Prologue
HAYDEN'S P.O.V
“See you around, Hayden.”
“Bye, Hayden!”
“See you tomorrow, Hayden.”
“Have a good evening, Mr. Clover.”
“Bye, Hay!”
I smiled and waved goodbye to each person who passed us. It was finally the end of a very long school day, and as much as I loved being around all my schoolmates and friends, I wanted nothing more than to get home and take a nice, long shower. Football training had been brutal today.
Coach had shown zero mercy on the team, especially me, as he didn’t even give me a chance to rest until the end of practice. My shoulders were killing me, and I couldn’t wait to take a nap.
“Bye, Hayden!” Madeline K waved at me as she walked toward her car with a large smile on her face.
I returned the gesture with an even larger smile and a more enthusiastic wave. “See you tomorrow, Maddy!”
That somehow made her smile even more, and I was happy to have boosted her already chipper mood.
“How do you do it?” My friend, Hakeem, raised a brow as he casually leaned against the side of my car. He had to tilt his head back slightly to look up at me due to our noticeable height difference. “I’m so worn out, and I bet you are too, but you still manage to greet every single person who so much as looks at you.”
I shrugged and offered him what he would call a “Hayden Clover Specialty Smile.” “I just like people. They’re awesome.”
He shook his head with a chuckle. “You’re just something else.”
I chose to take that as a compliment.
Hakeem stood upright and offered me a bro-hug. We were one of the few people left now, and I was just about dying to get home.
“I’ll see you tomorrow?” I asked.
“Yep.” He nodded. “Then you can tell me all about your big dinner.”
“My big dinner?” I frowned, confused.
“With your dad’s girlfriend?” Hakeem stated, and upon seeing my dismayed expression, he scoffed. “Don’t tell me you forgot after you spent the whole week ranting about it.”
“I totally forgot,” I groaned before I glanced at the watch on my wrist. I still had a good amount of time to spare. “If I leave now, I can get home, take a shower, and get dressed before she and her son arrive.”
Hakeem offered me a fist bump before we bid each other farewell for the day. I waited until he got into his car and drove off before I did the same. I waved at the security guard who stood near the gate as I left the school compound and drove well within the speed limit on my way home.
It was a twenty-minute drive that I could have turned into fifteen if I’d decided to drive a little faster, but I prided myself on being a safe driver. Seatbelt on at all times, eyes on the rearview mirror, and both hands on the wheel unless otherwise necessary. I was one of those lucky people who aced their driving test on the first try.
“Home sweet home,” I sighed happily as I pulled up in front of the gate.
I used my remote to open it before I drove down the large driveway and stopped in front of the open garage. All three of Dad’s cars were parked inside, so I knew he was home. I parked my car in the remaining empty spot before I clicked a different button on my remote to close the gate behind me.
Hakeem often teased me over the fact that I used a remote to operate the gate and garage. He called it “the most lazy rich-person thing ever,” which made zero sense to me since he was also “rich” and his parents could afford to hire a twenty-four-hour security company to open and close his gate for him, on top of having a butler and two chefs.
I stepped out of my car and grabbed my bag from the back seat before entering the house. The living room was empty, but a show was streaming on the flat-screen, and there was a blanket on the couch. I followed the smell of food to the kitchen, and that’s where I found my dad chopping vegetables with a look of absolute concentration plastered onto his face.
“Hey, Dad,” I greeted him with a broad smile, and he looked up at me before a warm smile spread across his face.
“Hello, Hay.” He paused his chopping and reached up to push his glasses up his nose. His blue eyes ran over my dirty, exhausted frame, and he raised a single brow in amusement. “Long day, huh?”
I nodded. “Coach was on my case today.”
“He just wants the best for you.”
“I know.”
That’s why I never complained.
My dad turned back to his chopping, and I watched him for a few seconds, trying to capture this moment in my brain. It wasn’t often that I got to see him cook. As a neurosurgeon, he was always needed at the hospital, which meant that I didn’t see him as much at home.
He did his best to raise me on his own (he was only twenty-two when my mom died giving birth to me), but it was hard to juggle such a demanding career and a child.
I didn’t blame him for it, though. He worked hard to give me a good life, and I was grateful for all I had.
“Sally and her son will be here in less than an hour,” he said, and I snapped out of my slight daze. “You should take a shower. Be sure to wear something nice. It’s a bit of a formal dinner.”
“Okay.” I nodded before leaving the kitchen.
I made my way upstairs to my room and immediately began to strip out of my dirty clothes. I was covered in dirt, sweat, and a bit of grass as I had ended up rolling around in the field a little after one of my teammates tackled me particularly hard.
My muscles ached, and I was beyond tired, but tonight was a big night for my dad, and I couldn’t afford to ruin it for him. He and Sally had been dating for over six months now, and they were taking that big step of introducing their kids to each other. I had to make a good impression on her son.
After all, as the days passed and my dad got more smitten, I got the feeling that Sally’s son was about to become my stepbrother.
***
“Hayden!” I was just buttoning up my shirt when my dad called for me. “They’re here!”
I didn’t even get a chance to second-guess my outfit as I spared one last glance in the mirror before making my way downstairs. My dad was standing in the living room. He had changed into something more formal: black slacks and a blue shirt. Standing next to him was Sally, who was also formally dressed, looking beautiful in a simple yet classy green dress, and beside her was—
Sin.
Dark, bored eyes looked around the room skeptically before they met mine. The intensity of them threatened to knock me right off my feet, and my heart clenched with unease as his pink lips dipped into a slight frown at the sight of me. I suddenly felt very self-conscious as he seemed to judge me without saying a word.
“Hayden,” my dad said my name, and I had to force myself to look away from the devilishly handsome stranger as he gestured to his girlfriend. “You remember Sally.”
“Y-Yes,” I murmured. My throat suddenly felt very dry.
“This is her son.” Dad gestured toward the nonchalant teenager. “Jamie.”
Jamie.
I said his name in my head. Such a gentle name for someone so intimidating. Jamie looked at me without blinking but also without smiling, and I had to steel my nerves as I approached him. He stood tall at six foot three, but even then, he was still shorter than me. However, my height didn’t help my confidence this time.
I felt so painfully small when I stood in front of him, inhaling the addictive scent of his unique cologne.
His presence was domineering to say the absolute least, and I felt suffocated. So much so that I struggled to maintain eye contact as I hesitantly raised my hand to greet him.
“M-My name is Hayden,” I stuttered but managed to put on a welcoming smile. “Nice to meet you.”
There were three unbearable seconds of silence without any movement. I stopped breathing the entire time, and we all waited for him to say something.
Jamie looked down at my hand as if he was inspecting it, and I felt panic rise when he pursed his lips and ignored my handshake, completely uninterested. It was as if he had cast judgment on me, deeming me unworthy, and my smile faltered as I lowered my rejected hand.
“I’m sorry,” Sally apologized with an awkward chuckle. “He’s shy.”
“No, I’m not—” Jamie mumbled. His voice was void of emotion, and his eyes glanced away from me, as if he’d seen enough. “I just don’t like him.”
I felt a sharp pain in my chest, but I swallowed it down. An awkward silence fell upon the room, and my dad cut it short as he cleared his throat.
“Why don’t we get seated for dinner?” He smiled, and Sally managed to do the same, and although I was feeling distraught, I also managed to put on a smile of my own.
We made our way to the dining room with Jamie trailing behind us. I ended up sitting next to him, but we didn’t exchange a single word throughout the entire night.
I just couldn’t believe that someone actually didn’t like me.
And I was desperate to somehow change that.
