Until Then

14. Hayley

FOURTEEN

Hayley

Noah looks down at his phone and curses. “Well, Rees knows something’s up. He’s waiting for us outside.”

“What do you want to do?” I had rules about my family, but I didn’t think of including Noah’s. A little selfish of me, and now I’m considering how this could upset his side as much as mine.

Rees and Noah are close, and there’s sweet little Jude who drew me in as fast as his uncle.

The last thing I want to do is get attached to a child only to step back later.

“I’ll tell him the truth.” Noah cracks the door to the hallway. “Rees won’t say a word, and honestly, he’s going to understand better than anyone. Trust me.”

I doubt his twin brother is going to think it’s an awesome idea to pretend to be together. He seems completely besotted with his wife, and this seems . . . so transactional.

As promised, Rees Hayden waits around the corner, watching where Vienna swings Jude around, drawing out short, pitchy laughter from her son.

“Regina.” Noah nudges his brother’s shoulder.

Rees glares, but keeps his voice down. Doubtless he’s well-accustomed to avoiding attention. “What are you doing? There’s a lot of talk going on in there and Briar is going to murder both of you.”

Blood drains from my cheeks. Briar. I caused a stupid scene at her wedding. “I’ll go apologize?—”

“Oh, that’s why she’s going to kill you,” Rees says. “She left and you two weren’t there to see her off. Prepare yourselves for when she gets off her honeymoon.”

“Briar will understand when she hears the story.”

“Oh, I’m waiting too.” Rees looks to Noah.

With a quick nod from me, Noah tells him the truth. I want to fall into the cracks in the marble floor and never resurface. What will his brother think? They already know I ghosted Noah months ago, now I’m basically using him for a financial reason.

The mortification of it all tightens my throat.

“You’re going to pretend to date?” Rees looks between us, voice hardly above a whisper.

“That’s the plan,” Noah says.

I anticipated his brother to rant about the stupidity of it all. Instead, Rees laughs, grinning.

“Oh, be ready for the consequences of that choice.” Vienna approaches, looking equally pleased. “Hayley, for your wedding, what color of dress should I get? Just to be prepared.”

What is happening?

Noah rolls his eyes. “I told you Rees and Vi would understand. They did the same thing, Wildfire.”

“For a wedding, actually.” Rees rubs the back of his neck. “This is a little eerie—the twin thing and all that.”

“Wait.” I hold out a hand. “You two pretended to date?”

Vienna nods. “Rees needed help for a wedding weekend, convincing all these guys he had a nice girlfriend. I thought we were pretty convincing, Darcy. Don’t you?”

“I was convinced.” Noah looks to me. “That weekend is when Briar met them too. She had no clue for a long time either.”

“So you faked it, then . . .”

Vienna holds Jude on her hip, but leans her head on Rees’s shoulder. “Then it wasn’t so fake. So back to wedding colors.”

“Okay, Vi,” Noah says. “Chill out. This is my mistake and Hayley is saving my face.”

“Well, you’re helping the kids. The kids, Pretty Boy.” I almost dare laugh about the whole thing when I throw his words back at him.

“Be careful,” Rees says softly. “It can backfire. How do you plan to handle Dad and Justine?”

Noah runs his fingers through his hair, a habit I’m beginning to recognize as his unease. “Avoid phone calls?”

“Won’t work. Dad pulls out his old interrogation tactics.”

Vienna snickers. “Lee is exactly why Rees made our little agreement.”

“He’s intimidating.” Rees looks back at Noah. “Look, you always have my back, so we’ll play along if you need us to.”

“Thanks. I’m sure you’ll get a few questions,” Noah admits. “Do your famous glare and no comment for me.”

“Gladly.” Rees’s face goes slack. “I love scaring the pappos.”

Vienna shakes her head. “You love pretending like you’re all grumpy and sharp nails.” She looks back to me. “He’s really all soft and fluffy inside.”

