Page 146 of Not That Into You

“Oh. They look good. I mean, you look good without glasses.”

I smirk. “Thanks. So, did I miss anything while I was gone?”

“Not really. Oh,” she says as her expression brightens. “Claire’s working on a profile of an elite matchmaker, and she’s roped Anna and Dre into signing up for matchmaking services.”

“What?”

Hayley shrugs. “I don’t know.”

My brow furrows. “Hm.” I’ll have to ask Claire about that later. “You want any tea?”

“No, thanks. I’m just going to grab some water.”

I sit down at our small kitchen table with my tea as Hayley pours herself a glass of water before joining me.

“So, how are your parents? How was the surgery? How was taking care of your mom? Tell me everything.”

I laugh before filling her in on the details of the last two weeks, including how my mom and I ended up in a food fight when she insisted on helping me chop some vegetables. I kept telling her to stop and get out of the kitchen, and she eventually got so annoyed she picked up some chopped potatoes and threw them at me. I retaliated by throwing chopped peppers at her until our yelling turned into laughing.

Hayley laughs. “You and your mother are so much alike.”

“What? No, we aren’t.”

“You are. You’re both stubborn, and you both enjoy needling people.”

That’s... not exactly inaccurate but still feels a little harsh. “She’s worse than I am.”

Hayley snorts. “I’m sure. She’s had more practice.”

I grunt.

Hayley smiles before taking a drink of water.

I fiddle with the string of my tea bag. “Cameron showed up on the day of my mom’s surgery.”

Her eyes widen as she thumps down her glass. “What? Really?” Her brow furrows. “He didn’t tell me.” She squints at me. “You didn’t tell me.”

I shrug. “I didn’t tell anyone. I was a little overwhelmed at the time.”

“Sure. But that’s...” She frowns. “That’s pretty huge.”

“I know.”

“I mean, I know you surprised him at the Coronet Society Dinner, but flying all the way to Ohio?”

I wince inwardly. I still haven’t told Hayley that Cameron went to the dinner with Vanessa. I may have forgiven Cameron, but in the interest of being more open, I should explain how that night ended.

“About the Coronet Society Dinner?—”

“Wait,” Hayley interrupts. “Wasn’t Cameron’s interview for the CMO position around the same time as your mom’s surgery? How did he find time to go to Ohio?”

Oh boy. If he hasn’t told her he quit The Stanhope Group, I’m not going to be the one to break it to her. Especially since I haven’t heard the full story.

“Um...”

Before I can say anything else, there’s a knock at the door. My heart rate picks up as Hayley goes to answer it.

“Cameron!” She lets him into our apartment and then hugs him. “We were just talking about you.”

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