Page 42 of Falling Back to You

I shoved my hands in my pockets. “It was a long time ago. Time to move on.”

Who was I trying to convince? Her or me? Because . . . I didn’t want to move on.

Hailey hummed in thought, tilting her head back against the car to look up at the sky. No stars were visible this deep in the city, which was something I missed from back home. We had the best skies for stargazing. And the vast expanse had a way of making your problems smaller in comparison.

“Permission to speak freely?” she asked.

I motioned with my hand. “Permission granted.”

“From someone who was recently publicly dumped and would have given anything for a second chance, if you’re still thinking about her all these years later, do something about it. Sometimes it’s a matter of the right person and wrong timing.”

“Do you miss him? Cam?”

Sadness cloaked her smile. “Cam may have dumped me, but he isn’t my second chance. We weren’t a good fit.”

Someone else besides Camden Holt? I mentally sorted through Hailey’s past boyfriends. As a public figure, her love life wasn’t exactly a secret, but no one stood out. Maybe Stephanie would know. Then I could beat the guy up.

“Chill out, Rambo.” Hailey patted my shoulder, accurately reading my intent. “I guess I miss the idea of us. The white picket fence, the dog, the four kids.” Her face fell. “But he didn’t want that. At least, not with me.”

“You are incredibly wise for one so young.”

“I’m twenty-four, not eighteen. And I grew up with Charmain Russo Addams.” She shot me a smirk. “Are you seriously surprised?”

I laughed. Her maternal grandmother was a force of nature. “Guess not.”

Hailey yawned. “This was nice, Cal, thank you.” She smiled up at me. “You’re a great guy, and I’m rooting hard for you both. But only if she’s top-notch amazing because you deserve that. And us?” She motioned between us. “We’re good as friends.”

“We are. Thanks for making getting back in the saddle relatively painless.”

“I aim to please.” Hailey hugged me, and I didn’t feel any sparks. Not like with Noelle when I’d had my arms around her taking pictures in the meadow. Hugging Hailey was like hugging Juliet or Paisley. Sisterly, and I knew they were in my corner. Nothing more.

“Hey, whoever he was, he’s an idiot for letting you go.”

She smiled, but it lacked her usual sparkle. Like for all her sunshine, the storm clouds were still looming behind the horizon. Threatening to tear her apart.

I knew the feeling.

“For the record,” she added, rallying her sunshine as she dropped down from her tiptoes, “I’m a sucker for second-chance romance, so please invite me to the wedding. I’ll even sing for my dinner.” With a wink, she disappeared into the car and honked as she drove away.

The second my hotel-room door clicked shut behind me, my phone chimed with a text.

Juliet. What timing. And from the looks of it, she’d added Greyson, Myles, and Paisley to this side group chat. How many chats did this family need? I think we were at six already.

JULIET:

How’d it go?

ME:

have you bugged my room

grey can i borrow one of your bug sweepers

GREYSON:

Don’t have one.

MYLES: