favorite places to visit since I’d returned home.
“Um… that’s a hard no. It’s real. Both in fiction and, apparently, in real life. People can really fuck things up if they want to,” Peyton said.
“Don’t worry,” Saylor said. “The miscommunication trope is just a small part of your story with Hayes. Your journey to making it down the aisle together. You’ve got so many good tropes going for you. Best friends to lovers and second-chance romance.”
“Don’t forget the shotgun wedding. That’s got to be a trope.” Peyton refilled her glass with bubbly.
“Excuse me. A shotgun wedding implies that I’m pregnant, and that is definitely not the case.” I quirked a brow.
“Correct. We all know that my brother does not want kids,” Saylor said, as if she were discussing the weather.
“Oh, I forgot about that. You don’t want kids either?” Demi asked, completely lacking any judgment at all, as if she were just curious.
“You know, we haven’t really discussed that. We were just so excited to get married, and we’re working all of these things out now.” I shrugged.
They all shared a look, but then they smiled and nodded. But Ruby was watching me with a knowing look.
One that told me she wasn’t completely sold on our instalove story and the rush to get married.
She’d been the only one outside of River who knew about the stipulation in the inheritance contract.
We’d have to step up our game and get our story straight.
We were already too far into this to change things.
There was no turning back now.