Hayden, sitting at a table in Succulence, a trendy, gourmet vegetarian restaurant in SWC, waved her friends over. Arlene gave an exuberant wave and pulled Emily in alongside her.
Hayden had met Arlene and Em last year, and they’d become fast friends. In SWC, residents were more interested in what they had in common rather than what set them apart. It made for deep discussions early on and, had cemented the three of them.
Well, originally there had been four. But Bailey had been AWOL since having a baby. Joyously married, she’d always been in a category of her own. Hayden recalled many, many nights when she and Arlene and Em would complain about their recent bad date or #singlelife and Bailey didn’t have anything to contribute. Hayden missed her, but was confident Bailey would fold back into the fray. They were too close for their friendship to end over a few lifestyle differences. Besides, one of the three of them was bound to be married or at least happily coupled off eventually...right?
“Girls’ night is on!” Arlene, boisterous and bold, had so much confidence it was infectious. She was also hilarious. More often than not she had Hayden clutching her side in laughter while tears streamed down her face.
“So good to see you!” Emily gave Hayden a tight squeeze. “I feel like I’ve been gone a year.” Emily had recently gone on an excursion to Spain for the lifestyle blog she wrote.
“It felt that way for all of us,” Hayden agreed.
“Except we remembered you and you forgot all about us.” Arlene threw her purse onto the chair. “First round on me. What’s your pleasure? And before you ask, we’re doing a shot followed by a cocktail. That’s the minimum.”
“Uh...” Hayden wasn’t exactly a shot kind of girl. Not anymore.
“It ain’t like any of us drove here.” Arlene’s blond hair was big with a lot of volume, like the rest of her. “And it is the biggest drinking holiday of the year.”
“Because everyone dreads going home to family,” Emily supplied. “Peppermint schnapps followed by a cosmo.”
“I like your style.” Arlene raised her brows at Hayden.
“Well...”
“Tequila,” Arlene decided.
“What? No!” Hayden laughed.
“Yes. You can follow it with a light beer.”
“I’ll have a white Russian.” Hayden lifted an eyebrow.
“Vodka shot on the side, then.” Arlene didn’t wait for an argument, only zoomed over to the bar to place their orders.
“Will you hold my hair?” Emily asked with a bright smile. She was ridiculously adorable with her dark hair in a sassy pixie cut. She folded her arms on the tabletop—white frosted glass balanced on a single silver pedestal. Succulence’s mod design resembled a health spa, with its white and silver and neon-green accents. They were also pricey, but Hayden gladly overpaid for the fantastic food and cocktails.
A waiter came by. “Ladies.”
“Hi, Josh.” Em smiled up at him, as smitten as she was the first time they’d come in here. Hayden took pride in the fact that she’d arrived early enough to request his table.
“Eating or drinking tonight?” Josh was probably five years younger than all of them, but damned if Emily cared. She leaned heavily on a palm.
“Drinking, but snacks later. We’ll probably camp here a while, but I promise to leave you a pile of money for a tip.”
“Your beauty is enough of a tip for me.” His cunning smile scrunched his dark eyes up at the corners. Paired with his tanned complexion and dark hair, Hayden had to agree he was pretty darn cute.
“You are full of it,” Arlene told him as she returned to the table, tray in hand.
“Give me that.” Josh swiped the tray and pointed at a seat. Arlene obediently sat and let Josh serve their drinks. “I know the peppermint schnapps is Em’s.”
Emily batted her lashes.
“Arlene has to be the tequila. And Hayden—” he sniffed her clear shot “—vodka. Nice choice. Enjoy, ladies.” Then he was off, but not before winking at Emily.
“Oh, will you two screw each other already?” Arlene drank down a healthy swallow of her margarita .
“Shh! These walls have ears. And eyes. And cell phones with cameras.” Emily jerked her gaze around the room.
Emily was right. SWC was high-end, luxurious and nature- and wellness-focused, but it was also a dressed-up small town. Everyone knew everyone and therefore knew everyone’s business.
“We should’ve gone to the city where we could gossip properly,” Arlene said. “Shots, ladies.”
“If we were in the city, then I couldn’t request Josh as a server and watch Emily light up like a Christmas tree,” Hayden said.
“I do not!” Emily turned a stunning shade of red as she lifted her shot glass.
“Did you think it was coincidence that we’re always at his table?” Arlene asked with a raspy chuckle.
“You should ask him out,” Hayden said.
“No way. He’s just patronizing me.”
