A Guide to Being Just Friends, page 7
“Oh my God. That would be the best rom-com,” Megan said, clapping her hands together.
A fellow rom-com lover. Piper often teased her, good-naturedly, for that as well. Hailey looked at Piper. “Listen, I know you’re used to looking out for me but I’ve got this. You don’t need to set me up. I have no intention of meeting anyone right now.”
“Not wanting a relationship doesn’t mean you can’t have some safe fun—”
Megan shoved Rachel’s shoulder. “Stop. You’re going to scare her away from book club.”
Fiona snorted, folding her feet up under her, nestling into the chair. “If she wasn’t concerned that we haven’t cracked a book either time, I think we’re good. So, want a copilot? At least this way you’ll be safe. It’s way harder for him to bury two bodies than one.”
Hailey felt like her head was underwater. Had she really thought her new life would be dull compared to some of the Hollywood glitz and glamour of her old days?
“I guess it would be good for you to see that there are other non-Dorian guys out there even if you’re not ready yet.” Piper picked up a bottle of wine and poured the last dribble into her glass.
The women took turns asking her questions about dating an actor and who she’d met at parties. They’d clearly held back when first meeting Hailey. This time, there were no boundaries. The conversation veered back and forth, off on one tangent, rerouted to another. It was wonderful. Hailey wasn’t sure when she’d last had this: a sense of belonging. These were Piper’s friends but they were accepting her, making her one of their own because of her cousin.
Her life in L.A. had consisted of working, planning for her future, and spending many nights alone in hopes that Dorian would wrap early. She’d stopped herself from really living, and worse, she hadn’t even realized she was missing out.
No more. She toasted herself in her mind: to new adventures, to new friends, and to new beginnings.
9
His brother’s comment about creating the perfect woman stuck in his brain. Was it so wrong that he wanted someone he was compatible with? He had no doubt his brothers would both marry the women they were with. He could feel their love, their attraction. But the truth was, that physical chemistry didn’t equal permanence. As Hailey said, it wasn’t a guarantee—though she had said it with a hint of longing in her tone. To be honest, he didn’t trust those emotional feelings.
He waved to the woman across the way from where he stood at the patio door. She wore a red dressing gown today. He should find out who she was, send her some cake. There was something about her, even though they’d never spoken, that reminded him of his grandmother, whom he adored and missed. She waved back after he’d already settled into thoughts about what he was doing with his life, then laughed out loud.
“Now you’re thinking like Dad.” How many times had his father asked him why he was messing around with “those goddamn games” when he had the brain capacity to do something extraordinary? Of course, by that, his father meant anything that profited his own companies.
Wes was honest enough with himself to know he was similar to his father in many ways. Not the coldhearted, detached way, but certainly a left-brain, analytical thinker. His mother, on the other hand, was as far to the right side of the brain as one could be. Their union had been a disaster. They’d based decision after decision, including their elopement and four children, on a roller-coaster ride of feelings—until the ride crashed. Splintered apart.
He didn’t want that. There’d been no common ground and both of them ended up lost. That was the part Wes feared most: losing himself in another person to the point that without them, he’d end up traipsing around the world like his mother or crushing everything in his path like his father.
Instead, he wanted a smoothly paved road with someone he could care about with limits. Mutual admiration and affection didn’t seem like too much to ask for. Maybe it was foolish but if he could perfectly program a multilevel video game, why couldn’t he plan his love life?
The dating apps weren’t working. He needed the perfect balance of spark and sensibility. There had to be some chemistry but not so much he’d give up his soul. Or his heart. Why was he torturing himself with this? He’d been through enough change in the last couple of months. Adding dating into the equation was doing nothing more than exhausting him. Besides, his life didn’t feel as … aimless at the moment. He smiled, thinking of Hailey. Perhaps he’d just needed a friend.
