“How nice of them to set aside a little time. How do you seem so okay with it?”
The indignation on her behalf was oddly sweet.
She put her hand on his arm. “What choice do I have? I could keep trying to get them to include me like I did while I was growing up or I can move on and make my own life. My own family. They did their job. They raised me, supported me. They’ve never denied me anything. Some people only know how to love one way. I just remind myself that I don’t want to be that way. It took me a bit to realize I also don’t want to be loved that way by anyone else.” Dorian had taught her many things.
The look he gave her sent an unpleasant shiver up her spine. “Some people don’t know how to love at all.”
Taking a new approach, Hailey looped her arm through his. “That’s it. Enough of this. You’re coming to speed dating tonight.”
“Nope.”
“Yes.”
“Or no.” He pulled two cans of tomatoes off the shelf, making her smile.
“Please?”
Looking up from where he was rearranging the items in his share of the cart, he groaned. “Don’t look at me like that.”
“Pretty please?” She clasped her hands together.
“Science fiction movies for the next three Saturdays in a row.”
Laughing, she nodded. “Done. Let’s grab this stuff and just order the rest online.”
He sighed like she was hopeless. “We’re right here. Let’s finish the job. Tell me about Leo’s first couple of days.”
They fell back into the routine but Hailey was distracted by the idea that even though it wasn’t their intention, they could both have dates before the end of the evening.
* * *
“I cannot see Wes doing this,” Fiona said for the third time as they waited by the bar. They’d put on their adhesive name tags. Hailey had been tempted to put a fake name for fun but it seemed to negate the purpose. She wasn’t sure anymore of her real reason for being here. To help Fiona? Wes? Herself? To see if anyone found her remotely attractive or intriguing? God. What if no one did? That’d be a kick to the head.
It’s just for fun. Just for fun. It didn’t feel like fun. Men and women were separated like they were at an eighth-grade formal. The guys clustered in a group but didn’t really talk to each other. The women told each other how good they looked and checked each other’s lipstick. Hailey felt like she was back in high school on the wrong side of the cafeteria. Fiona started chatting with a woman she knew to the right of her while Hailey’s insides turned into a spin cycle.
Heat pooled at the base of her neck, making her rethink the whole leave-it-down idea. Up. I should have put my hair up. Down looks like I didn’t try. Up is sexy. She mumbled something—at least she thought she did out loud—to Fiona and pushed through the crowd of women. She needed some air. Head down, the murmur of voices a nauseating buzz, she hurried for the front door. She saw black dress shoes before it registered she was on the straight path to a—
“Oof.” Collision.
Hands gripped her shoulders, gentle but firm. Inhaling sharply, the apology ready to tumble out, her senses immediately calmed. Wes.
Hailey tilted her head back, willing her lungs to resume function. She’d know his scent anywhere. It was like her favorite sweater. Nothing else felt quite the same.
“Hey. That’s one way to make an impression, but I think you’re going the wrong way.”
She shook her head, mini hammers pounding in her temples. “I can’t. This was stupid. I thought I could do it but I can’t.”
“Okay.”
Her breath whooshed out of her lungs. No judgment or censure. Just, okay. She didn’t know what to do with that. So, of course, she babbled.
“I don’t know if I’m ever going to be ready to date again, to put myself out there in a way that tells someone, here’s my heart, it’s available for you to stomp, mess with, and screw up.”
Wes wrapped an arm around her shoulder, led her to the front door. She loved that the air was warm, with just a hint of November chill. Moving them to the side of the art deco building, he braced her against the wall and stepped back, meeting her gaze. His was patient, steady, and caring.
“I wouldn’t make that your opening line,” he said.
Hailey laughed, smacked his chest, then noticed he was dressed very nicely in a crisp blue-and-white-striped polo, a pair of dark gray dress pants, and those shiny black shoes. “You look good.”