by Sonya Weiss
She tugged him closer.
Clearly, she wants me.
“Haley…” He needed to tell her they shouldn’t do this. When a man and a woman who disliked each other got involved, the passion sizzled for a while, but it would eventually fizzle, and they’d be faced with a whole lot of awkwardness. He shouldn’t.
But maybe just a taste…
He lowered his head, his lips inches from hers, and she rapped him on the end of the nose.
“What are you doing?” She thrust her arm up, dragging his with it, and waved their joined limbs around in the air. “The button on your shirtsleeve is caught on the loop of my bracelet.”
Jeez. How freaking mortifying that she’s not thinking along the same lines as I am.
He quickly disentangled the two of them.
“Were you trying to kiss me?” she asked after inspecting her bracelet.
“No,” he scoffed, shoving his hands into the pockets of his pants like the idea was so ridiculous, how could she even ask that?
“Oh, well, it sure seemed like it.”
“Not in this lifetime, Haley.”
“Same. See you later.” She left, her attention already snagged by her phone.
Max sank back into his chair and tried to work on an order form. The numbers kept morphing into full pink lips mocking and taunting him, daring him to kiss her. He imagined it for a second. Kissing Haley. Sweat broke out on his forehead. If he wanted to ruin his life, the best way to do that would be to make that mistake. He could barely believe he’d almost gone there, done that. It wasn’t like he was interested in her.
He hadn’t been with a woman in a year, not since the F-5 winds of tornado Annalise had touched down on his heart and left all that debris behind. That’s all this…thing…with Haley was. Pent-up need. As soon as Haley and one of the men on her list were together, everything would settle down. He’d get the partnership he’d dreamed of, and life would be good. Grand, even. Never better.
Pleased with the thought, he decided he’d head to the hospital and meet with Bennet. He could have Bennet primed to hand over his bachelor card. Max felt good about this. He was getting squared up with the favor he owed Haley and getting a chance at the partnership at the same time. Though he didn’t like the idea of sacrificing any man to Haley, Bennet was up to bat, and maybe he’d save the rest of the men on the list from her. Feeling like he was on a hero’s journey, Max left to go get the ball rolling.
Chapter Five
Later that day, Haley hummed to herself as she changed out of her clothes and into a light-gray winter dress. The figure-hugging cotton made it as comfortable to wear as a pair of sweatpants. She added knee-high black boots and a slim-fit burgundy blazer. Thanks to her L.A. PR job, she had a closet full of schmooze-wear that could handle casual or upscale outings.
Hair up or down? After a glance at the clock revealed she risked being late to the restaurant if she didn’t get a move on, she left it down.
On the drive to the place, she tried to imagine the sound of Bennet’s voice but kept hearing Max’s deep, overbearing, annoying one instead. She ground her teeth together. Well, she only had to put up with him for a few minutes at lunch, and then he’d leave. She looked forward to seeing Bennet again. They’d dated in high school and had broken up because…because…huh. She couldn’t remember what had caused them to part ways.
She was still pondering that when she parked in front of the restaurant at five minutes before one. Dollie’s had been converted from a former Victorian bed-and-breakfast and was the most popular eating establishment in three counties. A striped blue-and-white canvas ceiling stretched across the outdoor eating space that was always full in the spring and summer months.
Haley suspected its popularity had a lot to do with the great atmosphere coupled with the renowned bourbon cake that flew out of the kitchen before it was barely cool enough to eat.
She checked her appearance one last time in the rearview mirror. “You look fantastic,” she assured herself to calm her nerves. Since coming home, she’d kept ventures out of the house to a minimum and had forfeited places like Dollie’s out of fear of running into one of the several elderly women who’d cluck their tongue, mention how much she’d grown since they’d “diapered that little fanny of yours,” and then tell her how “bless your heart” sorry they were about the video. Taking a deep breath, she practiced how she’d greet Bennet—everything from “good to see you” to “it’s been a while”—until a truck pulled up beside her.
