Sweet As Sin

by Ana Jolene

  To his surprise, Matthew said, “You know what, Hutch. Why don’t you take the rest of the day off?”

  Hutch blinked, wondering if he heard his father correctly. “But it’s only nine.”

  “I know, but I doubt you’ll be concentrating on anything else but Maison. Maybe I’ll email her and ask her what’s going on.”

  “Do it,” he said, feeling desperate by the second. “You’re the only one she seems to be talking to at the moment. If something is wrong, I want to know.”

  “Okay. But take the rest of the day off.”

  “Fine,” he said. But strangely, he found that he didn’t want to go home. He never thought he’d be so reluctant to miss work at the office. What if Maison decided to stop by?

  As Hutch got back into his car, he rubbed a hand over his face. With the rest of the day off free, he thought about where he could go or what he could do. Only one person popped into his mind.

  Sam.

  Luckily, she was home when he arrived at her house. She’d still been in bed and he felt kind of bad about waking her. But she was in a good mood when she answered the door for him. “Hello, stranger. I thought I’d finally gotten rid of you.”

  For what felt like the first time in the last few days, Hutch smiled. “You can’t get rid of me that easily.”

  “I just figured that you and Maison have been busy.” At the sound of Maison’s name, his smile vanished. “Uh oh, did I say something wrong?” Sam asked.

  “No. It’s fine.” Well, he hoped it would be.

  “You guys are still a thing, right?”

  “Actually, I’m not so sure,” he admitted. If they were, surely she would’ve called him back, right?

  Sam shot him a look. “Okay, I’m not following. Tell me everything.”

  As Hutch filled her in on what happened, he couldn’t help but feel grateful for her presence. Sam was always there for him, no matter the time or place. “Something’s happened and I don’t know what it is,” he finished. “I just came back from her house but it seems like she’s ignoring me for some reason.”

  Sam frowned as she swallowed a mouthful of Cocoa Puffs. “Is this unusual behavior for her?”

  “Yes, it is. I have a feeling it had to do with her parents because she freaked out when they suddenly appeared at her house.”

  “Maybe something happened with them,” Sam suggested.

  “Yeah, but what exactly happened?” Hutch found it hard to let go that easily. As Sam finished her breakfast, Hutch thought about his short time together with Maison. She’d come out of her shell a hell of a lot since he’d started working at Gleam. Was she reverting back to her old ways? And if so, why?

  Still that didn’t explain why she suddenly wasn’t going into the office. Was she that desperate to avoid him?

  As Hutch contemplated the possibility of this, Sam watched him. Well, it was more like being examined. Being stared down by a PI was intimidating and Sam’s emerald-green eyes weren’t helping. They saw entirely too much and Hutch didn’t have the strength in him to keep his emotions off his face. He hadn’t wanted to admit it, but he hurt.

  He hated being casted out and feeling this disconnect from Maison without so much of an explanation as to why. It made him feel small, and most of all, alone.

  Sam got up and grabbed a beer from her fridge, placing it before him, but Hutch didn’t reach for it. “Come on,” she said. “It’s five o’clock somewhere.”

  Despite himself, he laughed. “Sam, it’s only ten a.m. here though.”

  “So what? When has that stopped you before?”

  He smiled at the tough love she was giving him. “Fine.” Taking the offering, Hutch twisted the cap off and took several gulps. Maybe changing the topic would put him in a better mood. “So how’s work going?” he asked her.

  Sam let out a long, drawn-out sigh. “That’s easy to answer. It’s going nowhere.”

  “No interesting new cases?” Sam always had funny stories to share with him.

  “No. It’s like I’ve stumbled upon a dry spell or something.”

  Hutch took a sip of his beer. “Let’s hope that doesn’t last.” He already worried about her.

  “Yeah, I’ve got bills to pay and I’m already on a tight budget.”

  “You need money?”

  “No, Hutch. I’m not taking any of yours.”

  “I’m just saying, if you need . . .”

  “Hutch!”

