“Let me get this straight,” Piper said, taking the tray of salads out of Hailey’s hands. “First he’s a jerk, then he apologizes and you actually let him help you—total growth there, cous—and now you’re hanging with his family at a beach house?”
“Good recap. Why do you sound so suspicious?”
Piper set the tray down and turned to face Hailey, who dug through her purse, which she’d dumped on the counter, for some ChapStick. Finding it, she glossed her lips, then put it back, looked around the room with serious envy. Piper’s kitchen was a dream—one of the things they’d always had in common was their love of cooking.
“Hails. Come on. Hot guy says sorry, whips up your website, and now you’re headed to a beach house in the middle of nowhere?”
Hailey’s jaw dropped and she tilted her head. “Whoa. That’s what you got out of me telling you? I didn’t say Wes was hot. When I was here last, your friends offered to help me with some design and marketing. Why is it sinister when Wes does something similar?” Two of the women, sisters Megan and Rachel, ran an Etsy-style shop that specialized in all things stationery.
“Yeah but other than Rachel—who is in a committed relationship—none of my friends would want to get in your pants.”
She couldn’t help but laugh. “Neither does Wes. Trust me. It’s a day at the beach, new friends. I need to meet people somehow. I’m not into clubbing and that’s not how you meet friends anyway. How do people in their thirties start over?”
Piper came to her side and gave her a hug. “Like this, I guess. I just worry about someone taking advantage of you. Or murdering you and burying your body in the sand.”
She pushed out of Piper’s embrace, aware that her cousin’s words echoed Wes’s. “You’re a jerk.”
“But only because I love you. What’s his last name?”
The door opened and female voices danced into the room as Piper said, “Let’s look them up on the internet.”
Rachel set down two bottles of wine, one red, one white. “Who are we googling?”
Fiona and Megan followed, joining them in the kitchen. Piper took over telling the women, as she got out wineglasses, about Wes and how Hailey had met him.
“That’s so cute,” Fiona said.
Hailey was regretting her decision to share with her cousin and didn’t really think there was anything cute or worrisome about what she’d said.
Were people really so skeptical about organic friendships? Sure, she hadn’t met him because he slid into her DMs but there was life before whatever was the newest social media app.
She followed the women, salad in one hand and wine in the other. The house was nothing short of sprawling. Two steps led from the kitchen to a living room—one of two. This one had a wall of windows and glass doors that led to the backyard. The pool sparkled in the evening sun. Outdoor furniture was arranged around the gas firepit, inviting guests to curl up and chat.
Piper’s husband had taken their kids to his mother’s. As she walked past family photos on the way out to the deck, she felt that pang of longing again. Just because you don’t have what she does now doesn’t mean you never will. The truth was, she wasn’t ready yet. Though, she knew life wasn’t perfect—below every glittery surface, there was a scratched underbelly. Piper’s husband worked long hours as an investment banker. Piper ran herself ragged many days, caring for their three kids, studying at night. Everything had a downside.
With no books in sight, the women who made up Piper’s “book club” gossiped about everything from who’d just moved into Piper’s neighborhood to the latest entertainment news. When she’d shown up the first time, she’d been stupidly excited to talk about Jasmine Guillory’s latest and greatest but the women hadn’t even brought their books. Hailey had a great night but she’d had a moment of disappointment that it wasn’t an actual book club as well as all the rest. But maybe she needed this more.
Rachel polished off a mango chicken salad in record time, then set down the cup. “That was delicious. I love when salads have fruit in them. Do you make all your own dressing?”
She finished off her salad. “I do. I have a similar base for several of them and then I add different combinations to make them unique.”
“You’re very good at it. One of the magazines I write for does an in-house working lunch every month. Most of us are remote but it’s a good chance for us to bounce ideas off of each other.” Fiona set her empty cup down. “If you have a card, I’ll suggest you for next month.”
Happiness and disappointment ricocheted in her chest. Dammit. Where was her follow-through? Her intentions were good; she’d even looked through several samples, but had been unable to decide on the overall design. “I would love that. Thank you but I don’t have cards yet.” You will get this done. No more putting it off. She’d been busier than expected the last week or two, which was a good thing, but it wreaked havoc on her to-do list.
“Actually,” Megan said, lifting a small box Hailey hadn’t even noticed. She set it in front of her. “It’s our welcome gift. Both to the city and our very serious book group.”
Tears pricked her eyes when she lifted the lid and saw the cutest business cards. She could use that word because it described them perfectly without making them less professional. BY THE CUP was written in a cursive font with her name underneath. The top right corner had a little salad cup filled with colorful veggies, surprisingly similar to the little sketch Wes had done. There was a delicate line with a swirl in the middle on the bottom of the card. The lettering was bright blue, like at her store.
“These are incredible.” She sniffled. Piper put her arm around her shoulder.
“We also brought you this,” Rachel said, handing her a flash drive. “It’s so you can print more anytime you like, but there are also coupons and gift cards on there. The file is editable but if you have any trouble, give me a call.”
“Isn’t your new buddy, Wes, a tech guru?” Piper asked.
“Oh!” Fiona sat up straight, grabbed her phone. “We didn’t google him.”
Hailey’s throat felt thick but she waved her hand in front of her. “Please don’t. I don’t think I’m imagining things. I’d like to believe, despite recent events in my life, that I still have some sort of gauge on people. I don’t want to stalk his social media or find him on his dating apps. Other than this, you guys and Piper, I haven’t met anyone I clicked with friendship wise. It seems weird that Wes and I would click in that way at all but he’s got this dry humor and interesting take on life. I just want to enjoy building my new life. I wouldn’t want him to look into any of you. Please.” She needed to restore faith in her own judgment.
Fiona set her phone down. “That’s fair. They said you could bring a friend. I’ll go with you.”
Setting the box of cards down, she stared at her cousin’s friend. “Really? You’d do that?”
Megan said something under her breath and pretended to cough. Piper laughed. Rachel rolled her eyes and picked up her wine.
“Oh, she’ll do that and a whole lot more for you,” Rachel said. Her hair was swept back from her face in a loose ponytail that swung from side to side when she shook her head.
“What am I missing?” Hailey looked at Piper.
“Nothing,” Fiona answered. “I’m a nice person, I like you, so I offered to do something nice.”
Hailey grinned, waiting for the other shoe to drop. “And?”
Fiona picked up her wine, not a hint of regret in her steady gaze. “And I sometimes need a sidekick to research my articles.”
Piper squeezed Hailey’s arm. “Usually what she gets us into is harmless.”
“Usually?” Hailey laughed. She wanted new adventures but she had her limits. “What are you working on right now?”
“I’m doing an article on whether or not you can find love in five minutes.”
Hailey’s jaw dropped. “Can that be done?” The others laughed. Instant lust, sure. Attraction? Obviously. But love? Come on. I couldn’t find it in a three-year committed relationship.
Fiona’s gaze was skeptical. “Doubt it, but I’m looking into speed dating results. People who claim they’ve found their forever in those few minutes.”
“I find it hard to imagine. I don’t even want to. I’m happy not to be dating,” Hailey said. She meant it; not focusing on that kind of relationship was giving her herself back.
Piper leaned back. “I should ask Nick to set you up with someone.”
Hailey huffed out a deep sigh. “I’m not ready to date again but when I am, I’m going to have to go through one of these methods, Pipes. Seriously, I’m not going back to college to meet a guy.”