was a miracle the whole place didn’t go up in clouds of smoke.
And then Snake entered the kitchen. He crossed his arms
and leaned against the counter, making it clear that Haley
would be playing for her friends plus him since he had no
plans of leaving them alone, but he was all casual about it, like
he didn’t mind his job one bit. The thick currents in the room
intensified as Amy practically started drooling over the best
and most delicious addition, at least in her book, to the
kitchen.
“Yes, that’s fine,” Claire said.
“You’re sure you can’t stay and enjoy the beach?” Haley
kept pressing and stalling. Claire was dressed in a black power
suit and her normal towering black heels. She’d already done
her hair in a tight knot and applied makeup. She looked ready
to tackle the world in some high-stakes business meeting, not
hit the beach.
Haley couldn’t imagine Claire in a bikini, sipping on some
slushy drink, sitting in a lawn chair in the sand. Okay, so she
could, and that only made her feel more and more like her
blood was sizzling.
“Sorry. I have this meeting and I can’t put it off any longer.”
“But it’s the weekend.”
“I know. Business moves forward, even on the weekend. A
lot of people are too busy during the week. Plus, this one
involves my mother.” Claire wrinkled her nose like that was a
bad thing, but she relaxed her face immediately. It probably
wasn’t a bad thing. Just one of those things that would take
extra time and be extra difficult.
Haley knew how that went. Her grandparents were about as
drama free as they came, but her dad was a bit of a