Page 30 of Broken Grump

Her vision darts away, her tongue lingers across the front of her teeth, and she finally says, “Fine.”

Without another word, she turns on her heel and starts walking back towards the car.

However, after a few steps, she throws over her shoulder, “But from here on out, we’ll communicate exclusively through Steven.”

To emphasize the irreconcilable distance that has been created between us, the man appointed to act as our “in-between” fumbles around in the field and clumsily swats bees or another kind of insect away.

Really? This is how far we’ve come?

She was once one of the closest people to me, and now I can’t even talk to her without first going through this klutz.

Chapter ten

Addie

Later that night, afterI put Luna to sleep, I’m angrily brushing my teeth and thinking about what a jerk Hayden truly is.

He thinks he can just mention my grandfather’s name and my childhood dreams, and I’ll just become some giant puddle for him to stomp around in?

“Absolutely not!” I exclaim after spitting the toothpaste out into the porcelain sink. “Ugh!”

The memory of him already made me want to pull fistfuls of my hair out, but his resurgence in my life hasn’t exactly helped matters.

As I stew on that, I tug at the mop hanging from my head and stomp down the hallway into my room.

The only positive he has going for him right now is the fact that he didn’t bring up the paternity test again.

With all of that on my mind, I slip under the covers, lay my head on the pillow, and wiggle my toes into the perfect spot.

The events of the day have exhausted me. So after closing my eyes, it doesn’t take long to fall asleep.

And I dream of something I thought I wanted for years but now dread more than anything. A future with Hayden Cohen.

It’s early in the morning, and after lifting his head up to check that the door is still closed, he whispers, “Luna will be up soon.”

“Then we probably shouldn’t waste any time,” I murmur with a cheeky smile plastered across my face.

“Oooh!” The pupils inside his piercing green eyes dilate. Then, he wraps his arms around my waist and pulls me close before kissing me deeply. “I love the way you think.”

From there, his hands are gentle yet sure as they inspect every inch of my body.

“Thank you for forgiving me,” he whispers against my neck after leaving a trail of kisses down it. To top things off, my shirt is off, and he’s meticulously massaging my naked breasts.

But after my eyes snap open to real life, horrified by what my mind cooked up.

“Ugh!”

Although it felt like mere seconds, I must’ve been asleep for hours. The sun is already rising, and beams are pouring past my new purple curtains and into the bedroom. There are also birds chirping happily outside.

Taking all of this in, I sit up, rub my eyes, and then hug my legs against my chest.

Really? Out of all the men I could have a naughty dream about, it just had to be him?!I’m mad and disgusted with myself.

“He doesnotdeserve that,” I reason, but nevertheless, feel a wet feeling between my legs.

Dammit.

Even I have to admit that parts of the dream were hot. No, it was not just the thought of being with Hayden in bed. Instead, the thought of havinganyman in my bedroom was a nice change.

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