Mad eyed her. “You into the prince thing?”
“Who wouldn’t be? It’s like every fairy-tale fantasy every girl grows up with.”
“Not me.”
“Well, I did. And not only did he make that nice offer to help me with my business, he invited me to be his date at the royal weddings for Princess Silvia, both here and on Villroy Island this summer!” Her voice cracked on a high note of excitement. She could hardly believe she’d be traveling in that elite circle. Imagine the people she’d meet!
Mad grunted and grabbed her beer, tipping it up to her mouth and speaking around it. “He wants you.”
She wiggled a little in her seat. What if she became a princess?
Or she could just be one of the many women Phillip rutted and threw away. Hadn’t he said he’d rutted his way through Europe? Maybe now he was rutting his way through America. Hailey was of an age where she needed to know there was at least a possibility of a relationship to go with the sex. She’d thought maybe Josh—no. Stop thinking about that jerk. She wanted a relationship. Otherwise, she would’ve stayed in her friends-with-benefits arrangement. All of her physical needs had been met that way for years, but, in the end, she’d longed for love.
She slumped into the sofa. It pained her to admit, being a huge fan of love, but she’d never experienced love herself. It was kinda embarrassing given her job and her marketing angle as a love junkie.
“What about Josh?” Mad asked.
“What about him?”
“Don’t play dumb. I know something’s going on there. Josh is different now.”
“He is?”
“Yeah, he’s whistling and shit.”
Heat spread through her, half-embarrassed, half-turned on at the memory of their kiss. “I don’t know why.”
“Liar. What happened? And don’t tell me nothing.”
Hailey blew out a breath of exasperation. She couldn’t talk to Mad about Josh. Mad would take Josh’s side. He was her big brother and she owed him for helping her pay for college. “Look, I just wanted you to translate Phillip’s guy speak. I don’t want to talk about your brother.”
“Fine. I’ll ask him.”
Josh would never share the details. He was much too private for that, and everyone knew Mad had no filter. She worried her lower lip. She knew Josh so well in some ways, and in other ways he was a complete mystery. She never should’ve crossed the line with him. He’d sounded so sincere when he’d said they could stop fighting and make it work. Then nothing. Her throat tightened. She was tired of Josh stomping on her feelings. Now she was stuck with him forever thanks to their parents. Talk about awkward around the holidays. She’d have to see him with whatever girlfriend he brought around, like when he was gaga for Clarissa. Dammit.
“Whatever,” Hailey said. “Thanks for the translation. Are you going to the book club meeting at Claire’s on Sunday night?” The Happy Endings Book Club meeting had been moved to Claire’s place instead of their usual meeting at Something’s Brewing Café. Claire was too famous a movie star to appear in public without causing a stir, so they sometimes met at her home in Connecticut.
“Yeah, I’ll give you a ride.” Mad liked to share rides so they could talk, and she also liked to be in the driver’s seat.
“Thanks.”
Parker slid the patio door open. “Burger time.”
She joined Mad getting out the condiments and chips. Then they settled at the small breakfast bar that divided the kitchen from the living room and dug in. Park sat on a bar stool on the end, then Mad, then Hailey. Rose lay down under the breakfast bar, prepared to pounce on any burger that might fall her way.
Mad told them about her classes and a big group project she was working on, launching a new product. The great thing about Mad and Parker was that Hailey never felt like a third wheel; she just felt like part of the gang. That was how Mad had made her feel right from the beginning with her family too, casually including her like she was actually part of the family. Of course, that made her worry about her flaky mom ruining the good thing Hailey had going with the Campbell clan. Everyone would turn on her because her mom hurt their dad. And that made her think of Josh, the one part of the Campbells she couldn’t seem to make peace with. Did Josh have any intentions toward her? Did Phillip?
Had Josh already forgotten about their passionate kiss?
Men and their stupid games. Fuck them all. After this she’d go home to the best kind of man—the fictional one in her latest steamy read. Book boyfriend for the win.
