Chapter 7

Victoria

Brittney letsout an ear piercing squeal that makes me glad my phone is on speaker as I'm driving back to Arcadian Falls rather than pressed against my ear. "Oh my god," she breathes. "Hayden Maddox likes you."

I snort out a laugh. "Did we just return to middle school and I missed the memo?"

"Oh, please," she scoffs. "You know it's the truth. He thinks you're pretty and he invited you into his trailer for more than a drink. That's definitely well beyond middle school levels. No one's passing notes that say, ‘Do you like me?' with a yes or no you can circle and give back."

That makes me laugh for real. "I feel like you would've been fun to go to middle school with."

"Of course I was. Though I was always the one passing those notes, both for myself and others, never the one getting them."

"Aww, poor Brit. Such a tragedy."

She heaves a dramatic sigh. "The curse of the late bloomer." I snicker at that, but she plows on. "Anyway, back to the movie star who wants to get in your pants. Why did you just sit there like a lump? Why didn't you do anything?"

I shift in my seat, pushing as far back as I can, and grip the steering wheel tightly, though the road here is fairly straight and there's hardly anyone around. "I dunno, Brit. Why do you think?"

She hums, and I take that as my cue to elaborate. Sighing, I shake my head. "It's … awkward, you know? Number one, I'm working for him."

"Well, for the movie, anyway. Isn't he more like a coworker?"

"No. Apparently not. I found out he's one of the producers too, so he's at least partly financing the whole production. That means he's kinda like my boss."

"But you get to boss him around about what he wears, so that makes it kinda even, doesn't it?"

Laughing, I say, "Uhh, no? Number one, all I did was take things to people to try on and make notes on what needs altering. I'm not in charge of anything Mia doesn't want me to handle. She's in charge. "

"Okay, fine. But he backed you up about the bad costume choices. And he did it in a sneaky way so it doesn't look like he's just doing things for you to get in your pants. Isn't that a point in his favor?"

I consider that. She's right. He wasn't going to tell me that he was the reason Brady Green involved himself. If he were doing that just to score points with me, wouldn't he have bragged about it? Or, if he's the more subtle type, casually worked it into conversation so he made sure I knew?

But I only put it together when he didn't seem at all surprised about the fact that Brady Green took my pile of costumes and walked directly into a confrontation with Mia. I suppose that he could've known from someone else telling him, of course, but why would Brady Green have gotten involved immediately after me leaving Hayden Maddox's trailer if Hayden Maddox himself hadn't tipped him off?

It was the only explanation that made sense, and when I thanked him for doing that, he confirmed I was right. Even that seemed a little self deprecating, though. Which, okay, could just be an act—he's a good actor, after all—but it didn't feel like one. Not to me, at least.

"I'm just sayin'" Brit continues when I don't respond. "It's been a while since you've even tried to date anyone."

That provokes another snort laugh. "Number one, who would I even date in Arcadian Falls? George Turner?"

That makes Brit laugh too. George is a nice enough guy, but the sixty-five-year-old never-been-married owner of the town auto shop isn't exactly prime dating material.

"Well, no. Obviously not. But apps exist, Tori. And there are other towns in a reasonable driving distance. You're not restricted to Arcadian Falls' single population, you know."

"But Erin?—"

"Is ten. And before you know it, she'll be graduating and moving away and living her life. And you'll be here, all alone, still working at Banks Family Dentistry?"

"Are you planning on leaving soon?" I demand, her words stinging, both from the unexpected hit but also the sad picture she paints.

"Please. You know I'll die in my little shop. But I like being alone. Do you?"

"But if you're here still, how am I alone? Once Erin's grown and gone, we can have girls' nights. Or move in together and sit on our front porch drinking cocktails after work."

She laughs. "As fun as that sounds, I'm not sure either of us would handle that well. I love you like a sister and I'll always be there for you, but I don't think we'd live together very well. I just want you to be happy."

"I am happy, though, Brit. My life is good. I have everything I want."

