“Have you seen him?”
“Of course. It’s like nothing happened. Except it did. But I just need to put it out of my head. Onward. I’m not pining after a guy and honestly, I was a bit tipsy, he was all dressed up, it was romantic. It’s Wes. He drives me nuts and makes me laugh in equal parts but it wasn’t like that between us before and it’s my own fault I made things messy.”
“Are they messy?”
Hailey shrugged. Not really. But every now and again, she caught him looking at her in a way that made things feel … messy.
“No. They’re good. I’m seeing him tomorrow with his family. I’m excited. I can’t wait to give him his gift.”
She’d worked hard to choose just the right image from his drawings to have inked and framed. In addition to that, she’d bought him a gorgeous leather-bound art book with high-quality pencils. She hoped he’d love it. He didn’t put nearly enough stock in his own talent.
“I’m sure he’ll love it. I’m glad to hear you’re not pining away for him.”
Hailey smiled. “He’s my friend. There’s no room for pining.” Keep saying it. Maybe it’ll feel true.
Piper made herself busy, putting the turkey in the oven and not meeting Hailey’s gaze. Like a sixth sense, Hailey’s skin prickled.
“You know what would make tonight perfect?” Piper met her gaze finally.
“What did you do?”
“It wasn’t me. Not really. I mean, people shouldn’t be alone on Christmas.”
“Piper.” She gripped the countertop.
“It’s just us and I didn’t think there was any harm and you’re not pining for anyone. I thought—”
“Piper.”
She winced. “Seth is joining us for dessert on the way home from Christmas with his family.”
Hailey shook her head. “I’m borrowing one of your shirts.”
“You’re not mad?” Piper came around the counter, put an arm around Hailey’s shoulders.
This might be just what she needed to keep her from pining. “Mad that you invited a good-looking, successful, nice man to dinner at a time when I need a distraction? No.”
Piper’s forehead creased with worry. “Do you need a distraction from how you feel about Wes?”
Did she? “Maybe just a distraction from trying to figure out how I feel.” That was as much as she could admit right now.
“Then I’m not sorry. Why don’t you go up and use the Jacuzzi tub? Borrow my clothes. Go pamper yourself. You’ve been working so much.”
“You’re the one with kids. Shouldn’t you do that?”
Piper pulled her arm, putting a finger to her lips. They walked to the doorway that separated the kitchen from the family room. The girls were asleep with their heads on their stuffed animals. Jason had crawled up and curled into his father’s side. They were all snoring softly.
“Merry Christmas to all,” Piper whispered.
Hailey smiled, nudged her cousin forward. “Go rest with your family. I’ll watch the food.”
Her cousin went to the couch, nuzzled up to Jason, kissing his forehead, before laying her head on Nick’s arm. When her eyes closed, Hailey took her phone out of her reindeer-patterned pocket and snapped a picture.
A distraction would be good.
29
Wes listened to Morty’s sister, Dolly, tell them how he used to use her Barbie dolls as an audience for reading his favorite books.
Beside him, Hailey put her hand over her mouth and he knew she was hiding her grin.
Morty was doing nothing to hide his scowl. “If we’re telling tales, I have some memories of you having some pretty elaborate tea parties with members of the Beatles who looked a lot like stuffed bears.”
Dolly, an energetic woman with a strip of bright green in her snow-white hair, shrugged. “I regret nothing.”
It felt good, Wes realized, to be sitting with this eclectic group of people. It felt more like a family Christmas than any of the ones he could remember as a kid, even before his parents divorced.
They’d decided to use Boxing Day as their family Christmas to allow for the couples to have their own Christmases. Wes had spent a quiet day finishing up Hailey’s gift and texting her. He’d nearly suggested they get together but didn’t want to intrude on her day with her cousin.
Chris and Everly were curled into an oversized chair in Noah and Grace’s living area. The fire danced, giving off a low-level heat that worked against the breeze coming in through the open, screened windows. It was interesting, the scent of the ocean blending with the crackle of the fireplace.
The tree in the corner of their living room near the window seat was easily ten feet tall. It was decorated beautifully with ornaments Grace had handpicked. Neither Grace nor Noah had ornaments from their childhood. But they’d started a tradition this Christmas where each of the brothers gave the others one.
“One day, you’ll have a tree decorated with memories,” Grace had said.
Wes loved the idea and hoped his brothers both liked what he’d chosen with Hailey’s help.
“I don’t know how Tilly puts up with you,” Dolly said, a happy grin on her face.
“Oh, he’s not like this when we’re alone,” Tilly said, patting Morty’s leg.
“I’ve lived with him. He’s worse,” Grace said. She was tucked between Noah’s legs on the floor near the tree. They all had that after-dinner, post-turkey haze about them.
“Stayed pretty long for someone who didn’t like the company,” Morty said, taking a drink of his tea, which Wes was pretty sure was laced with bourbon.
Grace had worked for Morty after he’d broken his hip and once he was back on his feet, they’d become close enough that Grace stayed. This hodgepodge family they made up was unlike anything Wes ever expected to be part of. He glanced at Hailey again while the others went back and forth telling stories and quasi arguing.
Would she be here next year? Would she be with someone? Would he? There were moments when he forgot to push the memory out of his head that he could feel the pressure of her lips.
“Do I have something on my face?” she asked, humor lacing her tone.
Wes jolted, realizing he’d been staring. “No. Nothing.”
She scrunched her brows, looking at him like he was being weird. Probably because he was. He needed those stupid Tetris pieces inside of him to settle the hell down into nice straight lines.
Dolly got up to grab some more tea, asked if anyone wanted any. Hailey offered to help her.
When they came back, Dolly was telling Hailey about a spice mix she used with chicken.
“I’d love the recipe,” Hailey said. “We make a Fiesta Cup that’s popular. I’m always looking for new ideas though.” She looked at Wes. “Leo is really great with coming up with salad combinations. He was actually talking about going to culinary school.”
Wes’s heart gave an extra pump. “He’s a good kid. I’m glad to hear he’s enjoying it. He’s in a tricky situation, living at home. He’s not sure how much he can get for scholarships but his parents make too much for him to get a lot of financial assistance.”
“We should be looking into offering a scholarship of some sort,” Chris suggested.
“Maybe something that isn’t just for teens heading to college,” Wes said, an idea humming in his brain. “I was chatting with a guy who came to pick his kid up from the coding class a few weeks ago. He was asking about adult training. Turns out, he’d been laid off after ten years with his company and wasn’t sure how relevant his current skills were. He needs to keep paying his bills while getting retrained. That’s tough in any economy.”
“I think that’s a lovely idea,” Dolly said. “There are lots of adults who need help but it’s not always easy to ask for it. I’ve only just squared away the medical bills from my husband’s passing. Even with my pension, I’m still tight every month. But who’s going to hire an old woman like me?”
Hailey set her cup of tea on the table. “I would.” Everyone looked her way. “If you’re serious. Things are busier than I could have hoped at the shop. If you can make salads, work a cash machine, do prep work, I’d be happy to give you some hours.”
“Don’t mess with me, honey. My heart isn’t as young as it used to be,” Dolly said, giving her a sassy smile.
Hailey laughed. “I’m not messing with you. Bryce and Leo are great but I’d love to designate one of them to deliveries, which means I need more counter help.”
“How about the catering? How’s that going?” Everly asked.
He saw her mouth tighten but no one else seemed to notice. “It’s getting harder to split my time. I’ve got a couple more scheduled that I need to do. The side work helps with the rent increase but I don’t enjoy it. The shop is everything I wanted.” She gave a “what can you do” shrug.