“Hello.”
“Hi, dear.” Her mom’s voice came through the phone.
Surprise slowed her response. She sat up. “Hey, Mom. How are you?” Where are you was a better question. Her parents liked to be on the move, whether it was in their convertible, in a rented RV, or on a plane.
“We’re good. Just packing for our trip. Are you spending Christmas with Piper and her family?”
“I’ll go over for dinner. I’ve made some good friends and they’ve invited me to be part of their day.” Okay, they hadn’t actually but she didn’t like to make her mom feel bad.
“Good. Then I won’t have to feel bad about you being alone. I know we agreed to meet at the airport but we’ve actually found a cheaper flight out of a different airport. I’ve sent your gifts.” She could picture her mom marking the item off on a checklist.
Of course they weren’t meeting at the airport. The logical part of Hailey never thought they were. The part of her who still wanted to believe in them curled into a ball, put her head on her knees. “Same. No worries about the airport. I hope you guys have fun in Mexico.”
“We’re looking forward to it. How’s California?”
“Good.” She rolled to her side. “You should come visit.”
“Maybe in the new year. How’s your little salad shop?”
Maybe not so little. “Today was an amazing day. A friend of mine mentioned me on social media—”
“Sorry, dear. I have to go. That’s fantastic about your friend. We love you.”
Just like that, the conversation was over. Hailey was too used to the status quo to let it dim the happiness bursting inside of her. Unfortunately, the weight of her limbs, the fatigue of the day, was stronger than her excitement. She fell asleep curled around her phone, dreaming of salads.
A buzz woke her up. She looked at her phone but realized it was her apartment buzzer. Quickly, she scrambled off her bed, disoriented as she shuffled to the speaker.
“Hello.” She sounded like a sick frog.
“Delivery for Hailey Sharp.”
“Oh. Uh, I’ll come down.” Because even half-asleep, she wasn’t stupid.
She had no idea what was in the gift-wrapped box she signed for. She shook it gently as she walked back up to her nondescript apartment. It was really more a room and a half than an actual apartment. Like a studio with a half wall that separated the bedroom area.
Her phone was ringing when she got back. Setting the box on the bed, she smiled when she saw Wes’s face but frowned when she realized the time.
“Hey,” she said, panic settling into her bones. She’d fallen asleep for an hour and a half. He was going to be here to pick her up for the Christmas party at the radio station in twenty minutes.
“You ready?”
“Nearly. Working on the finishing touches. I need to go do that,” she said, already stripping off her clothes. She hurried toward the only separate room in her place: the bathroom. Swearing when she stubbed her toe, she leaned over, started the shower.
“Hailey.”
“Wes. I gotta go. I have a hot date,” she said with a laugh.
“Wait. You’re still coming with me tonight, right?”
She froze. What the heck? “Of course I am. You’re the hot date.”
“Oh. I thought you meant Seth.”
She stared at her phone even though he couldn’t see her. He hadn’t brought up running into her at the restaurant or how weird he’d been. Seth had stopped by the shop earlier this week, asking if she wanted to maybe catch a movie. They’d left it up in the air as to when but she’d said yes.
“I would never bail on you.” Definitely not for Seth. He was nice and all but Wes was … Wes.
“Right. Of course. Is that the shower I hear?”
“Wes,” she said more urgently. “I need to go.”
She heard his groan as she disconnected. She showered as fast as she could without leaving soap in her hair. Fortunately, she’d been playing around with her hair last Sunday when she watched the kids so she wound her partially dry hair into a cute bun she’d seen on Pinterest. It was harder to do on her hair than it had been with Cassie’s but it wasn’t horrible. She applied her makeup and was proud of the time she was making until the buzzer sounded.
She looked down at her towel tucked between her breasts and swore. There was no way around this. Her dress was in her closet. If she waited until she put it on to answer Wes, he’d know she wasn’t ready anyway. So she buzzed him in, left the door unlocked, and hurried to her closet.