The Kiss List

by Sonya Weiss

  “Good things like Max?” Roxy said, then laughed at the face Haley made. “You know we’re only teasing. You’ve been at odds for so long I can’t really picture the two of you together.”

  Haley didn’t want to think about Max. Or talk about him. “Are you both going to have your fortunes told?”

  “I did mine half an hour ago, right after Madame Celeste broke out the crystal ball. She’s great.” Roxy looked around and then lowered her voice. “She told me I’m going to meet someone.”

  “Celeste tells everyone that,” Haley said pointedly. The elderly woman was a staple in Cherry Creek. She supplemented her meager retirement pension by performing her fortune-teller act at local festivals and other venues. Haley loved her but didn’t put a lot of stock in her predictions. They were too one-size-fits-all for her taste.

  “And it’s been coming true for more than ten years,” Piper argued. “Marc and Jane? E.J. and Carolyn? Those women met their Mr. Right after Celeste said the sisters would meet someone.”

  “Well…” Haley tried to think of something to refute that.

  “Oh, stop procrastinating. It’s all in good fun. Your cousin should be done about now, and it’s your turn.” Roxy took Haley by the shoulders and moved her toward the hallway. “Go get ’em, Jedi. Third door on the right.”

  The door, adorned with a flyer announcing the town’s upcoming events, opened, and Suzie emerged, face flushed, looking anything but happy.

  “Let me guess,” Haley joked as her cousin approached. “She said you were going to meet someone.”

  Suzie frowned. “She told me I was making a mistake.”

  Piper gasped in unison with Haley and asked, “Did she mean the wedding?”

  “She didn’t say. Said for me to search my heart.” Suzie seemed to shake herself out of it and snapped her fingers in a pay attention gesture toward Roxy and Piper. “I’m going to check if Kate is here yet. See if you two can manage to pour the punch without soiling the tablecloth.”

  “Okaaay…” Roxy muttered as Suzie walked out. “Remind me again why we took this job setting up for the worst bachelorette party in the world?”

  “I know you and Suzie butt heads, but we needed the extra cash to make rent,” Piper said as she placed napkins on the table. She glanced toward the door. “I don’t remember her being so mean in high school, though. Is she always this abrasive now?”

  “Yes,” Haley said honestly. “Always. It started because she thinks I deliberately dated a guy she liked. No matter how many times I’ve told her I didn’t know, she doesn’t believe me.”

  “She’s jealous of you,” Roxy said.

  “Of me?” Haley couldn’t fathom why. “Suzie has everything she’s ever wanted in life.”

  “Everything except Max.”

  “Suzie wants Max,” Roxy agreed with Piper, then gave Haley a knowing grin. “And I think Max wants you.”

  “Stop teasing. You know I hate that guy.”

  “You should give it some thought,” Piper continued to tease. “You and Max.”

  “You’re going to make me sick.” Haley held a hand against her abdomen.

  “Put that on hold and take your turn,” Roxy ordered, nudging Haley toward the room Madame Celeste had set up in.

  Haley gave up resisting and went down the hallway. Suzie wanting Max. That was so…so… Can it be true? No, she decided. My friends are trying to take my mind off the video to cheer me up.

  She joined the older woman in the small room. The lights were off, the shades were pulled down, and electric candles flickering on a long table against a wall gave the space an eerie atmosphere.

  Celeste wore the same wide gold kerchief tied across her forehead she’d worn every time Haley had run into her in town before she had moved to California. An oversize oval jewel winked from the center of the kerchief, and black feathers attached to one side bobbed enthusiastically when Celeste nodded and clapped.

  “At last! Cherry Creek’s most famous citizen, back home again.”

  “More like infamous,” Haley joked as she slipped into the wooden chair at the round table covered with a blue stars-and-moon tablecloth.

  “You’ve mingled with Hollywood’s A-listers,” Celeste said. “That makes you as famous around here as a gal can get.”

  “Only the occasional mingling. I worked for a PR firm helping clients avoid scandal on social media. As it turns out, the biggest scandal was my own.”

  “Ah, the video.” Celeste’s mouth drew into a slight pucker. Reaching across the space between them, she took Haley’s hand and squeezed gently. “Don’t fret about that. The biggest blessings are often born of the most difficult times.”

  “Like losing my boyfriend, job, and home in the same week?”

  “Yes,” Celeste surprised her by saying. “You were settled there, and it’s not where you were meant to be. Drastic measures were needed to get you to return to your rightful place.” She turned Haley’s hand palm-side up and stroked her fingers across the skin. “Clear the clutter from your mind.”

  “So can you see someone for me?” Haley asked.

  Celeste’s lips quirked up at the corners. She was quiet for a moment and then said softly, while gazing intently at Haley’s hand, “You will find your future love by looking back to your past.”

  “My past?”

  “You’re searching for the one.”

  “Aren’t we all?” Haley laughed, then sobered. “Why don’t you give me his name, and it’ll help with the search?”

  “Joke if you want.” Celeste released Haley’s hand after gently patting the back of it. “You already know his name.”

  The belief in the other woman’s steady gaze caused a chill to dance across Haley’s shoulders, and she shivered. “Where? How?”

  “I told you. You must look toward your past and allow yourself to be open to new possibilities. Your soul mate will slip away if you aren’t.”

  Haley couldn’t help herself. She let out a snort. “He slipped already.”

  “Not the video ex.” Celeste vehemently shook her head. “You must look further back.”

  Still not sure she was buying it but her curiosity piqued, Haley asked, “How far?”

  “You already know.” Celeste’s voice softened. “But don’t want to face it.”

  Huffing out a frustrated breath, Haley said, “Can you be any clearer? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “You will, my dear. You will.” Celeste stood, signaling the end of the session. “Give my regards to your father.”

  “I will.” Haley walked to the door.

  “And, Haley? Welcome home.”

  “Thanks.” Haley left the room but couldn’t stop dwelling on what Celeste had said.

  She was still thinking about it the next morning as she made herself a cup of coffee. These days, she mostly ran on caffeine, thanks to the broken sleep that settled in after all the life upheaval.

  Celeste said she knew her future man’s name already, which had surprised her to hear because her words were more specific than Celeste’s usual generic reading. So that must mean Celeste was referring to someone Haley obviously knew well. An ex-boyfriend? A guy she’d kissed? It was possible she’d overlooked someone, and her soul mate was right under her nose.

  She leaned against the counter and took a sip of coffee while thinking about the men she’d left behind when she’d taken off for L.A. Bennet, Luke, Dean, Michael, James, Will, and Scott. The only connecting link among the men was that she’d kissed each of them…and maybe a kiss was the link.

  Mom and Dad’s beautiful love story began with a kiss when neither of them had suspected the other of being the one.

  She and her mother had once discussed Haley’s future love during one of her mom’s chemotherapy treatments. Haley had laughed and said something along the lines of, “I
f only there was a relationship-finder map.” Kind of like one of those “You Are Here” location maps at the mall.

  “I’ll write you a list of good men in my journal,” her mother had joked. “Maybe you’ll recognize your soul mate the same way I did. With a kiss.”

  Her mom had often told her the story of how she hadn’t even liked her father until they’d shared a kiss that had changed the trajectory of both their lives.

  With a kiss… That’s it!

  Sitting down at the kitchen table and opening her laptop, she created a new document and titled it THE KISS LIST, capitalizing and bolding the letters for emphasis. She carefully typed out the names of the seven men she’d dated over the years before leaving home. When she was done, she chewed her lip.

  Some of the breakups had been awkward. A couple of them, painful. It’d been a while since she’d last seen any of the men, and she doubted they’d be thrilled with the idea of possibly rekindling a relationship now that there was that video infamy to contend with.

