Page 68 of The Business of Love Box Set 1: Books 1 - 4

KIMBERLY

“ W hat a fucking cow,” I grumbled as rain started pattering on the windshield and roof of the yellow taxi.

The driver, a middle-aged woman wearing floral-printed leggings and a knit purple sweater, cast a glance over her shoulder at me as we stopped at a red light. “Did you say something, dear?”

“Sorry. Talking to myself. Had a bit of an argument with someone before I got in your car.”

“Did you win?”

I caught her eye in the rearview mirror and couldn’t tell if she was smiling or not. I shrugged one shoulder. “I think so.”

“Good.”

I smiled and pulled my phone out of my purse.

It would have been nice to see a text message from Rick, but there was no such text.

Then again, I’d only been gone for fifteen minutes.

He and Verity had a lot of shit to sort through and I doubted they’d get through it all in such as short amount of time.

I was going to have to wait.

In hindsight, I probably should have still been waiting. I never should have been at his place. I never should have had sex with him—eleven times.

Maybe I am a whore, I thought with a sharp pang of guilt.

Had I crossed lines? Had I made a mistake and moved too quickly with him? What if he took Verity back? What if he realized he didn’t want to throw away everything they had together—regardless of whether that everything was really just insane codependences—and he wanted to try again?

“You look like you’re in your own head,” the driver said.

I sighed wearily. “I am.”

“You know what will fix that right up?”

“I had my heart set on a hot bath, wine, and a good book.”

My driver nodded her agreement. “That sounds lovely too. But a better cure is a good ear to listen to you. You can talk to me if you like. Or call a friend. Invite someone over. Don’t get stuck playing a narrative in your head that you have no control over.”

“You should offer counseling services, along with transportation. People would pay good money for such things.”

“You’re not the first one to tell me that.”

I decided her advice was pretty sound. It wouldn’t do me any good to spend the rest of my night holed up in my house, checking my phone for a message from Rick every five minutes.

No, I could do better than that.

So I called Jackson and asked him what he was up to. He told me he was heading out to meet Hailey for drinks and they were going to see where the night took them. “Why? What’s up?”

“I could use some company tonight,” I said. “But you enjoy your evening with Hailey. I’ll call Vanessa or—”

“Nonsense. Come join us. Hailey hasn’t seen you since the reunion and you know I love your company. It’ll be fun.”

“Where are you going for drinks?”

“The brewery on Canal Street. I can’t remember what it’s called. Has the big patio and the yellow umbrellas.”

“I know the one,” I said. “I’ll see you in half an hour.”

My cab driver, who I learned on the half-hour drive to the brewery from Rick’s house was named Margaret, pulled over to the curb in front of the patio with yellow umbrellas. She turned around in her seat and gave me a big grin.

“Well, it’s been a pleasure, doll. Have a good night with your friends. And don’t get your panties in a bunch waiting for this hunk to call you. He will. I most certainly would,” she added with a wink.

I laughed and fished some cash out of my wallet. “Thank you for listening. I feel better.”

“It was the least I could do, sweetheart.”

I got out of the cab and looked down at my outfit as Margaret drove away.

I felt more underdressed than usual. On a normal night out, I certainly wouldn’t show up in leggings, sneakers, and a sweatshirt.

But I was in movie-night attire, not going-out attire, and I considered myself lucky that we were going to a casual brewery instead of a bar.

I went inside and was the first to arrive, so I ordered myself an in-house-brewed ale and a snack-sized charcuterie plate.

Then I found a nice seat by a window near the patio, which was presently closed since it was raining.

There were a handful of people out there smoking, huddled under the umbrellas that looked pretty gloomy in the dark wet night.

Jackson and Hailey arrived about five minutes after me.

Hailey came through the door first and shook rain off her coat. Jackson followed her in and said something that made her laugh. They made their way to the counter, ordered some drinks, and spied me waving at them through the crowd.

I got to my feet and gave Hailey a hug when she joined me at the table while Jackson waited to collect their drinks.

“It’s so good to see you.” Hailey beamed. “It’s been so long.”

A country-rock song poured through the speakers as we gave each other a hug and then settled into our seats across from each other.

Hailey crossed one leg over the other, tucked a strand of wavy light brown hair behind her ear, and clasped her hands together over her knee.

