CHAPTER 1
Whoever decided swiping a screen was a good way to match with someone on a dating app had a wild sense of humor.
Or was some kind of sadist.
Haleigh Berkshire was pretty certain it was the latter.
She’d made that most fatal mistake of attempting to multitask, and now she was paying the price. As she’d bounced between the Heartline app and her chat with her best friend, Jack, her thumb had twitched and brushed across the screen, indicating interest in, of all people, someone named BeefCake20.
Her phone dinged with another notification. The fifth she’d ignored in the last minute or so.
BeefCake20: There’s nothing hotter than a lady with some meat on her
BeefCake20: Send me a picture of your ass
BeefCake20: Show me what I get to hold on to
Haleigh rolled her eyes. She should use a picture of a donkey. Who didn’t love some good wordplay? Or better yet, get Jack to give her a picture of his ass. He had a great one.
If only that wouldn’t flout at least two of their well-defined best friend rules. Haleigh sighed. Those rules had been sacred for the last five years. They weren’t worth breaking for a chance to admire Jack’s excellent backside.
See ya, Beefcake, she thought as she blocked him.
Blessed be the trusty Block button. The internet would be intolerable without it.
Setting her phone aside, Haleigh glanced around the bar. On a Monday night, in a Boston suburb, it wasn’t a surprise that there were only a handful of people here, but most of them were quietly nursing their beers or watching whatever game was on the TV. Not much to offer in the people-watching department.
And people-watching was Haleigh’s favorite pastime. Not only was it free, but being in a crowd was like picking a book off the shelf without reading the description. You never knew what kind of story you were going to get.
And Haleigh loved a good story.
The best the bar could provide at the moment, though, was the couple across from her, who were awkwardly answering each other’s questions like they were on an interview, despite their clearly curated date-night attire.
Haleigh’s stomach twisted for them. There were few things more painful than a bad first date. She knew that from experience.
Too many experiences.
Haleigh Berkshire: What do we think? Set up by their parents?
She snapped a discreet photo of the couple and hit Send. As she waited for Jack to respond, she knocked back another ice-cold water and pushed the glass toward the bartender.
“Keep ’em coming,” she said.
“You better slow down there. Pace yourself,” he quipped.
Haleigh was pretty much a regular at the Rose Tavern, since her roommate, Stanton, and the crew of his makeover show, On the Plus Side, frequented the place after filming, and Stanton always dragged her along. Monday Mike (as Haleigh had mentally nicknamed the bartender) was very used to her endless orders of water.
Water was plentiful. And hydrating. Plus, if Haleigh tried really hard, she could pretend it was vodka.
“I’m living on the edge. Tempting brain freeze.” Tapping her temple, she offered him a sardonic grin.
“In that case.” He set an entire pitcher of ice water in front of her. “Let’s speed things up.”
Haleigh grabbed the jug and tipped it at him like she intended to take a sip.
Mike let out a hearty laugh before heading down the bar toward a patron who might actually pay for something.
Her phone buzzed with Jack’s reply, showing her the time. She really needed to stop arriving half an hour early to everything. It felt like she’d been here for a millennium, and yet her date wasn’t due to arrive for another ten minutes.
Jackson Brooks: He’s her boss’s nephew.
Jackson Brooks: Or her grandmother’s physical therapist.
Haleigh snorted.
Haleigh Berkshire: Nah. She’s his cousin’s roommate’s postal worker’s next-door neighbor.
Jackson Brooks: No way. That would give them too much to talk about. Just trying to figure out exactly how they ended up on this date would take an hour.
He had a point.
Jackson Brooks: How’s your date going?
Haleigh Berkshire: T-minus seven minutes to start time.
Jackson Brooks: It’ll be great. You said she seemed really interesting on Heartline.
Annie had been cool to talk to. She was somewhat reserved, even online, but she worked in video editing, and Haleigh had been fascinated to learn how it compared to working with manuscripts like Haleigh did as a freelance editor.
Plus, Annie had looked so cute in her photo. A blond chin-length bob, rosy round cheeks and lips against slightly tanned skin, big dark eyes framed by a thick fringe of lashes, and a soft body full of curves like Haleigh’s.
Haleigh Brookshire:
Jackson Brooks: And you know I’m here if things go south.
