The Carol Wyatt Collection

by Carol Wyatt

  “So, no more lessons then,” Matt guessed.

  “Well, I told her I was trained classically, and I wouldn't mind learning some of the music she plays. You know... Jazz, pop songs...”

  Elle watched Matt's eyebrows arch. “You're enjoying it then?”

  “Yes. I'm glad that I'm back playing... I know you want me to say it. Fine... You were right.”

  “About being interested in her or...?”

  “No, about taking lessons and making use of that piano,” Elle said, glancing over at the piano.

  “You know, I've set up three couples so far. I'm good at this.”

  “Good at what? It's just lessons.”

  “It must be cozy, sitting on that bench, arms touching...”

  “Matt, she's too young.”

  “How much younger?”

  “Twelve years. Nearly thirteen. I'll be forty in June.”

  “So, you asked her...?”

  “No,” Elle said, bringing her glass to her lips. “She said how long she'd been playing and how she got a keyboard for her tenth birthday.”

  “Ah... Elle, don't let twelve years stop you.”

  “Thirteen.”

  “Thirteen, fine. So, she's twenty-seven and mature, or at least she seemed to be when I talked to her at the bar. I would have said she was thirty.”

  “Well she's not. She's in her twenties and I can't date someone that much younger than me... What would people say? How would that even work?”

  “Since when have you ever cared about what anyone else thinks? You're over thinking this... You're attracted to her. I can tell... In fact, I haven't seen you like this in a long time.”

  “Like what?” Elle asked, wondering how their conversations always seemed to revert back to her love life, or her lack of one.

  “I don't know. You're happier. You have this... I don't know... Easiness about you. You're more relaxed.”

  “Matt, you're grasping at straws.”

  “Fine,” he said, accepting defeat. “If you're not interested in her, you'll be able to make use of the profile I set up for you.”

  “What profile?”

  “Remember? We talked about it. Online dating...”

  “Ugh, not this again.”

  “Just look,” Matt said as he unlocked his phone and logged into the app, showing her the profile he created.

  Elle took the phone from his hand, her eyes scanning the screen. “Wow, you actually made me sound interesting.”

  “That's because you are. Entrepreneur, techy, musical and in great shape. The only thing I need to do before this goes live is get you to okay this photo I used. I didn't want to do it without your permission.”

  Elle scrolled back up to the top to look at the photo. Matt had cropped himself out of it, but she knew it was from New Year's Eve last year. Her chestnut colored hair was styled, her green eyes brighter than normal thanks to the darker makeup she'd used around her eyes.

  “Yeah, it's fine.”

  “So, I can save this?”

  “Sure...”

  “What have you got to lose? Just go on a few dates... See what's out there,” Matt said, taking his phone from Elle's hand.

  “You should have been a lawyer, not a photographer. You're too persuasive,” Elle said as she stood up. She needed to check on their dinner.

  *****

  Elle rubbed her eyes, giving them a break from her computer screen. It was 2:16AM. This wasn't the first time she'd stayed up late. She wasn't working on anything urgent, but she liked the quiet of working at night. Her phone wasn't going to ring. No one from the office needed her. She could work without any distractions.

  Elle leaned back in her chair, debating whether she would call it a night or take care of some unanswered emails. A rustling sound from downstairs made her sit up a little straighter. She froze, not expecting to hear it again. She'd probably just imagined it.

  Elle opened her emails, leaning forward to rest her arms on her desk, when she heard footsteps on the floor boards below her. She debated putting carpets in after she'd lived here for a few months and realized how little sound proofing there was, but she'd decided against it. The floors were original, and it was only her living there, but right now, there was definitely someone else in the house.

  Elle pushed back her chair and stood up slowly, being careful not to make any noise. She reached for her phone, ready to call the police once she was sure that there really was someone there. Elle was already in socks, so she crept quietly to the door, gently opening it, her jaw dropping as she saw someone wearing all black standing with her back to her about halfway down the stairs, taking a painting off the wall and sliding it under their arm.

  Elle retreated back into her office and locked the door. With a shaky hand she called the police, then Matt, asking him to come over and keep her company. Once the police came and went, she knew she'd be too edgy to sleep. She'd want someone to talk to and that was always going to be Matt.

  Chapter Twelve

  Hailey's eyes followed Elle's hands as her fingers gracefully touched the white keys of her piano, slowing down as they played the last few notes of the song they'd been working on.

  “That was good,” Hailey said with a smile. “You know the bars you need to work on?”

  “Yes. I'll need to practice that one.”

  Hailey came into their second lesson, promising herself that she wouldn't spend the night noticing how stunning her eyes were or how long and slender her fingers were. This was a piano lesson, nothing else.

