Chapter Six

Hailey's Pov 

There was no talking my way out of this. Even Dad thought it was a great idea to start getting us kids closer.

But I wasn’t a kid.

I was a teenager—one with wild hormones—and the lion in the room across from mine was dangerously good at setting them off.

After Mom and Dad headed upstairs to “put their clothes back in the closet,” I hung back downstairs a few extra minutes, trying to gather myself. Let’s be real—they just didn’t want to deal with Carmelo yet and threw me under the bus instead.

They had the perfect chance to ask him while passing his room, but no. Hailey needed to bond with Carmelo. Why not Jayson? He was practically obsessed with the guy already!

“Quit being a baby,” Jayson snorted as he watched me pace back and forth. And by “a couple” of times, I mean I was probably on lap twenty by now.

I stopped in my tracks and spun around, glaring down at Jayson, who barely reached my shoulder.

“Then why don’t you go deal with that rude guy covered in tattoos yourself!” I snapped.

Jayson crossed his skinny arms and gave this overly dramatic hum, pretending like something other than video games ever took up space in his brain.

“Nope,” he said simply, then turned and strolled off to the living room, where I was sure he’d be powering up his console in no time.

And here I thought he had more guts than I did.

“Okay, Hailey. Time to pull it together and head up to that room,” I told myself, taking in a deep breath. “It’s just a teenage boy, not some kind of beast.”

“A very hot teenage boy who looks like he was sculpted by the gods,” I muttered with a sigh. These hormones were a real problem—they were about to land me in serious trouble.

With a breath of surrender, I dragged myself toward the stairs, quietly begging the universe not to let him toss me out a window. I wasn’t sure I’d survive the drop. And if I did, I didn’t want to spend the next few weeks hobbling around in a neck brace and foot cast.

Maybe I should just ditch the mission.

I could fake a recipe and tell Mom Carmelo picked it. Easy enough.

But what if she started asking him questions at dinner?

Ugh. Mission back on.

Heading toward his room felt like walking the plank, and the tiny voice in my head was right there behind me, giving me a shove forward.

Hopefully, if I fell, I’d land on my feet—or at least manage to swim in the rough waters waiting below.

I stopped just outside his open door, holding my breath, waiting to see if he’d notice me and maybe throw something in my direction. But nothing flew through the air—no shoes, no sharp objects—so I took a cautious step forward until I stood in the doorway.

His back was to me, and I took the chance to really look at him. The white T-shirt he wore clung tightly to his frame, almost like it was a size too small. His black jeans, torn at the front like I’d seen earlier, now gave me a full view from behind—and yeah, his butt looked unfairly good.

He was tossing his clothes onto the bed like they’d personally offended him, digging through his bag with the kind of frustration that made me feel bad for the poor zipper.

Then, as if he felt my eyes locked on him, he suddenly turned around. My heart jumped, and I quickly looked up, only to meet those piercing blue eyes. The second they landed on me, a cold shiver zipped down my spine.

Carmelo didn’t say a word—just stared. His face gave nothing away, but his silence dared me to walk in like I belonged there.

With my tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth, I forced myself to take a step inside. The room, once meant for guests, now belonged to Carmelo.

I avoided his eyes and scanned the space instead. Mom never warned me that Carmelo would be staying in this room, or I would’ve at least swapped out the floral bedding for something a little less... pink and frilly.

I caught a whiff of his cologne and froze in place. It was strong and masculine—the kind that warned me not to get any closer than I had to. Folding my arms under my chest, I stared past him at the wall. Was that black dot always there?

Come on, Hailey, focus. You’re here for a reason, remember?

“My mom wanted to know if there’s any special meal you’d like her to cook for dinner tonight,” I finally said, my voice steady but my eyes still dodging his.

He didn’t answer.

Seconds ticked by, and I finally found the nerve to glance at him. Big mistake. His eyes were bluer than the sky after a storm, and I swear the sight almost stole the air from my lungs. How was it even possible for someone to have eyes that blue?

Feeling the heat rise to my face, I laughed nervously and started scratching my arm—a terrible habit I had when I got anxious. It was supposed to distract me, but right now, it was doing nothing.

“It’s kind of a family thing,” I added, trying to fill the silence. “Like, every night, one of us picks what we want for dinner, and Mom makes it as a challenge—”

I trailed off when I saw his blank expression. My words weren’t reaching him at all.

I scratched my arm harder and silently thanked myself for trimming my nails earlier. “What about pizza?” I asked, trying again. Still no response.

“Mushroom soup? Tacos? Chicken Alfredo?” I offered, my voice a little more hopeful each time.

Still nothing—no answer.

What was his deal? He was perfectly capable of speaking downstairs. Now he was acting like someone had flipped a switch and turned him into a block of ice.

Honestly, why did I get stuck with this mission? It felt impossible.

But giving up wasn’t my thing.

“Okay, how about lasagna?” I tried again, forcing some cheer into my voice.

Finally, Carmelo spoke. “No.”

Wow. For someone with a face that looked like it belonged on the cover of a magazine, he was seriously a pain in the butt.

Okay, Hailey, get your head out of the clouds.

I let out a low sigh, followed by a groan. “Then what do you want, Carmelo?” I asked, more frustrated than before. How hard was it to tell someone what you felt like eating?

He stared at me, his expression so cold it could turn summer into winter. Then, with that same gravelly voice that sent a chill crawling over my skin, he finally answered.

“I want you out of my room.”