Love, Laughter, and Happily Ever Afters Collection (Eight Fun, Romantic Novels by Eight Bestselling Authors)

by Violet Duke

  “You look amazing tonight,” his deep voice vibrated in her ear.

  Before she had a chance to respond, Emily appeared on stage and the show began. Which was a good thing for a couple of reasons. One, she wasn’t sure that she could speak even if she’d been able to come up with a flirty response. And two, she needed the next sixty minutes or so to process what was happening between herself and Eddie.

  Because after years of nothing, something was definitely happening.

  *

  EDDIE WAS WORRIED that he would be so distracted by Haley sitting next to him, smelling like wildflowers, looking sexier than he’d ever seen her look. The dress she was wearing wasn’t the least bit revealing. It actually reminded Eddie of dresses he would imagine women like Audrey Hepburn or Marilyn Monroe would have worn. When he’d first seen her at the back of the theater, she’d taken his breath away. After this morning, he would have thought nothing could beat seeing her in a towel, but now he knew differently.

  Luckily, he didn’t have to force himself to concentrate on Emily’s performance. From the second his talented daughter came on stage, he was so busy filming the show on his iPhone and trying to see as much as he could live, that he didn’t have time to obsess about the beautiful woman sitting to his right.

  Emily was doing a great job. She nailed her solo “Tomorrow” and was so believable when she was talking to her dog Sandy that Eddie almost forgot it was a stuffed animal.

  As the play ended, he was out of his chair and on his feet giving her a well-deserved standing ovation. Haley stood as well and was cheering loudly. The kids and Mrs. Simon all took their bows, and Eddie turned to see where Riley was. Eddie had asked Riley to pick something up for him. While he was looking for his friend, he noticed that the entire crowd was on its feet.

  Eddie’s chest filled with pride. Sure, he knew that they were all supporting whichever child they were here to see, and he might be biased (he was definitely biased), but Emily had killed it. Her performance had blown everyone else’s out of the water.

  He heard a sniffing sound and looked down to see that Haley had tears pooled in her vibrant blue eyes. Alarm rushed through his body.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “She did so good,” Haley said through a choppy breath as she wiped her fingers beneath her shimmering eyes.

  He knew in that moment that he wasn’t just in trouble when it came to this girl. He was in way over his head. Because seeing how emotional Haley was over Em’s performance caused the walls he had constructed around his heart when Lacey had walked out of their lives, to crack and begin crumbling.

  Shit.

  “Hey, man.” He felt a slap on his shoulder. “She was incredible.”

  He turned to see Riley and Chelle standing behind him. Riley handed him the package he’d asked him to pick up. “Thanks.”

  Chelle was shaking her head with a huge smile on her face. “I had no idea she could sing like that! Where does she get that from? You don’t sing, I don’t remember Mom and Dad singing, and I can’t carry a tune to save my life.”

  Lacey. Eddie remembered hearing Lacey singing in the shower, and as teenagers she would always sing when the radio came on. Most of the time, she had been better than whichever artist was playing through the speakers.

  “Daddy!” His daughter’s voice cut through his short walk down memory lane. Little arms flew around him and he lifted her up with his right arm. After she squeezed his neck tight, she leaned back and asked, eyeing the bouquet of flowers he held in his left hand, “Are those for me?”

  “No,” he answered with a straight face.

  She looked at him suspiciously as she tilted her head. “Then who are they for?”

  “Me,” he said.

  “Daddy.” She playfully swatted his arm as he set her down and handed her the flower’s wrapped in cellophane.

  “You were incredible,” he said as Emily dipped her nose into the arrangement and took a deep breath of the fragrant bouquet. Em had always loved the smell of flowers—another trait she’d inherited from her mom.

  Everyone started talking at once, telling Emily what great job she had done and what a great singer she was. His daughter was eating it all up.

  But he noticed that when she looked up at Haley her eyes changed. It was so subtle that he was sure no one else picked up on it, but he knew Emily, and the only other time he’d seen her look like that was when she was looking at him.

