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"Hear, hear. Thanks for arranging this meeting."
"No problem. Now all I have to do is get a celebrity to endorse Val's perfumes, and we're golden. World, watch out: we're taking you by storm."
I laughed. "You have it all planned out?"
"World domination? Since I was eight years old. Granted, I thought all I needed was Superman's cape or Wonder Woman's tiara back then, but my plan's more realistic now. Goal is the same."
"Dad used to say that." His words suddenly echoed in my mind. "If the plan's not working, change the plan. Not the goal. I didn't think you'd remember that. You were so young."
"And Dad's words were gospel." He loved to regale us with stories from his childhood, and of how he'd wanted to emigrate from Ireland to the States since he was a kid, the determination it took to succeed.
"But if Val wanted a celebrity to advertise her lines, she could probably pay one. Here's an idea. Bring it up Friday at dinner. Landon would be all over it. He's been trying to convince Val to take him up on the financing offer for ages."
Hailey lifted a brow. "And risk Val murdering me in my sleep? No, thanks. Besides, it's not the same thing. I'm not talking about paid advertisement. I'm talking about a celebrity trying on her stuff and then bragging about it all over social media—"
"Or in an interview." I realized what she was getting at. "It's different when they mention something casually and you can tell they really mean it, or when they talk about it because they're paid."
"Exactly. They have to try the stuff casually. And who better than yours truly to make it happen?"
"Hear, hear.”
Hailey nodded with conviction, tapping her foot against the floor. She was wearing black peep-toes with a three-inch heel. I remembered she had a date this evening, and this was definitely not her date style.
“You have your date shoes tucked away somewhere for tonight?”
She grimaced. "I cancelled the date. Turns out he's
engaged. Looked him up on Facebook."
"Yuck. Hate guys like him."
"Oh, but get this. He was angry with me for searching him up online. I mean, how dare I, right?"
"Want to come by for dinner tonight? Share a bottle of Pinot?"
My sisters and I had a wine system: Chardonnay to celebrate, Pinot Noir to drown our sorrows.
"Not worth wasting Pinot on him. But I won't say no to hanging out with you. Don't you have plans with Graham?"
"He's in Miami with the team." I sipped more coffee, thinking about the past days with him. He spent the weekend with Milo and me, and Monday and yesterday night as well. Yesterday evening, he took me out on a date while Marlene, one of the mothers I run with twice a week, watched Milo at her house.
"What's wrong?"
I looked over my cup to notice my sister studying me. I might as well fess up. "Well, let's just say sometimes I wish I had your dating experience, assholes and all. I feel so out of my depths when it comes to this. Before Graham, it had been seven years. I actually spent more years not dating than dating. Last Friday when we returned from dinner, Graham pushed me to open up, questioned why I hadn’t told him about Jeff. At first, I was mad, but then I was glad he did it. I realized I needed to be pushed, or I'd stay in the cocoon I've created for myself, and that can't be healthy for a relationship.”
“You’re going to figure things out,” she assured me gently. My hope was that Graham wouldn't get tired of pushing. "Lori, trust me. You’ll get the hang of this. You're the bravest person I know."
I blinked. "Me?"
"Yeah. I remember when you got pregnant. I was scared shitless for you. But were you scared? No. You calmly told Val and Landon that you couldn't go through with med school, but that you'd already thought of an alternative plan."
"You weren't there," I replied. Truth be told, I had been terrified, but making plans had actually helped deal with the fear.
"Jace and I eavesdropped. Will pretended he wasn't listening, but I know he was."
"Of course."
"My point is, you know how to figure stuff out. Here are a few rules. Enjoy the time with your man. Don't feel guilty about taking time for yourself, and don't overthink everything."
