In the Midnight Hour

by Deborah Cooke

  “And upmarket,” Cassie said. “I think it’s perfect for F5. Leather couches and chandeliers.”

  “Keeping it neutral puts the focus on the people,” Damon said and heard Cassie snap her fingers.

  “We’ll make sure the team selling the units aren’t just attractive, but dress so that they look at home in the model suites.”

  “Selling the fantasy,” Ty mused.

  “Well, the building itself does create some constraints,” Damon said. “We can’t have massive windows, for example, because of the building’s frame. But we can try to make the most of what we have.”

  “I think you have,” Ty said. “This second option is fabulous.”

  “The mirrors are great,” Cassie said. “I can’t wait to see this one built out.”

  “I like how luxurious these appear to be,” Ty said. “The look fits the F5 brand.”

  “And they look spacious with the open design,” Cassie agreed. “How many units did you think you could fit in?”

  They talked about the details, and Damon told Ty where to find his cost estimates for the finishing. He knew that Ty would do a better job of calculating total expenses and ensuring that they made money on selling the units.

  “We’re doing these as condos, right?” he asked. “With a maintenance fee?”

  “Yes, because we’ll continue to own the building,” Ty agreed. “And take care of all maintenance.”

  “We’re going to have to get a doorman,” Cassie joked. “People will expect it if the places look this good.”

  “I was thinking we probably should hire one,” Ty said. “Again, it fits with the image.”

  “Touch the sky at F5,” Damon reminded them, because he thought it was a good slogan.

  “The problem is that I want this one,” Cassie said, tapping her finger on something before she laughed. “I could totally live in this one-bedroom design with the chandelier, Damon. It has just enough shiny for me.”

  “Let me guess. You love that black bathroom,” Damon teased.

  “I do! I’d look so good in there.”

  “But who would ever see you?” he asked and she laughed.

  “Hey, give the new tattoo some time!”

  “So, we don’t have to worry about selling the model, then,” Ty teased. “It’s already sold.”

  “Now, wait a minute,” Cassie protested and Damon smiled at the usual bantering tone. “I would buy it, but should I have to? You already live here, Ty.”

  “Not all the time.”

  “But you have an apartment here already,” Cassie corrected. “I think all five of the partners should have one. It’s only fair that we get a perk like that.”

  “Do you want one, Damon?”

  “I don’t know. I hadn’t thought about living downtown.” Damon wondered what Haley would think of that. It was strange to be considering her perspective, considering that he’d only just let her back into his life.

  Now that he’d realized he wanted her to stay, Damon needed to make it happen.

  Could he change her mind about only wanting a career?

  He had to know more about Aidan.

  “Easier commute,” Cassie noted. “It should be fair.”

  “But Ty put up with a lot of construction while living in his place, and paid for some of the finishing, too.”

  “Thanks for defending me, Damon,” Ty said, a smile in his voice. “But the option is worth reviewing. Have we been fair? I thought so, but I’ll go through the math and create a presentation for next time. We need to all be sure.”

  “Theo said he’s going to be shopping for a place in the city when they get back from San Francisco,” Cassie said. “It might suit him to live here, too.”

  “It might,” Ty acknowledged. “I don’t know if Kyle wants a place in the city since he and Lauren moved in together. But if neither of you do, we could work out some alternative compensation.”

  “Sounds good to me,” Damon said.

  “Me, too,” Cassie agreed.

  One of the things Damon liked best about his F5 partners is that they seldom turned anything into an emotional dispute. It was always rational, and always readily resolved.

  They did take care of each other. Ty didn’t have to create a presentation to prove that the compensation had been fair. Damon trusted him, but he admired that his partner would do that to ensure that everyone was happy. If anyone was disgruntled about anything, there was never an opportunity for resentment to fester.

  “These are amazing, Damon,” Cassie enthused. “We’re going to sell these so fast it’ll leave heads spinning.”

