Excitement welled. She could push this to the next level easily. With a little help. “My brothers and I invest in businesses—”
“Wes. Stop.” Hailey shook her head and he realized her tone was clipped.
Sitting up straighter, he pressed his lips together tightly.
“I appreciate that you’re happy for me. I know you and your brothers could buy my store a million times over.”
“A million might be overstating it,” he said, dryly.
“I’m doing this.”
Her quiet smile and determination made his heart clench. His grandfather would have loved her. “I love that you and your brothers use your wealth for good. That you want to lift small businesses up. But I want to do this on my own or not at all. Plus, it’s not a good idea in this case.”
“Why?”
“Friendship and business don’t go hand in hand. You must know that. I’ll take the catering jobs. I might actually need two employees. I figure it’ll give me more flexibility with my own schedule if I hire two part-timers.”
“There’s no harm in taking a small loan to cover you. Especially when what you’re using it for will yield results and income.” Sure, business and friendship didn’t mix but Squishy Cat was created for this very thing. It was the essence of Chris’s plaque.
It startled him when she stood abruptly. She grabbed the plates. “I don’t need saving.”
Wes sucked in a breath, watching as she walked to the kitchen, set her plate in the sink. She was comfortable in his space. And he was comfortable with her in it. Another first. Maybe she was right. Some lines shouldn’t be crossed.
“I know that, Hailey.”
She sank back onto the couch and Wes shifted, unsure how to smooth things over. He’d meant to help. He felt intrinsically tied to her success or failure the way he would with … someone he cared a great deal about. Like Grace or Everly. She’s your friend.
His friend still looked irritated.
“Piper asked if you wanted to come for Thanksgiving dinner. They’re doing it early so they can go to Nick’s parents’. I said I’d ask.”
“That sounds nice. Does that mean you’re free on the actual day?”
She nodded. “Yup.” Still short.
“Good. You can join us at Noah’s.”
Hailey twisted her lips into a smirk. “Presumptuous.”
He laughed, picked up the remote. “I know Grace already invited you.”
She flopped back on the couch. “Argh. You know too many of my secrets.”
Wes didn’t comment. He scrolled through Netflix, not really registering anything. The tension between them was making his skin itch. He started to say what was on his mind, stopped.
“Are you mad?”
She turned her head, gave him half a smile. “No. I just don’t want you to think you can fix everything because you’re rich.”
“Ouch.”
“You’re my friend. You’re supposed to believe in me.”
He sat up, irritation of his own rising. “I do believe in you. Do you think I would put my money into something I thought would fail?”
“Your money has nothing to do with me. I don’t want it. I want your words of encouragement and support. I care about your opinion. I don’t care about your money.”
He didn’t know what to say about that. Wealth was part of who he was and yeah, it smoothed a lot of damn roads. Was it wrong that he wanted to make things easier for her?
“You don’t want your dad’s name or money, right?”
Clasping his fingers together, he said through gritted teeth, “Right. Speaking of knowing too many secrets.”
“There’s a hell of a lot to be said for doing it on our own.”
She had him there. He sighed. “I get it. I’m sorry.”
“You don’t need to be. I don’t need anything other than friendship from you, Wes. I’m not a project or an investment.”
He cursed low under his breath. “I never meant to make you feel like you were.”
Show her. He pulled open one of the four drawers in his coffee table, his heart rate picking up. Little beads of sweat formed near his temples. Damn. Get a grip. Wes passed her the black sketchbook, held it a moment when she put her hand on it.
“What is this?”
“I believe in you. Your friendship matters to me. I don’t want to screw that up.”
“You didn’t. You just think you know everything,” she said with a teasing wink.