Love At First Hate (Love At Firsts Book 2)(60)

“Who are you thinking about?” Matt asks, wrapping his arms around my shoulders.

“Us.” I smile, turning to look at him and kiss him.

“We’re pretty awesome.” He chuckles.

“We are.”

“So, what about us?” He wraps his arms around my neck, and we slow dance in the sand. Not the easiest when you have a prosthetic leg. The uneven ground is shifting my balance.

“I thought that maybe we could get this one day.” I motion at everything around us.

“What happened to you not wanting a long-term relationship, let alone getting married?”

“Seeing how happy Haven and Spencer are, I figured why not.”

“Is that it?” he asks with an inquisitive tone.

“No.” I chuckle. “I love you, and I want more than just us being together and seeing where things go. I want us to be serious and to have something stable and strong. I want us to be happy and maybe get married someday.”

“I like the way you’re thinking.” He brings my lips to his and seals them with a heated kiss.

“What about kids?” he asks tentatively.

“Do you really want kids?”

“I’m not sure if I’m honest. We should start with a puppy.” He grins.

“That’s more like it, but if you really want kids, I’m willing to compromise,” I say truthfully.

“You would?” he asks stunned.

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s you.” I smile fondly, and we kiss passionately as we dance to the slow music playing.

Our happiness is short-lived as we all hear a loud shriek and the sound of male voices shouting.

We all turn to the noise and see Lindsey standing at the edge of the path that’s lit up by candles and guards who were supposed to stop others from coming.

“Great,” I mumble to myself.

“She means nothing to you. She can’t hurt you. Until you solve this with your family don’t let her f*ck with your mind,” Matt whispers to me, and I nod.

“I know. I was just happy, and she f*cked with my mood.”

“I’ll give you a happy ending to the day.” He nips my ear, and I can’t help but chuckle.

“You! Stay the hell away from my fiancé!” Lindsey shouts at Matt.

“Bitch, please. He’s not your fiancé, never was and never will be,” Haven shouts at her, shocking us all. She marches to her and stands her ground in front of Lindsey. “Today is my day. You are not welcome here. I’ll kindly ask you to leave. If you don’t, I’ll dropkick your ass, and I mean it.”

“Like I’m scared of a twig like you,” Lindsey scoffs.

“That’s it!” Haven takes off her earrings, passes them to Matt, and drags Lindsey by her hair into the sand. “Let me get something through your thick skull. Nate doesn’t love you and never will. You have zero chance of breaking these two up. If you as much as try, I swear I’ll f*cking kick your ass and ruin your life. Ask Matt, I can be a real pain in the ass.”

“She can be. I would listen to her if I were you,” Matt says smirking, no doubt proud of his friend. If I weren’t so f*cking raging, I’d hug and kiss Haven.

“You’re all f*cking crazy!” Lindsey shouts.

“Welcome to the madhouse, baby!” Matt shouts and loud music starts playing. I try to forget about the incident, but it’s hard when you’re wondering if she’s going to be a bitch and try to stab you in the back and rat you out to your family. She has enough to probably have my father have me killed. I wouldn’t put it past him to try and do something like that instead of just leaving me be.

A few glasses later, I finally relax a little and enjoy the rest of the party, but it’s only short-lived when I get a text from my father.

Robert: I expect to see you when you come back from vacation with your sister. And tell her to come too. She’s not picking up the phone. Tell her that I found someone that’ll suit her perfectly for her to marry.

Fuck. No! I’m not going to let this happen to Maddie too. He can f*ck right off.

“Still thinking about our perfect wedding?” Matt asks drunkenly.

“No,” I answer coldly, and he looks at me confused and hurt. I show him the text, and he quickly understands.

“Do you want to go back to the room?”

“I have to find Maddie and talk to her because if Robert gets a hold of her it’s going to devastate her.”

“I know you won’t let it happen. I’ll walk back with you.” He goes to get his jacket, but I stop him.

“Stay, have fun and enjoy your best friend’s day. I’ll see you in the room when you get back. If I’m not there, I’m with Maddie.” I kiss him.

“Why don’t you want me to come with you? Are you just going to take off and leave?” he sounds hurt, and I hate that I’m the one doing this.

“I don’t know. I’m just…I need a moment. I need to put an end to this f*cking masquerade with my family. I promise I’m not leaving you or breaking up with you.”

“You better not. I know where you live.” He narrows his eyes at me.

“I know you do. I love you, baby.” I kiss him hard, and it does feel like it’s the last I’ll see of him. I hate this.