Nick:

“You know the election is in two weeks?”

We’re tackling Hailey’s badly scratched hardwood floors today, and I have to yell to make myself heard above the growl of the sander.

“What?”

Sean turns off the machine, and I repeat my question. Hailey’s lips twitch. “Are you being funny? Now that the county fair is over, the election is all anyone can talk about.”

I grin back at her. “Elvira’s throwing a party tomorrow to thank everyone who’s volunteered for the campaign. Want to come?”

“I don’t think Elvira likes me very much,” she says wryly. “She dropped by last week, and I think I said something that offended her.”

“Really?” I stare at Hailey. “What?”

She flushes. “I sort of hinted that she should give Connor a chance.”

Sean cocks his head to one side and gives her a curious look. “I didn’t have you pegged as an incurable romantic.”

“I’m not,” she mumbles, not looking at either of us. “Lana must be rubbing off on me. It just seemed sad, that’s all.”

She’ll deny it till she’s blue in the face, but Hailey’s got a soft heart. “She couldn’t have been that annoyed. She told me to invite you.”

“She did? Why?”

I chuckle. “You don’t know Elvira very well, do you? She’s the best-informed person in town. She probably knows we’re involved.”

“Oh.” Her voice is small.

That’s not the reaction either Sean or I am hoping for. “Is it the ménage? Are you afraid people will talk?”

“No.” She won’t meet my eyes. “Of course not. I’m not going to let small-minded people judge me. I’ve done nothing wrong.”

“It’s still about your ex, isn’t it?” Sean’s voice is tight. “We’ve been together for six weeks. At what point are you going to start realizing we’re not him? What he did was horrible. Heart-wrenching. But Hailey, it was six years ago. Isn’t it time to turn the page?”

“I don’t want to talk about Matt.” She crosses her arms over her chest. “I think you should leave.”

I look at her closed-off expression, at Sean’s look of pained frustration. “Forget we said anything. Let’s just finish off the floor, okay?”

“No, it’s not okay.” There’s a tremble in her voice. “Please. Leave.”

My own temper rises. Fuck this shit. “Fine,” I snap. “Whatever.”

It might not be the most mature response, but it’s all I can manage right now.

* * *

Hailey:

In times of great emotional need, I turn to vodka. Unfortunately, Goat’s best bar, the Randy Goat, is off-limits for me.

I dial Lana’s number. “Can you hang out?” I’m aware that I sound a little pathetic, but I’m too miserable to care. Of course Nick and Sean left. That’s what Matt did. That’s what guys do.

“What the hell happened?” she demands. “You sound dreadful.” I start to answer, but she cuts me off. “Never mind. Get your ass here. I have booze.”

“I can’t. Tomorrow’s Wednesday. I have to be at the office at eight.” Getting shit-faced isn’t possible. Sugar is my next best alternative. “The Goat Morning serves pie, doesn’t it?”

“Yes it does,” Lana replies. “See you in half an hour.”

“What happened?”

Goat Morning is bustling. The tables in the back are overflowing with people, all wearing purple t-shirts that say ‘Hardy for Mayor.’ Great. Since I’ve decided to hate Eric Hardy on principle for all the bullshit he’s putting Sean through, I decline to sit next to them and move to a table by the window.

“Feelings,” I say gloomily. Seeing Lana’s mystified expression, I fill her in on everything that’s happened in the last two weeks. The fire, the increasing amounts of time that Sean, Nick and I have been spending together, and finally, today’s fight. When I finish, she shakes her head with a sigh. “Ah, Hailey,” she says. “I love you, but they’re right, and you know it.”

I dig into the slice of pecan pie in front of me. “You told me yourself that Nick’s a player.”

She gives me an exasperated look. “Stop twisting what I said. Has Nick cheated on you?”

The red-haired woman seated at the table next to us is giving me a very strange look. She’s probably judging the three inches of whipped cream on my pie. Fuck her. “No.”

“Are you sure? Maybe he’s hiding it.”

“No, he isn’t cheating on me. That’s not his style. It’s not either of their styles.” I bite my lip. “I might have overreacted.”

“You think?” She rolls her eyes. “So, what caused the freak-out?”

I’m starting to feel pretty damn stupid. “Nick invited me to a party,” I confess. “And he implied that Elvira Grantham knew about the three of us.”

“So?” She frowns at me. “Since when do you give a shit about what other people think?”

“I don’t. But going public implies we’re actually in a relationship.”

She mutters something rude under her breath. “Hailey, sweetheart. By your own account, you’ve spent every waking hour of the last two weeks with them. Were you having non-stop sex during this time?”

“No.” Damn Lana and her relentless, logical, bloodhound-like approach to problems. “We were doing other things too.”

“Like eating meals together? Like watching TV? Like having conversations?”

“Yes.” I sound like a sullen teenager.

“I hate to burst your little fantasy bubble, my sweet little sugar bear, but whether you like it or not, you are in a relationship with Nick O’Sullivan and Sean Keefer.”

Despite my misery, my lips twitch. “Sweet little sugar bear?”

The red-haired woman sitting at the table next to us throws some money on the table and gets up. Her blonde friend takes a look at the twenty bucks, winces, and surreptitiously pulls out a five-dollar-bill from her purse, before hurrying out after her friend.

Lana blushes. “I’ve barely seen Declan and Blake for the last ten days,” she admits. “I might be missing them just a little bit.” She takes a bite of her lemon chiffon pie. “Thank heavens for tomorrow. Nick was talking about Elvira’s election party, wasn’t he? We’ll be there. I’ll see you then.”

“I’m not going,” I say moodily. “I’m pretty sure Elvira hates me, and because of my freak-out, so do Sean and Nick.”

“Oh for crying out loud. Call Nick and Sean. Kiss and make up. Get your ass to the party.”

Lana’s getting pretty damn bossy. Unfortunately, she’s right. “Yes, ma’am,” I say meekly. I have some groveling to do.