She glanced over as Mad laughed and Parker smiled back, love in his eyes. Hailey’s heart squeezed painfully hard. Was love ever going to happen for her?
Chapter Ten
Josh played the worst basketball game of his life with the guys on Saturday afternoon. His limbs were like lead, his focus shit. He’d intended to get in touch with Hailey on Friday—once he knew she was off work—for dinner on Sunday night. He was needed at work on Friday and Saturday nights, the busiest time for Garner’s, so it had to be Sunday. He’d spent most of Thursday thinking up the best date ideas that would show his serious intentions, and settled on dinner at his place. Then he spent most of Friday thinking up the best menu. He’d planned on making her dinner, slipping the money he owed her into her purse when she wasn’t looking, and giving her the gift that he’d special ordered for her. They’d kiss, for sure, but he was determined to take it slow. He wanted her to know this was for real, not just him acting on lust like most men probably did with her. And then the whole thing came to a crashing halt when Mad called to tell him the stupid prince had offered to buy Ludbury House for Hailey. Talk about a big gesture. Obviously the guy was into her. Not only that, Hailey had agreed to be the prince’s date at a wedding on Villroy Island. What the hell was she doing accepting dates from another guy after they’d shared that intense kiss?
What if she went to Villroy and never came back?
The prince offered glamour and glitz, the fairy-tale kind of life that he knew Hailey dreamed about. Hadn’t she said she fantasized about the prince whenever she read one of her romantic stories?
He stalked off the basketball court and grabbed his water bottle.
Jake, his twin, appeared at his side, grabbed his own water bottle, and drank. Josh knew from a lifetime of twin connection that Jake knew he was playing like shit because he was upset. He probably also knew it was because of Hailey. Most things rolled off his back, but Hailey’s pink claws were into him good.
“Hey,” Jake said.
Josh grunted and drank more water. He didn’t want to talk about it.
Jake wiped his mouth on his T-shirt sleeve. “You free this afternoon? I got something back at the house I want to show you.”
He went for a neutral expression, lowering his lashes, his poker face that worked with everyone but Jake. Still he had to try, his mood too shitty to inflict on anyone. “What is it?”
Jake hip-checked him. “Come over and find out.”
He eyed him. Jake grinned.
Josh stated the obvious as a warning. “I’m in a shitty mood.”
“This’ll cheer you up.” Jake exhaled sharply. “It’s a present, okay? Too big to give to you here. Would you just come over?”
A present? A big one? It wasn’t their birthday. He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t curious. And it sounded a helluva lot better than having a heart-to-heart talk with Jake about woman problems. Ever since Jake had married Claire, he acted like he was an expert on relationships.
Josh inclined his head. “Sure, thanks. Let me shower and I’ll meet you there.”
“Later,” Jake said and headed for his BMW.
Josh headed for his Miata convertible, his mind turning over why he was getting a present and what it could be. The new focus helped the dark cloud lift, his mind clearing. He never should’ve touched Hailey in the first place. He’d known it was wrong, and for some stupid reason he’d thought it would just work itself out. His fingers gripped the steering wh
eel tight. He had his dream bar, family, friends that were like brothers to him, and…lots of good stuff going on.
~ ~ ~
Jake had amazing stuff going on. Josh pulled through the security gate of Jake and Claire’s horse farm that was more of an estate. Claire was wealthy from her work as a movie star and her film production company, and Jake was wealthy from his tech company Dat Cloud. Josh could’ve gotten in on the ground floor of Dat Cloud, but he’d taken a different path. He had no regrets. Just an occasional twinge of what might’ve been. He passed a couple of historic houses on the property before pulling up the circular drive of the main house. Jake and Claire had moved in a few months ago in January, so he’d been here before, but he still hadn’t gotten used to it. The place screamed money at the top of its lungs.
He got out of his car and just took in the gorgeous property for a minute. Acres of rolling hills with woodlands just beyond, all of it in the bloom of spring—flowering trees, bright green new leaves and grass, landscaped beds of bright yellow daffodils. Horses grazed in a large paddock by the pond. More barns and stables off in the distance. Must be nice.
