Friday Night Brides (8 page)

Logan laughed. “Why would I work at a law firm? Or for any firm?”

And that made her stop and think. Why had she automatically thought that?

“Offices are depressing. I think I would go crazy being cooped up in an office or—God forbid—a cubicle all day. I would seriously lose my mind.”

She made a non-committal sound and tried to come up with an excuse to walk away.

“You should come in some time,” he said. “I work at the one about two blocks over from the bridal shop.”

Remembering her mom’s words about being a snob, she decided that maybe there was something to it. Here she was judging Logan because he worked part time at a coffee house rather than having a serious office job. “Funny you should mention that,” she finally said. “I was going to see if you wanted to have lunch with me tomorrow.”

His eyes twinkled at her. “Really? That sounds great. I have to be at work at two but if you don’t mind an early lunch we’ll call it a date.”

There they were—those little words she had been dying to hear for months and all she felt was…nothing.

Seriously nothing.

Rather than examining that too closely, she rattled off the name of a café she knew of near the Starbucks and was relieved that he knew where it was. “I need to go and get ready. I guess I’ll see you backstage in a bit.”

Logan turned and waved before walking away and Hailey stood rooted to the spot. She racked her brain for any previous conversations with Logan that had been…bizarre. None came to her. This was something she definitely needed to talk to the girls about. Turning around, she took all of one step before she ran into someone.

Jack.

Correction…Jackson.

“Hey, Princess,” he said smoothly.

Once again her mother’s words came back to her so she bit back her instinct to say something snarky and opted to try and be pleasant. “Hey, Jackson. How are you this evening?”

His green eyes widened with shock for the briefest of moments before a slow, lazy grin covered his face. “I’m doing well, thank you. And yourself?”

She smiled. Or at least she hoped she was smiling. “Fine, thank you.” Pausing for a moment, Hailey figured she had been the bigger person and now needed to go and find her posse and tell them all about…

“So…pretty boy works at Starbucks, huh?” he chuckled. “I hear there’s a tremendous future in that.”

“Were you…?”

“Oh but wait…he doesn’t only serve coffee; he’s like a therapist too.” Jackson’s entire face lit up with mirth and Hailey wanted to smack him.

Doing her best to rein in her temper, she crossed her arms across her chest while tapping her foot. “Well I guess I have my answer.”

Jackson instantly sobered. “Answer to what?”

“The question of whether or not you have any manners whatsoever. Obviously you don’t.”

“Oh really? And you came to this conclusion…how?”

“You purposely stood there and eavesdropped on my conversation with Logan! It was clear we were having a private conversation and anyone with an ounce of common sense would have noticed that and moved on. But not you!”

“Fine,” he said solemnly. “I’m sorry I listened in on your conversation.”

Hailey waited for the punchline, but there wasn’t one. “Thank you.” Unwilling to accept that he wasn’t waiting to make another joke at her expense, she waited another minute. “Well then…I need to go and start to get ready. Have a good night.”

“You too, Princess,” he said with a grin. It wasn’t more than ten seconds later when she heard him say, “Enjoy your
date
tomorrow.”

She should have followed her gut instinct and slapped him when she had the chance.

****

It was after midnight when they were finally walking back to Becca’s car. As she originally thought, she was tired and really wished they’d booked a room for the night.

“Becca!”

Turning around, she saw Max jogging toward her. In all of the normal chaos with getting ready for the show, she had completely forgotten to seek him out and see if he had the DVD ready for her.

“Hey, Max,” she said with a smile.

“I was afraid I’d missed you,” he said. The parking lot was starting to empty around them as models, vendors and guests were finally starting to leave. “I have the DVD for you and the girls to look at.” He reached into his satchel, pulled it out and handed it to her.

“Thanks! We’re all looking forward to checking it out. It probably won’t be until some time tomorrow or Sunday. Saturdays are normally our day to get together for lunch, but Hailey’s got a date and we won’t want to watch it without her.” For a minute she felt like she was rambling, but with Max it didn’t really seem to matter. He was looking at her and smiling and she was finding that she really liked his smile. “So…”

“Take your time,” he replied and then looked around the parking lot. “Did you drive here alone?”

She shook her head. “I drove but the girls all came with me. Honestly, I wish we had just splurged and booked a room so that I didn’t have to drive at this hour.”

