Page 18 of Feel It in the Air

The wicked glint in Willa’s eye tells me that she knows. More than that, she knows that I know that she knows.

Oh, I like this girl already. I totally understand why Gus says that she's dangerous. Because as a friend, she's exactly the kind of girl you want by your side. Crazy, mischievous. And always seems to be up to no good in the back of her mind.

But as a little sister, she's kind of cunning and devious as well. Making me really happy she's not my little sister.

“I’d like that,” I say, being honest.

I need friends in Hickory Hills. Especially female friends. Moving here was the right thing for me, I have no doubt. But it did mean starting over again. And if the only thing I can have with Gus is friendship, I might as well also have a friendship with his sister.

Might help me take my mind off all the non-friendship things I want with her brother.

All of the things that kept me up late last night with the vibrator I made sure to unpack right away once I was “introduced” to said brother. Not that we’re going to tell Willa that.

“Good! Tomorrow night, Pour Decisions.”

“Oh, I can’t tomorrow. I told this couple who live in the apartment across from mine that I would meet up with them tomorrow.”

Willa blinks for a second, staring blankly at me. Almost as if she can’t believe that I turned her down. Part of me would guess this is something that doesn’t happen very often.

“Are they Hayes employees?” Bronwyn asks, scrambling to fill the space Willa’s disbelief opens up. “If so, I bet you’re going to Pour Decisions. Hell, even if they aren’t Hayes employees. Because let’s face it, there are only so many places you can go in Hickory Hills.”

Touché…

“Marisela and Alex Hernandez. They⁠—”

“Oh!” Willa waves me off. “Alex is Anton’s production manager over in produce, and Marisela is the seasonal employment coordinator. You’ll be at Pour Decisions.”

Well, that settles that then. I knew they both worked for Hayes, since they live in Hayes House—the ancestral family mansion that had been converted into housing for employees—and that he worked in the Ag division, but that was as far as we had gotten while they had helped me move some boxes up the stairs. Their invite to join them for drinks out Friday night after work had seemed more than a little generous considering that we’d barely spoken, but who was I to say no?

And truthfully, this works well. Because if it turns out that my neighbors are a little weird, I have an escape. Not that I’m assuming they are. They’re probably wonderful people. But just in case. Because you never know. Look what happened the last time I met someone random in a bar.

Oh, wait…

“Sounds like a plan then.”

I smile, my heart squeezing at the memory of the last time I was in a bar. Because yes, I really have spent the last year avoiding them—which wasn’t as difficult as it sounds. Third year of law school plus an internship with a high-profile intellectual property attorney doesn’t leave much time for random nights out. Throwing yourself into work to forget about a broken heart also serves as a great excuse to shut out the world.

“Perfect!” The devilish glint returns to Willa’s eyes. “We can introduce you to everyone.”

Wait… Everyone?!

I swallow hard, my mind running wild with what she means by that. Just how many everyones are there? Does she mean her siblings? Her friends? The whole of Hickory Hills? Gus warned me that this town has a wicked rumor mill—which tracks; all small towns do. Hell, our neighborhood back in New Orleans has one. Tell the right person the right piece of information, and it’ll travel across three blocks faster than you blink.

That broken heart—the one whose pieces are still trying to wrap their head around friendship—is now suddenly very concerned about everyone.

“Since when is my father’s office on the second floor?” A bright-eyed brunette bursts into the office, sounding tired breathing heavily, slumping against the doorjamb.

“It’s not,” Bronwyn answers. “Payroll is still downstairs.”

“Always has been,” Willa adds.

“Fucking Pixie…” the brunette mutters. “I swear she’s trying to punish me because she was slow on the uptake about Milo and me. Like somehow that was my fault.”

Willa and Bronwyn sputter out a laugh, and I look between the two of them, trying to piece together what’s so funny. I’m missing something.

“Head that way,” Willa tells her, hitching a thumb over her shoulder. “Left at the ficus, down the stairs, and payroll will be on your right.”

Giving us a salute, the brunette disappears as quickly as she showed up, leaving me just as in the dark as I was. Yeah, I’m definitely missing something.