Haley stepped out of the car and strode toward the restaurant. Inside, it was crowded, yet she managed to pinpoint exactly where Max was. Like a burr in her shoe, he was a hard-to-ignore irritant.
He hadn’t noticed her. His head was down, and he was busy scowling and pushing something around on his plate with his fork. She threaded her way through the nearby tables. As if he sensed her arrival, his head shot up, eyes widening, staring at her.
“Haley. You look…nice.” He finally rose and greeted her after a few seconds of wordless staring.
She couldn’t help a little staring of her own. Max had changed into jeans and a black T-shirt that fit his body like they’d been tailor-made for him.
“Where’s Bennet?” Haley asked, looking around with a slight frown. “This was supposed to be a casual run-in.”
“Said he’d be here. Want to go back outside and then come in for your staged appearance?”
“What if I run into him in the parking lot? He’ll think I ate already and am leaving. I’ll miss my chance.”
With a sigh, Max pulled out the chair beside his. “Then stay.”
“Okay. I guess we can go with a plan B. I saw you here, stopped to chat, and then when he gets here, you suddenly remember something you have to do and leave.” Haley sat, and silence filled the space between them. She drummed her fingers on the table.
He tapped his plate with the tines of a fork. “The New Orleans chicken is good, if you’re wondering what to order.”
“I don’t know what I want yet, but for now, I’ll have a glass of wine.” She turned to flag down a waiter.
“You and wine—a meme in the making.”
Haley ordered, and after the waiter left, she asked, “What?”
“New Year’s Eve a few years ago. You and wine and that weird plucking-a-chicken dance you did.”
Haley laughed and shook her head at the memory. “Yeah. Not my finest hour.” Her laughter dwindled the longer she held his gaze. “Maybe you should call Bennet,” she said, glancing away and breaking the weird electricity popping between them. “You could say, ‘Hey, what’s up? Going to stand me up?’ or something like that.”
Max did that slow blink he did when he thought she was a few beers shy of a six-pack. “Call Bennet and”—he cleared his throat and, in a falsetto, continued—“‘Hey, Bennet, gonna stand me up?’” He lowered his voice to a breathy whisper. “‘Call me.’”
Haley gave him her WTH look. “Not like that. Speak the way you normally would.”
“Normally, when guys casually say they’re getting together for lunch, they don’t sweat it if the other doesn’t show.”
“If it were one of my girlfriends who didn’t show, I’d be worried, and I’d call to check up on her.”
“Bennet’s not my girlfriend.”
“You know what I mean.” Haley leaned back as the waiter set a glass in front of her and then poured the wine. She thanked him and took a sip as soon as he left. Bennet was now almost fifteen minutes late. She couldn’t think of any reason… “Wait a second. Did Bennet ever call you back after I left that message for him with the hospital?”
“No. I went to see him.”
“And?”
“We talked.”
“About?”
“I followed your script. Downplay the video, praise the wonder of Haley. He’s here.” M
ax shot to his feet and called out Bennet’s name.
Bennet walked to the table and stopped beside Haley—dark haired, handsome, and looking fine in dress slacks and a casual shirt. Haley waited for the spark to hit her and…nothing.
“Hi, Bennet.” She hugged him.
He pulled back and gave her the once-over. “You look stunning. The same beautiful Haley I remember.” Bennet tapped her lightly under the chin. He slipped into the chair beside her, nudging close enough to let his knee bump hers. Taking her hand in his, he interlocked their fingers. “I have to admit, after seeing your video, I was hesitant to meet you here, but Max convinced me. He said you were desperate to rekindle what we had, and after he threw in tickets to—”
Haley lost the rest of whatever sports event Bennet was going on about. Desperate? Threw in…? Untangling her hand from Bennet’s, she shot to her feet. “Max, I forgot—I need you to help me with something for a second.”
