The Surprise Vows: Marrying the Man Who Took Me In Chapter 2

I was so anxious last night that I barely slept, so I ended up napping all afternoon before finally heading downstairs.

Carter was already back, sitting in the living room playing chess with his dad, Mr. Hayes.

Hearing my footsteps, he looked up.

Our eyes met. Staring into his deep, dark eyes, I felt a sudden wave of guilt and softly called out, "Hey."

Carter gave a faint nod, looked away, and went back to his chess game.

I went into the kitchen to grab a glass of water, but Mrs. Hayes stopped me: "Harper, honey! Come have some fruit."

"I bought your absolute favorite: blue cheese and crackers."

Mr. Hayes chimed in from the living room, "Doesn't your son absolutely despise the smell of blue cheese? Why did you buy so much of it today? We'll never finish it."

"Didn't you say it was your favorite? I bought it specifically for you," she shot back.

"Nonsense. You can't even remember my favorite dessert. Harper is the only one in this house who actually likes that stinky cheese."

Maybe I was just too nervous, but when I took a bite of the cheese, I couldn't taste a thing. I was terrified Mrs. Hayes would notice something was off.

"Harper, are you seeing anyone lately?"

Like clockwork, the older generation always had to check in on my love life.

"You should start putting yourself out there. Don't spend all your time focused on work. Don't end up like Carter—he's in his thirties and doesn't even have a girlfriend."

I nodded, offering a polite, noncommittal smile.

"Come look at these guys. I picked out a few handsome young men at the gala last week. Good-looking, great personalities—whatever your type is, I've got it."

From the living room, Carter’s gaze drifted over.

I avoided his eyes, picking up my glass to take a tactical sip of water.

Mrs. Hayes smiled warmly. "It's a shame Carter is so old and always has that icy look on his face. He doesn't know how to treat a woman right. If only you two could be together, that would be perfect."

Cough, cough!

My hand shook, and I nearly choked on my water.

Mrs. Hayes quickly patted my back. "Oh, don't be scared! I'm just joking around. I'd never force you to marry that grumpy brat."

"Now, do any of these guys catch your eye?" She shoved a stack of photos into my hands.

Suddenly, Carter stood up from the chessboard. His voice was perfectly even: "What do you want for dinner? I'll cook."

But as he spoke, his eyes were locked dead on me.

I quickly lowered my gaze, pretending to study the photos of the blind dates.