“Oh, no!”
“Yes, not ideal. But Halsey? Well, even though he’s incredibly good-looking, I don’t think there’s anything there to explore. Where he’s a tad. ..broody, I’m more sunshine and joy, you know?”
“Totally. You are that and more. Why is he so broody? Just an arrogant asshole or something?”
“No. Not at all. Sadly, he lost his twin brother in a car accident a while back. According to his friends, Halsey used to be fun-loving and outgoing, but ever since he lost his brother, he’s shut down. But you know what has been sort of surprising?”
“What?” she asks.
“Since I’ve been here, Halsey has mentioned his brother a few times while we’ve spoken. Like I said, I don’t know Halsey that well yet, but I’ve never heard him speak of his brother. So that makes me think he’s comfortable around me. Even with that, though, with him opening up, there’s still this darkness that rests behind his eyes. This mystery.”
“Which means you’re perfect for him.”
“What?” I ask on a laugh. “How do you figure?”
“You’re his opposite. Whereas he’s dark and mysterious, you’re sunshine and fun. Maybe you can help him climb out of the darkness and see that there is life beyond the tragedy.”
“I don’t need any projects,” I say. “I have enough to worry about. He’s great, Kenzie, but yeah, not for me.”
“Shame . . . everyone loves a roommates-to-lovers type romance.”
“Ahh, I see you’re still reading your romances.”
She smirks. “They’ve come in handy.”
Chapter Seven
HALSEY
“This is not going to work,” I say to Posey, who just sat beside me on the airplane.
“What’s not going to work?” He stretches his legs out and rests his folded hands on his stomach.
“This stupid plan you devised to convince Blakely I’m the guy for her.”
“You mean the Break Blakely Action Plan?”
“I told you, I didn’t like that name. And we shouldn’t be naming it anyway. I can’t go through with this.”
Posey lets out a huge sigh, then at the top of his lungs, he shouts, “Frozen Fellas assemble.”
I flinch from the projection of his voice before asking, “What the hell is Frozen Fellas?”
“You know inTed Lasso. They have the Diamond Dogs and go over the problems they’re facing. Well, I thought we needed aname, so I came up with Frozen Fellas. You know, because we’re men and we play hockey. Catchy, isn’t it?”
“No,” I reply just as Pacey, Silas, and OC approach. OC sits across from us, and Pacey and Taters kneel in the seats in front of us but turn around so we can see them. Jesus Christ, they reported quickly. “Where’s Hornsby?” I ask.
“He isn’t officially a Frozen Fella yet. He hasn’t signed the NDA. Something about him wanting his lawyer to look through it.”
“You’re an idiot,” I say.
“Dude, I’m just protecting you and your interests. He’s with Penny. If she found out about Break Blakely, you know she’d tell her. Is that what you want? You want Blakely to know that you purposely walked around this morning without a shirt on to entice her with your rippling chest?” He elbows me in the side. “You did that, right? You went shirtless?”
“I did, and I felt like the biggest douchebag.”
“Did she check you out?” Pacey asks.
“I don’t know. I was too fucking worried that I was making her uncomfortable to even notice.”
