Chapter Fourteen
Park sat in the kitchen with a cup of coffee early the next morning. His dad came in a few minutes later, off work from his night shift as a security guard.
“Morning,” his dad said, grabbing an apple from the fruit bowl.
“Morning.”
“How you adjusting to civilian life?”
“It’s a little weird not to have a schedule, but…” He trailed off as Mad walked in, looking all pissy. Her eye makeup was gone, her red hair rumpled and sticking up. She wore a V-neck undershirt that was too big for her and baggy sweats. He tried not to think too hard on why that was appealing. It was probably the wing of the hawk tattoo peeking out of the shirt that had his undivided attention.
“Hi,” she said, getting herself some coffee.
“Morning, sunshine,” her dad said. “Who pissed you off?”
She dropped a piece of bread in the toaster and pressed the toaster lever down. “I’m fine.”
Park quickly looked away.
His dad joined him at the table, rubbed the apple on the front of his shirt, and took a bite. A few minutes later, Mad joined them, chomping her toast. She met his eyes across the table and glared. He shifted his gaze to his coffee.
“There a problem I should know about?” his dad asked, looking at Mad and then Park.
“I don’t have a problem,” Mad said, looking right at Park.
“No problem here,” Park said, looking only at his dad.
His dad looked back and forth between them for a moment. “Yeah, okay.”
An awkward silence fell.
After he finished his apple, his dad stood. “Welp, I know this might be hard to believe, but I have a date for New Year’s.”
“Who?” Mad asked. “Where did you meet her?” Park wondered the same thing. His dad hadn’t been on a date in years.
“Let me just see how it goes,” his dad said. “I’ll be heading out tonight for Boston and I’ll be back on the second. Don’t burn the house down while I’m gone.”
Park studied him, thinking it extremely odd that his dad had a date at all, let alone a long-weekend kind of date. Did he suspect Park and Mad had hooked up? Was this his way of giving them a chance to be alone?
His dad smiled, his expression giving nothing away. “I’m going to shower and head to bed.”
Park waited until he left before turning his gaze back to Mad.
She smiled, one of her scary smiles that communicated dangerous intent. “Could you go to my women’s self-defense class in an hour?”
“So you can whale on me? No, thanks.”
“So the other women can practice on you. We need someone big.”
He leaned back in his seat. “Go find another big guy.”
“But you’re the perfect guy for the job.”
No comment. He knew she was pissed and would like nothing better than to have an excuse to let that out.
“Fine, stay here, then,” she said. “I’ll just tell the women you were too scared.”
“Yup.”
She frowned, probably because she didn’t get a rise out of him, and headed upstairs. He stayed downstairs and got on his dad’s laptop to work on his résumé and comb job sites for something that would fit. At some point he heard the front door open and close without a word of goodbye. She’d get over it. They’d go back to normal soon.
Mad stayed away all day. Soon it was night and his dad left to visit his friend in Boston for the long weekend. Park hadn’t been able to get any details out of him either. Very odd.
He didn’t know where Mad went or who she was with and didn’t relax until she finally returned home late that night. She glared at him where he sat on the living room sofa and went upstairs. He hadn’t been waiting up for her. He really couldn’t help it if the only TV in the house was near the front door.
The next day, New Year’s Eve, dragged. Mad went out with her friends right after breakfast. He finished his résumé, emailed it to Josh, who had a good eye for detail, and then sent it out to a bunch of places.
Time dragged by.
And by.
Were the clocks broken? It seemed like it should’ve been later than it was. He did a quick check around the house, but they seemed to be all synchronized to the same time.
Just him and the TV for company. He tried not to jump at every little noise that might be the front door. He was only watching TV on the living room sofa because it was comfortable. He wasn’t waiting for her to come home.
Finally she returned, all soft looking again. Her hair softly waved, her makeup like she’d just orgasmed—stop it! Her clothes tight, her tattoo peeking out of a fuzzy blue V-neck sweater. He was beginning to suspect she was purposely showing off her tattoo, knowing how much it got to him.
He turned down the volume on the TV and worked out a compliment that would still keep her in the friends box. “You look nice, mini.”
