Kendall put her hands on her hips. “You don’t trust me?”
Hayden sighed and pulled Kendall away from the bedroom and into the small living room before her obnoxious voice woke Joy. He slid the pocket French doors halfway closed, making sure he still had Joy in his line of sight before responding to Kendall’s accusations. “It’s not an issue of trust, Kendall. I just want to make sure they have my credit card information so I can take care of the bill.”
“Oh.”
Hayden huffed a laugh. “Yeah, oh.”
“Well how was I supposed to know you were trying to be nice?”
“‘Cause I’m actually a nice guy.”
Kendall rolled her eyes. “Whatever. Have you looked in the mirror yet, Mr. Nice Guy?”
“No, why?”
“‘Cause you look like hell.”
Hayden sighed. “Thanks for the brutal honesty. As usual, your charm is overwhelming, Kendall.”
“Just keepin’ it real.”
Hayden chuckled, but quickly fell into awkward silence.
After a moment Kendall asked about the elephant in the room. “What about Brock?”
“He’s being kept in the hospital for medical reasons, but as soon as he’s well enough to leave I’m making it my life’s mission to get him a nice long stay in a cell with padded walls.”
“Good.” Then Kendall did something so un-Kendall-like that it almost shocked Hayden more than all the other insanity that happened that night. She hugged him. She just closed the distance, wrapped her arms around Hayden and held on tight. “Thank you,” she whispered.
Hayden stood completely still until Kendall finally released him. He took a few uncomfortable steps back.
She laughed. “Oh for Christ’s sake, it was just a hug, don’t get a hard-on.”
That was the Kendall he was used to. It put Hayden back at ease. He smiled and glanced into the bedroom where Joy lay sleeping. “Don’t worry, Kendall, you’re not my type.”
“What, you don’t like sassy and bad-assy?” Kendall cracked. “But for real, Hayden . . .”
The fact that she used his name drew his attention.
“I really mean it. Thank you for everything you’ve done for Jo. I knew I was right about you.”
Hayden cocked an eyebrow. “You were right about me?”
“Yep. Why else do you think I dared Jo to kiss you?”
Now Hayden was truly intrigued. “She said you dared her to kiss the next guy to walk into the bar. You had no idea it would be me.”
“Please! The whole bar knew it’d be you. You were standing out there so long I thought you were working up the courage to ask the rusty old doors on a date or something.”
Hayden stiffened. “You saw me?”
“Yes. In case you haven’t noticed, you’re kind of a giant,” Kendall teased. “Besides, when I spotted you it was like I was looking at Jo’s goddamn reflection. The two of you, always watching over your shoulder, worrying what everyone else will think, never following your heart. That’s no way to live.”
“So, you set us up?”
“Yeah, I did, and I’m not sorry. You two need each other. I’ve never seen two people who needed to learn the same thing more.”
“And what’s that?”
“How to let go.”
Kendall’s words hit home. They settled deep in Hayden’s bones, because they were true. “And you thought I’d help Joy do that? Let go?”
“I thought you’d help each other.”
Hayden swallowed.
Kendall made it all sound so simple.
God, he wanted it to be that simple.
Hayden looked back at Joy and chewed his lip with worry.
Kendall put a hand on his arm. “Whatever’s eatin’ ya, let it go, Hayden. You both made it through a storm tonight. Let these wounds heal before you open up new ones.”
With that, Kendall turned and walked out of the room and exited the hotel, leaving Hayden alone with his thoughts.
He slid the French doors open and walked back into the bedroom. Maybe Kendall was right, maybe things could be that simple. He gazed down at Joy and Piper in his bed. Kendall was right about one thing, his worries could wait until morning.
He changed into clean shorts and crawled into the bed next to Joy, finding peace the moment he had her in his arms. Having her with him made everything feel so right in a night that had been filled with so many wrongs.
Hayden shut his eyes and knew that tonight, he would sleep.
53
3 years ago . . .
Max wrapped his arms around Jo and rested his chin on her shoulder. She leaned back against his chest, snuggling into his warmth as the night blanketed the beach.
“I asked the moon about you, ya know,” Max whispered.
Jo grinned. “Oh yeah?”
“Yeah.”
“And what did the moon say?”
“No.”
She frowned. “What was your question?”
“If a boy ever loved a girl the way I love you.”
Jo turned silently in his arms, drinking in the way the moonlight spilled over his silhouette. She wanted to remember this moment forever. The warmth of being in Max’s arms, the comforting rhythm of his heart beating against hers. “You love me?”
He nodded. “I love you to the moon, Jo.”
She couldn’t contain her smile. “I love you to the moon and back, Max.”
54
Joy
Jo woke from a night of deep, solid sleep. It hadn’t exactly been dreamless, but for once the dreams didn’t hurt so much. And she couldn’t help but wonder if it was because she was waking in Hayden’s bed. His arms were still around her and her whole body swooned as she felt him snuggle tighter against her in his sleep.
Dammit, he was even devastating when he slept. Soft brown hair rumpled, thick lashes resting against his cheeks. How was she supposed to resist him like this?
