we weren’t planning a wedding. There’s no way in hell I’d wish that disaster on any woman. And why waste time on a big wedding? I was sure Monroe’s already done all that. The second she says yes, we’re going to the courthouse and getting it done.
“Who’s getting married?” All our heads turned to see Chief Malone, Leonard, Garret, and Daria headed our way.
“I don’t really care,” Chief Shark Malone said, lying through his teeth. And, yes, that was his real first name, though we were not allowed to call him by it.
“Who’s getting married,” Leonard asked again.
“Hayes,” Kellen lied again. “He’s finally taking the plunge.”
“Yeah, and we get to plan it,” Jake announced like it were fact.
“You are not planning my wedding,” I told him, and it didn’t matter that this conversation was completely absurd. We haven’t even been out on a first date yet.
He looked genuinely crestfallen. “Awe, really?”
“Listen, Ladies,” Chief said, interrupting all the wedding talk, “you can plan Hayes’ wedding on your own time. Right now, you guys belong to me, and we need to go over the minors from the inspection.” We all straightened and got serious. Deep down, I knew Chief cared about my nonexistent wedding, but he was right, we needed to handle our shit.
When he was done giving us the rundown and assigning us our tasks, we all started to disperse to get back to our normal chores and the new ones we’d just been assigned.
I grabbed the box of supplies we used to replenish the First Aid kits and headed back towards the storage room. As I was placing the box back on the shelf, Daria’s voice hit my ears. “I guess congratulations are in order,” she said, and there was no mistaking the cattiness in her voice.
There was so much sitting on the tip of my tongue, but I wasn’t going to chance having my words twisted. So, instead of giving her another set-down, I just walked right past her and out of the storage room. No way was I getting caught up in her bullshit.
Chapter 11
Monroe~
Holy crap.
I was standing in my doorway, my hair up in a tangled, damp bun, no makeup, a pair of jeans, and an old Oakland Raiders t-shirt that has seen better days. I also had flip-flops on and couldn’t recall the last time I’ve had a pedicure. Heels were hell on a woman’s feet and toes.
And here I was, staring at a deliciously gorgeous Sayer Hayes, as he was not dressed in jeans and an old t-shirt.
Nope.
He was dressed in a dark green button-up that had the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, the first two top buttons undone, the tails hanging out over the waistband of some dark blue jeans, and some tan Timberlands.
He looked like I was about to have a heart attack. That’s how mouthwatering the man looked. And because I’ve seen him washing his car without a shirt, the muscles underneath turned the clothes he was wearing into a heart-stopping ensemble.
“Wh…what are you doing here?” I blurted, never imagining he had been serious about our date. It’s been over a week, and while I knew he worked long hours, and I’d had Leta all week, we hadn’t spoken a word to each other beyond a hello or a wave when I’d see him coming or going from his house. Our date had never been confirmed, and…well, quite frankly, since Leta had never mentioned anything about our fake dating, I hadn’t felt it necessary to address the fictitious date.
Only, I guess, it hadn’t been fictitious after all.
Sayer just grinned. “Did you forget?”
I shook my head, absolutely mortified. “I…uh…”
His brows shot up, but his face softened as he took mercy on me. “You didn’t think I was being serious,” he surmised.
My face felt hot. “I’m sorry, Saye-”
“Can I come in?”
I almost scoffed. Like I was going to tell him no after he got dressed up and had taken our date seriously, and I hadn’t.
I gave him a tight grin and stepped aside, so he could come in. He fired another wink at me, and my insides dip with an attraction I had no business feeling.
No matter what Karma said, and no matter how strong women were these days, Sayer Hayes was way out of my league.
I shut the front door behind me, and it was awkward as hell having Sayer standing just inside my living room, dressed for a date I hadn’t taken seriously. I had just gotten out of the shower