Setting the box of cards down, she stared at her cousin’s friend. “Really? You’d do that?”
Megan said something under her breath and pretended to cough. Piper laughed. Rachel rolled her eyes and picked up her wine.
“Oh, she’ll do that and a whole lot more for you,” Rachel said. Her hair was swept back from her face in a loose ponytail that swung from side to side when she shook her head.
“What am I missing?” Hailey looked at Piper.
“Nothing,” Fiona answered. “I’m a nice person, I like you, so I offered to do something nice.”
Hailey grinned, waiting for the other shoe to drop. “And?”
Fiona picked up her wine, not a hint of regret in her steady gaze. “And I sometimes need a sidekick to research my articles.”
Piper squeezed Hailey’s arm. “Usually what she gets us into is harmless.”
“Usually?” Hailey laughed. She wanted new adventures but she had her limits. “What are you working on right now?”
“I’m doing an article on whether or not you can find love in five minutes.”
Hailey’s jaw dropped. “Can that be done?” The others laughed. Instant lust, sure. Attraction? Obviously. But love? Come on. I couldn’t find it in a three-year committed relationship.
Fiona’s gaze was skeptical. “Doubt it, but I’m looking into speed dating results. People who claim they’ve found their forever in those few minutes.”
“I find it hard to imagine. I don’t even want to. I’m happy not to be dating,” Hailey said. She meant it; not focusing on that kind of relationship was giving her herself back.
Piper leaned back. “I should ask Nick to set you up with someone.”
Hailey huffed out a deep sigh. “I’m not ready to date again but when I am, I’m going to have to go through one of these methods, Pipes. Seriously, I’m not going back to college to meet a guy.”
“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.