She lifted her chin. “It’s not for you, if that’s what you’re thinking. I’m going to a New Year’s Eve party at Garner’s tonight.”
“Oh.” He’d been kinda hoping they’d have New Year’s Eve together at home. Josh was working the party at Garner’s. His other brothers had plans, some of them working, some of them out of town visiting friends. He should’ve made plans too. What was he waiting around here for? He supposed he could see what Ty was up to in the city tonight.
She stood in front of the TV, where he couldn’t help but get a good view of the hawk wing, the clingy sweater, the tight jeans, and badass boots. “You can come if you want,” she said, and then blew out a big gust of air like she was doing him a huge favor. “I guess,” she added.
He slouched further into the sofa. “Gee, what an invitation. Can’t wait.”
She narrowed her eyes. “You hit on any of my friends and you’re dead.”
“Duly noted. Okay to hang with Josh?”
“He’s going to be busy. He’s not just the bartender, you know. He’s manager now.”
“So I guess I’ll hang with you if that’s okay.”
She lifted a shoulder. “Whatever. Just don’t give me a hard time about my drinking or my behavior or whatever.”
He straightened. “No comment on whatever.” He stared at her mouth, that full lower lip tempting him again with its softness. He met her eyes, his voice gruff. “I’ll go easy on you tonight.”
Their gazes locked in a tense standoff. He didn’t realize he was holding his breath until she finally spoke.
“We leave at seven,” she said tersely.
He leaned forward. “Are you ever going to stop being mad at me?”
Her mouth worked, like she was sucking a lemon, before she said, “Don’t be late.”
~ ~ ~
“Mad!” Hailey hollered and rushed over for a big hug the moment Mad arrived at Garner’s. Mad blew long Hailey hair out of her mouth. She was still getting used to all of Hailey’s warm hugs.
“And Park!” Hailey said, giving him a quick hug. “Happy New Year! C’mon, grab a drink!” Hailey danced her way over to the dark cherrywood bar.
Mad followed. “You hit the bar already?”
“I did! Josh here finally had all the ingredients for my fave.” She leaned across the bartop and smiled goofily at Josh. “Right, Josh? The delivery finally got straightened out.”
Josh bit back a grin, his brown eyes full of good humor. “Right, princess.” He slid a mojito with a mint leaf sticking out of it in front of Hailey.
She beamed at him. “Thank you,” she said with a surprising amount of warmth. She took a big slurping sip. “Ooh!” She put a hand on her head. “I got tiaras. Tonight I really will be a princess. We all will.” Hailey grabbed Mad’s arm and squeezed. “Wait here.”
She strode off unsteadily to a corner of the restaurant where she must’ve stashed them.
Park leaned against the bar, his eyes half-hooded. “You really gonna wear a tiara?”
She bristled. “Why not? I’m not girly enough to be a p
rincess?”
Park lifted one shoulder and turned to Josh. “Can I get a Corona?”
“I’ll have scotch,” Mad said. “The good stuff.”
“You got it,” Josh said, fetching the beer.
“You drink scotch?” Park asked.
Mad set her teeth, tired of the way the men in her life judged her every move. “Watch me.”
Park straightened to his full height and glowered down at her. “Isn’t it a little early to start with the hard stuff?”
She gave him a long, obvious once-over. “I like hard stuff.”
Josh choked on a laugh before serving up the beer with a slice of lime. “Better watch yourself, Park.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Mad asked.
Josh went to get her scotch. He returned and poured a small amount in a tumbler. “Ty told me to keep an eye on him.” He jerked his chin at Park. “But I’m thinking maybe I need to keep an eye on you.” He set the scotch in front of her.
Mad sipped her drink rather than snap at Josh. He’d done too much for her to tell him to fuck off, even if she wanted to.
Josh pointed to his own eyes with two fingers and back to her.
Whatever. He had his eye on her. So did all of her big overprotective brothers. Even now she could feel Park’s eyes on her, probably all set to take the next drink out of her hands because he’d deemed she’d had enough. She shook out her shoulders. Fuck ’em. Tonight was for fun.
