20 Questions

Chapter 96

Dinner couldn't have possibly gone any worse. The service was terrible, the food was cold and I found out that Tyler is the world's biggest asshole. If I am going to make it through this week without killing him, I have to either keep my distance or Hunter needs to have an awfully long come-to-Jesus talk with him. The way he treated everyone - especially Helen and Molly - at dinner was absolutely inexcusable. I have a hard time believing he was like Hunter and the other guys at an early age. I realize that wealth can change a person, but this guy has deep-rooted problems that began at birth. I honestly believe that he was just born an asshole. As soon as we get home, I go right to the bedroom and shut the door. I don't want to be around that guy one second longer than I have to be.

This is going to be the longest week of my life.

This is the week leading up to my wedding, the one day I have dreamed about my whole life, and I refuse to let him ruin it with the arrogant and offensive comments. I am already under so much stress without having to deal with him. I will personally pay for him to go stay in a hotel, although I'm sure it won't be up to his superior standards. Hunter walks into the room and he looks just as frustrated as I do.

"Your brother is the devil," I spit.

"Tell me about it," he replies, rolling his eyes. "He was a prick the last time I talked to him, but this is so much worse than I could have imagined. Did you see poor Helen's face when he made the comment about kids and the baseball game? I almost lost my shit."

"Yeah, you and everybody else at the table," I concur. "Baby, I love you, but you have to do something about him. I am already stressed with the wedding and I can't deal with him on top of everything else. I'm sorry. I don't mean to put you in a bad spot because I know he is your brother, but I will not tolerate him disrespecting everyone all week. I just won't."

"I know. I will take care of it. I promise. I'll have a nice long talk with him tomorrow and if that doesn't fix it, he's going to have to stay at a hotel. I won't have him upsetting you this week. The biggest day of our lives is quickly approaching and I want it to be as smooth as possible."

"I know you will. Thank you. I knew you would do the right thing. I just can't believe how different he is than all of the rest of you guys. I mean, Bryson was a turd when I first met him, but Tyler makes Bryson look like a saint. Bryson, Patrick, Kevin and Justin are like my brothers and have never made me feel the way Tyler did in the short amount of time since he's been here. But you know what? Let's not talk about him anymore. He's already ruined too much of our night already. Come to bed and cuddle me."

"Gladly," he responds, climbing in bed and conforming his body to him. I close my eyes and say a silent prayer that tomorrow will be a better day. It has to be.

~

I wake up and the guilt begins to emerge. To start with, I was a little hard on Hunter last night, demanding that he deal with Tyler. I know he was just as put off with the night as I was and I immediately threw that responsibility on him. I also feel guilty about judging Tyler before I ever really gave him a chance. He may have just been nervous and overcompensated by promoting himself. I had a long day at work and I know he had a long day of travel so nobody was their best selves. For Hunter's sake, I need to try and keep an open mind and not be so quick to judge.

Since I have known Hunter and the guys, I have heard many stories about Tyler. When I laid eyes on him for the first time yesterday, he was exactly how I pictured him. He is tall, the tallest of the brothers, with an athletic build and a perfectly sculpted jaw line. His jet-black hair was slicked back and he could be the poster child of what a hot shot upstate lawyer would look like. His New York accent was thick with no indication at all that he was originally from the Midwest. He didn't smile much, only to laugh at his own jokes, and he had an edge to him that could only be described as arrogant, dangerous and mysterious. He's a very nice-looking man, but his personality and attitude didn't make him attractive to me. Either way, I need to look past his conceited exterior and see if there is even the slightest bit of salvageable decency within him.