  “Fine, fine.”

  “At least I’ve found something that I actually enjoy here. It’d be a shame to pack it all up just because I can’t afford to stay open.”

  “What would you do if you have to close?”

  Sam shook her head. “I don’t know. I guess I could go back to school or something . . .”

  “School? Honey, I school you all the time.” In response, Sam raised his middle finger at him. He chuckled. “Real mature, Sam.”

  “Hey, I’m younger than you, Grandpa, so let me be.”

  “I’ll let you be when you stop acting like a teenager.” He pointed at her box of Cocoa Puffs on the counter.

  “I’m not the one moping around like one,” she shot back. The words were enough to wipe the smile off his face. “Look,” Sam said, her tone sobering. “Whatever it is that Maison is going through, I’m sure she can handle it herself. And if it does have to do with her parents, it’s probably best if you stay out of it anyway.”

  His brows knitted together. “Are you telling me to stay away from her?”

  “No. I’m just telling you to give her time. If it really is as bad as you say, it’s going to take more than a week to fix shit up, you know what I mean?”

  Hutch drew the bottle to his mouth. “I kind of do.” Except how could he stay away when he knew Maison was hurting?

  Sam came around the table, giving his shoulders a tight squeeze. “If she really loves you, she’ll realize that on her own and then she’ll come to find you. But she can’t do that unless the rest of her life is settled first.”

  Hutch nodded in understanding. Somehow, Sam always knew the right thing to say even if it wasn’t the words he wanted to hear.

  TWENTY-SIX

  Maison spent the rest of the week at home. Luckily for her, Matthew was in a good mood and allowed her to do most of her work from the comfort of her own bed. But the other day he’d called her and she hadn’t known what to do.

  Just like whenever Hutch called her, panic seized her and she could only hold herself tight until the ringing stopped. She felt terrible for ignoring them, but she just wasn’t in the right mindset to talk to anyone right now.

  This time, however, she knew she couldn’t ignore Matthew’s calls anymore. If she did, she’d risk getting fired from her job. So when her phone rang again with an incoming call, Maison took a deep breath and reached for her phone with shaky hands. “H-hello?”

  “Maison? How are you?” Matthew’s voice was the gentlest she’d ever heard it and she wondered if Hutch had told him what had happened.

  “I’m fine, sir. How are you?” God, she hated pretending like everything was fine when it clearly wasn’t.

  “Are you sure you’re fine? We’re worried about you.”

  We’re. Did that mean Hutch was nearby? Was he listening to their conversation? Her heart did a little flutter as she thought of him.

  “He’s not here,” Matthew said, as if reading his mind. “So you can tell me what’s going on with you without any fear.”

  But that wasn’t what she was worried about. She was scared that she was going to revert back to her old self before she found the confidence in herself to be who she was.

  “Maison, come on. I need you to tell me what’s going on. Working from home is fine for a few days but I do need an assistant to help me out here.”

  Oh God, it was exactly as she had feared! He was going to fire her if she didn’t come in! But how could she when she knew Hutch was going to be there? She couldn’t face him again after what she’d done to
him! God, she felt terrible! And worst of all, he hadn’t even done anything to her to merit her behavior towards him.

  Despite her best efforts, she’d allowed her parents’ words to get to her and now she wasn’t acting like herself after their visit.

  She thought she would’ve handled this better. Growing out of her social anxiety and self-esteem issues had taken a long time and while they sprang to the surface every now and then, Maison could control it for the most part. However, her parents’ sudden appearance had done more than just caught her off guard; it’d weakened her defenses and, now, she was back to feeling like a total loser.

  Although Matthew hadn’t said it, he didn’t have to. She could tell that he was disappointed in her.

  You disappoint me.

  Her father’s words hit her with a force of a speeding car. Suddenly her eyes were stinging and she was holding back her tears. A few droplets spilled past and she irritably brushed them away before focusing back on her conversation with Matthew.

  “I’ll come in tomorrow,” she promised.

