Page 2 of Hate To Love You
TongueTiedInKnots
No. It doesn’t matter if it’s a mythological beast that guards the doors of Hell. It’s still a canine, isn’t it? You can call it Cerberus, Fluffy, Spot, or whatever in Hades satisfies your dark heart. Dogs are dogs, period.
Liam smiles excitedly as he watches the three dancing dots of Hate2LoveU forming his reply.
Hate2LoveU
I can’t tell which is sexier. The fact that you know what Cerberus is or that you have such a hard-on for science.
A clap of laughter flies out of Liam’s mouth before he presses a hand over it. A coworker walking by—curly-haired Gracie with the rosy cheeks and petite frame who graduated in Liam’s class—jumps a whole foot, startled by the noise.
“Sorry,” says Liam, unable to contain his delight, then debates what he can say in reply—until his eyes catch sight of the clock above Gracie’s head. He’s two minutes past his break ending. “Oh, shit,” he grunts under his breath. After a regretful glance at the unanswered message, he decides to pocket his phone and leave it for later. Besides, is he really expecting something real and lasting to come from some stupid dating app?
Just then, he hears a shout followed by laughter on the other side of the swinging doors. Did JR drop a slippery jug of pickles again and cause a scene? Is a cleanup needed on aisle 7? He rises so fast, his foot catches the leg of his chair and nearly causes him to fall forward and eat the floor. Recovering, he rushes to the tiny round window in the swinging door to see what the fuss is about.
That’s when Liam’s stomach drops to the ground like a stone.
2
Teague Fucking Jenson
Strutting through the front automatic doors of Gary’s Grocers comes a cocky shape that can only belong to one person on Earth: Teague fucking Jenson. He has the insufferable kind of presence and attitude that screams “champion athlete”, which is all he was known for in their high school days. Every jock was his best friend, despite the fact that he didn’t do every sport. All the girls wanted him, which is confusing to Liam since Teague didn’t exactly have a model’s face—only a seeming overabundance of charisma and undeserved confidence. Captain of the wrestling team. Dabbled in baseball. Somehow a member of the student council yet never seemed to be at the meetings. A member of ten random clubs he never attended yet was credited for. The sneaky guy managed to slip into half of the school photos—even the back row of a faculty group shot, which he boasted about profusely and proudly signed in everyone’s yearbook.
But what has Liam struck silent isn’t just the fact that an infuriatingly popular guy like Teague exists at all. It isn’t that he showed up to the grocery store and nearly got a standing ovation.
It’s that he’s wearing the signature blue-and-white Gary’s Grocers apron.
And a goddamned hat.
“Are you kidding me??” Liam growls under his breath.
Gracie appears at the round window in the other swinging door next to Liam, sees what he sees, then puts it together. “Oh, right. I forgot. You and Teague are mortal enemies.”
“I don’t want to be mortal anything with that guy,” says Liam, seething as he peels his angry eyes from the window only to find himself drawn right back to it despite himself. Through the small smudged glass, he glares at Teague, who continues making his rounds of handshakes as the other employees greet him. Even a whole year after graduation, everyone in Fairview seems to adore the guy. He looks so proud of himself, too. So entitled. Like he knew that just with the blink of an eye, he could land this job.
“If looks could kill …” remarks Gracie, noticing Liam’s glare.
He finally pushes away from the window for good. “I wasn’t planning to spend my summer working with that douchebag. How did he even get hired here?”
“His dad’s best buddies with the mayor.”
“What sway does the mayor have over a grocery store?”
“Notourmayor. The mayor ofSpruce—Nadine Strong.”
“What does any of that have to do with this?”
Gracie sighs at Liam’s apparent inability to connect dots. “It’s a well-known fact that Gary Strong is the brother-in-law of the mayor of Spruce. So Teague’s papa is close with the Strongs, and by extension, Gary, who owns this store, and whose ranch is closer to Fairview than Spruce … Really, Liam? This was in the training video you watched a century ago!”
He shrugs it off. “I don’t know about any of that. I bet Teague charmed the general manager halfway out of his pants.”
“Oh, he’s not that bad.”
“Are you kidding me? Teague is the worst.”
“I heard he changed Ms. Tawny’s flat tire in the pouring rain.”
Liam rolls his eyes. “Of course he’d stop for Ms. Tawny. All the jocks who took her ‘easy A’ history class think she’s a babe.”