  “Then we should charge more for them,” Ty said easily. “Thanks, Damon. I’ve got lots to work with here.”

  “I’m going to take pictures of these with my phone and send them to Kyle and Theo,” Cassie said. “Don’t put them away just yet.”

  “Tell Kyle that I’m still working on the lobby design for F5 West,” Damon added. “I’m playing with glass mosaic tiles for the lobby but haven’t quite got it right yet.”

  “Because you don’t have anything else to do,” Cassie scoffed. “Let Kyle wait.”

  Damon smiled at that.

  “And Damon, anything you need, just let us know,” Ty added. “Text me the arrangements about the celebration of life if you don’t have time to call. I’ll spread the word.”

  “Thanks,” Damon said and meant it.

  He ended the call and glanced toward the kitchen. Haley was singing, a little bit off-key but with enthusiasm. She was probably dancing, too, from the sound, and he found his smile broadening.

  She’d been right about his partners and he wished he’d confided in them sooner. They really did have his back, and once he’d started to tell them, it hadn’t been that hard.

  Damon wanted to thank Haley in the way they both liked best.

  But first he’d call the priest and make an appointment to discuss the service. He had a feeling that once he started thanking Haley, he wouldn’t be calling anyone for a while.

  * * *

  Haley had already hung up her coat and taken off her boots when Damon’s phone rang, as well as taken a glance around while he was checking the fridge. The house was perfectly clean although it seemed a bit empty. She wondered how much he’d been home since his mom went into the hospital.

  The fridge had been stocked with healthy food, so he must have been eating there. They’d agreed on some grilled chicken breasts with a salad and rice when his phone rang. She’s found the ingredients for a major salad and they were so fresh that she started to get hungry. She found a big bowl after he answered his call, then a cutting board and a knife, and set to work.

  She was really curious about how Damon lived and whether there were any clues to his secrets to be found in the house, but she didn’t want to look nosy. She had a definite sense that she’d pushed him far enough for the moment and that her curiosity would probably be unwelcome.

  She’d never even expected to be invited into the house.

  She liked him, really liked him, and respected how honorable and strong he was. He was the kind of man she could fall in love with, if she had been inclined to do such a thing again.

  It was too easy to remember how much Aidan’s betrayal had hurt. Her heart clenched a little even now and she felt a little of that old yearning for his company. She’d thought they were so good together. She’d thought she could have it all.

  And she’d been so wrong. Haley never wanted to be that vulnerable again. She still thought of Aidan as the ideal man, even though his decision to marry someone else was far from ideal.

  Was she waiting for another man just like Aidan to walk into her life?

  Or maybe Aidan himself?

  Was her story about never being vulnerable the truth, or was it an excuse? Her new perspective for the year made her wonder if it was an indication of fear.

  She had been badly hurt by Aidan. She knew she’d never love anyone else the way she’d loved him.

/>   All the same, there was something about Damon that drew Haley back over and over again. She felt a connection with him, and couldn’t resist him. It was more than sex, even if it couldn’t be more than it already was. Haley knew better than to want something impossible. Love was fleeting, no matter how powerful it was, and the trick was to enjoy it while it lasted—not to hope for it to last forever.

  They were in the best moment. That’s what was seductive and made her think of the future. But the best moment always ended. It was better to be prepared than to dream and be surprised.

  Damon would meet someone else. She might meet someone else. They would have sex with other people and move on.

  But she would enjoy this while it lasted, because being with Damon made her happy.

  She could hear Damon talking to his partner, but didn’t want to eavesdrop on him.

  Haley put in her earbuds and turned on some music on her phone, placing it on the counter as she diced vegetables. She had a loop of various versions of her favorite song, which seemed perfectly appropriate under the circumstances.

  She’d drive all night to have sex with Damon, that was for sure.

  That impulse couldn’t possibly be a bad thing.

