in Ben’s car and led the way to the new guest cabins. Hadley relished having a moment to let her guard down.
“From now on, I will never know if you’re telling me the truth,” Tyler said. “You are that good at lying.”
It was a strange thing to feel proud of, but Hadley still blew on her fingernails and buffed them on her shirt. “Thank you very much,” she said, assuming he meant that as a compliment.
Tyler’s opinion had always mattered. He was her boss and what he thought about her ability to get a job done was imperative to keeping said job. Convincing his family they were in love was her current job, and she was doing everything she could to make it happen.
Tyler cleared his throat. “My family brings out my competitive side. It’s never been easy to stand out in this crowd. When I left, it was so nice not to be compared to any other Blackwell. I swore I’d never worry about one-upping any of them again. Yet, the second they ask me to come back, here I am trying to convince them I am just as good, just as rich, just as smart, just as...almost married.”
Tyler was all of those things, except for the almost-married part. Somehow that seemed to irk him the most. “It bothers you to lie to them.”
“It bothers me that I don’t want to see the way they’d look at me if they knew this wasn’t real. Like, poor Tyler. He’s all alone. There’s nothing wrong with being alone.”
He didn’t have to convince her. Hadley was perfectly content with being single. It didn’t matter so much that all of her college friends were either getting married or already married. Some of them were even starting to have kids. She was only twenty-six. Far from being a spinster.
“Exactly,” she agreed. “There’s no shame in building a successful career first. That’s my goal. I want to be something other than someone’s wife. Is that wrong?”
“Not in my book. And given your performance today, you’re definitely on track to be our brand strategist.” Tyler cracked a smile.
He somehow managed to be even more attractive when he smiled. His eyes crinkled at the edges and softened just enough to make her think less about being a brand strategist and more about being his fiancée.
She turned her head, focusing her gaze on the scenery rather than the man sitting next to her. Her boss. Not her fiancé.
They pulled up to a one-story log cabin that backed up to the tall pines of the forest. It had an expansive front porch that overlooked the horse pasture. Two buffalo-check flannel pillows sat on a wooden bench, the perfect spot to sit and watch the sunset over the mountains.
“We set you two up here. This one is called Heavenly Pines. I like to think of it as the honeymoon suite,” Ethan said with a wink.
Hadley ignored the flutter in her stomach. This was a game. A means to an end. No honeymoon.
Ben and Ethan helped unload the bags from the car. Hadley wasn’t used to having so many strong, handsome gentlemen around to do her bidding. She could get used to the Blackwell Ranch quite quickly if this kept up.
Heavenly Pines was a quaint little cabin. Inside there was a sitting area, a small kitchenette with a microwave and a king-size bed in the bedroom. Two towels were folded on the bed with tiny scented toiletries tucked in the front fold.
“Jon and Lydia invited everyone over for dinner tonight. The twins are excited to see Uncle Tyler and their soon-to-be aunt Hadley,” Ethan said, setting her suitcase down in the bedroom.
“Sounds good,” Tyler said. He glanced at the bed and she saw the same discomfort that Hadley felt looking at it. “Are we going to talk business now or when we’re all together tonight?”
“That depends,” Ethan answered, his gaze jumping back and forth from Tyler to Ben. “We’re wondering how set you are about selling the ranch.”
Tyler’s eyebrows pinched together. “I’m all in. Why wouldn’t we sell?”
“Ethan thinks the ranch should stay in the family,” Ben interjected. “He’s been trying to convince me to do this with him, but I can’t. Rachel and I are focused on keeping Double T afloat. Jon has his ranch to run.”
“So that leaves you and Chance,” Ethan chimed in. “We both know Chance doesn’t care what happens to this place. He sure isn’t going to help run it—”
“But I might?” Tyler interrupted. “Have you lost your mind? I didn’t want to come here in the first place. I’m definitely not going to stay and help you run it. Sorry, man. I don’t know what you thought was going to happen, but I am set on selling.”
“Seriously, Ty. I saw your face when you walked into the old house,” Ethan said.
“That’s all you’ve got?” Ben asked. “Everyone looks sick when they walk in there. Zoe ruined it.”
“It was more than Zoe’s bad taste.”
Hadley knew Ethan was right. She had seen it, too. Tyler had been devastated by what had been done to the house.
“That house means something to all of us,” Ethan continued. “It’s where Mom and Dad tucked us in. Where—”
Tyler put his hand up. “Stop. I don’t need a walk down memory lane. I don’t want to talk about Mom and Dad. I don’t want to rehash the things that happened in that house. I want to help you sell this ranch and go back to Portland. Where I live. Where I work.”
“Where your fiancée lives and works,” Ben added.
Hadley had no place in this discussion. Stuck in the middle of a very private family matter was not where she wanted to be. Tyler’s brothers might have thought she influenced whether Tyler stayed, but the truth was she had no say in what was happening here.
“I’m sorry, Hadley,” Ethan said. “I know what I’m asking impacts you, too. You two have a life together in Portland, but I’m asking you to consider another possibility.”
“It’s never happening,” Tyler said through gritted teeth. “Drop it.”
“Okay...” Ben jumped in. “Ethan and I are going to let you two get settled. We’ll see you at Jon’s for dinner. We can talk about the marketing plans when all of us are in the same room.” Ben guided Ethan toward the door.
Hadley could see the frustration coming off Tyler like steam. His chest rose and fell like he’d been out for a run. She’d seen him upset before at work but not like this. This wasn’t simply anger. This was pain.
“I’m sorry,” she started.
“Go unpack, Hadley,” he snapped.
She didn’t argue. She turned on her heel and headed back to the bedroom. He was the boss. This was a job. They weren’t a real couple. They never would be.
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