about that.” He grinned at me. “It’s a relief to know you haven’t become some kind of irresponsible party girl over there.”
“I haven’t.” I didn’t have to become one, so it wasn’t a lie. The truth was, I’d always been a bit of a party girl. Not in the fall-over-drunk, drug-myself-up kind of way, but I was a sociable person.
Some even called me the life of the party. Okay, not some. Just Haley. My lifelong best-friend and local deli owner.
On the other hand, there had been little time for partying back in LA. Going to parties required meeting people and making friends, which I hadn’t done too much of.
On occasion, I still hit the party scene with Melody. It wasn’t as often as I would have liked, though. Unfortunately, even with school being easy for me, I had a deal with my dad.
When he’d agreed to let me go off to UCLA and pay for my tuition and accommodation, I’d promised not to let my grades slip, not to get into any trouble, and that, if I did, I’d move right back home.
If I refused to move back home, I’d have to pay for my own tuition, accommodation, and everything else. Medical degrees didn’t come cheap or fast. I was beyond privileged that he had offered to pay for it in the first place. I wasn’t about to go screwing around on his dime.
Being the daughter of a high-up Navy man, I’d learned some things about responsibility and respect. Dad was strict and protective, but he also just wanted me to be happy.
We shared that goal for one another. I wanted him to be happy, too. Keeping my nose clean and my grades up at college was a small price to pay for everything he had given me.
Dad smiled and reached out to squeeze my arm. “I’m proud of you, sweetheart. I’ve missed you. I understand why you haven’t been home since Christmas, but it’s been too long.”
“Yeah. Definitely.”
His head dropped to the side as he took a step back. “Are you going to be taking any summer courses?”
“No, I wanted to come home so I could be with you for the retirement.”
He sighed, shaking his head. “You didn’t have to do that. I’m fine here by myself.”
“I know, but this is a big deal, Daddy,” I said cautiously. If I made him feel like I was back because I was worried about him, he’d drive me to UCLA and enroll me in that program himself. Big, tough Navy men didn’t like being fussed over. “It’s important for you to have support.”
He blew out a breath between his teeth. “Sounds like an excuse to me, but it’s your life. I need to spend a little more time with Olive this afternoon. The boys and I are taking her out in the morning. Why don’t you get unpacked and we’ll have dinner together later?”
“Sure. I wanted to go say hi to Haley anyway.” I walked backward, waving to him as he watched me go. “See you later.”
Haley’s deli wasn’t too far away from our house. It was a small shop near the beach with a few tables inside, a long counter, and a blackboard with the menu scrawled on it. Soft pop music played on the radio, and it smelled like cinnamon and grilling chicken.
My mouth watered almost as soon as I walked in. Some customers lingered after the lunch rush but not many. I found Haley in the kitchen. Her back was to me and her ass swayed along to the music.
I paused for a second, then let out a whistle. “Yeah, girl. Shake what your mama gave you.”
She froze before spinning around with a scowl darkening her pretty features. When she saw it was me, the scowl faded, and a bright smile took its place.
My best friend was my opposite in every way. She had long blonde hair to my short, pitch-black bob, bright blue eyes to my green and gold version of hazel, a figure like a runway model to my softer, curvy one.
If I was the life of the party when I wasn’t studying, she was the one reminding me that we had to be up early in the morning. Despite that, she’d chosen to open a deli with no formal schooling while I had run headfirst into one of the most strenuous degrees that existed.
While I wasn’t in any rush to start my career too soon, she had been working on her business plan pretty much