  “Did I really do good?” she asked Haley.

  “Oh my gosh! Yes!” Haley exclaimed. “You were so good I was crying. You were amazing!”

  Happiness flooded Em’s face as she smiled from ear to ear. Haley’s opinion meant the world to his baby girl. It was obvious.

  He needed to remember that, among other things, when it came to Haley. His daughter and her happiness came first.

  Emily had already had her mom leave, although she was too young to remember. There was no way he was going to do anything that would jeopardize her relationship with Haley. She needed her, so his needs didn’t matter.

  “Well done, Miss Emily. Well done.” Mrs. Simon made her way over to the group that had gathered around Em. “Beautiful performance indeed.”

  “Thank you, Mrs. Simon.” Emily beamed up to her vice principal at the praise.

  “She reminded me of you up there.” Mrs. Simon’s wrinkled hand patted Haley’s arm affectionately.

  Haley smiled sweetly at her. “Thank you, but I think Emily’s performance may have been the best this school has ever seen.” Then, looking down at Emily, she added, “And that includes when Chase Malone played Danny Zuko in Grease.”

  His daughter’s big brown eyes widened as she asked in awe, “Chase Malone?”

  “Yep. He was Danny when I was Sandy,” Haley nodded.

  Eddie got the strangest twinge of jealousy in his chest. Which was insanely ridiculous. First, the play they were talking about took place twenty years ago. Second, Chase Malone was now a huge rock star and Eddie couldn’t remember the last time he’d been back to Harper’s Crossing. And third, if memory served, Chase and Krista had been a thing, not Chase and Haley. But for some reason, just hearing another man’s name leave her lips gave him a bad feeling.

  “Can I see it?” Emily asked excitedly.

  “Well, I used to have a tape of it, but it got erased,” Haley explained.

  “Oh,” his daughter said, looking a little disappointed.

  “But I’m sure I can find some pictures somewhere.”

  “Okay!” Emily smiled up at Haley just as she was being called up on the stage to take cast pictures. “Be right back, Daddy.”

  Eddie watched the synthetic red curls on her wig bob up and down as Emily ran as fast as her legs could take her back up onto the stage. He knew that she was growing up and he had to accept it, but he also knew that deep down she would always be his little girl.

  “Oh my gosh.” Chelle reached across Eddie and tugged on Haley’s arm, pulling her closer to her, which caused her to be standing directly in front of Eddie. Lowering her voice, Chelle whispered. “I love the new Secret Fantasy line. I’ve worn a piece every day for the last two weeks. Riley loves it, too.”

  “T. M. I.,” Eddie said flatly. He didn’t want to think about his sister wearing lingerie that Haley had made. And he definitely didn’t want to know if his best friend liked it.

  Haley laughed and shook her head as she looked up into Eddie’s eyes.

  “Well, we’d better take off.” Chelle hugged both Eddie and Haley. “Aunt Wendy is watching Mya but I know she can get a little fussy around bedtime.”

  “Okay. Give Mya a kiss for me,” Haley said and then added in a l
ow voice, “Oh, and I have some samples from my upcoming Hidden Pleasure line if you’re interested.”

  Chelle’s eyes lit up with excitement. “Yes, please.”

  “Okay. I’ll swing them by on my way to Bella tomorrow.”

  They all said their goodbyes and both Haley and Eddie sat back down in their chairs to wait for the little superstar to finish up her photo shoot.

  Before he could stop himself, he turned and said, “Hidden Pleasures, huh?”

  A look of shock crossed Haley’s beautiful face, but she recovered almost immediately. “Yep, that is the line I am going to be debuting when Tempting by Bella opens.”

  “Tempting by Bella?” Eddie had no idea what she was talking about.

  Haley smiled brightly as she explained, “Amber has asked me to partner with her and open a second shop that will mainly feature Tempting. We have been looking at places on the Riverwalk.”

