Page 48 of I’d Be Honored

“We went to the Knicks game.”

“Suite 200? Celebrity row?” Gemma leaned forward, her eyebrows knit together in a look of genuine intrigue.

“Of course,” Hayley countered. “What, should I have made her sit in the nosebleeds?”

“No, it’s just—that’s rather public for you, isn’t it? You’ve never taken a woman to the Owner’s Suite.”

Hayley opened her mouth to speak, but Gemma silenced her with a finger. “Amy doesn’t count. She’s your client, and her husband was there the entire time.”

She cringed. That had been an awkward night.

Realizing Gemma was right, Hayley waved a hand in dismissal. “What’s your point?”

“God, you are so damn stubborn. Just look at you.” Gemma pointed at Hayley’s outfit. “I’ve never seen you sleep in anything besides your two-piece silk pajama suit.”

Hayley looked down at herself. She was pantless, wearing only an oversized cotton T-shirt, screen-printed with the cast of Baywatch.

“There’s no way in hell that’s yours.”

Okay, so what? A few nights ago, Hayley had gone straight from work to Gemma’s house to watch a movie. Halfway through, she had given Maddie a heated look and nodded toward the guest room.

Thirty seconds later, her face was between Maddie’s thighs. She’d used only her tongue that night, grinning as Maddie had to muffle her moans with a pillow.

Afterward, Hayley had asked to borrow a more comfortable shirt before they rejoined their friends, hence the Baywatch tee.

“Can I ask you a question?” Gemma’s voice was soft.

Hayley took a sip of her coffee. “You’ve never asked for permission before—no need to start now.”

“Fair.” Gemma moved to sit beside Hayley. “Why do you still live here? You could have upgraded years ago.”

“I’m not following.”

“It just… it feels like you’ve designed your life specifically to keep people out of it.” Gemma looked around Hayley’s apartment, her hand sweeping through the quiet air. “Like, it wasn’t enough to just close your heart, so you turned your guest room into a closet. And you never keep a spare toothbrush—that way, no one can ever stay the night. There’s not a single picture on the wall. It’s so… intentionally unwelcoming.”

Hayley took in the space around her. What she’d always seen as calm and clean was now beginning to feel a little lifeless.

She forced a small smile. “Good. I like it that way. I don’t want anyone else here.”

Gemma laid a hand on top of Hayley’s, looking her square in the eye. “I don’t believe you.”

Hayley said nothing, and the two finished their coffee side by side in silence, each lost in their own thoughts.

Was Gemma right?

Hayley had recently been thinking about her parents, about love, a lot more for the first time in years, in fact. She assumed it was because the trip to Coney Island had stirred up memories, but she wondered now if it was something more.

What difference does it make? Even if it had been nice to spend her evenings with someone lately, Maddie wasn’t going to be in New York forever. In Hayley’s heart, she knew there was still an expiration date hanging over them, a ticking clock she wasn’t going to stop with a few nights out on the town.

No, even if she were to take Gemma’s advice and allow someone into her life and her home, disrupting her carefully crafted peace—an absurd idea—it certainly couldn’t be Maddie anyway.

Gemma left not long after, and Hayley pushed their conversation from her mind as she got dressed for work, mentally reviewing her schedule for the day. She had already sold three out of the seven Brooklyn condos for over the asking price, and Hayley was eager to see how quickly she could sell out the whole building. She beamed when she thought about how proud her dad would be.

——

Early that afternoon, Hayley’s assistant met her in the building’s lobby with a coffee in hand. Sarah always knew how much she relied on caffeine during tense negotiations, and Hayley accepted it with a grateful smile.

“Are you okay?” Sarah asked, looking concerned.