“I kind of feel that I need to have a bet going on of how long it will be before Liam figures out that you two, well…” Keats goads us.
“It was one night!” Hailey and I say in unison, a little white lie. It was two nights, but semantics.
Esme winces. “Yeah… not buying that.”The elevator dings open, and Keats follows Esme out who stops to glance over her shoulder at us now standing motionless in the middle of the elevator. “Hailey caught the bouquet last night. If you two are looking for a discussion topic.”She grins brazenly.
They disappear, but Hailey and I remain, ignoring the fact the doors just closed again.
“I’m sorry. It just popped out of my mouth to Keats. He doesn’t know about last night.”
Hailey’s shoulders sag. “Likewise with Esme.”
“Maybe not our smartest move. They will never let this go.”
Her cheeks puff before she exhales a long breath. “No pressure or anything,” she adds dryly. “This is why we can’t be involved.” She snaps her fingers. “Poof. There goes our friendship group if we fuck up our sleeping-with-one-another skills.”
“And even if we didn’t, there is…”
“My brother,” she finishes, pointing out the obvious.
Our reasons. We’ve just repeated them. We’re all good again and on the same page.
But she’s so damn breathtaking even in a simple summer dress that doesn’t show any patches of scandalous skin.
Scratching my cheek, I’m aware that we’re late, and we have to tiptoe around Liam. “Look, I’m leaving early. I got an email that the team are flying me out earlier for a few meetings. I’ll be away for a week. That’ll give us plenty of time to reset and leave it all as is.”
“Perfect.” She tosses me a smile that feels a little overdone, but I can’t study further because Hailey presses the open button with a strong prod of her finger. She can’t escape fast enough.
Halfway out of the elevator she stops, sighs, and looks at me. “I need to go spend some time with my folks and uncles, didn’t do that enough yesterday. But if I don’t see you again then have a good trip. Maybe I’ll run into you at Foxy Rox when we’re back in Everhope.”
It all sounds so simple and lacks emotion. That’s what it is supposed to be, right?
“Sure thing,” I reply, feeling defeated.
I guess we move on.
11
HAILEY
Slurping the final drops of my iced latte with oat milk through the straw, I realize that I haven’t done much today. It’s summer vacation, and while I involve myself in Lake Spark’s summer school two days a week, today is not one of those days. Instead, I’m wallowing in coffee in my living room on a Friday.
It’s been unbearable the last week if I’m being honest. The wedding weekend was draining on my energy level. Keats and Esme got engaged, which is great, but they are my neighbors, and I have front-row seats to their new status. They have this weird obsession of hanging around the mailbox at the end of the driveway. Sometimes arguing, sometimes completely content. And right now, I’m not in the mood to be reminded of how two people come together and plan a long life.
I debate staying on the sofa to binge a show or consider if eating lunch is a bright idea. I hear the door open and get hit with a cheery presence.
“Yoo-hoo, neighbor. I’ve stopped by to check on my favorite tenant.” Esme waits for me to holler back that she is welcome before she walks in and heads straight to my current spot and plops down next to me.
Not only is she my best friend but she’s technically my landlord since she inherited this Victorian house that’s fit for a family. She even uses one of the rooms upstairs for her photoshoots. Just means I pay next to nothing in rent.
“Why the hell are you in here instead of out in the world? It’s great weather today. Are you still bothered about the other day when that little shit Clay in your class threw something at your back? I mean, no wonder his parents sent him to summer school, brats need to be re-educated on manners.”
That makes me crack a smile. “He didn’t throw something at me, per se. He was tossing his ball of paper to the garbage can and missed.”
“Right.” She doesn’t believe me. “Is it the building? I mean the preschool one? I heard the potential buyer backed out.”
That grabs my interest. “Oh yeah? Where did you hear that?”
“The real estate agent was talking to Sara at the coffee shop.”
