Page 56 of Hello Trouble

“He’s a great uncle and a good friend. He’d do anything for his brothers.” She hesitated again.

“What, Liv?” I pressed. “Just tell me.”

“I’m just not sure he’ll be a good boyfriend for you. I don’t want you to get your hopes up.”

My heart sank at her words. She knew Hayes better than I did. But at the same time, going out with him the other night was the best date I’d had in a long time. Something inside deflated. Was there something I was missing when it came to Hayes? I always thought what you saw was what you got when it came to him, but Liv’s warning made me worry there was something darker hiding in the shadows.

“Just be careful, okay?” she asked.

I let out a soft sigh. “I will.”

But as I hung up, I thought, I didn’t want to be cautious. I wanted to go into something with hope, not with trepidation. Still, Liv’s words were ringing in my ear when the doorbell rang. Just moments ago, I might have rushed to the front door to greet him.

Now I had to take a deep breath and try to shake my worry before going to answer the door. Hayes stood on my porch, holding a white giftbag. Pasting a smile on my face, I said, “Come in.”

As he walked past me into my living room, I caught a hint of his cologne. It sent my ovaries standing to attention. Damn, he smelled amazing. “This is for you,” he said, passing me the gift bag.

“Thank you,” I said, taking it from him. I looked down at the tissue hiding its contents. “You really didn’t have to get me anything.”

“I wanted to. I got you flowers on Saturday, so I figured you didn’t need new ones yet, and chocolates seemed cliché.” He scratched the back of his neck shyly. It was adorable.

I smiled at him, saying, “You can never go wrong with chocolates. But I’m excited to see what this is. Can I open it?”

“Of course,” he replied, an eager but anxious cast to his gaze.

I pulled back the layers of white tissue paper and chuckled at the bag’s contents. “Really?” I looked up at him, finding a shit-eating grin on his face.

“It’s something I knew you’d like,” he teased.

I pulled out the cream-colored throw pillow and cackled at the design sublimated to the fabric. It was a perfect replica of his motorcycle helmet, middle finger sticker and all. He must have gotten Larkin to make the design for him because it looked like something she’d make on her Cricut.

“Way better than chocolates,” I said, still laughing.

“Come on,” he said. “Hope you’re hungry.”

“I sure am. But first...” I went to my couch, setting the throw pillow right in the middle. “Perfect.”

We walked outside, and he drove us to Woody’s. When we got out, I noticed the parking lot was packed, with barely a spare space for his truck. Hayes wasn’t soft launching our relationship one bit—but I suppose that had already happened at the festival. Even my boss, Edna, had asked me about my “new beau” at work today.

“Ready?” Hayes asked.

I nodded, and he came around to get the door for me. He even held my hand on the way inside, not letting go until we were tucked safely into a booth. I settled into the pleather seat, taking in the familiar sights and sounds. Agatha expertly flitting around to serve everyone, grease sizzling in the fryers, silverware clinking on plates, conversation, laughter. It felt better than home.

I smiled as I glanced around at so many familiar faces, then froze. Farther down the diner, I saw Bennett sitting at the counter, his back to us.

I expected to feel guilty, being here with Hayes in front of Bennett, considering how things ended, but... I didn’t. Even though I’d thought of Bennett as a “good guy,” he’d walked away without waiting for an explanation. And I was happy to be here with Hayes.

If he noticed me looking at Bennett, he didn’t show it. He passed me a menu across the table, and I looked it over, even though I could probably read it from memory. “Is it bad I always order the same thing?” I asked him.

He glanced over the menu at me. “Not if it tastes good every time.”

I laughed. “It does. It really does.”

“Then let’s get two of them,” he suggested with a smile. He tucked our menus back in the holder and said, “How was your day at work?”

I shrugged. “More or less the same.” Except the part where Edna offered me yet another raise to stay, but I couldn’t tell him that. Not yet. “You?”

He ran his fingers through his hair in a way that made me want to copy him. “Got to work on a European car today. Don’t see many of those around here.”

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