Page 22 of All Signs Point to Malibu

She laughs gently as I take her hand and spin her around, sounding genuinely relieved to hear it. “You’re Liam’s best friend, so I’m going to trust you on that.”

“You should. I’ve known Liam since we were five years old and I know he’s totally in love with you.”

My gaze locks on Hailey and the unsettled feeling refuses to subside. She’s standing just a little too close and Liam’s a little too fixated on her. I spin Sonia again so that she doesn’t have a view of it.

“What’s the deal with you two?” she asks. “I mean, I heard about the airport incident, but that was a while ago...”

Not long enough. “It’s more than that... She just...” What? How do I explain my feelings about Hailey? I have every reason to be annoyed by her and dislike her, but it’s almost deeper than that. I can’t really understand the feelings she evokes and it’s best that we steer clear of one another. “She’s just aggravating and I don’t know why. She’s just like ‘errrr.’” I clench my fists and shake them. “You know?”

“Honestly? No. I think she’s so fantastic.”

“Then her marketing is paying off,” I say, sending another glance Hailey’s way. She takes a sip of my whiskey and another wave of unlabeled emotions swirl through me. Primarily annoyance—get your own unauthorized whiskey. But also the same slight arousal I felt around her at the high school when I see her lick the rim of the glass to catch the drops. Apparently, my biggest turn-on is irritation.

“You don’t believe she deserves all the hype?” Sonia asks.

“She’s made a huge success of herself and good for her.” I shrug. “I don’t know, I just think this whole influencer, life coach thing is a scam. I mean, she’s essentially helping rich people get richer.”

Sonia eyes me with a hint of a sly smile. “That’s what she portrays online.”

“What do you mean?” I’m curious despite my better judgment.

“She only posts about her professional clients, but she’s worked with a lot of people from all walks of life. She once helped a veteran who’d been living in Santa Monica and experiencing homelessness to launch a transition program.”

Okay, so that’s a little unexpected.

“And she helped a single mom start a daycare chain in Santa Clarita after her husband died. At no charge, by the way.” Sonia casts an admiring glance toward Hailey. “She doesn’t publicize those things.”

Damn, that’s actually pretty cool of her.

I force away any admiration I might be inclined to entertain. Safer to keep my preconceived notions about her in check.

She may do some altruistic work, but it doesn’t diminish the fact that she essentially manipulates people into believing they need some secret wisdom only she possesses to succeed in life.

We continue to dance, but as the song comes to an end, my gaze shifts across the yard toward Hailey and Liam again. They’ve moved slightly closer and their faces are illuminated by the white backyard lights overhead.

There’s a moment—something—between them. Their gazes locked on one another, Hailey’s hand resting casually on Liam’s—a long beat...

Then Hailey swings her gaze back this way as though sensing they’ve been caught in a moment, and it’s then that I see it.

The same look on her face from that day at the airport. Right before she blew up my life.

FIVE

HAILEY’S DAILY RULE FOR SUCCESS:

When in doubt, pro/con it out.

I sit at my desk far too early the next morning, clutching an espresso like a life raft. The document open on my laptop is labeled “Pros/Cons of messing with my ex’s personal life.”

Pro/conning is a simple yet effective exercise I have all my clients do when making major decisions.

If the pro list outnumbers the con list, they’re reassured that the advice I’ve offered is in line with what they hope to achieve and they go for it. Of course, the weight on both sides of the pro/con equation needs to be balanced. Reasoningsfora decision can’t be less impactful than the ones against, making them superfluous, just as the reasons against can’t be intangible things like fear.

The blinking cursor on my laptop screen waits for me to add something to the con side. The pro side is filling in quite effortlessly:

Stop Liam from heartache.

Obviously, the main objective.

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