He gave a pointed look at Bennet and back at her as if to say “I already helped” but scooted out of his chair and followed Haley to the rear of the restaurant near the restrooms. Seething, Haley demanded in a low voice, “I’m desperate? And you bribed him? This wasn’t supposed to be a date. A casual run-in with me while the two of you were having lunch, remember?”
Max shrugged. “I tried that, and he wouldn’t agree to come to lunch. Probably because I barely know the guy. I mentioned you, but he still wasn’t enthused and wanted to know if I’d seen the video and did I think you were drunk at the time. Feeling as if he didn’t want anything to do with lunch—much less a future pucker-up with you—I had to sweeten the pot. Hence, the tickets.”
Haley took a breath, hating that her plan was spiraling out of control. Then again… She mentally counted to five. “I can fix this.”
“If you want to fix whatever this is. That guy’s a tool.”
“You haven’t spent as much time with him as I have.”
“I don’t need to. I speak man, and in man language, he’s a tool.”
“I don’t know that… From what I remember, Bennet was a little high strung, but he wasn’t a jerk. Anyway, I can’t just leave and risk Bennet making a scene. I don’t need to star in another video.” Haley took a deep breath. “Just don’t say anything else about me before you leave. You’ve done enough.”
“Aye aye, captain.”
Spinning on her heel, Haley pasted on her glad-to-be-here PR smile and went back to the table.
…
What’d Haley ever see in this guy? He wasn’t just a tool—he was the biggest one in the shed. After listening to Bennet’s conversation about how the man had practically single-handedly saved the world, Max imagined this was what it would be like if zombies sucked out his brain: painful as hell. He couldn’t listen to another second of the guy’s preening.
He spoke up. “So, Ben, if I wanted to take a date for a long, romantic walk on the beach, which one would you suggest?”
Bennet paused midsentence, his weird eyebrows lifting aristocratically. “I don’t shorten my name.”
Max leaned forward, ignoring Haley’s get lost glare. He had no intention of leaving her to fend for herself against this guy. He didn’t trust him. “The beach?” he prompted.
Bennet launched into a detailed explanation of which beach was the best and how many of his established and renowned doctor mentors he’d had the privilege of showing the town’s sights—including the beaches—and how many fine restaurants he’d taken them to while he’d learned from them, because if you wanted to be the best, you had to learn from the best.
Max wanted to know why Bennet’s lips weren’t chapped from all the butt kissing.
The other man finally stopped talking about himself to ask Haley what her job plans were now that she was back.
“I’d like to return to public relations at some point. It’s what I’m good at.”
Bennet bestowed a smile upon Haley. Condescending, from what Max could tell.
“Both my parents are psychologists, and I think I can speak from having the advantage of years of their insight when I say that once someone has had a public humiliation to the extent you have, going back into a job handling other people’s reputations isn’t going to happen. No one wants to be linked to someone whose reputation is as bad as yours.”
Max didn’t like the other man’s attitude, and as he opened his mouth to call Bennet out on it, Haley beat him to the punch. “I think I remember now why things didn’t work out between us. I broke up with you because you constantly analyzed everything I did.”
“Bygones,” Bennet said, waving his hand dismissively. “I’ve already forgiven you, so it’s water under the bridge.” The clueless schmuck continued to talk, running right over Haley trying to speak.
Max wasn’t an expert on women by any stretch of the imagination, but he knew enough to recognize the fire building in Haley. Her responses were getting shorter, testier, even though she kept her tone light.
Dr. Clueless rambled on, still the star of the Me Show.
Haley rose the second the guy paused. “Excuse me; I need to get something in my car.”
Max pushed his seat back. “I’ll help you.” He walked beside her. “What do you need to get in your car?”
“Me. What a joke that turned out to be.” Outside, Haley drew in a deep breath. “One name to cross off the list in permanent marker, that’s for sure.”
“What about the kiss?”
