Page 11 of Heartless
“Hannah’s busy tonight, isn’t she?”
“She is.”
“You’re pathetic, Hartley.”
“Hey, no one’s immune to this shit.”
“What shit?” I asked.
“Love, man. Love.”
“I’m doing a great job avoiding it,” I said, brushing off his comment with a laugh, even though he was right. But I knew that love could break you like nothing else, and I wasn’t about to sign up for that.
Chapter Four
Madison
If my deal with Parker went through the way I planned, finding a new place to live would be the first thing on my to-do list, because staying at my mother’s house was already out of the question. Sylvia Hartley had always been a pain in my perky butt, but I’d somehow forgotten just how much. A single night back was all the reminder I needed.
Within an hour of learning about Annie Foster’s wedding, she’d homed in on her favorite topic: my future husband. Newsflash - there wasn’t even a boyfriend.
The next morning, she hit me with the announcement that my siblings and their significant others were coming over for lunch. Did anyone in this family actually work? It was a freaking Wednesday. How could they drop everything for a midday gathering? And Clem?Didn’t she have enough on her plate already? A bakery to run, a baby to juggle, and a husband to manage.
My biggest issue with my family was that they were so annoyingly happy I couldn’t stand being around them. And not because I was miserable. I liked my single, child-free life just fine. But ever since they’d all found The One, they acted like they lived better than the rest of us.
All of this made me even more motivated to get a place of my own. I didn’t want them dropping in unannounced, judging my life choices every chance they got.
The doorbell rang at noon, and moments later, I heard their voices echoing on the second floor.
I dragged myself downstairs, where my sister Clementine practically tackled me with her daughter in her arms, before I even had the chance to say hello. “Look who’s here, Daff,” she cooed. “It’s Auntie Maddie.”
I reached around the baby to give my sister a quick hug. “Auntie Maddie makes me sound ancient.”
“Tyler’s teaching her to call you monster Maddie. I can join in his efforts, if you’d prefer.”
“Damn, Clem,” Tyler’s voice rang from the living room. “Did you have to ruin my moment? I wanted to see her face the first time Daff called her that!”
“I don’t care what Daphne calls me,” I shot back, half-joking but also truthful. Tyler chuckled, but Clementine’s expression shifted, and the purse of her lips told me I’d crossed a line with that comment.
“You look amazing, by the way,” she changed the subject. “I hate you.”
I laughed, but could see her point. She looked pale and exhausted. Dark circles around her bloodshot eyes. Hair that could use a shampoo. And a hair brush.
“On the bright side, your boobs are bigger,” I said, flashing her a quick grin. Lucas shot me a death glare and leaned in to whisper something in Clem’s ear. Her pale face blushed.
Instead of apologizing, I rounded her and headed into the living room to greet the others. Tyler scooped me up in a bear hug I hadn’t expected. Once he set me down, I congratulated him on his engagement and I asked the obvious question.
“Isn’t it a little soon for a baby?”
“When you know, you know,” he shrugged. “Why wait?”
“You two only became a functioning couple, what... three? Four months ago?”
“I realize it’s against your nature, but could you be happy for me, Monster Maddie? Just this once?”
“Of course I’m happy for you.”
Mostly anyway. Not that I wasn’t glad for him, but coming from a divorced family had made me skeptical. Statistics were on my side too, not to mention, years spent helping people plan weddings that had taught me that the happy-ever-after ending was a myth they liked to pay for, as if getting married was the end of the journey.
