“I can’t believe I’m helping you move all this stuff out,” Mav grumbles, stomping down the stairs. “At the end of the day, it means I’m stuck here all alone.”
“You could always recruit another roommate,” I suggest.
Gina stops in the middle of carrying her box down the stairs. Her shoulders drop, and I know what’s coming.
“Maverick!” Her face is full of consternation, and my eyes narrow.
It’s taken me weeks of convincing her he’ll be fine. He’s almost thirty. Still, she worries about him. Then she tells me I don’t understand. They all grew up together in Newhope, in each other’s houses all the time, walking to school together, sneaking off to hockey games together…
Apparently, Mav’s mother didn’t know he played hockey. She wanted him to play a “safe sport” like golf—even though his dad was a star wide receiver for New York.
Eureka’s got nothing on Newhope.
“Come on, Gina,” I say firmly, turning to the door where a very pretty petite blonde is standing, holding up her hand as if she’ll knock.
“Hello?” Her voice is high, but full.
It reminds me of one of those Broadway singers I’ve heard interviewed before, like it sounds delicate, but you know she can belt out a song on cue. Auntie Monay taught me how to spot this.
“Hi, there.” I step forward still holding the box of Gina’s things.
“I’m sorry…” She frowns, looking from the box up to me. “I was trying to find Hayden Bradford? This is the last address I have for her… I’m so sorry if she moved, and I didn’t know?—”
“Dove?” Mav trots down the stairs to stand beside me.
His entire demeanor has changed. Gone is the poor-meroutine, and now he’s the hockey star who’s on billboards all over town. He gives her his megawatt smile, complete with dimple, and I roll my eyes.
“Oh, hi, Mav.” The woman waves her hand, seeming not at all impressed by his smile or his swagger. “Thank goodness you’re here. I thought this was going to getreallyembarrassing for a minute.”
My brow shoots up. I’ve watched that smile send panties flying from coast to coast, but not today.
“What are you doing here?” His voice is quiet, almost like he’s in church.
My brow furrows, and I can’t help thinking…Who is this person?
Dove steps through the doorway, looking all around. “Is Haddy here?”
Haddy comes around the corner, and as soon as their eyes meet, everything changes. The two women go off like bottle rockets. They wave their hands over their heads, squealing and running to each other. When they meet, they hug and jump up and down laughing.
“Oh my gosh!” Dove cries, falling back with a loud cackle. “That was the scariest moment of mylife!”
“You are so crazy!” Haddy holds Dove’s arms. “You’re the only person I know who would travel from Louisiana to LA and barge into a house hoping for the best.”
Dove lifts her chin, closing her eyes, and adopting a super-exaggerated southern accent. “I always rely on the kindness of strangers.”
Haddy laughs, pulling her in for another hug. “I’m so happy to see you! How long has it been? What are you doing here?”
“Well, I’ll tell you.” She puts her hand on Haddy’s arm, and they walk to the living room. “I’m right at the end of mythesis, and I need to do a semester studying with the foremost scholar in Armillaria root rot.”
“Dr. Smithfield,” Haddy says, nodding. “He’s the best mycologist in the nation.”
My eyes have been on Maverick this whole time, watching the hearts in his eyes get bigger and bigger. I’m pretty sure I hear him sigh as the two women discuss mycology and fungi and the life cycle of the North American peach tree.
I get it. It’s fun listening to beautiful, smart women saying words I don’t understand like it’s the most normal thing in the world.
Actually, now that I think about it, my stepmom Britt was a forensic photographer. She was my first introduction to the fact that women can be beautiful and smart and really, really interested in science. It’s fucking cool.
“Maverick!” Haddy calls to him from where the two of them are sitting on the couch. “Dove can stay here with you next semester!” She bounces around to clutch her friend’s hands. “The entire upstairs is empty, and Mav will be gone all the time playing hockey. I’m right across the street, and Gina’s right down the block. It’s perfect! Problem solved!”
