Page 79 of B & E Ever After (Fairy Tale Quartet 3)

Hayden was a hard man, so for him to soften enough to agree to marry someone was a huge deal. And what had that idiot woman done? She’d betrayed him, let his mother pay her off, and abandoned him. Bless her heart, I wish I could meet her so I could slap the piss out of her.

I suppose he could be the way he was because of what Francine had done to him, except I had a feeling Lana’s influence in his life had molded him to be the way he was long before he’d even been interested in girls. Ergo, he’d given Francine something special, something he rarely let others see. And she’d still turned her back on him, which made me despise her even more.

No one was allowed to get away with hurting that man. Not Francine. Not Lana. Not anyone.

I think I’d morphed into warrior mode by the time Miguel appeared a few minutes later, probably awoken by the smell of food. I plopped his plate full of egg burritos onto the table in front of him and told him to eat with so much force that his eyes widened and he nodded fearfully, digging in without question. Realizing I should ease up because my poor brother was innocent in tormenting Hayden Carmichael’s soul, I blew out a breath and calmed my shit down.

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Pulling out a chair, I sat with Miguel and started to eat too. But Papá startled me by appearing in the doorway a moment later, clutching the doorframe and panting slightly from his exertions but determinedly making his way to the table.

My first impulse was to pop to my feet and go to him, lend a hand, except the hard look he sent me had me holding myself back.

Instead, I blasted him with a huge smile and said, “Good morning. Would you like some egg burritos?”

He nodded without answering and fell into his chair, wincing when he landed.

I bit my lip to keep from asking if he was okay, and I busied myself with fixing him a plate as well. Then I sat with my two favorite guys, and the three of us ate together. It was so nice that I had to hide how emotional it all made me.

Neither Papá nor Miguel noticed my watery eyes, so I thought I was being all awesome about hiding my feelings until someone knocked on the front door, and I went to answer it, only to find Hayden there.

He took one look at me and immediately narrowed his eyes. “You’ve been crying.”

I frowned back, hating how easy that had been for him to notice. “I have not.”

“Bullshit.” He stepped inside and lowered his voice. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” I muttered, flushing with embarrassment. “I’m fine.”

He shifted even closer, looking ready to hurt whoever might’ve hurt me. It caused butterflies to take flight in my stomach.

“If going over there is more than you can handle,” he started, seemingly prepared to help me get out of working for his mother, “I can—”

I shut him up by pressing my hand over his mouth.

His offer was sweet. He was truly worried about me and was prepared to support me if I wanted to back out of my agreement with Lana. It almost made me burst into tears again. No matter what irritating thing he said or aggravating thing he did, this was a man of worth right here. It made me even more intent to help him with his mission to bring his mother down. I might even go as far as to say I wanted to help free him from her more than I wanted to free myself.

To hide the emotions rolling through me, I burst out, “Oh my God! Nothing is wrong. Jesus.” I lowered my hand from his lips and flushed a little harder. Damn, his mouth was soft. “Papá showed up in the kitchen for breakfast, okay? That’s all. I was just happy.”

“Happy?” Hayden eased a step back, studying me intently. “And this is your happy face?”

He seemed so interested by it, I muttered, “Yes!” and then had to glance away self-consciously. “Now stop looking at me like that.”

I might do something completely crazy, like kiss him, if he kept watching me with such admiration.

Thank God Miguel chose that moment to burst into the living room and interrupt us because I wasn’t sure how our conversation would’ve played out from there.

“Hayden!” he hollered. “Are you really driving me to school and Gabs to the café? That’s so awesome. I love riding in your car.”

Hayden glanced at him, then peered curiously my way. “Yes,” he murmured slowly, keeping my secret from my brother that I was no longer employed at Trudy’s. “It’s definitely awesome.”

“Get your things,” I told Miguel, even though my gaze strayed toward Hayden, who was looking right back at me. “It’s time to go.”

For some reason, getting my brother out of the apartment went much smoother than usual. He found his own book bag and shoes all by himself. And he was ready to leave before I was, dancing impatiently at the door next to Hayden and telling me to hurry.

Papá appeared in the entrance to the living room from the kitchen to wave us off. He and Hayden didn’t speak to each other, but they traded a meaningful nod that seemed to say volumes—like two adversaries reluctantly agreeing on peace—and finally, we were leaving and piling into Hayden’s car.

Miguel chattered all the way to school, and Hayden actually listened to him because he answered with appropriate responses—and sometimes a super inappropriate response.

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