  * * *

  Damon leaned in the doorway to the kitchen, watching Haley. She was in her stocking feet, wearing tights and a swingy knit dress, dancing in his kitchen. She had her back to him and was singing, oblivious to his presence thanks to her earbuds. Her phone was on the counter beside her, and she was adding diced carrots to a big bowl as she sang. It was already loaded with mixed greens and chopped peppers.

  She was singing out of tune.

  Loudly and passionately.

  She was impossibly cute.

  He knew she wouldn’t be able to hear him approach and didn’t want her to jump in surprise and get hurt. She’d chosen a big knife and job one was making sure it didn’t fall. He covered her hand with one of his in the same moment that he caught her around the waist from behind. He held that hand down on the cutting board, ensuring that the knife couldn’t do any damage. She released it, then twisted in his embrace and smiled up at him, still singing along.

  But now she was singing to him.

  Damon removed one of her earbuds and put it in his own ear. It was Cyndi Lauper’s version of I Drove All Night, an infectious and energetic song that he heard often at the club. The beat was perfect for working out or dancing.

  “My favorite,” Haley admitted when it ended. “Next up is the Roy Orbison version.” She lifted a finger. “Which was recorded first but released second. Posthumously.”

  “And after that, Céline Dion’s version?”

  “No, Pinmonkey is next.” She shook her head, making that ponytail bounce. “They have to be in chronological order.”

  “Ah, I missed that bit.”

  “Then Céline Dion, then the Maccabees, then the Protomen, and then Carly Smithson.” She gave him a triumphant look. “Before this, I listened to Ray Dylan’s version and John Waite’s version.”

  “All of them singing I drove all night to get to you?”

  Haley nodded. “Of course.”

  “Why?”

  “Because it is The. Very. Best. Song. Ever.”

  He leaned against the counter beside her, intrigued. “You seem to be uncertain about that.”

  She laughed and picked up the knife again, resuming her chopping. She was blushing, just a little.

  Maybe he should say thanks before dinner.

  “Why is it the best song?” he asked. By her own admission, she wasn’t a romantic. Was she a relentless optimist? She seemed to have no doubt of her abilities to fix things.

  Even him.

  “Why?” she echoed, as if the very question was ridiculous. “Come on! It’s about wanting someone so much that you have to get to their side. A.S.A.P. No matter the cost.”

  “Even if you have to drive all night.”

  “Yes.” Haley nodded. “It’s about passion and great sex and obsession and it’s just perfect.”

  “Isn’t it about true love?”

  She bit her lip, considering it. “I guess it could be.” Her gaze flicked to him. “I think it’s more about that moment in every relationship when the other person is the only thing you can think about, the bit where everything seems perfect and full of promise.”

  “The part that doesn’t last.”

  She nodded easy agreement. “It can’t last. Nothing that good can stay that good. Maybe the moment is sweeter because it doesn’t.”

  “Maybe.” Damon spoke his thoughts aloud. “My mom would have said true love does last.”

  Haley nodded. “So would mine.” She shook her head. “I think that’s a fantasy for most people.”

  “And our moms?”

  “They want to believe it. Maybe they ignored the truth because they didn’t want to see it.” She winced. “Maybe it’s easier to believe the fantasy after you’re widowed.”

  There was that.

  “Don’t talk about mermaids again.”

  Haley smiled. “It’s kind of the same. I can like this song without believing that the fantasy of true love lasting forever is true.”

  Damon was skeptical. “Tell me about Aidan,” he invited, not really expecting her to do so.

  Her sidelong glance was wary. “Why?”

  “I’m curious.”

  “I’m curious about lots of things about you, but you usually say it’s not my concern.”

  Damon smiled. “Guilty as charged. Do you still love him?”

  “Yes.” Haley exhaled. “I probably always will.”

  Damon’s heart squeezed tightly. “Why?”

  “Because he was perfect.”

  “Nobody’s perfect.”

