Page 14

She laughs. “God no, but I take it back. I don’t think he’d be good for you.”

“Oh.”

For some reason I’m disappointed, even though I hadn’t planned on getting involved with him in the first place. But if Kora, of all people, tells me to stay away, then there must be a good reason.

“What do you know about him?”

“We went to school together, but I haven’t seen him since. He doesn’t have a good reputation. He was always acting out back then, trying to be cool and edgy. Typical behavior from an entitled rich kid who probably just wanted Daddy’s attention.”

My eyes widen. “Really? I didn’t get that vibe from him at all.”

“Yeah, his dad owns half of this town. I bet that Hayden doesn’t even have to work or anything. Probably lives off some trust fund or some shit.”

My stomach drops. I’m all too familiar with his type. Unfortunately, my ex was like that. And I didn’t see it until after he had already fucked up my life. They’re the kind of men who think they are doing you a favor by giving you their attention. That you should be so grateful to be chosen.

“Yikes. We’re for sure opposites, but there’s definitely no attraction,” I say.

“Don’t get me wrong. I’m sure he could be fun, but I know you don’t like guys like that.”

“I don’t.”

“I always got the sense that he thought he was too good for everyone. Plus, he’s boring and he never talks.”

I look at her incredulously and laugh.

“What?”

“Oh, he talks. He wouldn’t shut up actually.”

Now it’s Kora’s turn to look surprised. “Like more than one word came out of his grumpy ass?”

“Yes, and he wasn’t grumpy. At all.”

Her eyes widen. “Really? Interesting. I guess he thought you were worthy. I never saw him give anyone any attention. Like I said, he seemed pretentious.”

“Well, I’m not interested in entitled or pretentious. And I’ll probably never even see him again.”

“Probably not.” Kora seems content to leave it at that, and we slowly gather our things to go home.

But as we leave the bar, I can’t help but look over my shoulder to take a final look at Hayden. And for a moment, our eyes meet.

Chapter 6

Robin

It’s Monday morning, and Tom has been looming over my desk all morning. His hovering, combined with the ticking of the clock, which I’m sure will haunt me in my next life, is making me anxious.

After I spent the entire weekend relaxing and cleaning my house, my brain is having trouble transitioning into work mode.

“Do you need anything?” I finally have the courage to ask when Tom bumps into my chair for the third time in five minutes.

“No, just waiting for Mrs. Williams to arrive for her meeting.”

I peek at the clock again and wonder why he’s been waiting out here for the past thirty minutes, but I take it as an opportunity to ask him what’s been on my mind.

“What do you make of her … request?”

“I think it’s very on brand for her.” His eyes dance in amusement.