“Mad, over here!” Hailey said, waving wildly.
Park gave Mad a small salute. “Time for your tiara.”
She sensed sarcasm and ignored it, joining her friends where they were gathered around Hailey, who held a large shopping bag. “For you, princess Charlotte,” Hailey said, presenting a plastic silver tiara to Charlotte.
Charlotte put it on. “Now where to find a prince?”
The women laughed.
Hailey distributed them to the others. Her friends looked super cute—Lauren, Carrie, Ally, and newcomers Missy, Sabrina, and Lexi too. Hailey had an impressive way of making friends. They’d just met Missy, Sabrina, and Lexi last Thursday for the first time at self-defense class. They’d returned to the Saturday self-defense class, where everyone was considerably more amped up, and now here they were celebrating New Year’s Eve together. She had to think it was more than Hailey just wanting to find new clients for her wedding planning business. More than being an overly romantic matchmaker. She just loved people and loved connecting the people she met to each other.
“Quite a group you got here,” Mad told Hailey. “Here.” She handed the tiara back. She knew she could never pull off the princess look.
“Oh, you,” Hailey said, settling the tiara on Mad’s head for her. “We’re Happy Endings Book Club sisters in solidarity.”
Mad got a lump in her throat. How many times had she wished for a sister? Now she had the book club and, legally by marriage, Claire too. “Does it look weird on me?”
“Just a minute,” Hailey said, adjusting the tiara and fussing with Mad’s hair. “There.”
“You look cute!” Lauren said. She pulled out her cell, took a picture, and showed Mad. Huh. She didn’t look as weird as she’d thought. In fact, she kinda blended with the other women. She never thought she could fit in so easily. Why did she always feel so different? It was like her awkward teen years when she’d tried and failed to be one of the girls was constantly biting her in the ass.
“Let’s mingle!” Hailey said, linking her arm with Mad’s and pulling her along.
Hailey was a natural at working a room. She brought Mad and the whole group along with her, introducing them to people they didn’t know. She seemed to know everyone in Clover Park. Well, she had grown up there. Mad listened as Hailey told everyone about the Happy Endings Book Club and all the great books they’d read there as well as her work as a wedding planner. The word of mouth for Hailey’s business, based on her motormouth, must be amazing, but Mad started thinking of what else Hailey could do to expand. Some of her new marketing knowledge filtered through her head, coming up with new ways to get the word out. She’d mention it once Hailey was sober again. The woman was exuberantly happy-tipsy right now.
Mad felt someone staring and looked over to see Park leaning against the bar, watching her. He jerked his chin at her in acknowledgment. She returned the gesture.
“Girl, he’s been staring at you all night,” Charlotte said, fanning herself.
“No, he hasn’t.” Mad felt her cheeks heat. “He said I’m not his type.”
“What?” Hailey exclaimed.
“Shh,” Mad said.
“That is ridiculous!” Hailey practically shouted. “You’re everybody’s type!”
“Geez, keep your voice down,” Mad said.
Hailey went on as if she hadn’t heard her. “A smart, confident, educated woman. If he doesn’t see that—”
“Yeah, I think he’s a liar,” Ally put in. She cupped a hand near her mouth and said in a stage whisper, “He’s checking out your ass right now.”
Mad stiffened. For real? She peeked over her shoulder at Park, who turned to say something to Josh.
“You guys,” Mad said, completely exasperated, “I know you’re just trying to make me feel better. He likes petite girly girls. That’s not me.”
“You look petite to me,” Lauren said. She was kinda tall, at least four inches taller than Mad.
“To me too,” Charlotte said, who was nearly as tall as Lauren.
Ally grinned. “I’m petite and you’re my size.”
Hailey threw an arm around Mad’s shoulders. “And you’re definitely pretty when you’re not scowling.”
Mad scowled.
“Turn that frown upside down,” Carrie, a sweet nurse with glasses, quipped, doing a big exaggerated frown-to-smile gesture that nearly made her tip her white wine.
Missy Higgins, a brunette in her twenties and a new member of the group, put a hand on her hip. “I don’t get why women have to be smiling all the time. Maybe I don’t feel like smiling. Does that make me a bitch?”
