Page 59 of Designed for Disaster

I glanced down at my phone as it buzzed. It was Trent, messaging to say he’d be there to pick us up in just a few minutes. I grinned at the little heart emoji he added at the end of the message. My own heart skipped in response. I was attending Hailey’s birthday party as his guest, and Dominic had invited Stacy. Actually, he’dinsistedshe come along rather than just dropping off the dress she’d made for Hailey. And Stacy had been freaking out ever since.

She’d stormed into my apartment at seven this morning, and the party didn’t even start until twelve.

“What if Hailey doesn’t like the dress?” she said, smoothing her hands over the garment bag she’d packed the dress into.

“She’s going to love it,” I assured her. “How could she not? It’s a poof of pink and purple fabric bedazzled with every rhinestone in Queens. That’s every little girl’s dream, right?”

Stacy’s lips twisted. “You think I went overboard?”

“There’s no such thing. It’s perfect. Trust me. You don’t have anything to worry about.” It looked like a unicorn threw up—perfect for a five-year-old.

Stacy worried her bottom lip. “I just want Hailey to love it. And Dominic too. I feel like this is some sort of test.”

I hadn’t ever seen Stacy this worked up about a guy. Certainly never over any of her theater guys. She was usually so damn positive about everything that she hardly flinched when it didn’t work out. She just moved on to the next guy, forever chasing that figurative Mr. Right. But maybe Dominic was different.

Maybe her feelings for him were different.

My phone buzzed again. “That’s Trent,” I said. “He’s downstairs. Are you ready?”

Stacy tossed the garment bag over her shoulder. “I feel like I’m gonna throw up.”

“Try not to get it on the dress.” I grabbed the small box I’d wrapped—a unicorn toy that the saleswoman had assured me was all the rage this year—and steered Stacy out the door, hurrying down the steps to meet Trent. He’d turned up in the same car we’d taken on our date, and I tried not to think about all the things that had almost happened in this vehicle as Stacy slid across the seats.

“Hi,” Trent said, pecking me on the cheek.

“Hi.” I climbed in after Stacy. There was a huge box wrapped in sparkly pink paper sitting on the floor. “What’s in there?”

Trent arched his eyebrow as he sat beside me. The driver pulled away from the curb, heading into Manhattan. “The present?”

I laughed. “I understand it’s her present, but what did you get her?” My box was dwarfed in comparison. “That’s massive.”

“Oh,” Trent laughed. “Yeah, I had no clue. Dominic sent me a link to some princess castle looking thing.”

“You’re telling me you don’t keep on top of the latest and greatest princess toy trends?” Stacy teased.

Trent smirked. “I’ve been surprisingly lax about it. But in all honesty, Dominic has us all on strict present restrictions. He went through a long custody battle with his ex, and Hailey ended up being a little too spoiled during that process. I think he was feeling bad. Now that everything’s settled, he’s realized her playroom is exploding.”

“Divorces are tough on kids,” Stacy said. “I’m not surprised he tried to find other ways to compensate.”

“He sounds like a great dad,” I said.

Trent nodded in agreement. “He actually had her pick out a bunch of her old toys and donate them. He’s trying to instill some good values in her. But he said there were a lot of tears when parting with some headless Barbies.”

I snorted, and Stacy nodded sympathetically. “Those are always the most loved.”

“Really?” Trent asked.

“I think we all had a headless Barbie,” Stacy said. “It’s like a rite of passage.”

“Not me,” I said.

Stacy rolled her eyes. “Because you were probably whittling your own doll out of wood.”

We pulled up in front of a luxury high-rise building. Trent greeted the doorman by name, and we were directed up to the roof, the three of us taking the elevator. A large sign board that read HAPPY BIRTHDAY HAILEY hung by the entrance to the rooftop terrace. The space was enclosed in glass, a few of the braver guests venturing out to the balcony to take in the chilly view.

“You’re here!”

I whirled around, spotting Dominic. He had a lopsided party hat on his head and a gaggle of giggling preschoolers chasing after him.

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