  “You will? Great.” He sounded relieved. “But you still haven’t told me what’s bothering you.”

  “Don’t worry, sir. I’m absolutely fine.” She smiled even though he couldn’t see her. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  It sounded like Matthew wanted to argue, but she was glad when he simply said, “Okay, Maison. See you tomorrow.”

  She’d never been so happy to hang up on someone.

  Okay, now that she’d made the decision to go into work tomorrow, she had to get caught up on all her work she’d missed.

  Problem was, every time she attempted to get some work done, she thought of Hutch. He was yet another person she’d pushed aside for no reason. God, what was wrong with her? She’d messed up a perfectly good chance to be with him because she was too chicken to face the uncertainty of his love.

  But what if her mother was right? What if Hutch got tired of her and realized that he was too good for her? Where would that leave her? While he’d be off, flirting with some other woman, she’d be stuck at Gleam, working for his father and pretending that she didn’t actually love him.

  Oh God, she loved him! She actually loved him!

  Was that why she was so torn up about this? God, she was pathetic! She really needed to call him back, but she was worried that once she heard his liquid voice, she’d burst into tears.

  Outside, rain poured down in heavy sheets and it seemed like it wasn’t going to let up anytime soon. Letting out a loud sigh, Maison stared out the window. The hours had passed quickly and it was already late. She should really fix herself something to eat. But what good would food be when she felt like the world around her was breaking? Or was that just her heart falling into pieces?

  Her phone rang suddenly, and as she picked it up, her heart started to pound. Oh God, what if it was Hutch again? Should she answer?

  But the caller ID told her that it wasn’t Hutch calling. She frowned as the name of the local hospital flashed on her screen.

  “What the—” Why was a hospital calling her? Had something happened to her parents? Her stomach twisted with worry. “Hello?”

  “Ms. Lane?”

  “Uh, yes?”

  “I’m sorry to inform you but Mr. Hewitt has been in an accident.”

  Her stomach bottomed out. Matthew? Oh God. “What happened? Is he okay?”

  “His car slid off the road and hit a tree. He’s unconscious at the moment but the doctors are looking after him right now. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to contact his family yet. You were the first emergency contact in the records.”

  “I’ll call them,” she said immediately. “And then we’ll come over there.”

  “Thank you.”

  As Maison hung up, she had to take a moment to process everything. “Matthew . . . Oh God.” She’d just spoken to him on the phone a few hours ago! She remembered how she’d been relieved to hang up on him and now look what happened! How the hell did all this happen so quickly?

  She hastily dialed the Hewitts’ residence, cursing when no one answered. “Shit!” Panic had a stronghold on her throat. What was she going to do now?

  Grabbing a light jacket, she pulled it on before running out the door to her car. Thankfully, she’d picked it up the other day. The rain was still coming down hard and she was soaked in seconds.

  Realizing that she might get into an accident herself if she didn’t slow down, she forced herself to drive cautiously. Her visibility was so poor that she couldn’t see more than a few feet in front of her. Because of that, it took her longer to get to the Hewitts’ house.

  As she pulled up into the driveway, she caught sight of Hunter getting out of his car. “Hunter! Your father—”

  “I know!” he called back, holding up his phone. “Just got the call. I’m going over there now. Have you seen Hutch?”

  “No.” A bolt of shame spread through her at hearing his name. She turned off her engine and joined Hunter, using her jacket to shield her from the rain.

  Hunter had no such protection other than the leather jacket he wore so his hair was soaked. He shook his head. “He’s not answering his phone. I came here to check if he’s home. I’ll go inside and check. Can you watch Owen? He’s in the car.”

  As Maison nodded, Hunter ran to the house.

  “Hey, Owen,” Maison said as she turned back to the car. She slid into the seat beside him, noticing that he was clutching some kind of action figure in his hands. She tried for a smile, but it felt forced even to her. She was just too worried about Matthew at this point.