His expression turned serious. “You shouldn’t drive if you’re tired. Maybe one of your friends can drive instead.”

Was it wrong that her heart skipped a beat at his concern? “I’m sure Angie would drive in a heartbeat and really, I should be fine. But I know I’m going to sleep well tonight and definitely wake up late tomorrow.”

Max nodded. “Where are you parked?”

“Just back over there,” she said, pointing to the far left corner of the lot.

“Come on, I’ll walk you over.” Together they turned and walked in that direction. “So I know I said to take your time with the DVD and all, but do you think you could maybe…call me and let me know what you think after you watch it?” he asked.

“Sure. That shouldn’t be a problem.”

“I’m not trying to rush you or anything,” he quickly added, “but I’d really like your opinion.”

Becca looked up at him and smiled. “I’m sure it’s going to be great, Max. Hailey may have a few suggestions—that’s sort of her thing—but I promise she’ll be cool about it when you talk to her.”

His expression—and his steps—faltered for a second.

She stopped and looked at him questioningly. “What? What’s wrong?”

He shook his head as if to clear it. “Nothing. It’s…never mind.”

When Max started to walk again, Becca put a hand on his arm to stop him. “No, come one. What did I say? I didn’t mean to imply that Hailey or any of us is going to find fault with the video, Max. I’m sorry if it came out that way.”

He shook his head again. “It’s not that, Becca.”

“Then what?”

With a small sigh, Max shifted his arm until Becca’s hand fell and then he took her hand in his. “I thought I was being cool about this and getting you to call me without being obvious,” he began. “And then you mentioned having Hailey call and…well…” His gaze met hers. “I’d really like to get to know you. Talk with you for more than five minutes every Friday.” He chuckled. “Not that it hasn’t been nice, but…I don’t know…I think you’re great and I’d just like the chance to spend some time with you.”

Becca felt as if time was standing still. Or maybe it was just her.

“Becca?”

Max wanted to get to know her? Really?

He nervously shifted on his feet and looked in the direction of her car. “Um…it looks like Angie and Ella are waiting by the car. We should…uh…we should probably go.” Without looking at her, he turned to walk away.

“Wait…Max?”

He turned around and took a few steps toward her.

“I…wow…I don’t know what to say. I mean…I really like talking with you and I just never thought…you know…that you might want to hang out with me other than when we’re here at the shows.”

His grin was slow and sweet. “Why wouldn’t I?”

The last thing she wanted was to remind him of how they first met but it must have shown on her face.

“I know exactly what you’re thinking,” he said. “And I hate how you’re letting that jackass have that effect on you. I look at you and I see an amazing woman. You’re sweet and funny and beautiful!” Taking a step back, Max cleared his throat. “We may not know each other very well, but I’d like to change that.”

This had to be a dream because things like this never really happened to her. Nice, good-looking guys never asked her out. At least not like this. It wasn’t that Becca didn’t date a lot—she did—but the guys she dated weren’t nearly as…together as Max was.

“I’d like that,” she said shyly.

And his grin turned into a full-blown smile. Holding out a hand to her, he clasped her hand in his and together they walked back toward Becca’s car.

“Can I take you to lunch on Sunday?” he asked before they got close enough for Angie and Ella to hear.

She didn’t trust herself to talk, so she nodded.

He stopped them just a few feet shy of the car and faced her. “Call me tomorrow and we’ll pick a place to go, okay?”

“Okay.” Becca was afraid to meet his gaze because she knew he’d be able to read her thoughts too clearly. She wanted to kiss him—but not with an audience.

Squeezing her hand, he leaned in and placed a rather chaste kiss on her cheek. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

She stood and watched him walk away before turning and meeting the knowing smirks of her best friends.

It was going to be an interesting drive home.

****

It was quiet.

Too quiet.

Hailey looked around the car and wondered why no one was talking. They had been on the road for fifteen minutes already and it wasn’t like them to not talk—especially after a show. Unable to stand it any longer, she blurted out, “I asked out Logan tonight!”

“Shut your ass!” Angie cried as she spun in her seat to face Hailey. “What did you say? What did he say? Oh my god, this is so exciting!”

Everyone started talking at once and Hailey suddenly questioned why she didn’t appreciate the silence. “Okay, okay…it’s not a big deal.”

“Are you going to dinner tomorrow night?” Ella asked anxiously. “Someplace romantic?”

“Wait…when did this happen?” Angie asked. “After the show?”

Hailey shook her head. “No, it was before the show. I tried to tell you guys, but you and Ella were getting your hair done. I told Becca and…”

“And you didn’t say anything?” Angie cried as she spun and looked at Becca. “And while we’re at it, what’s with Max kissing you and then you not saying anything? What is going on all of a sudden?” Her voice got louder and louder as she spoke.

“Max kissed you?” Hailey asked excitedly.

“Oh, yeah! Becca and the sexy photographer! That’s awesome!” Ella chimed in.

“Weren’t we talking about Hailey and Logan,” Becca said, keeping her eyes on the road.

Immediately, everyone’s attention went back to Hailey. “So…um…yeah. We’re having lunch tomorrow.”

“But lunch is our thing,” Ella reminded her.

“I know but…he had to work so…”

“On a Saturday?” Angie asked. “What kind of office is open on a Saturday?”

“Thank you!” Hailey cried and then slouched down in the back seat.

“What? What did I say?”

“I automatically assumed Logan worked in an office. He’s always so put together and well-dressed that it never occurred to me that he did anything else.”

“And he doesn’t?” Ella asked.

With a loud sigh, Hailey ran a hand over her face. “He works at Starbucks.”

There was a collective groan in the car.

“Not that there’s anything wrong with that,” she quickly amended. “I just…well…I was surprised.”

“Does he manage the Starbucks?” Angie asked.

Hailey shook her head. “He works there. Part-time.”

More groans.

“Did he mention if he was living in his parents’ basement?” Angie asked and then laughed. “Because that would just be the icing on that train wreck of a cake.”

“We didn’t get into it but I have a feeling I’ll find out tomorrow.” She sighed again. “Am I really such a snob?”

“What are you talking about?” Ella asked.

Hailey told them about her conversation with her mother. “I mean…it shouldn’t matter if Logan works at a Starbucks or is the CEO of some company. He’s still the same person.”

“Who smells of coffee,” Angie mumbled.

“Ugh…this is bad, isn’t it?” Hailey asked nervously.

“No,” Becca replied. “Like you said, it shouldn’t matter what he does for a living. Not everyone is working their dream job. None of us are. Maybe he’s looking for something bigger and better and needed to work there to pay the bills. You have to applaud his work ethic then, right?”

“I guess,” Hailey sighed. “But what if…”

“…he’s working there because he doesn’t want to have another job?” Angie finished for her. “Yeah, that would bother me. I think it’s great he’s working and has a job but at his age, he should be training for a managerial position or looking to buy a damn franchise.”

“He mentioned how he would hate to work in an office. That’s a bad sign, isn’t it?” she asked, her voice verging on hysteria.

“Okay, deep breaths,” Ella said softly, putting her hand on Hailey’s. “You’re getting upset over nothing. You need to go and have lunch with him tomorrow and get to know him. I know it’s going to be hard for you, but you have to go in with an open mind and put your expectations aside. Don’t judge.”

“I know you’re right,” Hailey said, “but how do I do that?”

“I don’t think it’s possible,” Angie said matter-of-factly. “You can go in there tomorrow and paste a smile on your face but you know the entire time you’re going to be silently waiting for him to say something to confirm all of your worst fears.”

“Angie!” Becca cried. “For crying out loud! When did you get so damn cynical?”

“Seriously? Are we just meeting?”

“No…it’s okay,” Hailey said, “she’s right. That’s exactly how I’m going to be. No matter how much I think I can go in there with an open mind, I probably won’t. I’m going to be asking him questions to try to prove me wrong while knowing I’m going to be disappointed.”

“Well I’m disappointed in you,” Ella said sadly. “You are being a snob. Logan’s a perfectly nice guy and you’re judging him for all the wrong reasons. So he isn’t working in an office. So what? It doesn’t make him a bad guy! Dylan works in construction. He does manual labor. Every day he comes home and he’s dirty and smelly and sweaty. He’s never going to wear a suit to work but he’s the greatest guy I know! Do you think Dylan’s a slacker because he wears jeans to work?”