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Crap.
The more Paisley thought about it, the more infuriated she became.
“What am I going to do, Paisley? How can I go on now? I told them how I felt, and they...”
With her eyes tear-shod red and her cheeks flooded from crying so much, Hannah had already gone through a box of tissues and was digging into the second one.
What Paisley really wanted to do was order her to pull herself together. They weren’t worth it. Hannah would have had better luck training crocodiles to juggle balls in a circus than keeping them around longer than a one-night stand, which is where it would have started and ended for her. That would have surely broken her heart tenfold more.
Oh yes, she knew all about their hit-and-run antics. According to a gossip piece online from a site called Tabloid Tantalizers, where gorgeous, famous men were rated for marriage material, they scored a staggering 100% for being the most unswayable celebrated bachelors of the century. Another resounding 100% for their lack of commitment, of course. 100% for prowess. And an embarrassing 0.3% for follow-up calls, which just meant a one-night stand encore.
Paisley totally believed every word in that article and she didn’t care how the site vetted their stats. She never saw the same woman on their arm twice. Ever. They were the worst.
She had half a mind to tell Hannah that the only reason she thought she was in love with all three of them was because of those romances she started binge-reading recently.
But a single glance at Hannah’s tear-stained, heartbroken face, and she couldn’t tell her she was stupid for falling for Paisley’s guardians, of all people, and it was all just fantasy anyway based on the books she was reading.
“I don’t think they’re ever going to think the same way about me ever, are they, no matter what I do? I envisioned myself marrying them, Paisley, and now I can’t get it out of my head. I’m going to die brokenhearted, aren’t I?”
“No. You’re not,” Paisley said. “They’re absolute jerks, and you’re better off without them, trust me. Honestly, they have no idea they’re missing out on the best thing that could ever happen to them. You. But there are so many other men out there who are kind and caring and—”
Hannah started to cry harder.
“How am I going to forget them, Paisley? They saved my life. They’re my knights in shining armor. They’re my three princes. My—”
“Cupcakes. Cupcakes will make you forget them. Cupcakes can make anything better; you’ll—”
“Benjamin saved me from drowning, Paisley. He saved my life. And David swooped me up before I could hit the floor and crack my skull at that ball we attended. And Jackson saved me from choking on a cherry. They saved my life. All three of them. I’m alive because of them.”
Paisley frowned. Okay, yes, all that had happened, but had her potential best friend always been that klutzy? How had she not seen that before? Hmm...
No. No. No.
Paisley shook her. She was being a bad friend. Comforting Hannah was all that mattered now. Maybe she could still salvage some common sense in her that would make her see she was so much better off without them.
“Do you think it’s because I’m not pretty enough? I’m not, am I? Not for them?”
“What? No, of course, you are. In fact, you’re too pretty for them. It’s them, not you. Repeat after me. It’s them, not you.”
“You really think that?”
“Absolutely. They wouldn’t know what to do with your beauty, your big heart, and your—”
“For real?” Hannah wiped her tears and smiled.
“For absolutely real. And no girl wants to date a guy or guys who can’t commit. You dodged—”
Well, that didn’t last long. Before Paisley could finish her sentence, Hannah’s eyes welled up twice as much, and her smile quickly turned into a painful grimace.
“But I love them.” She hiccupped before she started again, shaking her head and wiping her eyes. “I think I should go home,” she stammered, sniffing loudly as she picked up her designer handbag and clutched onto it with trembling fingers.
“I think I need to be alone for a while. It’s too painful to be in your company, Paisley, because you’re like their little sister in the way they take care of you and look out for you. I know they’re your guardians, but they really could be your brothers. You’re just too close to them, and it’s just too hurtful right now...”
"Hannah, wait—I don’t even like them. Please, stay...” Paisley tried to stop her, but she had already slipped out the door of Paisley’s bedroom. Just as well she had her chauffeur waiting outside. There was no way she could drive in her condition.
But did this mean she had lost her friend forever?
God, she was so, so, so going to kill her arrogant, overbearing guardians for doing this to her.
