No, he’s better.Tall, muscular and incredibly handsome. Thick black hair, light green eyes, that firm mouth, chiseled cheeks, strong jaw. The size of his biceps and chest had made her breathless the first time she’d seen him. And then she saw those massive hands… What a waste of a fine specimen like that. Cursed to be a dickhead for life.
“Sydney, I’m talking to you.” Hailey huffed and crossed her arms over her ample chest. “I think you’re scared.”
She opened her mouth to retort and stopped. “Scared? Of what, exactly?”
“I think you really liked him. More than the other losers you’ve dated. And you’re scared that if you give him another chance, you’ll find that you still do.”
She narrowed her eyes. “I wouldn’t necessarily call my other dates losers.”
“Please. The last guy you kept around because he was good with his tongue but nothing else. If I remember right, you’d only let him use it for one thing, and it wasn’t for talking.”
Sydney chuckled. “Well, Joe wasn’t a smart or even charming guy, but wow, did he know how to please a girl.”
“And Mike? Who stiffed you with the bill every time you went out? Or how about Don? He was nice—and turned out to be engaged while he and you were dating. It’s like you’re a magnet for them.”
“Yeah. So, go figure, I’m breaking my losing streak by giving Derrick a pass.”
Hailey shook her head. “He’s different and you know it. I don’t get you. You gave Mike six dates before you dumped him. Don’t let one bad date with Derrick throw you. Jeez, Sydney. You can handle Derrick. If I had had half your confidence, it wouldn’t have taken me so long to grab on to Gage.”
“Hailey, you jumped him on the first date.” She shouldn’t take so much pleasure in making her friend blush, but she did. “And it’s been, what, all of—not even—four months since you’ve been in your relationship?”
“Sometimes you just know.” Hailey clung to a stubborn refusal to admit defeat. The poor girl actually thought she could win an argument with Sydney, the queen of inflexible. “Like the way I know you and Derrick would be perfect together if you’d give it a chance. I’d never justgo over to the enemywithout cause. Come on, Sydney. We’ve been best friends for years. I’d never screw you over.” Her lips twisted into a wry grin. “Not even for Mr. Tool.”
“Or Tool’s brother. The limp screwdriver,” Sydney muttered.
Hailey sputtered with laughter. “Nice. How about he’s a few bubbles shy of being level?”
“Or a few inches short on the tape measure.”
Hailey blinked. “Really? Is he, um, small down there?”
“How the hell would I know?” It was her one major regret. “I didn’t get a chance to inspect the merchandise. One lousy date after weeks of making me like him. Okay, there. I said it. We had some great phone conversations.”
The man could make her melt with that voice. So husky and deep. To her shock, they’d had meaningful discussions about everything from her favorite color to their families. Thoughts about how Hailey and Gage really seemed to click. How Derrick’s mother could annoy and amuse him at the same time, and how much they all missed his father. What it felt like to grow up as a twin, to be so close to someone else yet so different from him at the same time.
Sydney had shared what it was like to grow up an only child, daughter of a single mom. How hard she’d worked to be taken seriously in her current vocation. And she’d told him something she’d never told anyone, even Hailey. She’d once found her mother in bed with her college boyfriend—the most embarrassing moment in her entire life, and a defining moment with her mother. She’d confessed it to Mr. Sexy because she’d stupidly started falling for himover the phone.
“Whatever. I’m done with him.” So she kept telling herself. If she held onto the rage, she could forget how much it had hurt that he’d been less than she’d hoped.
“Sydney, I believe him when he said he had nothing to do with Brittney being there.”
“Maybe not, but he never stood up for me after all the ugly things she said.”
“You didn’t give him a chance. Besides, since when have you ever neededa manto stand up for you?”
“Touché.” Sydney granted her that one. “But he should have.”
“I agree with you. But in his defense, he said he was too focused on not ruining the night with you. He didn’t even realize what she’d been saying, and boy, did I yell at him for that.”
Sydney paused. “You yelled at him for me?” Hailey hated conflict.
“Of course I did. If you hadn’t been ducking my calls, you’d know that. You’d also know I’ve been waiting forever for you to come back to the office today. Thankfully, Lena told me where you were this afternoon.” Hailey crossed the space to grab Sydney in a big hug. “I’m your best friend, Sydney. I’ll never do you wrong, I swear. Can’t you just give him one more chance? For me?”
“It’s that important to you?” No wonder Gage did anything Hailey wanted. One look into her best friend’s warm brown eyes and Sydney wanted to melt into a pile ofwhatever you want.
“It is. Gage is the love of my life. You’re my best friend. And Derrick is always going to be there. He’s Gage’s brother, Syd. I can’t ignore him forever.”
“But you ignored him for me. You yelled at him for me.”
