Honey on Your Mind (12 page)

Now I was nearly speechless.
Who are you, and what have you done with Wendy?
I stole a glance at Scotty, who looked equally confused.

We sat there in awkward silence for a moment, and then I finally spoke.

“Um, would you like to have lunch with us? Maybe talk about it? Or get your mind off it? Your call.”
Did I just invite Wendy to have lunch with Scotty and me? Who am
I
, and what have I done with
Waverly
?

She smiled. “Really? That would be lovely.”

I pulled my phone out of my purse and looked at the time. “We were going to meet with the editing team and then go to lunch around noon. Would that work?”

She smiled again and shook her head. “I’d love to, but I have an appointment.” She pointed to her forehead and whispered, “Botox.”

I nodded. “Got it. Maybe another time.”

“I’d like that. Thanks, Waverly.” She picked up her tea and nodded politely to both of us, then walked out of the kitchen.

I looked at Scotty, who again held his hands up in a what-the-hell? gesture.

“Now I feel sort of mean for hating her,” I whispered.

“I don’t,” he whispered back.

• • •

Thursday morning, I got up at the crack of dawn to tape a new segment at a trendy gym in the West Village. (Getting in shape for holiday parties apparently was on many people’s minds). Afterward, I stopped by NBC to discuss a few things with Scotty, rushed home to handle a few orders for Waverly’s Honey Shop, took them to the post office, and then sprinted back home again to pack for Cleveland. I’d meant to hit the post office the day before, but I’d been at the studio late working on a different segment with the editing team. When I finally got home, I fell asleep on the couch watching an old episode of
Seinfeld
. I woke up at two o’clock with the newspaper stuck to my face, then crawled into my bed, and passed out again until my alarm went off at five.

Late that afternoon, I jumped into a cab and met Paige at the airport, and soon we were on our way to Ohio. I took the window seat and planned to be asleep in approximately seven minutes.

“We did it,” she said a few minutes after the plane took off.

I looked up from my magazine. “We did what? We made our flight?”

“
It
. Gary and I. We did it.”

I opened my eyes wide. “You hadn’t done it yet?”

She shook her head. “I’m Paige, not Andie, remember?”

I laughed. “I’m sorry. I just assumed it was in your shared DNA. So how was it?”

She leaned back in her seat and smiled. “I think…I think I’m in love.”

“No way. For real?”

She sat up straight. “OK maybe not
love
, but I’m definitely in like.”

I nodded. “In like is good.”

“In like is very good. It’s all so good. I can’t believe how good it is.”

I tucked my magazine into the seat pocket. “So what about his kids, his ex, the whole Nashville thing. Doesn’t that scare you a little bit?”

She shrugged. “It’s not ideal, but what is ideal anymore? I’m thirty-four years old, and until recently I’ve been dating guys who are my age—if not
older
—who still act like they’re in college. They don’t call or even text when they say they will, they expect you to hop in the sack on the first date, and they’re usually dating half of Manhattan along the way. New York is filled with playboys, and I’m just sick of that whole scene. I’d rather date a divorcé who lives in another state than deal with another asshole.”

I’d never heard her speak with such conviction. It made me smile.

I thought about what she said before replying.

“I hadn’t thought about it until now, but having a boyfriend has definitely made my move to New York easier. Trying to deal with dating on top of everything I’ve got going on would be too much. At least with Jake, the only issues we’re dealing with are geography and our crazy schedules.” Those issues were beginning to concern me, however, and I was really looking forward to seeing him in person.

“See what I mean? Dating is really hard here,” she said.

I nodded. “I don’t think I could take the anxiety of wondering if or even when he was going to ask me out again.” It hadn’t been very long since I’d been in that exact position and I never wanted to go back there.

She stuck out her tongue. “I
hate
the dating scene here. It’s too competitive for me. On Monday, the night before Gary came into town, I had another date through that dating service I told you about.”

“The one you hate? What did you say it was called?
Just Joking Around
?”

