Page 76 of Hello Heartbreaker

I laughed. “I just got here.”

Tyler, Gage, and Fletcher were already hooting and hollering.

Their noise had the screen door sliding open and Rhett’s sister, Liv, coming inside, followed by two other women.

“Oh my gosh!” Liv said. “Mom said you came, but I couldn’t believe it.”

My cheeks felt hot as Rhett’s grip on my waist tightened slightly.

“Yeah,” Rhett said, “we were just leaving.”

“Oh hell no,” Liv said. “She’s coming with us.”

I raised my eyebrows, wondering who would win in this standoff.

Rhett said, “Like hell she is.”

Fletcher cut in. “Come on, Rhett, you get to see her all the time. This is new to the rest of us.”

Rhett glared at his friend. “Traitor. Marry my sister and all of a sudden you’re on her side.”

I laughed at the pair. “It’s okay, Rhett. I’m happy to go with Liv.”

Liv stuck out her tongue, then came and looped her hand through my arm, marching me away from Rhett.

“Where are you taking her?” Rhett asked.

“Nunya!” Liv teased.

I giggled. “Just like old times.”

Liv nodded happily as she walked me to the stairs, the other two women following. When we reached the top of the stairs, it was like déjà vu. I used to sneak up here with Rhett when his parents weren’t home to make out. But this time, Liv steered me toward her room, and once the four of us were inside, she shut the door.

And maybe I regretted telling Rhett it was okay.

But I knew, if I was with Rhett, I was with his family too. It had been that way back when we first dated, and I knew that much hadn’t changed.

Liv clapped her hands together happily. “I knew you were together! I definitely saw sparks between you two at practice.”

My cheeks heated as I glanced toward these other women I didn’t know.

“Oh,” Liv said, “this is Tyler’s wife, Henrietta.” She gestured toward a beautiful black woman with natural hair that almost brushed her shoulders.

“You can call me Hen,” she said with a smile.

And then Liv gestured at a white woman with dark brown hair and a heart-shaped face. She looked so familiar. Had we gone to school together? “This is Gage’s wife, Farrah.”

“I knew I recognized you,” I said. “I saw that press conference they had when you two first started dating.” I cringed. “You handled all the media well. I think I would have melted into the floor.”

Farrah batted her hand through the air. “All water under the bridge now. The real news item of the moment is Rhett bringing a woman to dinner!”

Hen nodded. “I’ve been married to Tyler for three years now, and I’veneverseen Rhett bring a woman over.”

Farrah agreed. “Not once.”

Liv added, “Not since you left town.”

My heart warmed. I was starting to believe Rhett when he said these other women occupying his time were just that—a distraction from what he was really feeling. Maybe I wasn’t the only one who had been hurting after we broke up. We just had a different way of coping.

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