Rees lets out a rough grumble and pulls his wife closer to his side, looking at her like she’s his obsession. In truth, it’s the way every woman deserves to be looked at by her man.

Jude starts yawning and rubbing his eyes. Noah signs he loves him, then talks about sandcastles until the little boy is grinning as his snuggles against his mom’s shoulder.

“Call us,” Rees says. “We can stay here longer if you need alibis.”

“Good to know you’re a partner in crime, Reesie.”

I wave with a touch of hesitation as they turn to leave for their hotel.

“All right, Wildfire?” Noah’s deep, silky voice cracks through the nerves.

“Um. This is just . . . weird. They were totally okay with it?”

“Because they went through something similar, you heard them. My stepmom arranged for a woman to be Rees’s wedding date, but he was paranoid to spend a weekend with a stranger—for good reason. He’d sort of met Vienna before?—”

“Sort of?”

Noah fights a smile. “They, uh, they got stuck in an elevator, and let’s just say they made the most of their forced proximity.”

What is it with these Hayden men? “Sounds saucy.”

“Wasn’t there.” Noah holds up his hands. “Don’t want to know details. Anyway, he told me there was a spark, so he lied about Vi being his new girlfriend. Then, of course he had to actually go get her on board. The rest is history.”

There’s a delightful swoop to my stomach. Is that what’s about to happen? My own romance lined in fated meetings and second chances?

One step at a time.

For now, I needed to find a way to make this believable for Noah’s side, and keep it out of the knowledge of my side. I had no plans to bring a guy around my family only to tear him away like a bandage and admit it was all a big farce.

Mom wants nothing but happiness for me, so she falls first every time.

And Nan is the biggest flirt of all.

“Come on.” Noah’s palm rests on the small of my back. “You look like you need to get out of here, and if the bride and groom are gone, I say we’re off duty.”

I didn’t know if that was true, but I allow him to guide me out of the hall toward the exit doors.

“You need sorbet.”

I chuckle. “That got me into trouble last time.”

“Fine, I need it. Want to join me, or are you heading home?”

“Did you drive?”

Noah shakes his head. “I usually call a car to events like this. Don’t like people seeing my license plate if I can avoid it.”

Probably wise. I wring my fingers for half a breath, then say, “I could go for sorbet.”

The slight grin that curls in the corner of Noah’s mouth is undoubtedly worth the risk of spending more time with a man who could certainly shatter my heart if he wanted.

“Let me try it again.” With a brazen scoop of his plastic spoon, Noah leans across my car console and takes a heap of my vanilla custard.

“Double dipping.” I jab my own spoon at his hand like a claw until he snaps it back.

He licks off the vanilla with a satisfied grin, like he won some grand battle.

We pulled off the road next to a public park after stopping at the nearest ice cream shop. Somewhere between our orders to this moment we came to a mute agreement the night didn’t need to end yet.

For now, it almost feels like the day of the blueberry scone.

For now, we can ignore the bite of reality waiting outside these car doors.

“Hmm.” Noah swirls my custard in his mouth. “I still like mine better.”

“You’re going to clog everything with the amount of chocolate in that thing.” I look down at his triple chocolate fudge brownie ice cream cup.

Noah pops a little chunk of brownie onto his tongue. “I’ll work it off when shooting starts up again in a couple months.”

“I’d like to see you in all your barbarian, warrior, whatever getup.”

Noah smirks. “I basically need to grow a beard and get hair extensions, is all. Makeup makes me look about ten years older. I look bigger too, broader with all the fur cloaks and leather.”

“How do you move?”

“It took practice. But I got used to it. The battle scenes are hardest. Obviously we don’t use real swords, but they’re still pretty heavy. On my first season, I strained my rotator cuff for getting cocky with a sword and trying to spin it in one hand.”

I imagine a younger Noah thinking he’s invincible with his big sword and let out a small laugh. “So you did drama in high school, but I bet film is a lot more fun, right?”