He turned to the large stone and stucco mansion, with arts-and-crafts-style post and beams on the upper levels and the large porch, and headed for the door. He lifted the metal knocker on the door, and the door popped open a moment later. Jake probably knew he was here from the security guard who’d let Josh in at the gate.
“Von’t you come in?” Jake drawled in a deep Dracula voice.
Josh snorted and followed him in.
“To the man cave,” Jake said and headed in that direction.
Josh followed him through the foyer to the kitchen and the stairs just beyond to the basement man cave. It was basically Josh’s dream bar in Jake’s house. There were not one but two bars down there, one for regular drinks and one for wine tasting complete with a wine cellar of extraordinary wines. The regular bar was in a large room surrounded with all the best stuff—big-screen TV, pool table, Ping-Pong, pinball, old-school arcade games.
Jake bypassed the wine-tasting room and headed for the main bar area, stopping at the far end of the room. Josh stopped next to him, where they both stared at a new addition to the man cave—a gorgeous vintage jukebox. Shiny chrome with lilac trim, the forty-five record player visible through the glass. Another addition to Josh’s dream bar in his twin’s house.
“Nice,” Josh muttered, trying to keep the envy from his voice.
“It’s yours,” Jake said.
Josh’s head whipped toward Jake in surprise. “This is my present? For what?”
“It’s a congratulations-on-your-new-bar gift. Whenever you get the addition finished, I’ll have it delivered. What do you think?”
Josh’s throat closed with emotion. Here he’d been envious, when his brother, as usual, was being generous. He swallowed hard, turning back to the jukebox. “It’s really cool. Thank you so much.”
“Sure. It’s an antique. Nineteen sixty-two, fully restored. One hundred twenty selection for forty-five RPM records. You can see the whole thing set and play, stereo sound.”
“It’s amazing.” He turned to Jake. “I really appreciate it.”
Jake nodded, smiling and looking at the jukebox. “Can’t wait to see it in your place. Wanna play pool?”
“Sure.” A weight lifted off him. An awesome present and a game of pool were exactly what he needed to relax after two long days planning and then ditching his stupid date idea for Hailey. He was not a prince by any stretch of the imagination, by deed or title. He was just a guy who owned the local bar. Somehow his big accomplishment—taking ownership of Garner’s—felt too little, too late.
Jake racked up the balls and broke. Josh went into deep-focus mode, some part of him needing the win. Time passed quickly as he kicked his twin’s ass. The weird thing was, Jake didn’t seem to care. Was he letting him win?
Jake set up an impossible shot, aimed, and missed.
Josh finished up, claiming the win.
Jake smiled. “Good game.”
“What’re you so damn happy about?” Josh barked. “I crushed you.”
Jake smiled even wider. “Claire’s pregnant. Nine weeks along. We’re due October thirtieth.” He barked out a laugh. “I’m going to be a dad!”
His chest ached as he stared at his twin’s brilliant smile, pure happiness written all over his face. A wave of intense longing momentarily prevented speech. Jake was leaving him in the dust.
“Josh?”
He snapped to attention. “Congratulations! Wow, that’s big news.” He went over, shook his hand, and gave him a bro hug with a slap on the back for good measure.
Not that life was a contest, but if it was, Jake was winning. His twin had beat him out of the womb by two minutes and had been in the lead ever since—personally and professionally. Thirty-five years old and Jake had it all—hugely successful business, a beautiful home, gorgeous loving wife, and now a baby. Soon Jake would be wrapped up in his new family. They’d probably have a slew of kids. Meanwhile Josh had a crappy one-bedroom apartment and had just drained his savings and gone into debt with a loan to buy the bar. Even owning the bar, finally, didn’t seem enough. No wife, not even a girlfriend. His mood plummeted from shitty to dark despair. If he could’ve cried, he’d be a blubbering mess just like Hailey was in his office two weeks ago. Of course, that was before the playboy prince. Now her life was all sunshine and mansions.
