Page 50 of Cocky Prince
There’d been no doubt in my mind that the rumor about her was false. I had no reason to believe anything different than the rest of the community, except that I’d observed Hayden. She hadn’t done it. I would have seen her with Mr. Miller, would have noticed her eye wandering to him…because that’s how aware of her I was.
I knew she hadn’t done it, and I didn’t say one damn thing to defend her.
“I don’t think one person speaking up would have made a difference,” she says. “It was like a runaway train; there was no stopping the rumor once it was out. A seed of suspicion was all they needed.”
She might be right, but it doesn’t make me feel better.
Her expression grows pensive. “Adam, can I ask you something?”
I nod.
“Why didn’t you recognize me when you first started working at Blue? If you knew me so well in high school…”
I shake my head. “Knowis a strong word. I watched you. And I’m not sure why I didn’t recognize you right away. You go by a different name now, so that didn’t help. I also hadn’t seen you in eleven years; I wasn’t expecting to find you at Blue Casino. And you look…different.” I peer over. “Dress different. You don’t wear glasses anymore. And you’ve filled out.” A lazy grin I can’t hide spreads across my face. I allow my gaze to drop to her chest.
She frowns. “Jackass. Don’t give me that. I may have changed, but not that much.”
“In my defense, when I saw you for the first time at Blue, it was from behind, if you recall. I didn’t get a good look at your face.” I’m laughing now as an image comes to mind of Hayden crawling around on the floor, her pert little ass in the air. Not much different from the way I found her the other day in the facility manager’s office.
She throws the discarded beer label at my head. “I swear, you are the only person who catches me in those unfortunate positions. For your information, I was searching for my favorite pen.”
I shoot her a flirty grin. “Lucky me.”
She shakes her head in exasperation, but she’s smiling.
“You have to acknowledge,” I say, “your face, pretty as it is, wasn’t attracting my attention at that moment.”
She throws up her hands. “What about later? After we’d been properly introduced.”
“Yeah, that part I can’t explain. You’re not the quiet, hide-in-the-corner girl you used to be. You come across as an entirely new person, but Ididnotice you. There’s always been something.”
She shifts beside me, and I think she must sense the tension that’s taken over the hallway, ratcheting up the temperature several degrees.
It’s been that way from the beginning, that tension, and if I hadn’t blocked my feelings for the shy girl all those years ago, I might have recognized Hayden this time around, regardless of the name change. Might have sought her out long ago.
Oddly, it feels good to admit how she affects me—has always affected me. To realize I’m not as unfeeling as I thought I was.
“I bought this place,” she says, obviously changing the subject, or at least going back to our original conversation, “to prove something.” She looks around.
“Which is?”
Her gaze falls on me. “That no matter what someone says or does, I can hold my own.” Her expression is strong and beautiful, and for a moment, my breath locks in my lungs.
I think about kissing her.
And hold myself back with all of my strength.
This urge to kiss her has gotten out of hand.
Working at Blue Casino with Paul and William, and with Blackwell for a boss, isn’t much different from working for my father, but it’s also different in every way imaginable. Because my father isn’t calling the shots. So I understand the need Hayden has to prove herself. She was given a raw deal when we were teenagers. This is her redemption. And I want her to have it. Just as long as she doesn’t get hurt.
Her gaze drops and a small smile plays along her mouth. “It sounds stupid. Maybe I’m deranged for buying the place. I also wanted to make things up to my parents. They sacrificed everything for me.”
“That’s what good parents do.” I think of my mother and how she died to give my youngest brother life, and the pounding behind my temples that’s been teasing me these last couple of days returns. I squeeze my forehead and grab the items I’ll need to prepare the mud.
Hayden is stronger than any woman I’ve ever met, with the exception of my mother. The light and strength that come from Hayden draw me. The more I know her, the stronger that urge to be close gets. I want all of her.
“We’re the same age, right?” I ask bluntly, and out of nowhere, except that I’ve wondered. She’s got to be my age, but her determination and decisions make her seem much older.
