Page 33 of Choosing You

Hailey’s eyes narrowed as she got up from her spot at the kitchen table and padded toward her. “Are you okay? Your voice sounds weird.”

“What? No, I’m fine. Really. I’m good. Fine. Totally, totally good.” Turning, she walked over to the coffeemaker. “Want some coffee?” she squeaked.

“You just brought some from Books & Beans. Seriously, are you okay?”

Without turning, she repeated herself. “I’m fine! Just a little sleep-deprived, I guess.”

But when Hailey didn’t respond, Sloane started to fear turning around. Her sister knew her better than anyone, and would probably just stare at her until she caved.

Without looking at Hailey, she turned and walked back over to the island and opened the bakery box. “I got us a blueberry muffin, a banana chocolate chip muffin, a slice of lemon pound cake, a slice of marble pound cake, a piece of caramel coffee cake, and a chocolate croissant. I think I’m going to cut the banana chocolate chip muffin in half. Do you want to split it with me?”

Nothing.

It was crazy how her hand trembled as she opened the silverware drawer and pulled out a knife. “Of course, you don’t have to split it with me. There’s a big enough variety here that I’m sure you can have something equally yummy. Oh, and I made sure your coffee was decaf. It’s marked on the cup.”

Still nothing.

Sighing loudly, Sloane finally forced herself to look at her sister. As kids, they could hold the longest staring contests, and apparently, they were going to see if they still could.

Shockingly, however, Hailey broke first. “You only get that squeaky voice when you’re nervous or lying,” she said softly. “So why don’t we take this box and our coffees over to the table and talk about it?”

“Okay.” Together, they got plates and silverware and everything else before heading over to the table. “Where’s Max?”

“He left for work already. He has an office set up over the bar and there're more inspections happening today that he needs to be there for. This whole thing has taken way longer than it should have.” She shrugged. “I knew they should have put off working on the yoga studio and got the bar up and going first, but both Max and Dad insisted that the studio would be quicker.”

“Obviously they were right, Hales. You were open for business in under three months.”

“I know, but now the bar has taken almost a year! I feel so guilty!”

“Well, you shouldn’t. Everyone else had jobs and careers to hold them over. You didn’t. Besides, for all you know, it would have taken this long anyway. From everything Dad’s been saying, they’re all being super picky about every little detail. I keep telling him that no one is going to notice the grain of the wood on the bar!” Shaking her head, she laughed.

“Then there’s Marcus. He’s been handling all the finances and, according to Max, he has argued about the cost of everything. There have been plenty of heated discussions around the table when we all get together for brunch or dinners.”

“I’ll bet. Do they have an opening date?”

“If all the inspections pass today, they’re going to open the Thursday right before Meet in the Streets. It will be the big grand opening that weekend.”

“Oh, fun! I can’t wait to see it all finished!”

“You and me both,” Hailey murmured. “Obviously you’re coming back for the festival, right? Mom and Dad will both be here so they’re going to want you here too.”

“I want to.”

“But…?”

“But I’m not sure I can get the time off again or afford another flight. This trip was spur of the moment and was a hit to my bank account.” Pausing, she took a sip of her coffee before adding, “I seriously need a new job. It’s sucking my will to live.”

“That’s not good.”

“Exactly. I’ve been trying to make the best of it and do some stuff on the side for friends and their businesses, but it’s not enough to pay my bills. And my boss gives me so much busy work that I literally have no extra time during the day. I’m the office gofer, so I’m picking up everyone else’s slack. I seriously hate that guy.”

For a moment, Hailey didn’t say anything. She nibbled on a blueberry muffin and sipped her coffee. “Before moving here, I genuinely liked my jobs back home. Sure, I used to wish that the studio I worked at would do all the expansions they talked about—and it always frustrated me that they didn’t—but I liked my boss and coworkers. I just assumed that it would be like that no matter where I lived. Finding a job in a small town when I do something that’s maybe considered a little niche was almost impossible.”

“You teach yoga, Hales. It’s a fairly common thing.”

Shaking her head, her sister immediately disagreed. “It’s not. People go to gyms. That’s the common thing, and there aren’t any here in town. It freaked me out so much because I didn’t want to do anything else. I’m good at what I do, and even though I could have taken part-time positions, they all required commutes and…ugh. It was awful.”

Taking another sip of her coffee, Sloane seriously had no idea where Hailey was going with this. “Yeah, yeah, yeah…then Dad and Max built you a yoga studio and you’re living the dream. Yay, you,” she mumbled.

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