Page 77 of Chance of Romance
Hailey gasped. “Omigod, don’t say that!”
“Hey,” Josh said, “I’m a good big brother. Ask my brothers and sister.”
Hailey stared at him in horror.
Logan put in his vote of confidence. “He’s okay.”
Josh shot Logan a look likeshut upand went about building his case. “Take Alex for one. I got him the nanny he needed, and now they’re a happy little family.”
Hailey stuck out her tongue, pretending to hurl.
Josh raised a brow. “Okay there?”
Hailey straightened like she suddenly remembered something. “You put your dream of owning your own bar on hold to put Mad through college. Why not let Jake cover it? He’s loaded.”
Logan hissed out a breath. Sabrina suspected she knew why.
Josh glared at Hailey, turned on his heel, and walked away.
Hailey’s jaw dropped, watching him go. She turned to Sabrina, eyes wide. “What did I say?”
Sabrina spoke in a gentle tone. “I get the feeling he has a chip on his shoulder about Jake being more successful than him. They’re identical twins; sometimes that comes with a rivalry.”
Logan shook his head. “They’re not rivals. They’ve always been close, but you’re right about the chip on his shoulder over the money thing.”
Logan’s younger sister, Mad, walked over just then. “Hailey, I think we might be sisters for real soon. Can you believe our parents? I’ll tell ya it’s a lot better than when my dad dated my mom.” That had been a strange time. About a year ago the Campbell mom had made an appearance, after so many years away, and briefly got together with her ex-husband.
“True that,” Logan put in.
Hailey frowned. “I love my mom, but I think your dad would be better off with someone else.”
“Why?” Mad asked.
“Because,” Hailey said through her teeth. She reached for Rose and realized her doggie purse wasn’t there. She looked around for Lexi, who wasn’t back yet. Then she froze, staring at Josh, who was glaring at her from across the room. Hailey quickly turned back to Mad. “Why did you let Josh pay your college tuition when Jake could easily afford it?”
Mad shrugged. “He insisted, and when he digs in, I know he’s not moving. It would’ve been an insult to turn him down, especially for Jake’s money. Josh could’ve got in on the ground floor with Jake’s company, but he took a different path. Now Jake’s a billionaire and Josh isn’t. Sucks for him, but he’s doing all right. Josh is careful with his money.”
Hailey looked thoughtful. “Hmm. Wait. If he could afford to pay your tuition, why didn’t he ever pay me back the five hundred he owes me?”
“Maybe it was the principle of the thing, making you go get it.” Mad smirked. “Maybe he just wanted to lure you back to his place.”
Sabrina exchanged an amused look with Logan. They’d talked about Hailey and Josh and were in total agreement that their frenemy one-upmanship would only end when they either killed each other or jumped into bed. Either way was bound to be entertaining.
Hailey scowled. “Lure me back to his place or have a reason to fight with me, the cad.”
Mad laughed.
“It’s true!” Hailey threw her arm wide toward Josh, but refrained from pointing. “Look at him over there, glaring at me! All he wants to do is fight! He makes me nuts!”
“Breathe, Hailey,” Sabrina suggested.
Hailey took a few deep breaths, composing herself. “Thank you, Sabrina, for the reminder. You ready?”
Sabrina smiled, reaching into her small purse and palming the needed item. “Yup.”
“What’s going on?” Logan asked.
Hailey slipped away, smiling mysteriously.