“Jackson told me all about this crazy wedding you were planning that sort of blew up. How’ve you been doing with the fallout of that? ”

“Actually,” I said, nudging my drink an inch across the table. “That’s why I called him. I needed someone to vent to. My cab driver lent an ear on the way over but it’s not the same.”

“Cab driver?”

“She was a very good listener.”

“Fair enough. Well, whatever it is, you can lay it on us, girl. It sounded like a downright mess.”

“It was.”

Jackson met us at the table before the country song ended and bled into something with a bit more of an indie feel. I tapped my foot to the rhythm as Jackson sipped foam off the top of his dark beer and Hailey indulged in a sip of cider.

“How’ve you been, Kim?” Jackson asked. “Any more wild dates to tell me about that aren’t my fault?”

I rolled my eyes at him. “No.”

“Kim was just telling me about this wedding that fell through,” Hailey said.

Jackson lit up like a Christmas tree and gave me a devious grin. “Yeah. A shame, that whole thing. But I guess it depends where you’re standing.”

Hailey frowned. Her pretty lips turned down and she shot him a dark look. “Jackson, that’s not very nice. It’s always sad when a wedding falls apart, no matter where you’re standing.”

Jackson laughed and leaned back in his chair, lifting the front legs off the floor. “So Kim didn’t tell you she’s head over heels for the groom?”

Hailey’s eyes widened a little. “No. She didn’t.”

“Head over heels is an exaggeration,” I said.

Jackson’s eyebrow quirked upward. “Is it?”

“Yes,” I said firmly. “Rick and I have chemistry. But head over heels implies there’s a lot more going on than just sexual attraction.”

“Which has been building for a year,” Jackson noted.

Hailey whistled. “Damn. Really?”

I scowled playfully at her. “You’re supposed to be on my side. Girl power. Come on.”

She giggled and had more cider. “Sorry. Carry on. You’re not in love with this guy. You just want to fuck him? Am I right?”

My cheeks burned. I pulled a big gulp of ale from the edge of my glass.

Jackson dropped the front legs of his chair back down on the floor. “Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. Hold up. I know that look.” He pointed animatedly at me. “You already did it, didn’t you?”

I looked everywhere but at the pair of them. The ceiling. The bar. The street. The glob of pink bubble gum flattened to the sidewalk outside. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Don’t play dumb with me, Kim. I know you better than I know the back of my hand. You and your fantasy guy hooked up, didn’t you?”

I licked my lips. “Maybe.”

Jackson flattened both hands on the table and leaned toward me. “Tell us everything. ”

I tried to play coy for the next five minutes but I knew I wouldn’t be able to keep the nitty-gritty from the pair of them.

So I told them the whole of it, starting with the moment on the bridge at the aquarium and then passing through all the shit that followed, making sure to highlight Verity’s real heartwarming moments.

“She sounds like a real piece of work,” Hailey muttered as she finished her drink.

I nodded. “You have no idea.”

“Well, it sounds to me like Rick is going to kick her ass to the curb,” Jackson said. “And I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have a hunch that this Rick guy might be a good fit for you.”

“If only it was that easy.” I sighed.

Jackson shrugged. “It can be.”

“No,” I said. “It’s too messy. There is a lot we both need to sort out. And he has a daughter. We have to be smart about it. Not reckless. And that’s pretty much the all-encompassing word I’d use to describe what we’ve been doing so far. The timing might just be too bad for us to make this work.”

“Screw timing,” Jackson said.

“Agreed,” Hailey chimed in.

I eyed them across the table. They were oblivious to their own advice. Jackson had been in love with Hailey since the tenth grade. I knew it. Vanessa knew it. Everybody knew it except for Hailey and Jackson, it seemed.

“So I should just see where this goes?” I asked.

“Yes,” Jackson said. “Don’t play games. Tell this guy what you want. Tell him you know the timing is shitty. But it’s not enough to stop you from caring about him.”

“Honesty is the best policy,” Hailey said.

I chewed the inside of my cheek and considered what they were saying. Could I come on that strong with Rick, or was I going to scare him off?

Was he worth the risk?

Or should I hang back and see where things went?

Jackson got to his feet. “You ladies need more drinks. Sit tight. I’ll be back with another round.”