She laughed. “
Just a Drink
, but I call them
Just a Joke
, because they suck.”

“If they suck so much, why do you keep using them?”

“Because I paid them up front for a set number of dates. That’s why they don’t care about setting me up with losers—they already have my money. A lot of it.”

“Yikes.”

“Yeah, like I said, they suck. Anyhow, they set me up with this man they said owned his own business, so I figured he had to be interesting, right?”

I narrowed my eyes. “I don’t know if I want to hear where this is going. Am I going to need a drink to hear where this is going?” I pretended to flag down a flight attendant.

She laughed. “They also told me he was funny, and that he liked wine.”

I held up three fingers. “Owns own business. Funny. Likes wine. I
would
say ‘How can you go wrong?’ but something clearly went wrong.”

She nodded. “So the guy walks in and sits down at the bar, then proceeds to order a glass of tap water because he doesn’t drink.”

“He ordered tap water at a
bar
?”

“Oh yes. Plain,
free
, tap water. Nothing else.”

I scrunched up my face. “Not good.”

“Definitely not good. So then, we start chatting, and despite what the agency people have told me about him, he is not funny. He is the opposite of funny. He is Eeyore.”

I laughed. “Eeyore? From
Winnie the Pooh
?”

She nodded. “He could make Debbie Downer look like the life of the party.”

“I could never understand why Eeyore was so sad all the time. Why was he so bummed out? I mean, Winnie the Pooh and Piglet and even Christopher Robin seemed fun to hang out with, right?”

She put her hand on my arm. “Focus, Waverly.”

“Oops, sorry.” I blinked and shook my head. “OK, I’m focusing. So he doesn’t drink, and he’s clinically depressed. What happened next?”

“So I’m sitting there drinking my
wine
while he drinks his
tap
water
, and we get on the topic of our jobs.” She gestured to me and then back to herself. “I told him about Waverly’s Honey Shop and my other accounts.”

“OK…”

“So then he starts to tell me about his
company
, and it turns out that it has just one employee, which is of course…him.”

I nodded. “Ah, yes, a company of one. I know that scenario well.”

“Yes, but you don’t go around saying you own your own company, do you?”

I laughed. “Hardly.”

“So you want to know what his real
job
is?”

“I’m not sure I do.”

She put a hand on her heart and tried not to laugh. “He is,
I kid you not
, a magician.”

“A
magician
?” Several people seated near us turned their heads.

“Shhh, you’re screaming.”

“A
magician
?” I whispered. “You’re joking.”

She shook her head. “Totally not joking. Birthday parties, corporate events, hourly fee or flat rate, all prices negotiable.” She checked the services off on her fingers.

“You mean pulling rabbits out of a hat, cutting women in half, the real deal?”

She nodded. “I paid two hundred dollars to go on a date with a depressed magician who doesn’t drink.”

“You paid
two hundred dollars
?” My voice went back up a few decibels.

She put her hand over my mouth and lowered her voice. “Waverly, seriously, keep it down.”

“I’m sorry,” I whispered. “But two hundred dollars for one date? With a magician? That company
is
a joke.”

She nodded. “Totally.”

“You weren’t kidding about the dating scene in New York. I can see why you’re not so worried about Nashville or the kids.”

“Yep. I’d rather deal with kids in Nashville than a serial killer clown.”

I tilted my head to the side. “A serial killer clown?”

“Yes. I figure a depressed magician isn’t that far away from a serial killer clown, right? They’re definitely in the same family.”

“Good point. So is the trip to Vermont happening?”

She smiled. “Yep, the weekend before Christmas. Is that still when Andie’s coming?”

“I think so. Bummer.”

“Tell her not to get you into too much trouble. If even one photo of you dancing on a bar in your underwear turns up on Facebook, your Midwestern fans might turn on
you
, and that would be a disaster for Waverly’s Honey Shop.”

I saluted. “Yes, ma’am. I’ll try to remember that.”

