“I’m thrilled for you. People are talking about the opening. I think they like the idea of a Christmas store. It’s unique and fun.”
“I hope so. Jesse’s not enthusiastic though.” Sandwich finished, she leaned back in her chair, drink in her hand. She’d start the dessert in a minute.
“And that bothers you.” Beth never missed an unspoken emotional clue, normally making hard discussions easier. Today, Hailey wished her friend had let it slide.
“He’s not a Christmas fan. I think the whole season annoys him. I can barely get him to admit the decorations are attractive and he hates my holiday sweaters.”
“So what? He’s just one guy and probably not even in your target audience, right?”
“Right.” At least that’s how she should feel, but she didn’t. she wanted him to love the season as much as she did. She wanted to break through his sadness and fill him with joy. She was growing more attracted to him by the day and wanted him to be happy.
“I heard a but in there.” Beth jumped up as a customer came in. “Hold that thought. Back in a second.”
Enjoying the reprieve from tough questions, Hailey dove into her cheesecake. It was, as promised, divine. Not too sweet, and incredibly smooth and creamy. She ate slowly, savoring every bite, refusing to think about Jesse or wonder what he was doing. She’d taken the opportunity to sleep in today and had missed their morning sunrise… almost as much as she missed him.
Beth flopped into her chair and lifted her feet to rest on another chair. “My feet are killing me. I’ve been run ragged today.”
“Isn’t that good?” Hailey chuckled.
“It’s incredible. I’m going to have to get another espresso machine and hire more staff if this keeps up.” She faked a frown.
“Oh, poor little successful business woman. Life is tough. You barely have time for a social life.” Her teasing made Beth laugh.
“I could use a hot date; unlike someone I know who watches the sun rise every morning with a good-looking man.” She winked.
“How do you know about that?” It hadn’t occurred to Hailey people would notice and now she wasn’t certain if it mattered or not.
“Half the town knows. You’re just lucky your mom is away; she’d flip a gasket and break you guys up.” Her tone was half joking, half serious.
“Break us up? We aren’t dating. We have a working relationship.” Not that Hailey wouldn’t want to date Jesse. He was kind and a hard worker, even if he was scruffy. “He’s my employee.”
“Employers don’t take their casual staff on three-hour lunches at Cassie’s.”
“It wasn’t three hours.” She banged her mug onto the table. “It was only two.”
“Becausethat’sa lot better. Admit it, you like Jesse Phillips,” she crowed childishly.
“Keep your voice down. The whole town doesn’t need to hear.” She glanced around the café. Nobody was looking their way. She breathed a sigh of relief.
“Fine. Fine. But you can’t fool me. I can read you like a book. And this one’s a romance.”
She never had been able to pull one over on Beth. She might as well confess. Beth would badger her until she ferreted out the truth.
“Yes, I like him. He works hard. He’s kind, polite and I enjoy being around him. But, he’s just so scruffy. It’s like he doesn’t care what he looks like. He’d probably get a decent job if he cleaned up.” Ugh. She was so judgmental and she despised herself for it. She just couldn’t find it within herself to accept him, fully, as he was.
“And you think he needs a job?”
“He certainly snapped up my project in a heartbeat. That tells me something.” If he had work, she hadn’t seen much sign of it beyond odd jobs. With his work ethic, he could do much better for himself. Maybe she was missing something. Perhaps his family’s past made it difficult to find regular employment.
“Maybe he took your job because he had free time?”
“Or because he needed it.” Either way, she was glad he was available. He worked long hours without complaint and he had excellent design skills. He’d helped her modify her plan; his small changes had made a big difference. The store was going to be markedly better because of his suggestions.
“I told you, you can’t judge a book by its cover,” Beth warned.
“Are you saying he’s not nice, or I should stay away? He’s not dependable? Or what? You’re being weirdly enigmatic.” This wasn’t like Beth who called it like it was, without apology. She was up to something.
Beth laughed. “Oh, Hailey. Just open your eyes and see what’s right in front of you.”
