Page 7 of Finding Hayes
“Why are you so hung up on this? It’s okay that you forgot.”
“You obviously still have a way of derailing a conversation. Why the hell are you upset about inheriting millions of dollars,and when the fuck do you think I saw you naked?”
“Well, my mom said we bathed together once when your mom asked if you could spend the night when Saylor was just a baby.”
“If my sister was a baby, then we were not even three years old.” He huffed. “We were toddlers.”
“Still. It happened.”
“You’re ridiculous.”
“I’ve been called worse.” I reached for my wineglass. I’d purposely only allowed myself half a glass of wine because I needed to drive out to the farmhouse, where I’d be staying tonight.
Home sweet home.
I couldn’t wrap my head around any of this.
“Fine. I saw you naked, long before you looked like…” he paused, looking away as if he couldn’t stand the sight of me.
“Looked like what, Woody?” I snarled, mad that I’d let the nickname I used to call him slip out.
“Like… this.” He waved his hand in front of me. “All womanly and shit.”
Now it was my turn to laugh. And I laughed hysterically. Irrationally.
My life was a mess right now, and Abe had just thrown a giant wrench into the middle of my shit show. But Hayes gaping at me lightened my mood.
“Thanks for noticing,” I said, oozing sarcasm, even though I loved the way his heated gaze moved down my body as the words left his mouth.
I couldn’t help myself. Even if the man had caused me a lot of heartache, I could still find him attractive.
“What’s the other secret you’re holding out on? You have to wait for the money and stay in this town for a few days? You can’t leave right after the funeral?” His voice was all tease, andI hated that I found him so charming.
I was long over my crush on Hayes Woodson.
Long. Over.
“Very funny. But that’s not it.” I reached over and grabbed his Coke. I needed a little sugar boost. He just raised a brow while I took a sip.
“So, what is it?”
“I have thirty days to find a husband.”
Hayes narrowed his gaze. “You’re joking.”
“Nope. That’s what the will said.”
“That can’t be right.”
“Oh, it’s definitely right. Abe wants me to get hitched and live in that house like he and Lily did. He left a note for me to renovate the place because that’s what I do for a living. He and I had always talked about me spending a few months here and renovating the place, but he never wanted to spend the money. That house is massive. And, yes, it’s a project that I can handle. But I’ve never been required to get married as part of a renovation.”
“There has to be a loophole. There’s no way that it’s legal to require someone to get married in order to receive an inheritance. I’m sure you can get out of it,” he said, his tongue dipping out and sliding along his bottom lip.
Was he intentionally messing with me? Or was he literally just that sexy and didn’t even realize what he was doing?
His dark hair was still cut short, just like it was when we were young. His mossy green eyes had a gold ring around them with pops of amber. He wore a gray hoodie and a pair of jeans, and he managed to look like he’d just stepped off of a modeling photo shoot.
“Maybe. The probate lawyer had no time to discuss things with me after he read the will, and he told me I could seek outsidelegal advice if I chose not to respect Abe’s wishes.” I was suddenly overwhelmed again. This trip down memory lane had been fun, but I needed to remember that there’d been a reason we hadn’t spoken in all these years.