His phone buzzed with his grocery alarm. Saturday evenings were for shopping at the larger box store. It was quiet and well stocked. Leaving his balcony door open a touch, he added a reminder in his phone to schedule someone to install AC, then double-checked his grocery list against his fridge and cupboards.
If he needed a last-minute item, he could easily walk to one of the smaller convenience shops in the square. Walking was in his blood, being a New Yorker. But it was easier, on these larger, weekly shops, to take the car.
As usual, there were few customers, so he backed his SUV into a spot close to the door. Setting his reusable bags in the front of the cart, he grabbed his sanitizing spray and gave the handles a little spritz before tucking it back in the bag.
With his phone sitting on the bags, list open, he navigated his way to the left, preferring to start on one side and work his way to the other. He loved mundane, simple tasks that needed doing but required no brain power. It was typically when he brainstormed ideas for the gaming worlds or apps he created.
Six each of apples, oranges, and pears, and one bag of green grapes. As a kid, he’d play Mario Kart and then draw his own version of the worlds. He’d kept those tucked away in a sketchbook labeled BIG IDEAS. He smiled to himself now as he set back the bag of grapes he’d chosen and went with red instead. He was so naïve when he was young. He’d actually asked his father if he could help him get his game ideas to Nintendo. He had all sorts of additions they could have made to make the games even cooler than they were.
His father had squashed that idea like a fire ant. With malice and purpose.
“Wes?”
He turned at the sound of his name and his smile escaped without warning. “Hey, Hailey.”
She was dressed in a pale blue hoodie and a pair of black pants that came just below her knees. Her flip flops revealed brightly painted toenails, which, for some reason, made him smile wider.
“Making fruit salad?” She gestured to his cart.
“Not exactly.” He eyed her basket.
She moved it behind her back, making him laugh too loud.
“That’s a lot of chocolate. I’m beginning to worry you might have a problem.” He arched his brows, waited her out.
“Buying for a friend.”
He laughed again. “Sure.”
“Whatever, Mr. Healthy. I hadn’t gotten to this section yet. I hit the important stuff first.” She picked up an orange and put it in her basket. He stared at her, amused, as she held his gaze, reached for an apple, and put that in her basket, too.
“To dip in my chocolate,” she said.
The wires in his brain crisscrossed for a nanosecond, heating his skin.
“Smart,” he said, his voice unexpectedly gruff.
She fell into step beside him, leaned in to check out his list. She smelled like fruit and soap, which, in his opinion, was nicer than expensive perfumes.
“A man on a mission. You’re very organized. Shoot. I actually need to grab some organic lettuce. I only order a small amount because most people order regular. My shipment doesn’t come until end of next week. Give me a sec.” She thrust her basket at him.
He watched as she hurried to the organic cooler. By the time she came back, several packs of lettuce in her arms, he’d sprayed down the handles of her basket and set it inside the lower part of his cart.
She leaned forward over her basket and let the lettuce fall. “Awesome. Thank you.”
He had no idea what she was thanking him for. “You’re welcome. Is that all you need?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. You have lots on your list. Mind if I keep you company?”
He stopped and stared at her. “You don’t know what you need?”
She grinned and pointed at her basket. “I got what I needed under the lettuce. How come you’re at the grocery store on a Saturday night?” She put her hands on her hips. “Is this what all the cool kids are doing?”
Pushing the cart forward, he bit back his smile. “You have no idea who the cool kids are if you’re looking my way.”
She was quiet as they turned down the pasta aisle. He chose spaghetti.
“So, still no dates?”
He glanced at her as they headed toward the sauces. “Definitely not. We talked about this. We’re lone wolves. Together.”
He’d been aiming to make her smile but her gaze lit up and she beamed at him. Like freaking sunshine. She lifted her arm, held out her fist. For a second, he just stared at it, then realized she was offering him a fist bump.
Wes gently connected his fist to hers, all the while shaking his head. “You are a strange woman, Hailey Sharp.”