“No,” the women chorused.
“I have a scary resting bitch face,” Charlotte said, giving them a dead-eye stare. “I like it that way.”
Missy gave her a fist bump.
“But you look cute when you smile,” Hailey said to Missy, completely missing the point. Hard to fight years of pageant training. “How do you like Clover Park?” Missy was new to town and the sister-in-law of a former book club member.
“I like it,” Missy said. “I got a good start with the Marino family sort of taking me in. I go to all the Sunday family dinners with Nico and Lily.” That was Missy’s sister. “Plus I met these two at the apartment complex.” She turned to smile at Sabrina and Lexi.
“And we’re awesome,” Sabrina said, lifting one hand in the air.
“True dat,” Lexi agreed. They toasted each other, clinking their plastic glasses of champagne.
“You should definitely flirt with Park,” Charlotte said. “He’s into you for sure. See where things go.”
“I don’t know how to flirt,” Mad muttered.
“Ah,” Hailey said, “my specialty. It’s a dance. You lean in, pull back, give him a chance to lean toward you. Yes?”
Mad stared at her blankly. “I have no idea what you mean and I’m a terrible dancer.”
“I’ll show you.” Hailey smiled sweetly and leaned close to Mad. “Hi. Great party.”
Mad backed off. “Don’t flirt with me. Show me with a guy.”
Hailey flicked her hair over one shoulder. “Okay. Pick one.”
Mad looked around. Most of the men seemed to be with someone. Of course, there was Josh, but that wasn’t really a fair example. He liked to mess with Hailey too much to go along with it. Then she zeroed in on a guy in his thirties, dark hair parted to the side, and a wide grin.
She pointed. “That guy.”
Hailey looked over. “Ooh, he’s the mailman. Terrible choice. He a
sks out everyone.” She looked around. “You see? This is why I need to import single men to Clover Park. Everyone here is married except us.”
Mad pulled out her cell. “Let me see if I can rustle up some guys. She texted all of her brothers, even Alex, though she figured he was probably home with his young daughter. Ten minutes later, she hooked one. “Ethan just got off his shift. He’ll be here soon. He’s a cop in Eastman.”
“You mean the one with—” Hailey gestured to her stomach in a rippling move “—the twelve-pack abs?”
Mad laughed. “I guess. Is there such a thing as a twelve-pack?”
Hailey nodded. “Oh yeah. I remember from the basketball game.” Hailey had joined the guys in one of their Saturday basketball games. They’d played shirts versus skins and Hailey had been mesmerized by a couple of the shirtless guys.
“That was more than a year ago,” Mad said with a laugh.
“Burned in my brain!” Hailey exclaimed, eyes wide.
Everyone laughed. They chatted for a while, making multiple toasts to each other, the new year, being a badass, and the Happy Endings Book Club. She caught Park staring at her. He gestured to her tiara and gave her a thumbs-up. She quickly took it off, suspecting he was making fun of her.
A moment later Park appeared at her side. “What’re you doing taking it off? You looked very sparkly in it.” He grinned.
She scowled. “Shut up.”
Park turned to Hailey. “She’s mad at me.”
Mad squirmed.
“And why is she mad at you?” Hailey caroled with a gleeful smile plastered on her face.
Park raised a brow at Mad. Like she was really going to tell everyone that he refused to sleep with her again. It sucked to be friend-zoned and she wanted out of that zone as soon as possible.
“I’m not mad at him.” I’m hurt, stung…yeah, I’m pissed. He said she wasn’t his type and that really stuck in her craw because she’d always secretly feared she could never match what he wanted.
Park gave her a disbelieving look.
Her friends sort of wandered away. Park studied her.
“What?” she practically snarled.
He pushed a lock of hair behind her ear. “Truce, okay?” Before she could get out another lie about being just fine, he leaned down to her ear, the stubble of his cheek brushing against her. “I take it back. I only said you weren’t my type because I needed us to go back to being friends.”
Inviting Trouble (Happy Endings Book Club, Book 2) Page 15