Give me a second, I’m looking for a GIF of someone strangling their brother.
Wes reached his apartment with twenty minutes to get ready for his meeting. Between missing his brothers and his increasingly strained relationship with his dad, it hadn’t taken much convincing for Wes to follow them to the West Coast. He loved New York but it changed when the two people he was closest to left.
Now he was here and he was happy but he was also restless, and that wasn’t something he was used to. His brothers had really found their groove. Wes didn’t have to work. He could dive into actually creating a video game if he wanted. He’d been thinking more and more about it but still felt this nagging sense of guilt that it would be a “waste” of his time and talent.
Hell, he could spend every day on the beach with someone bringing him ice-cold beers if he wanted. His father would probably respect that more. Why the hell do you still care what he thinks? Glancing at his sketchbook, it was like he could hear his father’s words. They were like a tattoo he wanted removed. That took time.
Grabbing an iced tea from his fridge, he sat down at his small kitchen table, next to the window, listening to the sound of low, soft music drifting out of someone’s apartment.
Chris and Noah seemed so centered, sure of what they were doing. Opening his tablet, Wes reviewed his emails. He took care of all the paperwork, the tech support for each company, vetted possible acquisitions, dug into companies, and managed the investment portfolio. Professionally, he was doing everything he wanted and now, he was doing it with his favorite people.
They were going to create an empire that matched their father’s. His focus was best served doing exactly what he was already doing.
He thought of how happy Hailey seemed every single time she made a sale or took an order. He hadn’t felt like that about a deal or acquisition in so long it felt like a ghost of a memory.
Pushing his tablet aside, he opened his laptop, told himself to stop searching for problems. He was as privileged as it could get. He had no right to feel this little tick of disquiet. If he wasn’t careful, he’d be just like his father, never content with what he had. Always needing more and not caring who he had to step on to get it.
He sighed, clicked on the Zoom link for his meeting. Maybe Hailey was right—he needed to do some yoga.
7
People were weird. But Hailey was so grateful to have a steady stream of customers today, she didn’t care. Today she’d had three elderly women argue over who was paying and they nearly left without any of them doing so. There’d been a father-son duo who asked if she had anything on plates. They were followed by a group of teens who ordered individual cups of vegetables: one cup of carrots, one cup of cucumbers, one cup of tomatoes, and one cup of snap peas. They didn’t want lettuce or forks. Who was she to judge? This week had been much better than last and regardless of how strange some requests were, she loved interacting with people.
“Do you use organic lettuce?” the dark-haired, dark-skinned woman asked. She’d been studying the menu for about five minutes. Her workout clothes reminded Hailey that she really did want to look into yoga. She could go alone. Maybe she’d meet new friends. If you had your business cards ready, you could take them. She’d only made one new pal—which still made her laugh because she and Wes were very different—but it felt like she was on a roll.
“I have that option, yes.” Hailey smiled at the woman, who clearly took salads seriously. A trait she both admired and appreciated.
“Okay. I’m ready.” The woman nodded in confirmation, clapping her hands together.
Hailey bit the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing at the way she announced the words. This salad better be one of your best or she’ll be disappointed.
“I’ll have seven Chicken Landslides and three Pesto Pastas.”
“Did you want organic lettuce for the Landslides?” Hailey pulled on gloves, grabbed ten cups, the happy dance in her wanting to escape. She had to stop acting like having customers was a miracle. Act like you’ve been there. Ha. She hadn’t though!
“No, thanks. How long have you been open?” The woman scanned the empty store before turning her warm brown eyes back to Hailey.
“I’ll be celebrating a month soon. I’m really loving the area.”
“Welcome to the neighborhood. I work at a gym not too far from here. I have a feeling my co-workers are going to be thrilled there’s something like this close by.”
Hailey had practiced making each salad so many times, it was easy to carry on a conversation while she whipped them up. “I was hoping salads would be a hit. This is California, after all.”
The woman gave a happy laugh, making her ponytail bounce when she nodded. “We do like our veggies and smoothies. I’m Jaycee, by the way. I think you’ll probably see me again. Do you have a loyalty reward card or anything?”
Wes’s slightly know-it-all voice rang in her head. Yeah, yeah, she needed to do that. “I’m Hailey, and not yet but I’m working on it. How about today I just knock off the price of a salad?”
“Awesome.” Jaycee’s phone beeped and drew her attention even as the bell rang over the door.
She recognized Noah and his laughing eyes. He was followed by Chris, who had slightly lighter hair and a more serious smile. Wes was behind him and her heart did a happy little skip. She told herself it was the same one as when she saw Piper. Having friends stop by felt good.
She smiled and waved as he came through the door. “Hey, guys!”
They waved. Wes had a shy, slightly awkward smile that she found appealing. Platonically speaking. Because there was no other category for her right now. Even if there was, she didn’t want a checklist, ideas man. She’d had enough of that with Dorian. You should wear the blue dress, it goes with what I’m wearing. You shouldn’t wear those sunglasses; they’re too big for your face. You should separate my laundry from yours. My clothes are more expensive.
The guys said something to Wes that made his gaze narrow as they made their way to a table.
“I think a couple of them work out at my gym,” Jaycee said.
It was hard to see Wes as a gym rat but she’d proven she didn’t always get the best read on people. If he did go, it probably wasn’t for yoga.
“I’ve become addicted to the cake next door, so maybe I should work out at your gym,” Hailey said, finishing up the Landslides.
Jaycee dug around in her purse, then slid a card over the counter. “Here’s a free pass if you want to try it.”
As Hailey accepted it, an idea whirled in her brain. She thought about what Tara had said about joining forces with other shops, but what if she could branch out farther than the square? She should talk to Piper and see what she thought.
“Thanks. I just might do that.”
Jaycee left with a bag full of salads and Hailey got a satisfying thrill out of ringing up her order. She’d planned to go to the table and ask the guys what they wanted but they approached the counter.
“Hey,” she said, meeting Wes’s gaze.
“Hey. That was a lot of salad.” He gestured with his thumb toward the door.
“It was. Every day gets better.”
“You remember Noah and Chris. Guys, you remember Hailey…” he trailed off.
“Sharp,” she said. “I guess we didn’t exchange last names. Though, I know yours.”
Noah—his eyes crinkling—started to say something but Wes elbowed him in the ribs. Hailey laughed.
Wes pointed to Noah. “Try to ignore most of what he says.”
Noah bounced his eyebrows. “It’s nice to see you again, Hailey. Sorry my brothers don’t know how to behave.”
“I’m regretting bringing you both here,” Wes said, shaking his head. He rubbed a hand over his smooth jaw—did he ever let just a hint of stubble grow? She bet it’d look good on him.
“Well, I’m thrilled he brought you, and I had a customer order a BLT cup with no lettuce or tomato today so you won’t ring any bells for strangest order.”
“They wanted just a cup of bacon?” Noah’s smile was charming and bright.
She nodded. “Yup. And dressing of course. Wanna guess what kind?”
Wes’s smile increased in tiny degrees. “Ketchup?”
Scrunching her face, she pointed at him. “Yes! How did you know that?”
Chris clapped Wes on the back. “Big fan of ketchup and bacon sandwiches right here.”
She couldn’t stop herself from making an “ew” face. “I’m sorry. To each their own. Totally legit. I dip fries in ice cream.”
“That’s actually pretty good. Gracie, my girlfriend, introduced me to that,” Noah said, scanning the menu.
“Everly loves peanut butter and bananas together,” Chris said. His smile was warm and when he said her name, his tone softened.