He scrapes the sides of his ice cream cup. “Actually, if you want me to be honest, I really miss the stage.”

My brows rise. “Really?”

Noah doesn’t look at me but replies with a little hum and another bite.

“Are you embarrassed by it or something?”

“No.”

I huff. “Why are you being weird?”

“I’m a theater junkie, we’re dramatic.”

“And excellent at avoiding questions.”

Noah places the cup on his knee and looks out the passenger window. “I’ve never told anyone, not even Rees. I think he senses it, but I’ve never said it out loud.”

“Oh, a dirty secret? Do tell. You have to now.”

The blue in his one eye gleams like starlight when he turns his head. “I don’t know if I want to keep doing this.”

“What? Our little scheme?”

“No. I’m still hopelessly devoted as your fake boyfriend, Wildfire.” Noah smiles down at his half-empty cup, swirling the ice cream into soup. “I mean . . . film. TV. I miss the intimacy of stage theater a lot. My agent is always trying to get me to take other roles, but, I don’t know, I just want to pick and choose what I do. I’m over the hustle and want to go back to doing it for the passion of it. Whether it’s doing indie films, stage plays, or even teaching.”

My heart swells. “You want to teach?”

Noah pops one shoulder. “I’ve really loved working with the kids in the outreach program. A few years ago, I was caught in a total fog, but getting involved in those after-school programs really pulled me out.”

There is something deliciously sexy about Noah Hayden cracking his chest a bit and letting me in. The fame isn’t what draws him to his job, it’s the passion of the story, the characters. Doubtless, those are the pieces he loves to share with younger generations.

“I hope you do what you want,” I whisper, meeting his gaze. “You’ve accomplished some amazing things, Pretty Boy. But you always deserve to do what you want in life. We only get one, after all.”

“Is that why you went into therapy?”

I nod and set my own cup on the console. “I took a peer tutor class in high school and became friends with a girl who was wheelchair bound. She taught me so much and told me she, too, loved riding horses. To be honest, I was surprised she was able, but I was only fourteen and a little ignorant. The more I learned about therapeutic ways to use horses, the more I had to do it.”

“Pretty cool, finding a passion so quickly.”

“So did you,” I say. “I don’t do everything on my own. A part time social worker comes sometimes and uses the horses for anxiety and behavioral disorders. Most of those clients don’t ever ride the horse; they simply spend time with them and absorb the energy.”

“And that works?”

“It’s amazing. There is something about brushing a horse that lifts the mood or slows the mind to break the spiraling thoughts.”

Noah turns in his chair so he can face me. “What do you do then?”

“The physical therapeutic riding is actually called hippotherapy. That’s where I specialize. What? Why are you looking at me like that?”

Noah’s head is cocked to one side, his face is soft, and he’s smiling. “Your eyes light up when you talk about your job. I like to see your spark.”

This plan of ours will never work. Pretending, pfft. If he keeps talking all cute and sweet, I’m going to break before midnight and kiss the man.

“It’s a good thing,” he goes on. “I’m looking forward to getting involved.”

“I still feel weird about that part.”

“Don’t.” Noah shakes his head. “I want to. Horses. Cowboys. Let me wear spurs and a hat, and you’re basically fulfilling my childhood dream.”

My phone rings and shatters the twinkling bubble surrounding my car. I jolt and sigh. “It’s my grandma. Hold on.”

Noah takes up his soupy ice cream again and slumps down in his seat.

“Hi, Nan.”

“Hayley Mae!” There’s a commotion in the background, chatter and excited squealing. “Adaline, you know, Justin’s girl, she just barreled out of the barn going on and on about something on Instant Gram.”

Justin’s fourteen-year-old is a sweet girl, still my stomach tightens. “Instagram, Nan. Insta—it doesn’t matter. What are you talking about?”

“She’s showin’ us a picture of you, sweetie. And you’re rather, uh, close with that boy from the other night.”