  “No, but he was perfect for me. We were so good together. It seemed inevitable.”

  “Even though you weren’t going to be vulnerable like your mom?”

  “He made me forget all of that. He wasn’t a first responder. I figured I was safe, because he didn’t have a dangerous job.” She fell silent again.

  “But?”

  Haley bit her lip and started to dice again. This time, it was green onions. She didn’t answer his question.

  “Where did you meet him?” he asked.

  “High school. After we moved from here, I met him my first day at that school. He was nice to me—and he was gorgeous. Captain of the soccer team. Head of the chess club. Handsome. Athletic. The fantasy of every girl in town, yet he talked to me.”

  Damon found himself experiencing a major case of jealousy. “So, he had good taste.”

  Haley smiled. “I don’t know. I thought it was kismet at the time. He was two years ahead of me. I was overwhelmed by his interest and just how amazing he was. I fell in love, hard, and it seemed like the feeling was mutual.”

  Once again, Damon had to prompt her to continue. “And? When high school ended?”

  “Oh, we went to the same college.” She cast him a glance. “Not an accident. He was going to be a doctor, and I enrolled at the same college in the nursing program. He was so excited that we’d be able to see each other during the year. He drove me there and moved me into my dorm room. We saw each other every day, and spent a lot of nights together.” She sighed with a yearning that made Damon want to hurt this Aidan guy.

  “But something went wrong.”

  “Not soon. I graduated and went to work in the hospital in the town where we’d gone to high school. His dad was a family doctor and he was going to take over the practice, so we had this plan of going back there to build our future. He had to go to Chicago to do his residency, so I was working and saving my money for a house, talking to him on the phone and waiting for him to come and visit. We’d decided that the wedding would be when he came back to town and started to practice.”

  She fell silent again, so Damon guessed. “He didn’t come back?”

  “Oh, he came back in the spring, right on schedule.” Haley met Damon’s steady
gaze. “He brought his wife.”

  “His wife?”

  “Seems they were both doing their residencies and fell head over heels. Just one look was all it took, from what I understand. They couldn’t wait so went to city hall in Chicago to tie the knot.”

  Damon was stunned. “He didn’t even call to tell you?”

  Haley shook he head. “It was a good thing I hadn’t gone ahead with the wedding plans. I had a bad feeling when he stopped calling after Christmas. I knew something was wrong because he never wanted to talk, but I thought he was just worried about his residency. I thought we could work out the details later, have a more casual ceremony or a later one.”

  “Maybe gone to city hall.”

  “I did think of that.” Haley frowned and squared her shoulders. “They were the perfect couple. Everybody said so. They looked great together and their marriage was obviously destined to be. They were two of a kind: both finishing med school, both the oldest children of doctors, both aiming for success. He said he hadn’t told me about her because he didn’t want to hurt my feelings.”

  Damon couldn’t help but scoff. “You seeing him married wasn’t going to do that?”

  Haley smiled. “He was just avoiding the unpleasant job, I imagine.”

  “Or he wasn’t very smart.”

  “Aidan is brilliant,” she enthused and Damon felt a fierce stab of jealousy.

  “You must have been really upset.”

  “I was devastated. That was when I realized I’d made my mother’s mistake without meaning to. Loving a man more than anything else makes you vulnerable. Something can happen out of the blue on a random Tuesday morning and the meaning can be stolen from your life and the purpose taken from your days. I thought because Aidan was going to be a GP that I’d be safe, but that didn’t matter in the end. Any guy can fall in love with someone else and dump you, then walk away without looking back.”

  “So, never again.”

  “Never again. He’s still got my heart and it’s better that way.” Haley smiled at him and he saw a glimmer of tears in her eyes that made him want to do serious damage to this Aidan guy.

  “So, just sex.”

  She nodded. “Just sex. I want to live honestly and to be in the moment, and to squeeze all the goodness out of it before it’s gone.”