AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Pippa and Summer were two of our Bennett cousins. I loved them to bits, but wished they weren’t giving my sisters dangerous ideas.
“I hope you don’t plan to let Maddie go,” Hailey said.
When I didn’t respond, she said, “I swear I’ll throw this at you if you give up the chance to be happy.” She grabbed one of her shoes. “Look at this heel. It can do a lot of damage. And I love these shoes, so this should tell you how strongly I feel about this.”
“It’s complicated, Hailey.”
“Because you live in different cities?”
“Not just that. You wouldn’t understand.”
“Yeah, I do understand. You lost Rachel. If there is anyone who understands fear of attachment, it’s us. We all lost Mom and Dad. We’ve been trying to tell you this all along.”
I was too stunned for a moment to even think, let alone answer. I’d always hung on to the foolish hope that Val and I had managed to shield our younger siblings from that bone-deep insecurity that came with losing the people you loved and depended on.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to minimize your—”
She shook her head. “This is not about us. It’s about you. Since Maddie, you smile again, Landon. I mean real smiles, the kind that reaches your eyes. And you’re good together. Lori told me how cute you were that morning when she and Will stopped by. Maddie makes you happy.”
“Very,” I admitted. Hailey waited, but I volunteered no other information.
Eventually, she sighed dramatically. “If you keep up the one-word answers, you’re giving us no choice but to choreograph a CSI.”
“Crime Scene Investigation?” I asked in confusion, thinking about the show.
“Connor Secret Intervention.”
“What is that?”
“It wouldn’t be secret if I told you the details. But you have been warned.”
I glanced at the time. It was six o’clock. I still had documents to go through, and the samples, but I could do that tomorrow.
“Let’s call this a day,” I suggested.
“I agree 100 percent. So what are you planning for Maddie’s birthday?” Hailey asked, putting on her shoes as I rose from my seat. “Lori won’t tell me a thing.”
“Like I’d tell you. It would get back right to Maddie.”
“Are you implying I have a big mouth?”
I extended my hand, helping her to her feet. “Hailey, I love you, but you’re the reason surprise birthday parties aren’t a thing in our family.”
“Once. I ruined it once.”
We’d planned a surprise party for Lori when she turned sixteen, but two days before, the jig was up.
“Don’t forget Will’s graduation gift.”
Hailey gaped at me. “I only did that to save him from spending all his money on a motorcycle. What was I supposed to do?”
“Come up with something more inventive than ‘Hey, Will, don’t buy a motorcycle. That’s our gift’?”
“I panicked, okay?”
“I’ll sleep better at night if you don’t know.”
Hailey and I said goodbye in the elevator. She was heading to the garage for her car. I was taking a cab. I hadn’t rented a car because I liked to use the time on commute to respond to e-mails. Adam had sent me a list of companies we could consider for a partnership if Sullivan pulled out of the deal. My mind wasn’t on the partnership, though. I was fixating on my conversation with Hailey about Maddie. Going back to San Jose meant no more Maddie. I couldn’t wrap my mind around that idea.