Haleigh Brookshire: Hey, maybe I want them to go south.
Jackson Brooks:… sideways then.
How do you know I don’t want things to go sideways too, she typed, then deleted. Even if she was talking about someone else, one seemed like the right amount of innuendos for a text chain with your purely platonic best friend.
Jackson Brooks: Are you at the RT?
Haleigh had just enough time to respond with a thumbs-up before Annie pushed through the doors. They waved at each other, and Annie shed her coat as she crossed the room to join Haleigh at the bar. She was wearing a pair of flare-cut jeans and a cropped pink sweater. The look was put together but not trying too hard, and instantly Haleigh was second-guessing her deep V black sweater and tight pants.
She’d wanted to look good, but now she was afraid her outfit was putting too much pressure on their casual meetup.
Haleigh had been dating since she was fifteen, and a decade later, she still sometimes felt like she had no idea what she was doing. Someone needed to put out a practical, actually useful guide to dating. None of this The Rules nonsense. Just a list of dos and don’ts that worked for everyone regardless of age, sexuality, or gender identification.
DO find a mutually approved public space to meet for the first time.
DON’T wear your sexiest sweater until you know the person you’re dating actually finds you attractive.
Maybe Haleigh needed to write this thing herself. She’d definitely been on enough dates to gather the knowledge needed.
“Hey,” Annie said. She offered Haleigh a closed-mouth smile as she slid onto the empty barstool beside her.
Haleigh swiveled in her seat to face her. “You found the place okay?”
The moment the words left her mouth, she regretted them. Besides the Korean BBQ joint at the end of the block, the Rose Tavern was the only place open after five on a Monday in this neighborhood. It would not have been hard to spot.
Annie nodded. “I was able to park right across the street, too.”
“Wow. Sometimes it’s impossible to park anywhere near this place.”
Why were they talking about parking? Haleigh glanced down the bar, staring hard at Mike until she got his attention. Ordering a drink would help make this feel less like she and Annie were stuck sitting next to each other on a long flight.
Mike appeared in that way bartenders do, as if he had some kind of magic teleportation spell. He set a snacks menu down across from them. “What can I get you?” he asked Annie.
She tipped her head toward Haleigh, her blond hair brushing gold across her shoulder. “I’ll have what she’s having.”
“Water?”
“Oh, uh, a white wine then.” Annie looked at Haleigh as Mike shuffled off. “Do you not drink? We didn’t have to meet at a bar.”
“No. No. It’s fine. I was just waiting for you.”
Haleigh’s imbibing was directly controlled by the money in her bank account, which, at the moment, was low as she waited for client payments to come in. Freelancing was forever a big game of money Tetris, shifting what went in and out without (hopefully) causing any gaps.
She slid the menu between them. “Do we want to get something to eat, too?”
“I’m okay, but feel free.”
Code Red. Five minutes in and this date was already in need of the shock paddles.
Haleigh had refused enough food on dates to know what it meant: an easy exit. Nothing to force you to stick around.
The universe was clearly punishing her for joking with Jack about the couple across the bar earlier. She could only imagine the kinds of scenarios he’d concoct about her and Annie if he could see them right now. Girlfriends who just found out they’re related. Best friends who didn’t know they were sleeping with the same guy. Roommates who accidentally swapped laundry and were wearing each other’s underwear.
Karma really did like to bite you in the ass.
After taking a sip of water, Haleigh fluffed her hair and sat up straighter. This could be salvaged. They’d had plenty to talk about the last two days on Heartline, and it hadn’t been this stilted. They could get that back. Haleigh was determined. Not just because she truly thought that she and Annie could have a good time, but because Haleigh could not have another bad date. That would be the fourth this month, and it was only January tenth.
“Last night you were telling me about film editing, but you didn’t say what kind of films you work on.”
Annie sipped her wine. “Mostly stuff for HR trainings at big companies.”
“Oh wow.” Haleigh had been through a few of those when she’d gotten her first full-time copyediting job out of college. They were … something. “That must be interesting.”
“Not really.”
“What would you rather be editing?”
“Movies. But those jobs are hard to come by.”
Annie’s finger swirled around the bottom of the glass. Her attention flitted from the TV to the wood grain on the bar. Never anywhere near Haleigh.
