They moved forward in the line. “He works with my cousin’s husband.”
Wes paid for his purchases, took his bags. They walked out, heading toward the food fair because Hailey wanted a drink. She turned her head, watching his profile as they walked. His jaw was tight. Was he holding back? Was she? Why was she so confused right now? She’d gotten so good at reading him but right now, he was a closed book.
“I think it’s good you’re dating,” Wes said as she sipped the soda he’d insisted on buying.
He sounded like he meant it but the usual spark in his eyes, the one that made them look like shimmering ocean water, was missing. “It’s just a dinner.”
Wes shrugged. The Wes she knew was not a shrugger. He was a perfect-posture kind of man. “That’s how it starts, isn’t it?”
She shrugged, mimicking him. “I’m not sure I know anymore.” If that’s true, he had dinner with Ana last night. Maybe he’s just trying to be discreet or maybe it’s really none of your business.
He pressed his soda to hers but didn’t smile when he said, “To new beginnings.”
Hailey blinked too many times in a row. She didn’t want to begin again. She wanted to keep going exactly the way they were. She’d been so worried about falling in love again, about being left, she hadn’t considered that not all friendships lasted either. That won’t be true for us. We’ll add it to the guide. Our friendship stays strong even when we find our people.
She huffed out a breath, pasted on a smile. “Who’s next on your list?”
“My mom. I’m going to get her an iPad.”
Hailey shook her head. “I’m so glad we set a limit.”
23
Wes looked around the space. Vaulted ceilings, gorgeous windows that looked out at hillsides of other homes.
“This place is fantastic,” Wes said.
“What do you think?” Noah asked Chris.
“It’s beautiful. I love it.”
“You could buy it, give it to Everly for Christmas,” Noah said, slapping a folded flyer against his hand.
Chris laughed. “Are you out of your mind?”
Noah looked over at Wes for backup. “It’d be totally romantic, right? A house? That’s an epic fucking gift.”
“No, Noah. It’s something two people buy together. I can’t buy a home without letting Everly see it.”
Noah folded his arms across his chest. “Ahh. So you just don’t know what she likes, huh?”
Wes chuckled, wandering the hardwood floors, loving the open concept between the kitchen and living areas.
“You’re an idiot. How did you get Grace to fall in love with you?” Chris wandered the kitchen, running his hand over the granite countertop.
“Looks, charm. I’m basically the whole package.”
Chris stopped, looked at Wes. “What do you think? Buy a woman a house as a gift?” His lips quirked like he was trying not to laugh.
“Hailey wouldn’t even let me buy her a purse.” His chest tightened with how naturally he’d made the comparison. What he had with Hailey was obviously very different than what his brothers had. Especially since she’d all but told him he and Ana were picture-perfect. The words made his jaw ache. “I think Everly would kill you. For that matter, Grace would do the same.”
Noah looked defeated. “Fine. I thought it’d be cool. You get her a tiny little box, put just the key in it. She unwraps it and is all, what’s this?” Chris and Wes watched in amusement as Noah mimed the scene. “She looks at you and you’re all, our future, baby.” He gestured dramatically.
“For the love of relationships everywhere on earth, please stop. Also, maybe you should run Grace’s gifts by us,” Chris said.
Noah laughed. “I know you can’t buy it without Everly seeing it, wanting it too, but seriously, what do you think?”
Chris gave a smile Wes had only seen a handful of times. Absolute contentment. “She’s going to love it. Let’s set up another walk through.”
When they climbed into Chris’s SUV, Noah took the front seat because, as usual, he’d called it first. Wes scrolled through his phone, checking his emails.
“How’d your thing go the other night?” Chris asked, meeting his gaze briefly in the rearview.
“With Ana? Fine. I sure as hell don’t miss those types of events.” Wes leaned back in the leather seat but he didn’t miss the look that passed between his brothers. It made his neck itch.
“You know, we didn’t have to take on CoreTech. If the Pergo siblings are high-maintenance, we can cut them loose.” Noah turned in his seat as he spoke.
“I worked my ass off to get them. Why would we do that?”
Chris, ever the mediator, glanced back again. “We just don’t want you taking on jobs you aren’t passionate about. We broke out on our own because we wanted to follow our own paths. It’s not about amassing the biggest companies for our portfolio. We aren’t trying to prove ourselves to anyone this time.”
“I know that. But CoreTech looks great in there. They’re opening up a New York office. They offer both physical and digital security. It’s a good match and once I finish analyzing their current system, I’ll have a better idea how to strengthen and expand it. I do think we’re at the point we could stand to hire a couple of assistants though. I’m tired of fielding emails.”
“We could talk to Penny Lee at the community center. They’re doing some résumé-building workshops. People are always looking for work. She said you guys were pleased with the candidates for the board?” Noah turned back around, staring out the windshield while Chris drove.
“Three women, two men. Two of the women were former athletes. They’re all a great fit.”
They chatted about other investments, their current holdings. They circled around their father, silently agreeing to put a pin in that issue. They pulled up to the radio station a short while later, where Wes and Noah had left their vehicles.
In the parking lot, they finished up their conversation about business.
“Do you want to meet at the gym later?” Chris asked Wes.
“Not particularly but I will,” Wes said. He liked running, preferably on a treadmill, which he had in his bedroom. Chris and Noah were a bit more into the gym scene than he was.
“Ask him if he wants to play Wii sports. You’ll get more enthusiasm,” Noah said, shoving his shoulder.
“I don’t see him asking you to go to the gym.” Wes smirked. He knew it was just because Noah lived farther away.
“We should run a game of pickup ball at the rec center. If you guys see Rob tonight, ask him about it. I feel like we should do something for the holidays there.”
“Everly asked about that. The station sponsors so many community food and clothing drives but maybe we should talk to Penny and see if there’s specific needs at the rec center. A way for us to get personally involved.”
“Grace would want in on that. How about Hailey?” Noah asked, looking at Wes.
His heart hiccupped. Noah asked like Wes and Hailey were a … unit. A couple. They might not be the latter but he sure as hell felt like they were the former.
I think it’s good you’re dating. Why the hell had he said that? Especially since the words felt like rocks in his mouth. The night of the speed dating, he’d kept her in his sights, wondering if she’d say yes to anyone. He’d had this odd sense of relief when she hadn’t found anyone she connected with. At the time, he told himself it was because no one there had been good enough for her.
But then she’d said he and Ana looked good together. Kept acting like they were a foregone conclusion. Was that what she wanted? The idea of Hailey with someone who made her happy shouldn’t have left him winded. Maybe he should put that in the guide: we will be happy for each other when the other finds a partner. This didn’t feel like happiness. More like he’d been struck from behind.
“I can ask her. We’re just friends.” His voice must have come out sharper than he intended. Both of his brothers were looking at him with matching curious expressions.
Noah held up his hands. “I wasn’t implying anything different. You guys hang out a lot. She hired Leo. I thought she might want to be part of whatever we do.”
Wes nodded, rubbed his hand over his mouth. “Yeah. I’m sure she would. I should get going. I want to put together a pitch for the CoreTech programmers.”
Again, his brothers exchanged a glance. It was starting to piss him off. “What?”
“Why don’t you design the software?”
“What?” He stared back and forth between them.
Chris stepped forward. “You’ve backed off on designing the apps but you’re really good at them. You like it. We were just thinking, you used to love the design piece. You could customize for CoreTech.”
“That would take a significantly longer time,” Wes said. He was not only good at it, he loved it, but that made him feel like he wasn’t really working or doing his part.