“Alice!” Adaline’s pitchy voice blares in the background. I’m pretty sure she squeals. “I told you it’s Kage—I mean Noah Hayden. He’s famous and sexy. Ask her what he smells like. Oh, oh, does he taste like mint or cinnamon? He looks like mint to me. O. M. G. This slaps so hard !”

By now they’re practically shouting, and, unfortunately, Noah hears.

To be wholly irritating he dips his nose under his arm and whispers, “Definitely mint.”

“Hayley Mae,” Nan grumbles. “Addy’s talking in those letters again, you better tell us what’s going on before she forgets her entire vocabulary.”

Noah reaches for the phone.

I jump back and hold a finger in front of my lips, eyes wide, a mute gesture for him to hush. “Nan, tell Addy to calm down, I’m?—”

“I’m seein’ the photo right here, sweetie. You’ve got that man’s lips in your mouth, maybe more of him.”

“Nan!”

Noah laughs.

I pinch the bridge of my nose. “It’s not . . . Nan, it’s not that?—”

There’s a rustle and some clicking and an annoyed curse from my feisty grandmother.

Soon enough heavy breathing fills the line. “Hayley. Hayley. It’s Addy. You are blowing up Insta. Is it true? Are you with Noah Hayden? Pleaaasseeee say yes. Hello? Hayley?”

“I can explain if you want,” Noah whispers.

But not softly enough.

Adaline screams into the phone again, and again, and again , until my mom’s stern voice tells the girl to calm down.

“He’s there! I heard him. It’s true!” Adaline keeps chanting.

I shoot my new faux boyfriend a seething look. He rubs the back of his neck and mouths sorry until my mom gets on the phone asking loud enough to be heard over Adaline’s screeching.

“Hayley, are you with a man?”

I don’t lie to my mom. Correction—I can’t. The woman can sniff out a fib two miles away. My voice catches. I grunt and stammer. They weren’t supposed to be dragged into this.

“Hayley, what’s going on?”

When I’m frozen too long, long fingers take my phone out of my hands. I gape at Noah when he slowly places the phone against his ear, then whispers. “I’ll handle this.”

No. My mind is screaming to stop him. He isn’t permanent, no doubt he doesn’t really want to be, and I don’t want to get attached. If he’s sweet to the women in my life, I’ll fall even harder.

I need to stop this.

I do nothing but watch.

“Hi there,” he says into the phone. “This is Noah. Yeah, from the other night. It was awesome to meet y’all too. Sorry for the uproar. Yes.” He nods. “Yes, ma’am.”

Okay, I’ll never get over the Southern drawl when it slips out. My thumbnail is tucked between my teeth; I’m not sure I breathe when Noah chuckles at something my mom says.

“Will do. All right, bye now.”

“Wait—”

Noah hangs up the phone. “Sorry. She was done talking.”

“Wha—what was that? You talked to my mom.”

“You were panicking.” He takes hold of his ice cream cup again as though the world was not careening out of control. He slurps up a bite. “I thought you could use your tag-team.”

Tag-team. It’s almost sweet he considers us partners—maybe accomplices—and also stacks on another layer to the chaos in my head.

“But we . . . weren’t supposed to get my family involved.”

Noah adjusts in his seat. “Listen, my promise still stands. I’m not in the business of hurting you or your family. We needed to pivot since we didn’t have a contingency plan for a Gen Z-er catching sight of a video. Sounds like the one posted on social media might’ve been an inside job, not the rogue paparazzi.”

My face pales. “A wedding guest?”

“That’d be my guess. Briar will be livid.”

I’m livid for her. She kept her wedding small to avoid this very thing. I scrub my hands down my face, no mistake smearing my mascara. I hardly care. “Okay. Fine. We’re fine. What did my mom say?”

“Oh.” Noah takes my ice cream cup off the console, stacks it with his, then fastens his seatbelt. “She told us to come over to the ranch together. So, we better get going, Wildfire. Looks like I’m meeting the entire family.”