It made Haleigh wonder if there was something on her face. Or if her breath smelled.
How had they chatted so easily last night and now they might as well have been trying to communicate in different languages?
She wiped discreetly at her face. “I bet.” She was hoping Annie might say a little more, but the woman was staring into her glass of wine like she could see her future in there and it wasn’t good.
Freelance editing came with all sorts of wild experiences, but Haleigh didn’t want to be one of those people who overwhelmed the whole evening talking about themselves.
Even with music blaring from the overhead speakers and the rumble of the small crowd, the silence between the two of them pressed in. The only time Haleigh tolerated quiet was when she was sleeping. And even then, Jack insisted, she snored.
The world was full of people, full of life. It should be full of sound.
She dragged a hand through her hair. “Did you know that ‘blonde’ with an e refers to a woman and ‘blond’ without an e refers to a man? I always found that weird. Why does hair color need to be gendered?” She was a brunette by birth but she’d been getting blond highlights for so long now that she could no longer find her natural color under all the golds and caramels. She twisted the straight locks over her shoulder and loosely braided the ends.
Annie nodded, her head bobbing long after the gesture should have ended.
Haleigh dug desperately for more material to fill the silence. “Oh. And I read the other day that penguins have spikes on their tongues. And did you ever wonder why we don’t eat turkey eggs? It’s because they don’t produce as many in a week, making the birds rarer, and better to raise as meat.”
There was nothing better than a good factoid. Haleigh’s Notes app was full of little things she’d learned while researching online or editing for clients. They were a great reminder of how strange and wonderful the world was.
Annie didn’t seem quite as enthused, though. After muttering what sounded like “wow,” she excused herself to go to the bathroom.
Haleigh pulled her phone in front of her, wondering if there was an app to zap her out of here. Or sink her through the floor. Anything to not have to continue this date.
A text from Jack sat on the home screen.
Jackson Brooks: How’s it going?
Haleigh Berkshire: The couple from earlier is definitely having a better time.
Jackson Brooks: Maybe you need a little longer to get comfortable.
Haleigh Berkshire: She went to the bathroom, and I fear she’s never coming back.
Jack sent a frown emoji as Haleigh released her phone back onto the bar. To her surprise, Annie had returned.
She settled onto her stool and took a long pull of wine. “So you write books, right?”
Clearly, they’d only bonded over the editing thing in Haleigh’s head.
“I edit other people’s books.”
“What’s that like?”
Suddenly, Haleigh wasn’t sure what to say. She spent her days reading people’s work and correcting the grammar. Sometimes she got to provide developmental feedback. Sometimes she got to help people make their stories stronger. It could be fun. But it could also be painfully boring. And it never paid enough.
Mike saved her from fumbling over a response. Stopping in front of Haleigh, he held out an old cordless phone.
“You have a call,” he said dryly.
“What?”
“You have a call.”
Haleigh took the phone gingerly. Who the hell would call the bar looking for her? Not even her roommate was that bold. Stanton would text.
“Uh … hello?” She cringed apologetically at Annie.
“Say, ‘Hi, Mom.’” Jack’s deep voice filled Haleigh’s ear.
“What?” She had to hold her hand over the other one to block out the noise.
“Say, ‘Hi, Mom.’”
“Uhh, hi, Mom?”
“Now say, ‘I didn’t see your texts.’”
Haleigh repeated the phrase, then echoed him again when he instructed her to ask, “Joey can’t come help?”
“Now say, ‘I’ll be there as soon as I can,’ and make up an excuse about your mother. Your getaway vehicle is parked in front of the shoe store.”
You’d think she was James Bond and Jack was her Q.
The line clicked dead as Haleigh finished telling her imaginary mother she’d be there soon.
“Everything okay?” Annie asked. Her concern seemed genuine.
Haleigh’s stomach soured. She didn’t want to lie, but Jack had given both her and Annie a smooth way out of this awkward night. She’d be foolish not to take it.
“My mom had a heart attack a few months ago, and she can’t always do the things she used to on her own. Her smoke alarm has a dead battery and my sister’s not around, so there’s no one else to change it for her.”
Annie dug through her purse, producing a ten from her wallet and setting it on the bar. “Those things are insufferable. Definitely get over there as soon as you can.”
Copyright © 2024 by Jenny L. Howe
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