“I have been called so much worse.”
She said it so casually, like it was a joke but one that was true. It bothered him. He was thinking of a way to bring it up, to ask who would call her anything negative at all, as he looked at jarred sauce.
“You’re not buying a premade sauce, are you?”
He looked down, startled by the brightness of her gaze. She had very pretty eyes. “I grew out of butter and parmesan at twelve, so yes.”
She smiled, patted his arm. “You never grow out of that but it’s so easy to make your own marinara. I’ll show you. It’ll be a thank-you for the invite tomorrow. Come on. You don’t need much at all. It’ll be healthier and taste so much better.”
Bubbles of happiness fizzed in his chest, confusing him. He did not want to date anyone. Particularly this woman as he hadn’t figured her out. But he’d really hoped she’d join them tomorrow. As a friend. Was he going to find it difficult to keep that straight in his head? Or worse, his heart? No.
“You’re coming?”
She placed two large cans of diced tomatoes in his cart. “If that’s still okay. I’m bringing a friend because my cousin is worried you might murder me and bury me in the sand.”
He might never figure her out. “We try not to get that aggressive during the volleyball. Noah can be a pretty bad sport but I don’t think he’d go that far.”
Her laughter surprised him. It rang out over the quiet music humming through the store. “I’m not very good at volleyball so it looks like I’ll be safe from finding out.”
“I’m glad you’re joining us. You’ve made another friend? That was fast.” He watched as she put olive oil and balsamic vinegar in his cart.
“I did. Through my cousin. Her name is Fiona. We made a trade.”
His curiosity prickled but she didn’t say anything else. They strolled through the aisles, him adding items from his list, her grabbing whatever caught her gaze.
“I should ask Fiona if she’ll come to yoga. I found a studio right in the square.”
“That doesn’t surprise me,” he said after a speaker announcement finished. “There’s probably one every few blocks. I’m glad you have a yoga friend.”
Hailey chuckled, one hand on his cart, close to his own. “A yoga friend. We still need to figure out what kinds of things we can do together that fits between yoga and drinking beer. Though, I’m not opposed to beer.”
“Well, we could grocery shop. This is platonic.” He grabbed a three-pack of toothpaste.
“Definitely. Cooking—I’ll show you how to make the sauce. What could you show me?” She looked up at him with such a sweet expression, his breath hitched.
Noah’s voice and inappropriate thoughts jumped into his head but he just smiled. “Know how to play Red Dead Redemption?”
“No.”
“I’ll show you. It’s fun.”
At the baking aisle, she stopped his cart with a gentle tug. “Do you have brown sugar?”
“No.”
She pulled the cart down the aisle. “It’s the secret ingredient.”
“To life?”
She looked back over her shoulder. “Ha. You’re funny. But no. To the marinara.”
His skepticism must have shown because she set a bag in the cart then put her hands on her hips. “If we’re going to be friends, you need to trust me. At least on this.”
“Is that a rule?”
She nodded. “A hard-and-fast one. Agreed?” She held out her hand.
“You know,” he said, an idea forming in his mind on how to keep his brain and heart on the straight and narrow. “We’re creating a how-to guide of sorts.”
She laughed, still holding her hand out. “A what?”
“Activities, hard-and-fast rules.” He shook her hand, held it for a moment, ignoring the pins and needles feeling as their skin brushed together. Yes. A guide was a great idea. He dropped her hand. “A guide. To staying just friends.”
Now she grinned a wide toothy grin. “Uh-oh, are you so impressed with my Saturday-night outfit that we need a guide to keep you from falling in love with me? Is it the color of my sweatsuit or the fact that it says ‘Brat’ on my butt?”
His gaze widened. “I wasn’t looking at your butt.” He was very curious now though. Shit. He was making things worse.
Hailey put her hand on his bicep. “You make me laugh, Wes. I’m joking, there’s nothing written on my butt. A guide could be fun, especially if you illustrate it.”
