The drawing was of her.
Haley stared in wonder. She was sure she’d never looked so pretty as he’d depicted her, and she doubted that her hair was ever that tangled and lush. She almost touched the glass with her fingertips, marveling that he was able to create a drawing that so closely resembled a photograph.
“I’m asleep,” she said, raising her gaze to his.
“You’re dreaming,” he replied with a smile.
“Looks like it’s a good dream. I’m smiling a little.”
“You’re glowing. I know it’s a good dream.” He brushed his fingertips across the frame and frowned. “I know you say that you don’t believe true love is for you and that there’s no such thing as forever. The problem is that I think you do believe in mermaids. I think someone hurt you and so you try to forget that you believe, but in your heart, you do.”
“I don’t understand.”
Damon raised his gaze to hers. “This is how you look when you whisper his name.”
Haley was shocked. She looked at the image and realized that was what made her look so different. She looked like a woman wildly in love—but she never saw herself with this expression because she locked it away.
And it was wrong. She’d been wrong. She didn’t love Aidan, not anymore. Maybe she hadn’t ever loved him as much as she’d believed. She’d loved the idea of him, or maybe the memory of him, but he didn’t hold her heart anymore.
“Aidan’s divorced,” she said without intending to do so. “He’s there.”
“Where the job is?” Damon asked, but didn’t wait for more than a nod. “Then it’s kismet.”
It was kismet, but it wasn’t Aidan who Haley loved.
It was Damon.
The wine came then and the moment when she could have told Damon the truth slipped away. He changed the subject after the waitress left, asking her where they’d lived when she was a kid, asking about her brothers and sister and her mom, avoiding every subject except the one she wanted to talk about.
He seemed to take her departure as a done deal, something beyond question. They rode the train home and walked to her apartment, Damon carrying the framed drawing. He left her at the door, giving a wave to Ninja, then looking into her eyes one last time. “Good luck, Haley,” he said, then walked away.
Haley watched him go, clutching the drawing to her chest, and couldn’t call him back. It turned out the one risk she was unable to take was asking Damon for what she wanted.
He hadn’t tried to convince her to stay.
He hadn’t tried to change her mind.
She knew that if she told him about the pregnancy, he would do the right thing, but she wanted Damon to want her for herself, not for duty. She wanted him to be free to pursue his therapy, whatever it might be. She also wanted to be fair to their child. It was a mess, no matter how she looked at it, but Haley couldn’t regret anything about being with Damon.
Even if their relationship had made her life more complicated. She felt more alive. Damon had thawed her out and taught her to surrender to passion and impulse. He’d reminded her of what it was like to live and breathe and touch.
She’d give her notice when she went back to work on Monday.
Haley turned to unlock the security door, knowing that she’d made a hard choice but the right one. It still left her feeling as if she’d pulled up her anchor and was adrift, but that was just change.
It wasn’t about Aidan. It was about taking a good job. She’d start fresh.
Maybe she’d bring her child to meet his or her grandfather in a year.
Maybe she’d check in on Damon then.
It sounded like a million years in the future.
Chapter Fourteen
Nate planned his day at F5 with the precision of an invasion.
This was his best foreseeable chance to meet women and he was going to make it count.
He reasoned that women of his age would have jobs, so he chose a Saturday.
He thought about going when Damon was back from Boston, but couldn’t wait that long. He’d go in alone and it would be fine.
He pored over the class schedules posted on the F5 website, seeking the ones most likely to have women enrolled. Pilates. Zumba. Spin. Aquafit. Yoga in all its variations: hatha, ashtanga, moksha, anusara, kundalini, bikram, and more. Maybe beginner would be better for him. He was drawn to the lap swim and the rock climbing wall, but figured it would be hard to talk to women in either. He was sure the weight rooms would be so well equipped that he’d think he’d died and gone to heaven, but they were divided by gender at F5. He debated the merit of running the track.
It hadn’t been easy to get a Saturday off at the store, but his uncle finally relented.
Nate was still adjusting his plan for the day as he rode the subway downtown. He was wearing the prosthesis that people found less troubling, the one that looked like the hand of a window mannequin. He didn’t find it as useful as would be ideal, so he’d packed the one he called The Hook. He’d need it if he wanted to do any serious work-out, but Nate knew from experience that it terrified women.
Trish hadn’t been able to run fast enough.
Cassie was teaching the first yoga class that Nate took and she greeted him warmly.
“First time?” asked the cute little redhead beside him.
“Yes. I thought it would be good for me.”
“It is great though seems impossible at first. Don’t get discouraged,” she said and gave him a smile of encouragement. That worked for Nate in a big way.
When Cassie realized it was his first time, she invited him up to the front to help him with his poses. Nate had the undivided attention of twenty-five women, but it would have been better if he’d aced even one pose.
“A big hand of applause for my teaching assistant,” Cassie said at the end of the class and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
“You were great,” the little redhead said as they were leaving the class. “It’ll be easier next time.”
“Thanks!” Nate said, but she was hurrying away. She waved at him, then ducked into the women’s change room.
