My Unexpected Vow: California Billionaires Book 2 Harlow James (scary books to read txt) 📖

concerned look on his face. And with just that look, my buzz and easiness I was just feeling starts to fade. “No.”

“Come on. It’s just me, Wave.”

“I know. But it’s …”

“You need to get it out. Process it. Who better to talk to than your hubby?” He winks.

“Fine,” I relent and then proceed to tell Hayes all about my interview from earlier. I did call Emma on my way home and scream through the Bluetooth in my car as she agreed we should plot my revenge. But there’s something more vulnerable about telling Hayes how that interview made me feel, especially as I take in his reaction.

“Damn, she actually said that?”

“Yeah. Can you believe it? On the one hand, I’m seriously offended. But then on the other… I don’t know… do you think she has a point?”

Hayes sits up and turns to face me, tucking one of his legs underneath him. “Fuck no, Waverly. That woman was way out of line. She had no right to bring up Wes or your family’s money. And secondly, I can’t believe that after her own story, she would berate another woman for wanting something for herself that requires hard work and determination.”

Resting my left side of my head on the back of the couch, the sting of tears hits my eyes as I take in Hayes’s words. “Am I crazy for wanting this? For trying so hard to make a name for myself on my own?”

He reaches for my hand, rubbing his thumb along the top of it while staring down at our hands clasped together. “Absolutely not.” With each pass of his thumb over my skin, my pulse picks up.

“You didn’t just hire me because I’m Wes’s sister, right? Or I’m your wife?”

He lifts his head swiftly and his eyes light with irritation. “Fuck no, Waverly. You took a risk stepping on Abigail’s design, but your heart was in the right place. What you came up with was perfect and showed me how determined and passionate you are. That’s why I hired you—because you were right for the job and you spoke up, regardless of the consequences. I’m sorry that that bitch couldn’t see that, but it’s her loss. You’ve impressed me from the moment you stepped foot in that club, and you continue to impress me each day I get to see you work. Hell, you impress me even when we’re alone.”

A lonely tear leaks from the corner of my eye as I reach up to brush it away.

“Don’t cry, Wave. Fuck, I don’t handle crying women well.” He laughs nervously.

I chuckle through the wave of tears that fall despite me trying to keep them at bay, but between the whiskey and Hayes’s honest declaration, I can’t stop them.

“Fuck. Come here.” He pulls me into his arms, wrapping me against his chest, and then soothes the back of my head with his large hand. And even though I know I shouldn’t, I melt into his embrace, clinging to him like he’s my lifeline—a notion that I never imagined would cross my mind three months ago.

This is a side of him I’ve never seen—caring, concerned, supportive. I know my brother has always spoken of how loyal Hayes is, but I’ve never been the recipient of those actions, and I’m beginning to understand just what Wes was talking about. Although I’m sure that when Hayes hugs my brother, Wes’s heart doesn’t flutter, and his stomach doesn’t fill with butterflies fighting to break free. But mine sure is, and my body begins to melt into his arms as he holds me tighter while I let out all the emotions from today.

Hayes is becoming this rock in my unstable world. So much about my future is up in the air right now, but the one thing that has been consistent is him. Working on the club for Hayes has been a blessing, but there’s no guarantee that after I’ll get the chance to work with him again, or that he’ll even want that. And once we divorce, I assume I’ll move back in with Emma, but she also just started dating someone, so who knows where they’ll be when this is all over with. I feel slightly lost, except when I’m with Hayes. For some reason, being near him makes me feel at home—like I have somewhere I belong and someone who wants me there—and that feeling is stronger with him than it ever has been with anyone else in my life.

“I just want to stand on my own two feet, Hayes—be independent and bold, go after what I want so I don’t ever feel like I have to depend on anyone else. And after today, I feel like all the energy I’ve been investing to fight against this name I was born with was for nothing. That it doesn’t matter because that’s all that people will pay attention to when it comes to me.”

“I don’t believe that. In the past two months, I’ve gotten to know you more as an individual than I ever thought, and I’ve known you for pretty much your entire life. Don’t quit working toward your dreams, Wave. Keep fighting, keep trying to break through the cage you feel you’re in because when you least expect it, the lock is going to unhinge and you’ll be free.”

With fresh tears in my eyes, I let out a desperate sigh. “Thank you, Hayes. For everything tonight.” I snuggle deeper into his chest as he adjusts himself and leans back on the couch.

“Anything for you, Waverly.”

My eyes are closed, but I’m pretty sure I’m laying across his chest, between his legs, soaking up how good it feels to be on top of a warm body as the whiskey continues to numb me from the inside out.

But I know it’s not just the heat coming from Hayes’s body that’s comforting me. It’s him. And that’s the last thought in my mind as I drift off to sleep, and wake up still in his arms