Page 19 of An Inconvenient Plan
Hailey took her time walking over, her expression completely neutral. He’d hoped she’d be excited for him. No time for wallowing in disappointment because his dad reached across the bar top, shaking his hand and pulling him in for a hug.
His dad pulled away and met his eyes directly. “Damn proud of you, son.”
Josh pressed his lips tightly together, the words hitting deep inside. Of course he knew his dad was proud of him, of all of them, really, but something about hearing the words spoken out loud got to him. “Thanks,” he managed.
Brandy beamed at him. “We’d love for you to join us for dinner. Our treat as congratulations, plus there’s a few wedding things we want to run by you.”
It wasn’t too busy on a Wednesday, only two guys nursing beers at the bar, watching the game.
He checked in with Hailey, who stood very still, looking extremely uncomfortable. Their squabble last Friday was probably still on her mind. He hadn’t seen her since because he’d been working hard to get this bar deal done. In fact, he’d planned on telling her his big news tonight, but their parents had beaten him to it. He suddenly got the feeling this was a setup, a parent-arranged date to get him and Hailey together. Was it possible he’d been trying to protect their parents from the Josh-Hailey fallout when they were actually all for it?
He looked over to his dad, who jerked his chin at Josh and moved a few feet away from the women.
Josh joined him. “Yeah?”
His dad kept his voice low. “Brandy and I think it’s time you and Hailey stop fighting. We want you to be friends, or at least civil to each other. There’s going to be a lot of family events—birthdays, holidays, parties, all that good stuff—and the last thing we need is to be taking sides in a war.”
“No war. I’m making amends. I like her.”
His dad did a double take that said he knewexactlywhat Josh meant by that. “Don’t even go there. That’s even worse. Be civil, but keep your distance, okay? For the sake of the family. The last thing I want in my new marriage is drama.”
Josh clenched his jaw and looked away. Turned out his first instinct had been right. Stay away from Hailey for the sake of their family. What had made him think they’d work out anyway when they fought so much? Just because he wanted her? Just because he’d gotten jealous of the stupid prince?
“Okay?” his dad prompted.
“Yeah, I got it. Civil.” He called over to the women, “I’ll get someone to sub for me and join you for dinner.”
“Wonderful,” Brandy said with a big smile.
Hailey pasted on her fake smile. Rose popped her little white furred head out of Hailey’s purse and growled at him. Her fur was clipped in a ponytail on top of her head with a dark pink bow that matched her thin doggie sweater. The color coordinated with Hailey’s dress.Whatever floats your boat.
He headed back to the kitchen to see who could sub. Well, this sucked. At least Mad had been on his side, giving him some inside info on Hailey, which had resulted in one extremely embarrassing purchase. He hadn’t decided yet if he had the nerve to give it to her, and now that would never happen.
By the time he got to the dining area, his dad and Brandy were sitting next to each other on one side of a booth. Hailey had wedged herself into the corner of the other bench seat with Rose sitting on the bench next to her. The woman knew how much Rose hated him. Well, the joke was on her. The Rose barrier was going to crumble tonight in a butter-induced fall. This should count toward making amends and keeping the family peace. He was sure Rose would accompany Hailey to all of their family functions.
He slid his hand close to Rose’s nose, letting her sniff the butter on his wrist before taking a seat. “So how’s the wedding planning going?” he asked, fighting to keep his expression neutral as Rose’s raspy tongue licked his wrist, tickling him. Hailey hadn’t noticed Rose’s licking yet. She stared straight ahead.
“Great!” Brandy exclaimed. “Hailey has made everything so easy for us. We were hoping to have the reception here at Garner’s the Saturday after you take over as full owner.”
“Late afternoon,” his dad said.
“Sure, no problem,” he said, trying not to laugh. Rose held his wrist in both paws and was lapping at it like he was a juicy bone. “Construction starts the following Monday, so the timing is perfect.”
“Excellent,” his dad said.
“Construction?” Hailey asked.
“Yup. I’m having an addition built on the back with room for a dance floor and a couple of pool tables.”
“Ambitious,” Hailey said softly.
He lifted one shoulder up and down. “It was always my plan. My dream bar.”
“I remember,” she murmured. “Congratulations. It must feel great to realize your life’s dream.”
He inclined his head. It did and it didn’t. Because his dream wasn’t complete without Hailey on board, and now she never would be. There was no way to hide the energy between him and Hailey—both good and bad—if they got involved. He had to back off to the civil-acquaintances corner. He didn’t kid himself he could spend time with her as friends. He wanted her too much.
Brandy smiled. “Hailey, maybe you and Josh could work out some of the logistics for the wedding reception.”
