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I mean, I’mtryingto keep these kisses as G-rated as possible. But apparently Hazel got bored with behaving, because that last kiss had her threading her hands through my hair, slipping her tongue into my mouth, and pressing against me like she was the kind of bride who expected a wedding night.
I was hard in an instant.
And then the brat pulled away andwinkedat me.
I was halfway to hauling her off somewhere private so I could give her the kind of spanking that would teach her not to play with fire before common sense caught up with me.
God, I’m going to hell.
Maybe I do need that drink after all.
I signal the bartender.
“There you are! It’s been so hard to get you alone,” Hazel’s mom Kathy says. She has Hazel’s delicate bone structure and big brown eyes, although her own face has softened over the years, and she has smile lines at the corner of her eyes.
I wonder what Hazel will look like in thirty years. Will her smiles be etched in her face too?
Wait. Why the hell do I care what Hazel will look like in thirty years?
Hazel’s dad, Bill, stands beside Kathy, his face serious. Like Cooper, he wears his hair short, dresses plainly, and has a habit of trying to make small talk by sharing obscure science trivia.
I make myself smile, but I brace myself for the inevitable criticism. Bill and Kathy Dawson opened their home up to me more often than not in undergrad, when I didn’t want to spend holidays with my own father. Hell, one time when Dad and I were in a particularly bad fight, Cooper had let me crash with his family over Christmas. Kathy had gone out in a snowstorm to buy me a sweater that matched the one she’d already gotten Cooper, so that I’d have something to open on Christmas morning too.
It’s both the cheapest and most valuable thing anyone has ever given me.
And how do I repay them? By stealing their daughter away in a rushed wedding that screams “scandal.” They probably think I knocked Hazel up or something.
An image of a pregnant Hazel pops into my head, reclining in my bed while she gives me crap about working too much and uses my credit card to fulfill every bizarre pregnancy craving she has.
For a second, I almost smile.
Then I remember I don’t want kids and shove the image aside. I definitely don’t want kids withHazel.
The bartender passes me a cocktail, and I sip it gratefully. I don’t know what it is, but it’s stiff and good. “Thank you both for coming out here so last minute,” I say. “I know it was a bit unexpected, but when you know you know, right?”
It’s the line I’ve been using all day.
“Of course! Thank you for flying us out,” Kathy says. “I’ve never ridden in first class before. Those little pillows they give you—”
“We’re not here to talk about the plane tickets, dear,” Bill reminds Kathy.
“Oh! Right.” She takes my free hand in both of hers and beams up at me. “We wanted to say that we are so, so glad Hazel found you. We didn’t understand why she needed to move to New York, then she dated some men off the internet who werenot nice, and, well, I’m just sohappyshe found you.”
“I...well...” I smile weakly. “I suppose you could say we found each other.”
Kathy leans in conspiratorially. “You know, Hazel had thebiggestcrush on you that first time Cooper brought you home.”
My eyebrows shoot up. I have a vague memory of a teenage Hazel blushing and scurrying from the room whenever I was around. I’d thought she was just shy, and assumed she grew out of her shyness.
“Really?” I say innocently, but inside I’m fighting off a smirk. I’m going to give her so much crap about this. It’s the perfect way to get her back for that last kiss she gave me.
“Anyway.” Bill clears his throat. “We just wanted to say that we’re glad she’s found someone who can take care of her. You know Hazel. She’s got these big, impractical dreams, and...well she doesn’t always take care of herself. But now she has you.”
He smiles, man-to-man, and I get this feeling, like he’s handing me his most precious responsibility—his baby girl.
I swallow back a weird tightness in my throat. Bill and Kathy think mine and Hazel’s marriage is real. And not only do they approve of having me in the family for the rest of their lives, but they’re also trusting me to take care of Hazel so she can pursue her dreams.
I think of that shit apartment Hazel was living in before she moved in with me.
