Page 61 of Inviting Trouble
Hailey looked over. “Ooh, he’s the mailman. Terrible choice. He asks 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.”
“Really?” she asked, floored.
He kept talking, the words hot against her skin. “I miss you around the house, miss you in my life. Spend time with me again.”
He straightened, seeming to be waiting for her to say something.
“I will. I—” she swallowed over the lump in her throat “—miss you too. But why…” She trailed off as a large hand landed on her head and mussed her hair like it was sucking on her head. Ethan Case.
He moved to her side. Everything about him was sharp—dirty blond hair with spikes in front, hard blue eyes, chiseled cheekbones—softened by his full lips that occasionally cracked a smile. Like now. “Brain sucker and it’s starving.”
“Ha-ha,” she said, shoving his hand off her head.
Ethan pulled her head close and kissed the top of it. “Happy New Year, shortstack.”
Her friends gathered in close again, eager to flirt with Ethan.
Park snatched the tiara from her hand and settled it back on her head. “Royalty suits you.”
She stared at him, speechless.
“And we’re her royal friends,” Hailey chirped.
