Page 260 of How to Kiss a Hawthorne Brother
Now, I’m warm and safe even though outside, it is cold and snowy.
I’m about to be fed even though presently, there is no functional kitchen.
And my phone is charging using a portable charging block Brody gave me when I first arrived even though there’s no power.
Zombies? Yeah. I’m not worried about them at all.
“I’ve heard Brody is quite the outdoorsman,” I say, turning my attention back to Kate.
She nods. “They all are. They grew up hiking and camping. But forget that.” She scoots the ottoman closer so it’s just opposite where I’m sitting on the couch and sits down on it, pulling her knees up to sit cross-legged. “I want to talk about what happened to you when Lennox walked in.”
My heart starts pounding, and I take a long sip of hot chocolate, hiding behind my mug. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I finally say.
“Oh come on. Tatum. You were practically undressing him with your eyes. It was so obvious.”
I set the mug down on the small side table next to the couch and cover my face with both palms, still warm from my hot chocolate. It’s debatable whether my cheeks or my hands are warmer. “I was not!”
“You totally were,” Kate says. “I’m good at reading people, and there is definitely something happening here. It’s too late for you to deny it.”
I spread two of my fingers, creating a tiny window for one eye to peek out. “Was I really so obvious?”
Kate giggles. “When he said your name, you were staring at him like some kind of starry-eyed middle-schooler. What’s going on?” she asks. “You were pretty evasive at lunch the other day. Is this why? Are you actually starting to feel something for him?”
“Maybe? I mean, we were bickering like children when I first got here, but the past couple of weeks, it’s been . . . different somehow.”
“Good different?”
I sigh. “Definitely good different. He’s supposed to make me dinner next Monday. It was the first day we both had a night off.”
“Gah. That’s forever from now. Chefs and your stupid schedules. But still! It’s something. And maybe a little somethingelsewill happen while you’re here.” She lifts her hands in a tiny cheer and lets out a squeal.
I shoot Kate a look and glance toward the kitchen, not wanting Lennox, or even Brody, to hear, but she waves away my concern. “They’re still outside. I promise they can’t hear us. But honey, if you keep staring at him like you just were, it won’t matterwhathe hears. You might as well be wearing a sign for how obvious you were.”
“Honestly, he’s a Hawthorne brother. How can Inotstare?”
“True,” she concedes. “You should have been at the restaurant opening. Flint came, so all four of them were together for the first time in I don’t know how long. The sheer magnetism. It was a little overwhelming for all of us.”
Lennox’s younger brother wasn’t famous when we were back in culinary school, so it was a surprise to me when I Googled the farm, found the information about Lennox’s restaurant opening, and made the connection to the very famous actor, Flint Hawthorne, who attended the event. Now that I know, it feels obvious because Flint looks as much like his brother as the other ones do.
“I saw pictures,” I say. “I can only imagine the impact it had in person.”
Kate nudges my knee. “They’re all just as good on the inside, Tatum. I mean, I’m obviously biased, but if there’s something happening with you and Lennox? I’d hang on to him.”
“Do you know anything about Hailey?”
Kate’s forehead scrunches up. “Was that the girlfriend he had in college?”
I nod. “I found a box full of pictures and letters and stuff. He left it behind in the apartment.”
“I don’t know much. I remember liking her, though. She was really sweet.”
“Wait, you met her?”
“He brought her home to the farm a couple of times. Brody and I were still in high school then, so we were around.”
“So they were pretty serious then.” I mean, he saved a box of their memories. Of course they were serious. But bringing her home to meet the family feels even bigger than that.
“Yeah. And he was messed up for months after they broke up. He won’t talk about it, but I’ve always assumed that’s why he—” Her words cut off, and she purses her lips like she isn’t quite sure how to finish.