Rock-bottom suckage. Wallow is me.
A stab of guilt hit him as Jake enthusiastically pulled him into a full-on hug before leaning back, holding Josh by the arms. “You’re the first person I told.”
Josh swallowed over the lump in his throat. “Really happy for you and Claire.” He pulled away and turned toward the stairs. “I’m going to go up and tell Claire congrats.”
“Hold up.” Jake went to the wall and pressed on the intercom system. “Paging Claire Jordan. Please report to the man cave.”
Claire’s husky voice came through loud and clear. “Whadda ya need?”
Jake winked at Josh. “I need your pretty ass down here, pronto.”
“Bite me.”
Jake leaned close to the intercom. “Josh is here.”
Claire’s loud sigh echoed. “Why didn’t you say so? Be right down to see your better half.”
“You’re my better half,” Jake cooed.
Claire made a kissy noise, and Jake smiled like an idiot. Somebody slap me if I ever look like that over a woman.
Josh stuffed his hands in his jeans pockets. “When’re you going to tell Dad?”
“He and Brandy are coming for dinner tonight, so I’ll tell him then. After that, I’ll tell everyone else.”
“I’m honored you told me first.”
“Of course. I’m surprised you couldn’t twin sense it. I could barely keep the secret this long.”
He forced a smile. “Guess we were overdue for a twin refuel.” That had been an elaborate high-five, low-five routine with a revving engine of twin fuel they’d done when they were kids.
“Yeah, ha!”
“Who did Claire tell?” Does Hailey know? Dammit. Why did everything circle back to her?
“Claire told her parents weeks ago, who told her brother. Tomorrow night, her friends are meeting here for their book club meeting, and she’ll tell them the big news then. Everyone else is on a need-to-know basis. She doesn’t want paparazzi showing up to get pictures of her pregnant.”
“Understandable.”
Jake broke into a wide smile, looking over Josh’s shoulder. “There’s my beautiful pregnant wife.”
“My gorgeous husband and his equally gorgeous twin,” Claire returned with her throaty husky laugh.
“Hey,” Jake protested. “I’m the prize stallion here.”
Josh smiled and crossed to Claire. “Congratulations!” His gaze dropped to her stomach, still flat under a black silk short-sleeve shirt. He met her hazel eyes, her blond shoulder-length hair up in a t
wist. Even dressed casually, Claire’s beauty and presence were mesmerizing. No wonder the cameras loved her.
“Thank you!” Claire hugged him. She pulled back suddenly, her eyes direct. “What’s wrong?”
Josh went for a neutral expression. “Nothing.”
Claire was having none of it. “You’re so tense it’s making me tense. And I know this face. Jake has the same expression when something goes south and he doesn’t know how to fix it.” Damn, the woman was intuitive. “Are you having difficulties with Garner’s? Something holding you up with the construction? Trouble getting permits or something?”
Claire was all up in his business because she loved him, loved all of their family, which was the only reason he wasn’t irritated that she was harping on his perfectly acceptable need to pretend everything was A-OK during this shitty time. Besides, he didn’t want to rain on their happy baby parade.
“Garner’s is fine,” he assured her.
She narrowed her eyes.
“And so am I,” he added.
Jake and Claire exchanged a meaningful look before turning back to him.
He shrugged one shoulder. “I’m just tired. I didn’t sleep well last night.”
“Insomnia?” Jake asked sympathetically. He knew that was usually related to some lingering PTSD.
“No, just thinking. Tossing, turning.”
“That’s insomnia,” Jake said.
Josh avoided Claire’s sharp assessing gaze and focused on Jake. “It wasn’t like that. Usually I’m wired with insomnia like I need to get out of bed and do stuff. This time, I felt tired, but my mind kept whirling.” He hoped that was enough information to move back to happy baby land.
“Who’s on your mind?” Claire asked. She’d been after him to close the deal with Hailey, claiming their fighting was a front. So she turned out to be right. It sure didn’t help anything.
An Inconvenient Plan (Happy Endings Book Club, Book 10) Page 10