There's a pause, and then much more quietly, so quietly I almost can't hear her over the road noise, she asks, "Do you, though? I've seen your designs, Tor. I know that designing and creating clothes is what you really love."

"But I still do that. It's just not practical as a career."

"But maybe it could be," she insists. "If you?—"

"Brit," I cut in. "I really don't want to go over this again." This is an old conversation and a sore subject.

"Okay," she sighs. "I'll drop it."

"And anyway," I continue, "what does any of that have to do with sleeping with Hayden Maddox? It's not like he's boyfriend material."

She chuckles. "Well, no. But having a little fun and blowing off some steam never hurt anyone."

My answering laugh is bitter. "Really? Coulda fooled me. Because I'm pretty sure it was that kind of attitude, that kind of fun, that ended with me dropping out of college and moving back to Arcadian Falls so my parents could help with my baby." I swipe at the tear that's managed to escape my furious blinking.

"Oh, sweetheart," Brit says, her voice so full of sympathy that it makes me mad, because the choice is either get mad or start sobbing, and I still have ten minutes of driving before I'm back in town.

"Just don't," I tell her. "Don't be sorry. I just …" I let out a heavy sigh. "I get your point. And I don't regret Erin or the events that led to her conception or my choices since. Like I said, I love my life. And as flattering as it might be to think that Hayden Maddox likes me or finds me attractive, I'm not sure having a fling with him is a good idea."

"Okay," she says at last, her voice subdued.

"And it's all hypothetical anyway!" I insist. "Nothing happened. He didn't touch me." Not really. "He didn't make a move. If anything, I think he just wanted to check in about the costume stuff, get my side of how everything went down. That's all."

"I'm sure you're right," Brit says, and I know she's just placating me, but I don't have it in me to argue anymore. It wouldn't do any good anyway.

I sniff loudly. "Um, I gotta go. Almost back to town, and I need to figure out some options to make Erin not be pissed she didn't get to spend the day home alone."

"Alright," Brit says, trying to sound more chipper, though she's no more convincing than I am. We both know I just want to get off the phone so I can lick my wounds in peace. And she feels bad that she opened those wounds, even though that wasn't her goal. "We okay?" she asks.

"Yeah, Brit," I reassure her, not having to force the sincerity in my voice. "We're good. I'm just tired."

"Alright. Have fun with Erin. Talk soon."

After ending the call, I drum my fingers on the steering wheel, my thoughts roiling with everything she just said. Maybe she's right. Maybe Hayden Maddox does think I'm attractive. Maybe he did invite me into his trailer so he could have sex with me and "have a drink" was just a pretense. And maybe I ruined it by being weird. And then something I said made him happy to put distance between us. I'm not sure what it was exactly, but I saw the moment the shutters came down. So the chances of that happening again are probably slim to none.

It's for the best, though. At least that's what I'm telling myself. Like I said to Brit, I'm not really a fool-around-with-a-guy-just-for-fun kind of girl. I don't have the best track record with that, after all. Not just with Erin's father, but even with the little bit of dating I've tried to do over the years since I moved back here. I've been on the apps. I've seen what's available here. I've gone on some dates. I've met the guys who say they want a relationship and don't mind kids, but when they realize there's not a dad to take her half the time, they're not interested. Or worse, the ones who seem like they're even more interested. And I can't tell if it's because they like the idea of a ready-made family or something far more sinister, but either one gives me the ick.

And between work, Erin, the alterations I take on from time to time, and helping out with the community theatre shows, my life is full. When would I even have time to go on a date? Much less multiple dates and the kind of investment it takes to maintain an actual relationship. Add in the fact that I'm very hesitant to introduce a man into the delicate ecosystem that is my life with Erin—because what if she gets attached and he doesn't stick around? She has enough abandonment issues from her dad bailing before she was even born—and I just don't see how it could work.

It's true that Hayden Maddox isn't a viable long-term relationship option anyway. But why tantalize myself with something I can never even hope to have?