“He’d like to be doing more than that.” Arlene slanted a glance at Hayden.
“Why don’t you ask someone out?” Em shot back, her shot wobbling at the edge of the glass. “How long’s it been since you dated Derek?”
“Not long enough.” Arlene held her shot aloft and shouted, “Cheers to years of beers and pap smears!”
Emily turned bright pink, Hayden groaned and hid behind a hand, and Arlene let out a bawdy laugh. That broad. God. Hayden loved her, though. They chucked back their shots, only Em coughing and waving the air like she’d swallowed gasoline.
“What about you, Hayd?” Em croaked.
“What about me what?”
“When are you going to ask someone out?”
“Why would I ask someone out?” Hayden purposely widened her eyes to look more innocent and then tacked on, “When I can kiss...” She looked around the restaurant teeming with their neighbors. Everyone here knew or had at least heard of Tate Duncan, so she couldn’t very well blurt out his name. “Someone any time I’d like,” she finished with an arch of one eyebrow.
“Shut. Up.” Emily leaned in. “Who?”
“Someone we know.” Arlene assessed Hayden. “But who?”
Unable to resist, Hayden mouthed his name. “Tate.”
“Duncan?” Arlene bleated.
“Shh!” Hayden hissed.
“See? It’s not fun when she does it to you.” Em stuck her tongue out at Arlene, who returned the sentiment.
“He was standing outside my studio in the rain one night, and he looked so lost. I invited him up for tea and then...”
“You had sex with him?” Arlene cried.
“Keep it down, and no, I didn’t!”
“Why not?” Emily asked with a small pout.
“For the same reason you won’t ask out Josh,” Hayden answered. “I was too terrified to consider it.”
Which was the truth, if not for different reasons than Em. Hayden had fought hard to be fiercely independent, to escape the chaos that bubbled over in her family on a daily basis. Tate wasn’t exactly a complete set. Some of his parts were scattered across the damn globe.
“I heard he and the blonde split up,” Arlene said.
“Where did you hear that?”
“Naomi. She was at the café and overheard them talking.”
Damn. This place really was a gossip mill. Hayden didn’t dare mention Tate’s learning of his birth parents and a twin brother.
“So, I’d be rebound girl,” Hayden said, and it wasn’t an entirely bad setup. Seeing how mired her mother was with her father certainly hadn’t made it look appealing.
“Sounds like a superhero,” Em said. “Rebound Girl! Able to leap tall, handsome billionaires in a single bound.”
“I don’t think he’s a billionaire,” Hayden said through her laughter.
“Have you seen this place?” Arlene gestured beyond the restaurant to the rows of houses on one side and the retail establishments on the other. “He built it, Hayd. From scratch.”
“I have nothing against wealthy men,” Emily said. “Except I’m attracted to the ones who aren’t.” She sent another longing glance to Josh, who was jotting down another group’s order.
“He doesn’t count, since he owns Succulence. He could be a billionaire restaurant owner. You never know,” Hayden supplied.
Em pursed her lips in consideration.
“Well, I wouldn’t kick Tate Duncan out of bed for any reason. Especially if it was because he was loaded.” Arlene waggled her eyebrows, Emily agreed and Hayden found herself easing into the conversation as her mind wandered along the path of what-if and arrived at Tate’s bed.
And Tate’s couch. And Tate’s shower...
“You’re thinking about sex!” Arlene said. “Josh! We need another round!”
“No, we don’t.” But Hayden’s smile was too big to be denied. She was thinking about sex. Tate was too fun not to kiss, not to do a host of other things to, especially since his last words to her were about kissing the hell out of her when she was ready. “I don’t know if I’m ready.”
Then again...
Just because Hayden wanted to have an affair with a gorgeous rich guy didn’t mean she had to give up her autonomy. Tate didn’t have to be ice cream. He could be a perfectly reasonable kale salad, which she enjoyed immensely and never suffered cravings for afterwards.
Aw, who was she kidding? Tate could never be kale salad. He was too tempting. Too hot. Too distracting!
But she should give herself more credit. She was independent. She’d moved away from her family and started over with her new family: her friends at SWC. She was a successful business owner, to boot.
Plus she really, really wanted to say yes to Tate the next time he asked. For dinner, for a kiss, for anything...
“On second thought, I could be ready.” Hayden stirred the cream into her dark drink.
“Attagirl.” Arlene pinned Emily with a meaningful look. “Now are you going to ask out Josh, or do I have to do it for you?”