an hour ago by showing up out of the blue and announcing they were joining us here at the Carrot Festival.
Us. Meaning me and Mina.
During the past couple of weeks, Mina had started hinting that she'd like to meet my family. She'd also hinted that I should get to know her family, too.
This was a bad idea on both fronts.
Mason was still a dick when it came to the topic of Mina, and Mina's dad still hadn't returned my hammer – the one he'd threatened to shove up my ass if I stepped out of line. So the way I saw it, the less we saw of our families the better.
Already, I'd put Mina off by explaining that my family and I weren't getting along so great – which was the God's honest truth, even if Cami and Arden didn't see it that way.
As far as Mina's family, I figured we'd deal with them next week at the Tomato Festival and take it from there.
But today, the surprise arrival of Cami and Arden was throwing a monkey wrench in my schedule, even more so when they informed me that Mason and Brody would be here shortly, right after they checked into a nearby hotel.
While we waited, I'd given Cami and Arden a tour of the festival grounds, showing them the sights and explaining what we'd been doing for publicity.
Now that the tour was over, we were standing in the festival office, killing time while waiting for my brothers. The office didn't have air-conditioning, and the windows were open, letting in the sounds and aromas of the festival.
This would've been nice, if only I weren't under siege.
I told Cami and Arden, "Maybe it's not you two that I'm worried about."
Cami asked, "What does that mean?"
I gave her a look. "I mean your fiancé—"
She smiled. "Don't you mean your brother?"
"Either way, you've got to admit, Mason isn't so friendly when it comes to Mina."
"Of course he isn't," Cami said, "because he doesn't know her. Once he does, he'll love her as much as you do."
Now that was funny. "Who says I'm in love?"
Arden spoke up. "You don't have to say it. It's so obvious by the way you look at her. I mean, we do follow the news coverage."
I was just about to reply with a smart-ass comment when I heard Mason's voice from somewhere behind me say, "You're giving him way too much credit."
I turned to look, and there they were, Mason and Brody, coming into the office. They strode past me to stand with their fiancées.
I told Mason, "Give it a rest, will you?"
"Not a chance," he said. "You're using her, and I don't like it."
So I'd heard. Repeatedly. "Who cares what you like?"
"She's a nice girl," he said. "She deserves better."
Well, that was brotherly love for you. "Better than what?" I laughed. "Me?"
"No. Better than being used."
By now, I'd heard more than enough. "Right. Because chicks are only good for one thing, right?"
Cami spoke up. "Oh, stop it. You don't mean that."
"Sure I do," I said, giving Mason a sharp look. "Because I’m just gonna dump her when the campaign's over. You know it, right?"
I was being sarcastic, but you'd never know it from the looks on their faces. Even Cami, who was the nicest person I'd ever met, was eyeing me like I was a total piece of shit.
And in that moment, I wasn't sure what pissed me off more – that they had such a low opinion of me, or that I had lived my life in such a way to make my sarcasm believable.
"You know what?" I said. "Forget it. Have fun at the festival." And with that, I turned and stalked out of the building, leaving the four of them to do whatever.
This might've been a perfect exit, if only I didn't nearly collide with a certain blonde I'd been working to avoid.
It was Angelique Delmonico, and she was looking way too pleased for my comfort. Behind her was some heavyset guy with a video camera. He was holding the camera loose at his side, not filming, thank God.
When I made a move to sidestep both of them, Angelique said, "Aw come on. Don't be like that."
I stopped. "Like what? The dick who starred in your book?"
"Well, you were a dick," she said. "So I don't know why you're complaining."
Okay, maybe she had a point, but I wasn't nearly as bad as she made me sound. Plus, I'd changed a lot over the last few