“Melanie swims laps next,” someone said and Nate turned to find Kyle beside him. The other man grinned. “They all have their routines.”
“Maybe I need to swim some laps,” Nate said but Kyle stepped into his path.
“I know that look,” he said, his voice a low murmur and his gaze steady.
“What look?”
“Women,” Kyle said, then made a purring sound beneath his breath. He watched two women go into the yoga room and Nate did the same. They sighed simultaneously in admiration and the women giggled.
“Women,” Nate agreed, knowing that he’d found a kindred spirit. “I don’t meet a lot of them at work.”
“What do you do?”
“I help out in my uncle’s hunting goods store.” He raised a hand. “It’s a good job. Pays well enough. Lots of hours.”
“But no eye candy.”
Nate shook his head.
Kyle nodded in sympathy. “So, you want to make your day here count in a big way.”
“Well, that was the plan.”
“You really want to be the clown in the yoga class who doesn’t have the moves?”
“It’s better than pity.”
Kyle nodded, then indicated Nate’s prosthesis. “How strong is that thing?”
“It’s not. I need The Hook to really get stuff done.”
Kyle lifted a brow. “Does it look the way I think it does?”
Nate sighed and nodded. “Sent my fiancé running for the hills.”
“Well, you didn’t need her, then,” Kyle said, his tone dismissive. “Look. I’m thinking about the rock climbing wall.”
“So am I!” Nate admitted. “It looks awesome.”
“Could you do it?”
“Of course.” He winced. “With The Hook.”
Kyle nodded, some decision made. “Okay. I’ll race you to the top. Meet me there at 10:45. We
’ll get rigged up and race at 11.”
“But I’ll need The Hook.”
Kyle looked at his watch. “Does it take you longer than that to gear up?”
“No, but...”
Kyle leaned closer. “Sort the wheat from the chaff in one go, Nate. The women who matter will be more interested that you kicked my ass than that you did it with The Hook.”
Nate smiled. “All right. You’re on. Get ready to lose.”
* * *
Nate didn’t expect an audience but they had one. By the time he walked to the base of the wall, there was a crowd gathered to watch. Kyle was beckoning to more members as they passed and Nate realized he’d been telling everyone about it.
He had The Hook locked on and he thought it looked pretty boss. Nate knew that opinion wasn’t universal, though.
The guy supervising the wall got them both rigged up, and showed Nate how each handhold had a little depression in it. He was glad that The Hook had a textured grip on the inside. He stood at the bottom and looked up the wall, amazed to find such a tall one in the city.
“Okay?” Kyle asked in an undertone.
“Your ass is going to get kicked so bad,” Nate said and Kyle laughed.
He turned to the crowd. “Did you hear that? Nate thinks he’s going to beat me!” There was laughter and cheering. “Choose your climber. Kyle or Nate.” People started to chant names, most of them chanting for Kyle. Nate heard a few people saying his name and glanced over his shoulder.
The cute redhead was in front. She gave him a thumbs-up.
She must not have noticed The Hook.
Nate turned his attention to the wall, choosing his course even before they started. There was a countdown, then a whistle, and they were off.
He took to the wall like a spider, almost catapulting up the height of it. He knew his next three moves at any point in time, but was surprised that Kyle fell behind. He heard the other guy swear and knew that he had no intention of losing. This wasn’t about pity. It was a clean fight, and Nate was going to win it.
He surged up the wall. His grip slipped but he caught himself and kept from falling, although the harness wouldn’t have let him drop. Kyle gained a bit on him in that precious moment. They were halfway up the wall, with Nate only slightly ahead. At two-thirds of the way up, he pulled into the lead. He heard a cheer from below and his name being chanted.
He lunged for the top of the wall, moving faster than he could have believed possible and seized the lip at the top. He pulled himself up and gave a roar without thinking about it. “Oooo-rah!”
The crowd below took up the cry.
Kyle pulled himself up to the summit beside Nate, his breath coming quickly and his hair damp. “Damn, you’re fast,” he said.
“What took you so long?” Nate asked with a grin.
They laughed together and rappelled down the wall, Nate going first. The guy supervising the wall gave him a high five, not flinching one bit from The Hook. The redhead was applauding, her eyes shining. “Are you a Marine?” she asked, her approval of that more than clear.
“Was. I’m retired from active service.”
She didn’t even look at his hand, but offered her own. “I’m Melanie.”
“Nate.”
She shook his prosthesis as if it was no big deal, but her next words pretty much eliminated his optimism. “Have you ever heard of the Human Library?”
Nate shook his head.
“It’s a program in which people are the resources shared. It’s designed to overcome prejudices and assumptions. I teach grade six at a school in New Jersey and we try to have a human library day every couple of months. The idea is that someone comes and answers questions about whatever makes them different. It’s great for the kids. They move around and talk to each person.”
Nate lifted The Hook. “You want me to talk about living with this?” He really didn’t want to be in a freak show. He felt like he lived in one every day of his life.
But she was cute.
“No! I want you to come and talk about being a Marine,” Melanie said, her gaze locking with his. “What made you choose to enlist? What was it like? What was the best part? I think it would be great.”
