Page 13 of I’d Be Honored

Just get home before you can do any more damage, she thought. She’d deal with the fallout once she cooled off.

THE OVERCAST SKIES THE NEXT DAY were a welcome change from the relentless sun and sticky humidity of the past week. It was still warm, but at least Hayley didn’t have sweat beads dripping down her neck every time she walked out of a building. She felt little relief, however, from the sharp pain of guilt that had been plaguing her.

She’d ignored Gemma since storming out of the restaurant the evening before. Maddie had called her out, and Hayley knew she owed Gemma an explanation for her attitude. But what could she say—that she was thrilled for Gemma and Caitlin’s happiness, yet every reminder of marriage made her want to peel her own skin off? She knew it didn’t make sense. She didn’t make sense. That was why she avoided intimate relationships in the first place.

Hayley groaned to herself as she slid into the cracked vinyl backseat of the taxi. When there was a problem, she solved it. In her career, Hayley took pride in her ability to act without emotion for the company’s best interest. So why did this feel so different? Why couldn’t she put her personal feelings aside for the next few months for the sake of her best friend?

It was midafternoon by the time Hayley arrived at her last stop of the day. She was meeting with Maddox Group’s photographer at her father’s newest complex in Brooklyn.

“Hayley! Looking gorgeous as ever,” Michael greeted her with a kiss on each cheek.

Michael had been Hayley’s friend for as long as she could remember, ever since their preschool days on the jungle gym. Their parents shared a history just as long, two young couples living next door to each other, spending years feeding the neighbors’ children just as often as their own. Hayley saw Michael as another protective brother, with a dash of sweet reserved for her and a pinch of spicy for everyone else.

“Michael, it’s always so good to see you.” The tension in Hayley’s shoulders finally began to ebb. Michael always had a way of making her feel grounded. “How’s Jacob?”

“Gone with the wind. Onto the next.” He sighed dramatically, his hand waving in the air. “But who has my seductress gotten into lately?” He wagged his brows at her.

Hayley shot him a loaded side-eye as she started up the stairs and unlocked the front door.

“With that look,” Michael said, fanning himself, “whoever she is almost makes me want to sleep with women again.”

Their laughs echoed throughout the empty lobby as they made their way into the elevator.

Hayley pressed the button for the fourth floor. “We’ll start with the penthouse and work our way down.”

“I can’t wait to see what Jonathan has done with the building. I used to date a guy who lived here years ago, you know.”

“Date?” Hayley teased with a coy smile.

“Date, slept with a few times, what’s the difference?” He shrugged. “Speaking of Jonathan, how’s your dad doing these days? Has that hunk of beef been eaten up by the single women of New York City yet?”

“He’s doing well. You know him, all work and no play.”

They both knew Hayley’s dad hadn’t so much as gone out to dinner with a woman in over a decade and a half.

The elevator dinged as the doors slid open directly into the top-floor condo.

“Wow, the views alone will sell this place.” Michael stepped into the small foyer, immediately pulling his camera out of his shoulder bag. He adjusted the lens and began snapping photos of the pink and yellow sky as the sun set over the East River. “Once these are listed, your inbox is going to be flooded.”

Hayley had to admit that the space left her feeling a little breathless too. It was stunning.

The open-concept kitchen and living room area unfurled against a backdrop of the Manhattan skyline shimmering across the river. Floor-to-ceiling glass turned the entire cityscape into a living, breathing mural, perfectly framed from every angle.

The three-thousand-square-foot condo was immaculate. Crisp white walls provided a stark canvas for the darker, more dramatic furniture that Hayley had hand-selected for staging. A single commanding piece of artwork consumed seventy percent of one wall, exploding with color and anchoring the space.

In the kitchen, a massive island stood at the center. Its light wood base contrasted elegantly with a crown of sleek black marble. In the natural light, the rock glowed as if it were molten.

They continued down the hallway, where all three bedrooms and three-and-a-half bathrooms were tucked away, each offering a unique vantage point of the Brooklyn Bridge stretching out across the water.

But the true prize, and undeniably Hayley’s favorite part, was the expansive balcony running the full length of the penthouse. Outfitted with plush lounge chairs and a generous dining table perfect for entertaining, the space boasted an uninterrupted view of the landscape. To wake up to that panorama every day, regardless of the weather, would be an absolute dream.

Once Michael was satisfied with his photos, Hayley locked up the condo, and the two worked their way down through the other three floors. Michael snapped pictures of each home, and once all seven spaces were photographed to his standard of perfection, they exited the building.

“I’ll upload these tonight and send over the files tomorrow,” Michael promised as they stepped onto the sidewalk. “What are you up to now?”

Hayley checked the time on her Cartier watch. Eight o’clock exactly. “I’ll probably find somewhere nearby to grab dinner. I find it’s better to wait out traffic than to sit in gridlock on the bridge. Care to join?”

“I thought you’d never ask.” Michael held out his elbow for Hayley, and the two strolled down the street.