  She needed someone to smooth the viral waters that rippled. Someone who could downplay the “crazy scorned girlfriend,” as the late-night talk show hosts portrayed her. Someone who spoke the most difficult language of all: man.

  Where could she find…Max Gallagher. As the former high school baseball champ who’d led the school to victory more times than she could remember, he was considered royalty in the town. Plus, his family had lived in Cherry Creek forever, so he’d have the latest information on everything that was going on.

  Her stomach squeezed. She’d rather roll in honey and lie on a fire ant bed than put up with him, but he would be the quickest way back into the life of whichever ex was the one for her. He was still accepted everywhere because Max hadn’t left, turning his back on the town like some of the gossip said she’d done. He was well liked and, best of all, trusted, and…he did owe her.

  “The only problem is Max is guaranteed to be a pain in the—”

  “What?” Her dad walked into the kitchen, interrupting her musings.

  “Nothing important,” Haley said as he went to the closet to get his lucky hat the same way he’d done since she was a teenager. “You need to eat breakfast first.”

  “No time. I need to get to the office. Those sleighs don’t build themselves, and I have an order of snowmen to finish too. Don’t forget: you promised to go through the attic.” He didn’t meet her eyes, and Haley didn’t blame him.

  Neither of them wanted to go poking through stuff that brought up memories of the years with Mom. The whole reason Haley had left town in the first place had been an attempt to get away from some of that pain. Memories were everywhere she’d looked—the pizza place, the grocery store, the park—all of them highlighting what she and Dad had lost. “I’ll get it done before I look through the help wanted section again.”

  “If you don’t find the job you’re looking for, you could always come back to the family business.” He sounded hopeful, and she knew it was because of how much he’d loved when they’d worked together.

  “I know. It’s just…hard.” Sweet moments had once been staples around the place: hot chocolate at closing time when the weather turned cold. Carols on the radio. Her parents reminiscing about their years together. Making plans for the future.

  “I miss your mother too.” He blinked as if it would clear away the pain. “Anyway, you were good there. Got a real knack for creating designs customers love. I still use some of the ideas you came up with, like that sled with the kids’ safety seats built into the rear. Parents love that.”

  “Thanks, Dad.”

  “You’ll do the attic today?” he stressed. “Some of those boxes are stacked pretty high.”

  He knew Haley and heights didn’t mix. “I promise I will finish the attic today. As soon as you leave, I’ll start right on it.”

  “Good. Best get it over with.” He nodded. “In case I haven’t told you yet”—his voice hitched—“I’m so glad you’re back.”

  “I am, too, Dad. Or I was until Suzie stopped by,” she joked.

  Her father settled the cap on his graying hair. “It is what it is. She’s family.”

  “Wash your mouth out with soap.”

  He laughed, then sobered. “I’ve been meaning to tell you…what happened in L.A. was a bear bite in the seat of the pants, but remember: you’re tougher than that bear.”

  “Stiches and all.” She brought up their family’s way of saying “keep trying.”

  “Exactly. You’ll get a job and be back on your feet in no time. Everything will be fine.”

  She smiled. “Thanks, Dad.” None of the job applications she’d emailed out since returning had resulted in any offers—thanks, she was sure, to her viral debut—and she doubted they would any time soon, but that was a conversation she wasn’t going to have. Otherwise, he’d let the smothering here’s-a-man-for-you aunts (“So what if the bachelor is eighty?” they’d once said) know, and she might end up with a pity job offer at the lingerie store they managed. That would be purgatory with a paycheck.

  Speaking of purgatory, she had a phone call to make. If she could get Max over here, face-to-face, it would give her a chance to talk him into helping smooth her way back into her exes’ lives without giving him the chance of saying no outright and hanging up on her.

  The phone at the coffee shop, I Bean Business, rang repeatedly. A harried young woman finally answered, and Haley barely had time to say who she was before she was asked to hold. She wasn’t surprised by how busy it was. Max was popular, and everyone liked him.