“I don’t have to kiss him to know he is not and never could be my soul mate.”
“Really? He seemed like a great guy,” Max teased. “I mean, he did forgive you.”
She let out a sound that was half an insulting word, half laughter. “He was so pompous! And when he touched my hand, there was nothing. No spark; not even a sizzle.”
“No heat.” Max nodded. “That’s the worst.”
“Make up an excuse for why I had to leave, will you?” Haley extracted her car keys from her purse. “I guess this means I’m back to square one.”
“What’s the next name on the list?”
“Um…Luke Hackett.”
“High school Luke with the track-star sister?”
“That’s the one.”
Max nodded. He didn’t know Luke well other than the couple of times they’d coached Little League. They’d run in the same circles there but had never hung out together off the field. “I’ll hunt him down and drag him toward the altar next.”
Haley gave him a warning look. “Do not mention me and the word ‘desperate’ in the same sentence ever again.”
“Sorry. I missed a step on my mental staircase with Bennet. Don’t worry. I’ll do better this time. I’ll set something up for tomorrow and let you know.”
“I hope so. The countdown to Suzie’s wedding is looming.”
“Valentine’s Day, right?”
“Right.”
“That still gives you all of December and January.” He hoped it didn’t take that long. Hugh would be in town by then, and he had to get out of the coffee shop before he arrived.
“We don’t have all of December and January for Suzie and Eddie to do all the things most engaged couples would do when preparing for a wedding. Eddie’s going to be working overseas. So I have to handle her pressure.” She unlocked her car. “Plus my own. Do you know how much she’ll gloat if I can’t even find a date, much less my soul mate?”
Max did know. He’d always tried to steer clear of Suzie. Everywhere that woman went, she left drama in her wake. He rested his hand on the door while Haley climbed in. “Don’t you worry about a thing. I’ll set this date up and knock it out of the park.”
“Please don’t make me look bad.”
“I’ve got this. I’m not going to jeopardize my shot at a partnership.”
“Okay.” She tugged the door free of his grasp and,
after giving him one last get it right look, backed away from the restaurant.
He stood in the parking lot, watching her little car disappear, then went back into the restaurant to pay for his food and tell Bennet the Tool that, thankfully, Haley wasn’t that desperate after all.
Chapter Six
I’m a neon-pink marshmallow. Haley plopped down on the upholstered seat outside the dressing room and tried to minimize the volumes of material puffing out on either side of her. She swung her feet and waited for the other bridesmaids and Suzie to join her. One by one, the other women exited the dressing rooms, each wearing a different-colored dress. None of them as big, unwieldy, or ugly as the one Haley wore.
“I’m going for a rainbow-color theme,” Suzie said as she twirled in her wedding dress. She stopped and indicated her friends with a flourish. “What do you think?”
“Pink isn’t a color in the rainbow,” Haley offered helpfully. She held out the sides of the monstrous dress. “Maybe there’s been a mistake?”
Suzie tipped her head. “Hmm. The pink is too—”
“Pink?” one of Suzie’s bridesmaids, Brandi, said. “It clashes with her—”
“Hair. Yes, it’s all wrong.” Suzie glanced over her shoulder and motioned for the bridal-shop employee. “I need a dress in”—she turned to Haley and inspected her—“orange. No. Lavender. That’s a rainbow color, right?”
The employee assured her it was before hurrying to the back.
“Ooh, look, Haley. This is totally you!” Brandi gushed.
Haley checked out the wedding dress hanging on a nearby hook with its overwhelming layers of white feathers and bow on one side long enough to lasso someone. “No way. I’ll look like Big Bird’s ghost.”
“No, you won’t. Brandi’s right. Try it on,” Suzie urged.
“I don’t think so.” Haley tried to get out of it, but Suzie and her crew insisted, pushing her toward the dressing room as they squealed with delight before launching into conversations about who would catch the bouquet at the wedding.
