Jaycee dug around in her purse, then slid a card over the counter. “Here’s a free pass if you want to try it.”
As Hailey accepted it, an idea whirled in her brain. She thought about what Tara had said about joining forces with other shops, but what if she could branch out farther than the square? She should talk to Piper and see what she thought.
“Thanks. I just might do that.”
Jaycee left with a bag full of salads and Hailey got a satisfying thrill out of ringing up her order. She’d planned to go to the table and ask the guys what they wanted but they approached the counter.
“Hey,” she said, meeting Wes’s gaze.
“Hey. That was a lot of salad.” He gestured with his thumb toward the door.
“It was. Every day gets better.”
“You remember Noah and Chris. Guys, you remember Hailey…” he trailed off.
“Sharp,” she said. “I guess we didn’t exchange last names. Though, I know yours.”
Noah—his eyes crinkling—started to say something but Wes elbowed him in the ribs. Hailey laughed.
Wes pointed to Noah. “Try to ignore most of what he says.”
Noah bounced his eyebrows. “It’s nice to see you again, Hailey. Sorry my brothers don’t know how to behave.”
“I’m regretting bringing you both here,” Wes said, shaking his head. He rubbed a hand over his smooth jaw—did he ever let just a hint of stubble grow? She bet it’d look good on him.
“Well, I’m thrilled he brought you, and I had a customer order a BLT cup with no lettuce or tomato today so you won’t ring any bells for strangest order.”
“They wanted just a cup of bacon?” Noah’s smile was charming and bright.
She nodded. “Yup. And dressing of course. Wanna guess what kind?”
Wes’s smile increased in tiny degrees. “Ketchup?”
Scrunching her face, she pointed at him. “Yes! How did you know that?”
Chris clapped Wes on the back. “Big fan of ketchup and bacon sandwiches right here.”
She couldn’t stop herself from making an “ew” face. “I’m sorry. To each their own. Totally legit. I dip fries in ice cream.”
“That’s actually pretty good. Gracie, my girlfriend, introduced me to that,” Noah said, scanning the menu.
“Everly loves peanut butter and bananas together,” Chris said. His smile was warm and when he said her name, his tone softened.
“Peanut butter and banana isn’t a weird combination,” Wes said, looking at his brother.
“It’s gross, like ketchup and bacon.” Chris looked up at the menu. “Let’s order so Hailey doesn’t unfriend you.”
She laughed the whole time she made their salads—a Mexi Cup, which was turning out to be one of her most popular—an SV Supreme, a combination of lettuces, julienned vegetables, chicken, turkey, and tuna, and, for Wes, a Fruit Fetish, which the guys teased him for ordering. She informed them that the mixture of berries, mango, Greek yogurt, slivered cinnamon-glazed almonds, chia seeds, and a drizzle of honey would make them jealous.
“I’ll bring it out,” she said as she accepted the payment from Chris. Apparently, it was his turn.
She’d always wondered what it would be like to have siblings. Close ones, like these three. She’d had her books and loved falling into any young adult or adult romance she could but it wasn’t the same. Growing up, Piper was the closest thing she had to a sibling and she usually only got to see her during school breaks. Her parents hadn’t wanted children and though they loved her, they loved their marriage and alone time more. She spent most summers with Piper’s family. At the time, she’d felt lucky. But looking back, she wondered why they hadn’t missed her. Why hadn’t they wanted to make memories with her? It made her heart twitch uncomfortably so she tried not to spend a lot of time thinking about it. Or them.
Their laughter drew her attention more than once as she made their lunches. When she brought them over, they asked her to sit. Since she had a moment, she did.
“How are you liking San Verde?” Chris asked, popping the lid off his salad.
“It’s great. I haven’t seen much of it since I spend a lot of hours here. My cousin lives here so it seemed like a good place to settle. How about you guys? Are you California natives?”
Both guys glanced at Wes, who answered, “We’re all from New York, actually. Chris came out for work, Noah followed, and I joined them almost two months ago.”