  Owen’s own smile was less than his usual dazzler but he did lift up his action figure to show her. Maison took it from him. “He looks cool,” she said softly. “Does he have a name?”

  “Hunter.”

  “Hunter?” Actually, now that she got a better look at it, it did kind of look a bit like his father.

  When the real Hunter came running back to the car, Maison’s heart stuttered a beat. Her gaze searched for Hutch behind him. “He’s not in there,” he said.

  What? “Then where is he?”

  “I have an idea.” Before she could ask what he was talking about, Hunter slid back into his car and twisted in his seat to look at her. “Put your seatbelt on. We’re going to go get him and then we’ll go to the hospital.”

  “Wait!” As much as she knew they were in a hurry to see Matthew, she couldn’t help the spike in her anxiety. Oh God, she was going to see Hutch again!

  “What is it? Come on, Maison. We need to get to the hospital.”

  Realizing the situation was bigger than her anxiety, Maison forced herself to nod. “Okay, fine. Let’s go.”

  Throughout the entire ride, she sat in the back seat with Owen in silence, watching as the houses and cars went by in the window. When she could no longer keep track of the area, she asked where they were. They’d stopped at a house in an area she didn’t recognize. Why would Hutch come here?

  “This was where I found him the last time,” Hunter explained. He cut the engine and got out of the car. By now, the rain had stopped so Maison had no problem taking Owen out of the car and carrying him with her to the door.

  Her eyes examined the exterior of the house. The house looked nice and tidy and it even had a really nice garden out front. For some reason in her mind, she’d pictured something far less pleasing to the eye when she remembered that this was the place Hutch had run off to whenever he was distressed.

  Hunter knocked on the door, his impatience clear in the way he bit down hard on his jaw. He glanced over at her. “Are you okay with him?”

  Maison smiled down at the boy in her arms. “Don’t worry, I’ve got him.”

  The moment the door swung open then, they both turned to find a woman. She was tall, just a couple of inches shorter than Hunter and she stood there, looking understandably suspicious and confused. “Uh, can I help you?”

  “Uh, I’m Hunter Happa-Hewitt. Is my brother here
?”

  The girl cocked a brow at him, studying him with sharp emerald eyes. As she examined Hunter, Maison took that as an opportunity to take in more of her. In this position, with her arms crossed over her chest, she couldn’t help but notice the woman’s guns. Wow! She was fit. Like really, really fit. Her body was lean and had more definition than a dictionary. Maison definitely didn’t want to get into a fight with her.

  That was when the woman slid her gaze to her and something flashed in her eyes. Was it recognition?

  Hutch suddenly appeared beside her. He was shirtless and his dark hair was messy and falling into his eyes. “Hey, what are you—” His gaze jumped to her. “Maison? What are you doing here?”

  Maison opened her mouth but nothing came out. Dammit. She’d lost her ability to speak now that Hutch was in front of her! Thankfully, Hunter spoke before she could.

  “Why don’t you fucking answer your phone?” he growled. “Dad got into an accident. He’s unconscious and at the hospital right now!”

  Hutch blinked in shock. “What? What the hell are you talking about? My phone is out of battery.”

  Was that why he’d stopped calling her? Or was it because he was done with her and had moved on?

  Hunter shook his head. “I don’t know everything yet. Come on, put on a shirt. We’re going to the hospital.”

  To Maison’s surprise, the other woman said, “I’m coming too.” Both brothers looked at her, but neither one argued.

  God, Maison thought. This day just kept getting worse.

  Hunter was buzzing with nervous energy. He just couldn’t seem to stand still. A mixture of fatigue and worry for his father was eating at him, making him want to bark at everyone. But he knew that that would only worsen matters.

  In coming here, he intended to get his brother and head to the hospital, but here he was, waiting in this chick’s house for his brother to get dressed. Why the hell did he take his clothes off anyway? Wasn’t Hutch with Maison? Hunter shook his head. He had other things to worry about.

  “If you want, you guys can go ahead,” the woman who’d answered the door told him. “I’ll drive Hutch over.”