  Hailey could see herself getting carried away, and she had to do her best to prevent that. This sudden infatuation was probably due to the fact that Hailey had been single for the last year. She was finally letting herself fall for someone. It just couldn't be Elle. There was no way it would work.

  “Are you okay?” Hailey asked.

  She'd noticed how tired Elle had looked as soon as she'd arrived tonight. She'd even offered to rearrange their lesson, but Elle had said she was okay.

  “Yeah... Someone broken in last night. I didn't really get any sleep.”

  “What?” Hailey asked, turning to meet Elle's eyes.

  Elle reached for her glass of wine. “I was up late working, and I could hear someone downstairs. They didn't see me, and they only took some jewelry and a painting. It could have been a lot worse. I do need to update my security system though.”

  Hailey couldn't stop herself from reaching for Elle's arm, lightly caressing her forearm.

  “I'm so sorry that happened.”

  Elle nodded. “It was pretty scary... I want to forget about it though.”

  Hailey dropped her hand, reaching for her glass of wine instead. She looked around the room, taking in the details she'd missed the first night she was here, when she'd been too attracted to Elle to notice anything but her.

  She could see why someone might target this house. It did have a luxurious feel, like something right out of an interior design magazine. The living room had slate colored walls, the couch and arm chairs white with black and gray cushions. There were lamps of all kinds, a black floor beside the couch, and a similar one near the piano where they were sitting. The room was cozy in the dim lighting, but Hailey's eyes also took in the paintings around the room and the other expensive features like the crown molding along the ceiling and the crystal decanter on the mantle-piece.

  Hailey turned around when she heard footsteps on the wooden floor in the hallway, surprised that anyone else was here. She sat Matt go by in sweatpants and a t shirt, and Hailey put two and two together. She felt like she'd been punched in the stomach.

  Why hadn't she thought that this was a possibility? Matt was with Elle on the night that they'd met. They wouldn't have even met if it hadn't been for him.

  Of course, they were together.

  Hailey took a long drink, checking her watch. Their hour was up, thankfully. She needed to get out of there.

  “Same time next week?” Hailey asked as she stood up.<
br />
  “Yes,” Elle said, following her out to the door. “I promise to be better company.”

  “Don't say that. If it were me, I would've canceled the lesson and moved into a friend's house for a few nights. You're brave to stay.”

  “I have Matt to keep an eye on things.”

  Hailey forced herself to smile. “That's true. I'll see you next week.”

  “Okay. Bye.”

  Hailey walked home wondering how she could be so stupid. It was one thing to fantasize about Elle when she thought she had a chance with her, but now... It was just depressing. Her gaydar was normally accurate. How did this happen?

  It was her eyes...

  Hailey shook her head, smiling to herself as she turned left. Those hazel green eyes had got her attention from the moment they'd met, and now she definitely had to forget them. She liked Matt. He seemed like a great guy, and he obviously cared a lot about Elle.

  Hailey would just have to forget about her. It was as simple as that.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Hailey played the melody that Lauren hummed again, getting it right this time, and jotting down the notes.

  “It's good,” Hailey said as she put the pen down. “Haunting.”

  “Yeah... I don't know where it came from. I kind of woke up with it. I must have been dreaming about something kind of depressing,” Lauren said with a shrug. “Do you have anything for it?”

  “No... But I'll work on it.”

  Hailey was in just the mood to write a song for that kind of melody, but she really didn't think she could sit down for any length of time to put the right words together.

  “I'm going to order a pizza I think,” Lauren said as she stood up and stretched. “Do you want some?”

  “No thanks. I think I'm going to head out. I feel like dancing. What to join me?”

  “Not tonight. I'm so tired. Some pizza and Netflix is about all I'm going to get up to.”

  “Okay... I'll go get ready,” Hailey said, closing her notebook. “I'll see you tomorrow.”

  “Have a good time. Don't break too many hearts,” Lauren said with a smirk.

  Hailey normally didn't go out on her own, but she was feeling restless. She wanted to write but she couldn't focus. She usually could push through that feeling but she just knew it wasn't going to happen tonight. She was better off getting out of the house and having a few drinks.

  She'd go to a gay bar in Manhattan and have a few whiskey and cokes. She'd hit the dance floor once she was feeling a little tipsy and she might even find someone to distract her for the night.

  Hailey didn't normally do one-night stands, but she was feeling desperate. Elle was invading her mind almost daily and Hailey found herself counting down the days until Friday evening when she'd walk over to her house on Joralemon Street and sit down beside her for an hour, letting their arms touch lightly as they went through the sheet music and played the song piece by piece.

  Hailey needed a distraction before she was too far gone. She'd only had two lessons with Elle but being around her was almost intoxicating, and they were only playing the piano.