“Sure,” Nate said, reassured. “I could do that.” She pulled out her phone to exchange numbers with him and Cassie appeared at Nate’s side.
“I’m so glad you beat Kyle,” she said. “It’s good for him to be humbled once in a while.”
“Maybe he let me win.”
Cassie laughed. “No. You are fast, and awesome.”
“Spider-Man,” Melanie agreed.
Nate guessed that all his commando training was good for something.
“Can we talk about you posing for an F5 ad for our new discount for military service people?” Cassie asked.
“Me? Twenty stories high?”
“Oh yeah,” Cassie said. “Scaling that wall, looking cocky as hell.”
“Oh yeah,” Melanie agreed with a smile just for Nate.
“Sure,” he said. “I’d be glad to.”
“Don’t do it for free,” Kyle advised him in an undertone. “Make her give you a lifetime membership instead.”
“Done,” Cassie said.
“Good, because my yoga poses need some serious work,” Nate said, feeling as if his luck had turned.
“I’ve got some time before my next class,” Melanie said. “If you want some help.”
“Thanks!” Nate had hoped this day at F5 might change things up, but he hadn’t expected it to change everything. He owed Damon a big thanks—but then, Perez had always looked out for the team.
* * *
Haley was going to the airport with her sister on Sunday morning when she noticed that the billboard for F5 was being replaced.
Tiff had arrived at Haley’s apartment the previous Wednesday like a tsunami hitting the beach. Within five minutes of her stepping through the door, every horizontal surface had been covered with her stuff. Haley had hidden her frustration, knowing that her sister wouldn’t stay long, but Ninja had no tolerance of the invasion. He’d swatted at Tiff’s things, sending them crashing to the floor and making space for himself on the counter, table and window sill.
The two of them had been at war for the entire visit.
On the upside, Ninja had taken to curling up against Haley as she slept, watching over her all night long. Tiff said she should have called the cat Sauron, but Haley didn’t think Ninja was evil at all.
It had been a long four days, but Tiff had her dress—scored at a pop-up sale for a ridiculous price—and the early triumph had meant the sisters had time to be tourists in New York. They’d also visited the memorial.
“So what about the guy who did the drawing?” Tiff asked again as Haley peered out the window at the billboard. “Is he the guy who isn’t a guy or not?
The image of Damon had been removed, and there was a couple in this one. The guy was looking out, his gaze smoldering, and he held a woman close. She looked almost orgasmic, and was in the act of touching her lips to his chest. They wore wedding rings and both were remarkably fit.
Get lucky at F5.
“What guy who isn’t a guy?”
“The one Brad told me to look for.” Tiffany gave Haley an intent look. “The one who might convince you to stay in New York.”
“He didn’t. I took the job.”
Tiffany shook her head. “Trust you to choose work over love.”
“Who says I did?”
“That drawing. The guy who did that is crazy about the subject. That’s you, in case you forgot.”
Haley felt flustered. “I don’t think so. He’s not interested in commitment...”
“Are you?”
Haley wasn’t sure what to say.
Tiffany winced. “It’s not Aidan, is it? Because it would be seventeen kinds of wrong if you ended up with him after what he did to you.”
“It’s not Aidan.”
“Good! Don’t let Mom tell yo
u otherwise.” They rode in silence for a moment. “Was it your cat?”
“Well, Ninja doesn’t like visitors.”
“Ninja. You really should call him Sauron. I could see that one eye glowing in the darkness all night long, every night.”
“I didn’t think you were awake much.”
“Every time I was, he was watching me.” Tiffany shuddered. “I don’t know what you see in that beast.”
“I like him. We share a fondness for fish.”
Tiffany laughed, then poked Haley. “And what’s the mermaid about?”
“You have a lot of questions this morning.”
“And you have a ton of secrets. I never thought you were nearly this interesting. Haley Slater with a tattoo.” Tiffany shook her head, smiling.
“You got me drunk and took advantage of me.”
“I didn’t even know it was possible to get you drunk.” Tiff sighed. “Although you did get a bit morose, sis.”
“Sorry.”
“And the mermaid?”
“It’s kind of a private joke. A reminder.”
“Uh huh.” They were entering the airport and Haley thought the interrogation might be over. “So, did you tell him?”
“Tell him what?”
“That you love him.”
“I can’t do that. It wouldn’t be fair.”
“Because he doesn’t want a commitment.”
“Because, well, because. It’s complicated.”
“It always is when it matters.” The cab stopped at the curb and Tiffany paid the fare over Haley’s protests. She didn’t get out of the cab, though. “So, tell him,” she said.
“Tell who what?” Haley asked, although she knew.
Tiffany lifted her brows.
“You’re going to miss your flight.”
“Then you’d better call soon. There’s no telling what that cat will do if I show up again.” Tiffany smiled, her manner expectant.
“There’s no reason to call,” Haley said, because it was true. Her period had started the day before. She didn’t really have an excuse to call Damon and she didn’t want to make that confession over the phone.
“Then I will miss my flight. Huh. Well, we can share the bed for another night.”
In the Midnight Hour Page 25