God. He really liked her, how it felt to be around her. She was happy and hopeful. It made him feel the same without any of the pressure to try and be more.
“When are we making this marinara?”
They continued through the aisle and he wasn’t surprised when she grabbed a box of cookies. This time he stopped. “Do you need an intervention?”
Hailey’s gaze narrowed. “There’s lettuce in my basket.”
“To sell to customers.”
“I’m surrounded by salad all day. Trust me, I get my fruit and veggie quota. Life without cookies is just dumb.”
“I might have to see about getting that put on a plaque,” he said, surprised that he fell into teasing her so easily.
Maybe it was because he missed his sister. Everyone got on Ari’s case about not knowing what she wanted out of life. She spent her days trying everything to figure it out. Even when they didn’t see each other much, they always got along. This easy back-and-forth with Hailey reminded him of how easy it was to be around Ari. Because she never expected anything from anyone. She just accepted them as they were. She sure as hell hadn’t learned that from their father. She was the only one who knew about his dream of designing and selling games.
Hailey was digging around in the purse she had slung across her chest. “Speaking of such things, check this out.” She lifted a card close to his face.
“You got business cards. That’s fantastic. They’re great. Very on brand.”
“That’s a very marketing thing to say. On brand. Yes. They suit me and By the Cup. My cousin introduced me to her book club, which is actually just a gossip, wine-drinking club. Two of them, sisters, made these for me as a welcome-to-California gift.”
“They’re fantastic. That was a nice gesture on their part.”
She’d started to walk but stopped and looked up at him with an earnest expression that made him want to pull her into a hug. “People have been so nice to me since I got here. You included. Thank you.”
“You’re pretty easy to be nice to. Besides, you need someone to monitor your sugar intake.”
Slapping his arm, she laughed and walked forward. “Maybe we just need to up yours.”
“I did introduce you to the chocolate cake. Oh, Tara will probably be there tomorrow. I was thinking you could chat with her about cross-marketing.”
The store announced they were closing in fifteen minutes. Wes looked at his phone. He never took this long to shop. By now, he was usually home with everything put away.
Hailey lifted her basket out of his cart. She looked down at the items in it. “I derailed your shopping, didn’t I?”
She had. But he wasn’t sorry. “It’s okay. I have most of what I needed.” Several things he didn’t. “Do you want me to bring up the cross-promo idea with Tara tomorrow?”
He saw, in the way her jaw set and her eyes darted back and forth, that she was about to refuse. She had a healthy amount of pride. He could absolutely respect that but wondered why. What made her need to prove herself on her own? To not ask much of another person who could clearly help her? “As a thank-you for teaching me to make marinara next week.”
Her smile was reason enough. She had a great smile. It was interesting, this being friends thing. He liked talking to her, being with her, but he didn’t have to be “on.” Didn’t have to make small talk or say he liked things he didn’t. All this time, he’d thought he needed a girlfriend, but what he really needed was a girl friend. The best of both worlds.
10
“What’s the weirdest article you’ve ever written?” Hailey was enjoying the ride to the beach far more than she’d expected. Like her, Fiona, who’d offered to drive, liked chatting about everything and nothing.
Fiona’s lips twisted in a thoughtful pout. “Oh, I wrote one that matched your toenail polish with your favorite sex position.”
Hailey nearly spit out the sip of water she’d just taken. “That’s not a real thing.” What did teal blue say? “Abstinence by necessity?” She wiggled her toes in her flip-flops.
“Of course not. That’s why I love it. In a world full of bad news and sadness, I can’t even tell you how much joy I get from writing these kinds of things.”
The ocean came into view and Hailey’s breath caught in her lungs. It was gorgeous. Just this wide expanse of blue that settled something inside of her.
“It’s so important to do what you love,” Hailey murmured.
“Try telling that to any of the guys I’ve dated, my parents, or even some of my colleagues.”