  Eddie was speechless. This was a huge opportunity for Haley. “Wow. Congratulations. When did this happen?”

  “Last Sunday. I was going to tell you, but I haven’t seen much of you this week.” A small blush rose up the smooth skin of her cheeks, and he knew that she was thinking about this morning.

  “You mean you didn’t want to yell it across the street in your towel?” he asked, figuring he might as well address what he knew was on both of their minds.

  Haley let out a forced laugh, looking relieved that he’d made mention of it. “Nope. Call me crazy.”

  There were a lot of things he wanted to call her, but crazy wasn’t one of them. Staring into her eyes, he found himself getting lost. A lot like he had this morning when he’d seen her across the street.

  So much so that he didn’t even realize Emily was headed their way until she jumped up on his lap. “Are we still getting ice cream? Please?”

  “Absolutely. This is your night,” he said as he stood and set her down.

  “Can Haley come?” She looked between both of them.

  “Oh no, sweetie. This is a daddy-daughter thing. I’ll let you guys celebrate,” Haley said as she also stood.

  “Come with us.” Eddie did not want this time with Haley to end so soon.

  “Please,” Emily pleaded.

  “Please,” Eddie said, repeating his daughter’s sentiments.

  “How can I resist ice cream with two of my favorite people?” Haley answered with a smile.

  “Yay!” Emily jumped up with excitement.

  Eddie didn’t jump up outwardly, but he did share his daughter’s enthusiasm at getting to spend more time with Haley. Despite himself.

  CHAPTER NINE

  “OKAY. ALL DONE, pretty girl,” Haley said as she finished wrapping the ponytail holder around the bottom of Emily’s braid. After they’d gotten ice cream at Tasty Treats down on Eleventh Street, Haley had stopped by her house to change into sweats and then come over to watch the footage Eddie had captured on his smartphone of the Annie performance.

  It had been the perfect night.

  “Time for bed, squirt,” Eddie announced from the doorway of the kitchen.

  “Okay,” Emily said begrudgingly. She hugged both Haley and Eddie, shuffling her feet, taking her time doing it, and then headed up to bed.

  When she got to the top of the stairs, Haley looked over at Eddie, who had raised his arms above his head and had them resting on the doorframe. Haley was scared that drool might slip between her lips because the sight caused her mouth to water like it was Niagara Falls. Eddie had also changed. He was now wearing a pair of black sweats and a light gray t-shirt that perfectly showcased his straining biceps.

  Haley forced herself to speak, “Aren’t you going to go tuck her in?”

  One eyebrow lifted. “I was told last week that she believes she is too old to get tucked in.”

  “What?” Haley knew that Em was going through a phase where she wanted to be treated more grown up, but that seemed ridiculous. “Seriously?”

  Eddie nodded. Haley was deciding whether or not she should stay and hang out or say her goodbyes and head home. She wanted to stay, but more than anything, she didn’t want to ruin this perfect night.

  Hmm. Decisions, Decisions, Decisions.

  “Penny for your thoughts,” Eddie said in a low raspy tone.

  That phrase had never before seemed like a particularly sexy thing to say. In fact, it had always kind of bugged Haley. But the way it sounded coming out of Eddie’s mouth was one of the hottest things she’d ever heard. It sounded like foreplay.

  “Just deciding if I should head home. I’ve got to be at work at nine,” she answered honestly.

  Please ask me to stay, her inner voice pleaded. Please. Please. Please.

  “It’s not even ten. You can hang out for one drink.” A small smile pulled at the corner of Eddie’s mouth as he pushed off the frame and turned, heading into the kitchen.

  That’ll work too.

  Haley stood and wished that she’d chosen something a little more flattering. She was wearing navy blue sweats and a white tank top. Not exactly va-va-voom attire. Now, the white lace bra and panties, from her new Hidden Pleasures line that she wore underneath, were very va-va-voom.

  Too bad Eddie wouldn’t be seeing those.

