Page 61 of Haden

Tiago steps in front of me, hands on his hips. “Not a chance. Let Haden and your brothers handle this.”

Reagan wraps her hand around Tiago’s arm. “Let’s at least move to the front porch.”

He sighs but finally nods in agreement.

I mouth a “thank you” at Reagan as we all hurry toward the foyer. When I get there, I open the huge front door and step outside just in time to catch my brothers and Haden driving toward the gate in one of the golf carts.

It’s too far to see anything specific at the gate. From here, all we can see are the lights on the gatehouse and car lights that indicate a vehicle is at the entrance.

Arianna and Melody flank me, each wrapping an arm around me.

“Do not take one step off this porch,” Ryder orders.

“We won’t,” Melody says. She glances at me. “They’ll take care of it.”

I’m nervous. “What if the person is crazy? What if he’s armed? How the hell do they even know me?” I gasp and glance back and forth between my sisters-in-law. “That’s probably it. Someone did a bit of digging and decided to claim me because I’m the only female, single Wilde who has shown up.”

Arianna squeezes my arm. “Not for long.” Her voice is cheery. She’s trying to lighten the mood. “We should go shopping for a wedding dress. How about tomorrow?”

I nod, but I’m not really focused on her or anyone else. I know she’s just making small talk to help me relax.

My nerves are shot. All I can do is stare in the direction of the gate and wait.

After what seems like forever, the golf cart comes back into view. There’s only one man in it, though. Haden.

He pulls to a stop at the bottom of the steps and looks up at me. “Come here, baby,” he says gently.

I startle. It takes me a second to move. Finally, I slowly descend the steps as my man gets off the golf cart. When I reach him, he pulls me into his arms and hugs me before lifting me up and setting me sideways on the seat. He reaches around me to grab a piece of paper and holds it in front of us.

I stare at it. “What is this?”

“A marriage license.” His voice is gentle.

I jerk my gaze up to his. My hands are trembling. I start shaking my head. “This can’t be real, Haden.”

Haden steps in front of me, blocking me from everyone else. He sets one hand on the back of the seat and the other on the steering wheel. “Did you go to Vegas last summer, baby?”

My heart races. “Vegas? Yes. I went with my girlfriends.”

Haden points at the paper. “This man says you and he got drunk one night and ended up at a chapel.”

My eyes pop wide. I can’t breathe. My head moves from side to side again. “No. No, Haden. It didn’t happen.”

Haden leans into me. He cups my face with both hands. His jaw is tight. “Shhh. Take a breath, baby.”

I can’t. I try, but I can’t get any oxygen in. Tears run down my cheeks. “Haden, I swear. It’s not true.”

He kisses me even though I don’t return it. “It’s okay, jitterbug. I promise. It doesn’t even matter if it is true. If it happened and you don’t remember it, we can get it annulled. You’re mine. He has no claim on you or your inheritance.”

I start shaking my head again. “No. Haden. No. I’ve never been drunk in my life. I don’t even like alcohol.”

“He says he was a bartender at one of the clubs you went to. That he bought you drinks and the two of you went out after he got off work.”

“No.” That did not happen. I’m not crazy.

“Oh, he also said you would remember him as Lenny.”

Lenny…