  On top of that, there was no point. She was with Matt. Hailey just couldn't believe she'd missed it. Her gaydar was normally pretty accurate, but the problem was she was so attracted to Elle that she couldn't think. She couldn't take a step back and look at the situation logically. Every look, every glance she got from Elle, Hailey couldn't stop herself from seeing something, from seeing what she wanted to see, but it clearly wasn't there.

  Hailey went into her room and flicked through the hangers on her clothes rail. She needed tonight to be about her and there was something about wearing all black that almost always gave her a boost in confidence. That was exactly what she needed tonight.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Elle ran her finger along the rim of her cocktail glass while she waited for her date to come back from the restroom. She was on her first date with someone she'd met online, and Elle was pleasantly surprised that it wasn't weird.

  She'd agreed to meet Lucy at a wine bar she'd never been to before in Greenwich Village and they chatted over two glasses of wine before ending up in this nightclub. Elle suggested drinks rather than dinner when they'd been messaging because she had very little confidence in this going well. Drinks would be so much easier to get out of than a three-course meal, but Elle was actually enjoying herself.

  Lucy was her age, just a year older. She had shoulder length dark hair and an amazing figure. The navy dress she was wearing clung to her athletic body, and Elle couldn't help wondering why this woman was single.

  Two other women had sent Elle a message, asking to meet for a drink or coffee, but she had the most in common with Lucy, so here she was, in a loud night club, suddenly feeling old. Almost everyone around them was in their twenties or early thirties, but Lucy seemed to know her way around, so this couldn't have been her first time here.

  Their table over looked the dance floor that was currently thronged with people, moving to the beat of a song that Elle didn't recognize. Her eyes fell on a blond woman dancing with her back to Elle, her hips swaying to the music, moving with the woman that was across from her.

  “Hey,” Lucy said, standing beside their table. “I'm going to get another drink before I sit down. Same again?”

  “Sure. Thanks,” Elle said with a smile. She brought her glass to her lips and finished the last of her espresso martini.

  Elle's eyes returned to the dance floor, easily finding the same woman again, her hand running through her blond hair as she danced. For a second, Elle wondered if it was Hailey, but she quickly dismissed that thought. That wasn't the first time she'd thought she'd spotted Hailey somewhere. It happened last week at a restaurant when she was meeting with a client and yesterday when she went for a jog in Brooklyn Bridge Park.

  I need to stop. Nothing's going to happen with Hailey.

  Elle had her third lesson with Hailey tomorrow. She had to get this under control and focus on the woman she was here with tonight.

  Lucy was everything Elle was looking for. She was smart, successful, pretty, and her age. They were having what Elle could only describe as an effortless evening together. Elle didn't feel like she had to try and impress her, and Lucy seemed to be treating her with that same relaxed attitude. It was like they'd known each other for years. The conversation flowed easily between them and Elle couldn't believe she was thinking about Hailey.

  Elle took one last look on the dance floor, her eyes scanning the crowd and inevitably finding the blond again. The lights flashed and swirled around them to match the tempo of the song the DJ just put on. The woman she was dancing across from had her hands on her hips now, and Elle couldn't look away as she leaned in to kiss her and the lights shone across them, revealing a tattoo on the back of the woman's arm that Elle could swear was an equals sign.

  Elle's vision blurred for a second, like she'd been staring at the same spot for too long. She blinked and looked again. It really was Hailey, kissing that woman back, her hand behind her neck, pulling her in.

  Elle finally looked away, her heartbeat thudding in her ears as Lucy sat down across from her, handing Elle her drink.

  So that must be the famous Lauren...

  Hailey talked about her a lot last week and by the sounds of it they lived together too.

  “Here you go,” Lucy said with a smile.

  “Thanks.”

  “Do you want to go dancing?”

  “No...”

  “Okay. I just thought when you were watching everyone else out there that maybe you did.”

  “No... I'm happy right here,” Elle said, forcing a smile.

  “Okay. So... I've been trying to avoid all the usual questions but tell me more about your work. You said you were in tech?”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Hailey closed her eyes as she listened to Elle play through the song they'd been going over one more time. Hailey had no idea how she'd made it through the last hour.
Her mind was still a little foggy after the ridiculous amount of alcohol she'd had last night.

  “I know I skipped a few notes,” Elle said as she finished. “But it was okay, right?”

  “More than okay,” Hailey said, opening her eyes to meet Elle's. “You're a quick study.”

  “Well, I happen to have an excellent teacher... Top up?” Elle asked as she stood up, reaching for her empty wine glass.

  Hailey paused. Of course, she wanted a top up, but shouldn't she go? Their lesson was over. “Sure,” she said with a smile. “Thanks.”