  “Beer or tea?” he asked from the kitchen.

  “Water,” Haley replied as she joined him. After the banana split she’d destroyed at Tasty Treats, tea sounded too sweet and beer sounded…blah. Water would be perfect.

  Eddie grabbed two bottles of water out of the fridge and they made their way out onto the back deck in silence. The warm, balmy night air surrounded them as they moved across the wooden slats that were squeaking beneath their steps. Her palms grew moist, but she didn’t think it was from the humidity or temperature outside. Nope. Haley felt…nervous.

  She had no reason to be. They’d played out variations of this exact scenario over a dozen times. Go out on the deck. Hang out. Talk. Sit silently. Look at the stars in the sky. But tonight the energy between them felt different in an utterly indescribable way.

  “So tell me about your store,” Eddie said as he sat down.

  “I pretty much did. There’s not a whole lot more to tell. The opening date will depend on the space we find and how much work needs to be done to it. We want to try and get it opened as soon as possible though. We’ve gotten all of the preliminary paperwork submitted to the city and the banks, so as soon as we have a location we should be all set.”

  “Man,” Eddie shook his head. “Your own store. You seem so young to be—”

  “I’m not that young,” Haley snapped back a tad—okay, a lot!—more defensively than she’d meant to. Which was embarrassing on a couple of levels. First, she’d sounded like a child who was trying to convince him she was older than she was—much like the phase Emily was currently in the middle of. And second, he hadn’t deserved to be barked at for making an innocent observation. “Sorry,” she apologized somewhat sheepishly.

  “A little touchy about your age,” Eddie teased, smiling a knowing smile. “Seems like a theme with the women in my life these days.”

  “Shut up.” She playfully swatted his arm. Then she drew her arm back immediately.

  Holy hot tamale! The strength of his muscled bicep felt so good beneath her fingers. That brief contact had made her want to run her hands beneath the cotton of his shirt and explore every line, every inch of him. A heat rose up her cheeks and she took a deep breath, trying to calm her raging hormones as she sat back in the padded deck chair, pulled her legs up crossing them, and looked out over the grassy yard.

  “Damn, Haley, you are so damn cute,” Eddie rasped in a low sex-on-a-stick tone
.

  Her eyes flew to his. Had he really just said that? In that way? She was beginning to think that he hadn’t said anything at all, that her imagination was just on overtime.

  But then he followed it up with, “What am I gonna do with you?”

  Yep. He’d definitely said that. She’d seen his lips move with her own eyes. Witnessed the whole thing.

  “I have a few ideas,” she said. Haley had no idea where those bold words had come from, but if she could high-five herself right now, she would—or at least give herself a pat on the back—because that was a great comeback.

  Eddie’s jaw tensed and his expression grew dark. Okay. Maybe not such a great comeback. But it was the truth. She did have some ideas. More than some—hundreds.

  Her mouth, which had been on watering overload just a few moments ago, now went bone dry. Since the banter-ball was in his court at the moment, Haley took the opportunity to take a drink of water. As she brought the plastic bottle to her lips, she noticed that her hands were shaking.

  Well, at least she’d sounded confident a moment ago when it had really counted. That was nothing to sneeze at.

  Setting the bottle back down, she forced herself to meet Eddie’s gaze. Wherever this conversation was headed, she didn’t want to miss a moment, a look, a gesture, a word. So she slowly raised her eyes to meet his.

  “Don’t,” he said roughly.

  “What?” Haley had no idea what he was talking about. Was she not supposed to look at him now?

  “Lick your lips and look at me like that.” His gruff tone sent a tremor racing down her spine.

  “I licked my lips?” Haley asked, her brow furrowing. If she had, she’d been totally unaware of it.

  “Yes,” Eddie confirmed. “It makes me crazy.”

  He sounded irritated, but Haley honestly couldn’t tell if he was irritated at himself or her. Either way, “crazy” seemed a little extreme.