Tangle (Dogwood Lane 2) - Page 4
CHAPTER TWO
HALEY
If he turns around and walks right back in here, it won’t be soon enough,” Claire says.
“As long as he doesn’t come to get his doughnut back.” I swivel on the stool to face her. “By the way, I should fire you from being my friend.”
“Why would you do something like that?”
“You knew he was here, and you let me climb on the bar and stick my butt up in the air.”
She shrugs. “I didn’t let you do anything.”
“You didn’t warn me, which means you let me by proxy. And as your best friend for the last eight years, I expect more.”
“You kept cutting me off in your quest for a hit of caramel icing.” She wags a finger my way. “This is your fault.”
I make a show of dropping my jaw in faux shock. “You’re blaming this on me?”
“Totally. I couldn’t get a word in to save my soul.”
“Let’s just make a quick note that you didn’t bother to blurt out ‘hot guy’ or ‘sexy stranger.’ Either of those two phrases would’ve gotten my attention.”
Claire leans against the counter, a conspiratorial grin on her face. “I come to work every day and serve a bunch of old farmers wanting coffee. If you told me this morning I was going to meet the hottest guy I’ve ever seen in the flesh today, I would’ve called you a liar.”
“Same.” I swipe at the icing with my finger. “I wonder where he came from. There aren’t any Kellys in Dogwood Lane, are there?”
“Lived here my whole life and haven’t met a Kelly.”
“I was going to say, if there’s a family of men like that around here and you haven’t introduced me to them by now, you’re definitely not my friend anymore.”
Icing hangs off my finger before I plop it in my mouth. A rush of sugar blitzes my tongue, and I make a concerted effort not to moan.
Claire hands me a fork. “Like you have a hard time meeting guys.”
“Oh, I can meet guys all right. I just can’t meet the right kind of guy.” I lick my lips. “Any tips? Not that I’m looking, of course. I’ll just note them down for later.”
“You’re desperate if you want tips from me.” She holds out her wrist to show the word HAPPY inked on her skin. “I tattooed a guy’s name on my body who makes his living, for a lack of a better word, in dive bars. A guy named Happy, to make it worse. Don’t ask me for help.”
“Good point.”
I stuff my mouth with doughnut. It’s thicker than usual and takes much longer to chew than I anticipate. By the time I swallow, Claire’s refilling a couple of farmers’ coffee cups by the door.
Taking another bite, I let myself calm down for the first time this morning. My eyes close. Air flows in and out of my lungs in a controlled fashion, just like the guru on one of my social media accounts showed her followers last week. I focus on putting the chaos of the day behind me and stepping forward with positivity and confidence. I envision restarting the day with purpose and focus.
Until Claire comes back.
“You know,” she says, “watching you eat makes me think I do it wrong. I don’t enjoy food as much as you.”
Wiping my mouth with a napkin, I shrug. “Your loss.”
“Somehow you have icing on your cheek.” She points just under my eye. “How do you manage that?”
“It takes skill.” I dab at the spot until Claire gives me a thumbs-up.
“I should get extra friend points for not letting you eat that in front of Trevor.”
“What would it matter? We’ll never see him again,” I say.
“I have a sneaking suspicion that’s not true. He asked for your name, Haley.”
“So?”
“So guys don’t do that. Just don’t be surprised if Trevor Kelly circles back around to see you again. That’s all.”
His name being spoken seems to jolt his energy right back into the room. My body unconsciously leans toward where he was sitting. It takes all of two seconds to imagine him naked, hovering over me, with that delicious smirk I’m sure I’ll remember later tonight when I go to bed. And probably tomorrow too.
Claire bursts out laughing. “I know what you just thought.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I say, shoveling in another bite. “I was thinking about how much I love breakfast.”
And that’s why we’re friends. Claire’s mind is as dirty as mine. Although I have no idea why she thinks Trevor Kelly would be back to find me. Yes, he asked for my name, but he knows where Claire works. And with her sweet, cherublike face, gorgeous hair, and awesome personality, it’s not as if he wouldn’t want to come to Claire again for coffee. I was someone he teased because, let’s face it, I deserved it. Kind of . . . But Claire is a catch.
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