• • •

The next day we had our meeting with the buyer at Bella’s Boutique. It went well, and like the woman from Jordan Brooke, she placed a big order to begin the first of January. Her favorite product was the Honey tote bag that said J
UST
S
MILE
. After she and Paige worked through the details, she asked me to pose for a photo with her, which once again, weirded me out. I was still struggling to figure out how to manage my new celebrity, however minor. On the one hand, I wanted to laugh at it because I found it so absurd, but I didn’t want to hurt the feelings of the complete strangers who seemed genuinely thrilled to meet me in person. So I followed my own advice and
just smiled
.

It was exciting to have all this new business lined up for January and beyond, but at the rate the new orders were coming in, when it came time to fulfill them I was going to have to hire a full-time product manager–or ask Paige to become my first real employee. I knew how much she loved the flexibility of working for multiple product lines, however, so I didn’t know how she’d feel about it. Plus, so far I felt like she’d been working
with
me as a consultant, not
for
me as an employee, and I was wary of disrupting the professional/personal relationship we’d developed. The more time I spent with her, the more the personal side of that relationship meant to me, and I didn’t want to screw it up by becoming her “boss.”

As usual, so much was happening, and so fast.

• • •

Jake got us center-court seats for the Hawks-Cavaliers game just a few rows above the bench. I, of course, wanted his team to win,
but Paige and I didn’t really care that much about the game itself. It was fun having VIP seats though, and we had a great view of the players in their shorts, so we weren’t about to complain.

After it was over, Paige took a cab back to the hotel to do some paperwork, and I waited by the locker rooms for Jake. As I stood against the wall and watched the media, arena employees, team staff, and various hangers-on come and go, I thought about how much had happened since the last time I’d seen him in person. I’d made tremendous strides since the early days of our relationship, when I’d been afraid to open up and really share with him what I was thinking, much less what I was
feeling
. I’d nearly lost him because of that, and now I made a concerted effort to keep him updated on everything that was going on in my life and my head, the good
and
the bad. But the distance and our jobs certainly didn’t make it easy. And it wasn’t just my relationship with Jake that had suffered from the crazy new life I was living. At least he and I were in regular contact, while I’d barely spoken to McKenna and Andie. I wondered if they had any idea how much I missed them. There just never seemed to be enough time to call.

And I never seemed to get enough sleep.

And I hadn’t worked out in weeks.

And I still hadn’t called my dad.

You suck, Waverly. Call Dad!

I thought about what Paige had said about how Gary made her feel.

Connected.

I was living a life that so many people would call a dream come true, and I was enjoying it, I really was. But as the hallway slowly emptied out, I realized I felt a bit disconnected too.

• • •

“Are you sure you’re not too tired for dinner? You seem tired.”

I smiled and leaned my head against Jake’s shoulder as we walked into the hotel. “I’m fine, and dinner sounds great.” We’d just exited the team bus, which had been a dark and quiet ride, as nearly everyone on board was listening to headphones or dozing. The Hawks had lost, so the energy level was subdued. “I’m so happy just to be here with you. And Paige really wants to meet you.”

He put his arm around me and pulled me tight. “I’m glad you’re here too. It’s been too long.”

“Mmm,” I said softly, nodding my head.

We took the elevator up to his room, and as he opened the door, he said, “Just give me two minutes to change, OK?”

I saluted. “Two minutes it is. Are you going commando right now?”

He leaned down and kissed me on the forehead. “You’ll have to wait and see.”

I walked over to the bed. “I’m going to rest my eyes just for a minute.” I kicked off my shoes and curled up on top of the covers.

He dropped his athletic bag on the floor and disappeared into the bathroom. “I can’t wait to hear everything that’s been going on and actually see your face when you’re telling it to me. I’ve missed that pretty face of yours.”

I touched my hands to my puffy, sleep-deprived cheeks. “You are way too kind. My face is far from pretty these days.”

“Your face is always pretty to me.” I heard him turn on the faucet, and I felt my eyes closing.

“I’ve missed you, Jake,” I whispered to the pillow.

Then I promptly fell asleep.

• • •