Page 354 of Hate Mates

“Same fuckin’ thing.”

My hands move up until my arms are across my chest as I sputter, “What do you want?”

“You.”

My jaw falls open in complete shock for the second time tonight. Frankly, I’m so shocked by her statement that my body’s not even entirely sure if it’s interested.

Which is entirely preposterous because, if nothing else, Cassidy Logan is fucking hot.

I turn and point to the door. “Get the fuck out.”

Once again, she smirks. “No.”

“Are you for fucking real right now?”

The smirk falls from her face and she shrugs, not making any move to stand. She’s quiet for a few long moments, staring at me intently until I squirm and ask, “Well, are you going to do something?”

With a deep sigh, she sits up, leaning forward so her forearms are braced on the tops of her thighs as she looks up at me. “I need your help.”

“There’s not a fucking chance in hell I’d ever help you.”

“I think you will, once you hear me out.”

“I don’t want to hear shit.”

“Well, that’s too fucking bad. Because I’m not leaving until you at least listen to what I have to say.”

“Or what?” I ask incredulously. “Are you gonna threaten me? Attempt to come up with some harebrained scenario where you can turn yourself into a victim to use against me?”

“Whatever I have to do.”

“You’re un-fucking-believable,” I spit out angrily. “You’ve gone out of your way countless times to cause trouble for me, and then you show up here uninvited in the middle of the night and threaten me in the hopes that I will listen to you?”

Her close-lipped smile is a bit sheepish, but then she nods. “Pretty much.”

Well, I wasn’t expecting her to just agree with my description of the situation, but here we are. I rub my hand over my face, groaning in frustration, but then I meet her gaze head-on. “Fine. But we’re moving this conversation to the living room.”

I turn and walk out of the room without saying anything else. I walk directly into the living room, turning on the lights as I enter, and I’m almost surprised when I stop beside the sofa and see that she’s actually followed me without comment. I motionfor her to sit, and she does, crossing her legs and resting her hands on her knee as she stares up at me. “Would you please sit down?”

“Why? You won’t be here long enough for me to bother getting comfortable.”

She rolls her eyes at me and huffs, “I don’t need you lording over me while I explain.”

I grind my teeth, wanting nothing more than to grab her and bodily toss her out the door. She has quite literally done nothing but attempt to create trouble for me for years, so the fact that she thought it would be okay for her to show up at my place without an invitation and make demands is ludicrous to me.

The other part of me wants to get my lawyer over here or even call a neighbor—any kind of witness I could call in a court of law to refute any outlandish claims she might make when I refuse her offer.

She continues to stare at me, obviously waiting for me to stop “lording” over her, so with another heavy sigh, I move to the far end of the sofa, where I fall down onto it haphazardly and somewhat dramatically. “Is that better?”

She relaxes slightly and mutters, “Yes. Thank you.”

She kicks her shoes off, bringing her feet beneath her as she turns to face me, one of her arms resting in her lap as the other is braced along the top of the couch.

I turn my body slightly so she can’t accuse me of not paying attention, and then I wait. She stares at her legs, and then the back of the sofa, and then a spot on the wall behind me, and finally, I say, “Just fucking spit it out, Cassidy.”

She was so lost in her own thoughts that she jumps and then laughs nervously as her eyes connect with mine. I raise my brows at her, waving a hand in a motion indicating that she should get it fucking over with.

“I’m gonna need you to marry me,” she rushes out, and I can only assume the look on my face is a mix of shock and horror because when I open my mouth to respond, she holds a hand up. “Let me finish.”

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