“It’s got a reputation. Who’d you hear it from?”
“Wes.”
Her smile widened. “Ahh. He’s such a sweetie. You want a piece?”
Maybe Wes should try asking out someone he knew in real life. “Two actually.”
As she stepped around one of her baristas, not the bored one from last week, Tara grabbed a pair of tongs. “I’ve been meaning to stop by your place but things have been so hectic. There’s a San Verde Shop Association meeting next week. We have one a month. We also have a Facebook group and an email chain. It helps all of us keep up to date with what’s happening. Sometimes we organize sales and specials. I thought you’d like to know.”
Hailey took out her debit card. “That’s awesome. Thank you for telling me. I will absolutely be there. Where is it?”
Tara passed her the cake in a little bag. “Upstairs. There’s a meeting room we rent out from the owner.”
It seemed strange they had to pay to rent something when they all paid to rent their shops. She hadn’t met the landlord yet.
“Okay. Thanks for letting me know.”
“My pleasure. You settling in okay?”
Hailey nodded. She wanted so badly to sit down and have coffee with this woman, to talk about business and promos and how to get more customers. But she didn’t want to seem needy and she’d received enough pro bono help today.
“For sure.”
After paying for the cake, she left the shop, headed to the back parking lot to get her car. She looked up at the apartments with longing. It’d be so nice to just take those stairs up and settle in for the night. She could sit on the balcony and listen to the sounds of the square. Her place was okay but it was nothing special.
The problem with pushing aside all her wants for so long, so her ex could have his, was now she was impatient. She wanted it all.
“You have everything you need,” she said, getting in her car. Heading toward Piper’s house, she thought about which rom-com they should watch. When Harry Met Sally seemed like a good choice.
She wouldn’t have thought, this time yesterday, that today would be entirely different. That was life though: it turned on a dime, and the only thing she had control of was how she responded to what happened.
6
Anyone looking his way would believe Wes’s undivided attention was focused on his date. Eye contact, check. Body positioning, check. Feet pointed forward, check. But a split-second flit of his gaze had let him see Hailey walk through the door. Now, as she stood in line, his thoughts and his focus stumbled. Which made him feel rude. Which irritated him.
“So, I thought, why not? The worst-case scenario, the quiz will tell me I’m only suited to do what I currently do.”
Right. Cassandra is thinking of a career change because hers isn’t fulfilling. See? Multitasking at its finest.
“If anything, it might provide some deeper insight,” Wes said, feeling good about maintaining the conversation even when Hailey spotted him, waved enthusiastically, then covered her mouth with her hand, removed it, mouthed “sorry.” He cracked a smile but the date could easily assume this was for her.
But when Hailey gestured to his date and stuck two thumbs up with a wide smile, he nearly laughed. She was … unique.
“Have you ever done one of those tests?” Cassandra asked, picking up her half-skim, half-whole, five pumps of vanilla, no whip, one shot decaf, one shot regular coffee. Was it even coffee at that point?
“No,” he said, doing his best not to watch Hailey chat amiably with the barista. He’d noticed when he was in her shop for several hours the other day that she had an easy way with people.
Cassandra leaned forward. “Wesley?”
His gaze snapped to hers. “Yes?”
“Let’s be honest. Neither of us are connecting here and as much as we look great on paper, it’s got to be more than that.”
While he agreed with the first half of what she said, he disagreed with the second part. Not in this instance, but in general.
“I’m sorry,” he said, meaning it. “I appreciate you meeting me though.”
“Same. Welcome to San Verde. I hope you find what you’re looking for.” She got up, took her coffee, and sashayed away as Hailey picked up her drink and what he suspected was chocolate cake from the end of the counter.
Hailey watched Cassandra go then slowly approached his table. “I thought you were done with this?” She sat down.
He shrugged. “I’d forgotten I already agreed before I decided that. It came up on my calendar. She showed up so that’s a win.”