  He’d walked away from his dream of playing professional baseball to run the coffee shop after his father’s stroke. To everyone else, he was Lancelot, Galahad, and Captain America all rolled into one handsome, fit body. To her, he was the villain whose goal in life had always been to torment her.

  Max picked up the phone and stated his name, though he didn’t need to. She’d recognize his voice anywhere.

  “It’s Haley.”

  “So I was warned.”

  She gritted her teeth. “I need help, so I’m calling to collect on that favor.”

  “Favor?” he drawled like he’d experienced sudden acute memory loss.

  “The arrest?”

  “You want help now?”

  “Yes.” She counted the silence in seconds, and when a full thirty passed without him saying a word, she added, “Come to my dad’s house and help me in the attic.”

  “This absolutely has to be done this moment, then?”

  “Absolutely.”

  Pained sigh. “On the way.”

  Haley hung up and rushed into the bedroom to change out of her “I heart cats” pajamas and into a pair of jeans and a T-shirt. She ran a brush through her hair and one over her teeth, then smiled at the mirror.

  “Max, good to see you without bars between us.”

  Fake.

  “Max, thanks for coming to help.”

  Grudging.

  She tried again, nicer and with a straight face. “I need your help.”

  Then he’d ask what kind of help, and she’d say, “Man help,” and he’d stare at her like she’d sprouted a third eye smack in the center of her forehead. She thought about the last time she’d seen him when she’d come home from L.A. to visit. She’d loaded the luggage while her boyfriend shook hands with her father.

  When Max had stopped by to see her father at the same time, she’d told Max that the next time he saw her, she’d probably be engaged. He’d crossed his arms over the expanse of his broad chest, glanced at her boyfriend, and said, “With you in it, this relationship’s a train wreck waiting to happen.”

  “You think I’m the problem?” she’d snapped out.

  “Partly. He’s no good, but you’re a coward. Trying to fill a void by running away from here when you know you should stay.”

&
nbsp; Coward? For a good thirty miles up the interstate, she’d clutched the steering wheel in a white-knuckled grip, imagining her hands around his throat. Not just for those comments but because she’d silently replayed all their verbal battles.

  Still, that was the past. Maybe last night had opened his eyes, and he’d realized how much trouble he caused her and how wrong he was. She snort-laughed at the last thought. He’d no sooner admit he was wrong than he’d say the sky was brown.

  She had better odds of Suzie becoming her new best friend than of Max admitting fault.

  The doorbell rang, and Haley rushed to get it, sliding across the wooden floor in her fuzzy socks. She grabbed the doorframe and skidded to a stop. Pushing her dad’s old cat back with her foot to keep him from getting out, she opened the screen door and let Max walk into her life.

  …

  Haley Bowman had been a pain in the butt from the first day he’d met her. Ribbons, curls, and a know-it-all attitude in elementary school. Competitive, irritating, and bossy in high school. At the bar, she’d been a literal pain, almost crippling him with that well-aimed shoe.

  He did feel a little sorry for her, because of the weasel ex-boyfriend, but not too sorry. In all fairness, he had warned her the relationship was a train wreck in the making.

  He held out the bag he’d brought. “Blueberry muffins.”

  “My lucky day. Blueberry muffins and an apology.”

  He followed her into the house, noticing how well her jeans fit as he set the bag on the table. Her curves were…curvier than he’d noticed in the past. Shapely and all woman. And he was aware—uncomfortably so—of how attractive she was. “What do you need to apologize for? Besides kicking me in the groin, I mean.”

  “Not me. You.” She stared hard at him. “And that was an accident.”

  Max knew women. Most of them were easygoing. Good company. He was friends with dozens of them, including all but one of his exes. But Haley, he’d never been able to figure out, never been able to get along with. She’d rubbed him the wrong way from day one, all through their classes together, then on the weekends when he’d worked at her parents’ business.