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“Like he has any room to tell you what to do with your free time?” Presley exploded, drawing attention from a neighboring table. “Who cares if you dated a thousand men a week or zero? It’s none of his business.” She took a long sip from her cup and her ire faded into a warm smile. “Mmm. I love Flat White Friday.”
Hallie chuckled, feeling better having told someone. Hannah had asked, but all Hallie had admitted was that she hadn’t wanted to embarrass Gavin, so she hadn’t corrected his error. Granted, Hannah had not believed her, but at least she didn’t ask any more questions.
“Well, he did apologize,” Hallie told Pres. “And then he said he didn’t mean it the way it sounded. He also said I deserve a break, and pointed out how his family is rife with workaholics.”
“Too true. I hear Cash strumming his guitar in the wee hours some nights and then, like clockwork, he’s out on the dock at sunrise strumming some more.” Presley’s smile was fond. “I love his passion.”
Hallie was certain her friend loved more than Cash’s passion for music. It’d been a long road for them. They’d briefly dated in college before he’d returned home to Beaumont Bay and left Presley in Florida. When she came here to interview him this past summer, they realized their feelings for each other hadn’t gone anywhere, despite the years and miles that had kept them apart.
It was so sweet Hallie could puke.
“So after he told you to take a break, what happened?” Presley pushed.
“Nothing happened. I mean, he shook my hand and said...um...” Hallie was suddenly self-conscious. Gavin’s compliments might as well have been rated X for the images they’d put in her head. She hadn’t yet reconciled his “creamy shoulders” comment. What was she supposed to do with that? “Never mind.”
“Uh-huh. No. You have to tell me now.”
“It’s nothing, really. Do you want a scone? I want a scone.” Before she could stand, Pres grabbed her wrist. Hallie lowered into her seat. Knowing she’d lose the battle with her headstrong friend, she said, “He told me I was gorgeous and he said he couldn’t understand why I showed up single everywhere.”
Her friend’s expression melted a microsecond before she said, “That’s sort of sweet.”
“It sort of was.”
“You are gorgeous.”
“I look like Hannah,” Hallie mumbled automatically.
“You look exactly like Hannah,” her friend confirmed. “Hannah also looks exactly like you. I can’t imagine how difficult it would be to find your own identity when you have a duplicate copy, but Hallie, you have to know that you two stand apart from each other.”
“Do we?”
“When you’re not pretending to be her, yes,” Presley said with a kind smile.
Hallie sagged in her seat. “Ugh. He makes me so nervous!” She couldn’t imagine what would happen the next time she saw him. Now that he’d touched her and mentioned her shoulders. Now that she knew what it was like to be under his unwavering attention.
“Because you find him hot, which he is.”
“Yeah.” Hallie didn’t bother to deny that glaringly obvious fact.
“Sounds like he finds you hot, too.”
“He pointed out mine and Hannah’s physical differences and vowed to never make the mistake of mixing us up again.”
“The dimples,” Presley listed. “Glasses, clothing styles.”
“Yeah, those. He also noticed I can lift one eyebrow. Hannah can’t. And my eyes are slightly more golden than hers.”
“They are?” Presley squinted at her. “Oh my God, you’re right. I never noticed.” Then she sang, “But Gavin diiiid.”
“Shh. We’re in public.”
Palming her coffee cup, Pres crossed one arm over her middle. Her next suggestion bottomed out Hallie’s stomach. “If I were you, I’d tell him if he’s so great at relaxing, he should give you a tutorial.”
Hallie laughed. “Yeah, sure.”
Presley didn’t crack a smile. “I’m serious. You’re not a workaholic, Hallie, but you could stand to have a little fun. Gavin is fun. He’s also a nice guy you can trust. I mean, hello, you know his whole family.”
Yes, and that bit made her nervous, too. Like they’d look at her and Gavin and wonder what on earth he saw in her. But that couldn’t be the case, could it? Presley clearly thought this was a good idea.