His guard was completely down and he looked years younger. It made Jo want to hug him and press her lips to every inch of his vulnerable face claiming it as her own. A part of her ached at that thought, because it was completely unrealistic.
Even if she could admit her feelings for Hayden, even if she could risk the little pieces of her heart she had left, she worried she could never be enough for him.
Hayden was a good person. He deserved better than a teenaged mother with more baggage than an airport carousel.
The light sound of thumping coming from the other side of the bed pulled Jo’s attention away from Hayden. She rolled over to see Piper happily wagging her tail against the cozy white comforter she lay on top of.
“Hi, sweet girl,” Jo whispered, scooting closer to her dog. She wrapped her arms gently around Piper’s neck and buried her head into her soft fur. “I’m so happy to see you, girl.”
Piper licked Jo’s neck, seeming to say the feeling was mutual.
Jo sighed as she snuggled deeper into the bed between Piper and Hayden. Her heroes.
Today would most likely bring more questions than Jo had answers for, but the day hadn’t officially started yet. So for now, she was content to soak in the moment and enjoy every last second of the blissful warmth and happiness she felt lying between a dog and a boy who made smiling much easier than it used to be.
Hayden
Hayden woke up startled by the time. He hadn’t expected to sleep so late. But with Joy by his side he would’ve been happy to never leave his bed again—unfortunately his bladder had other ideas.
On his way back from the bathroom, Hayden tore off his annoying hand brace and popped some pain pills the hospital had prescribed. He washed them down with water and called in a gigantic room service order. Then he hopped back into bed and pulled Joy back into his arms.
She murmured little noises in her sleep that made his heart want to sing.
I could watch you sleep for the rest of my life, Joy.
Tell me you’ll let me . . .
At some point
, the pain pills kicked in and Hayden let sleep tow him under again. But he didn’t really mind. Not when Joy was in his arms and his dreams were full of those little noises she’d been making.
Joy
Jo woke up to the sound of someone knocking on the hotel room door. Panic ripped through the blissful cocoon of sleep she’d been wrapped in. She shook Hayden but he only groaned and rolled over.
Not wanting Piper to get too excited, Jo climbed out of bed and went to the door. Relief spread through her like a shot of whiskey when she saw it was only room service. She shrugged into the hotel robe to cover up the rumbled scrubs she’d worn home from the hospital and then opened the door.
A friendly young staff member greeted her and wheeled the cart into her room. He pulled the silver lid off each of the endless dishes to make sure she was satisfied with the order. Jo would’ve been satisfied with a stale bag of potato chips, so yeah, the entire Four Seasons breakfast menu would do just fine.
When the lid was lifted off the last dish, Jo’s heart paused. Hayden had thought of Piper. If she wasn’t sure she was in love with him before, this sealed the deal. A bowl of dog food was all it took for her to give up and fall all the way.
Jo thanked the man who brought the food and escorted him back out the door before giddily wheeling the cart of deliciousness over to the bed.
“Hayden . . . wake up. Breakfast is here.”
Hayden still didn’t do more than grunt, but Piper was on her feet now, her tail whipping back and forth.
“Well I guess someone should enjoy this spread,” Jo said, helping her dog off the bed and placing the dishes of food and water next to her.
Jo felt renewed relief as she watched Piper scarf down her meal. It was a sure sign she was feeling like her old self. Jo patted the dog lovingly then went to leave the patio slider open so Piper could do her business once she was done eating. Then, Jo climbed back into bed to tackle her next problem—how to wake up Hayden.
“Hayden, it’s time to get up sleepy head. Your breakfast is getting cold.”
He mumbled something that sounded like ‘gnat harry’.
Luckily, Jo was a master interpreter thanks to Kai’s baby talk, which he was just now growing out of. She assumed ‘gnat harry’ meant ‘not hungry’. However, Jo’s stomach disagreed completely, letting out a loud rumble.
Changing tactics, Jo got up, grabbed a few plates of food and brought them back to bed. She chomped on a delicious piece of crispy bacon, moaning in satisfaction.
One of Hayden’s eyelids cracked open.
Jo smirked, popping another bite of bacon into her mouth. This time her moan was sinfully over the top. But Hayden had both eyes open now, locked on her lips.
“Really? Bacon? That’s what does it for you?” she teased.
A sleepy grin graced Hayden’s lips. “If you’re the one eating it.”
Joy stole another piece of bacon and climbed onto Hayden, straddling him. She waved the bacon under his nose teasingly. He snatched her hand and took a big bite of the salty meat. Only a tiny bit remained between Jo’s fingers and she put it into her mouth, licking her fingers as she flirtatiously groaned again.
“That’s it.” Hayden tackled her into the sheets, attacking her mouth with bacon kisses while she squealed with laughter.
“Oh my God, your breath tastes like death and bacon,” she teased.
“You love it.”
“Eww, I do not.”
He kissed her again.
“Okay maybe the bacon part’s not so bad.”
Hayden paused his assault of kisses to reach across her for two more pieces of bacon. “Baby, for you I’d go on a strict bacon diet.” Then he devoured the meat and continued his sloppy kisses.
Jo couldn’t contain her giggles. Hayden was in a ridiculously good mood and it was contagious. The fact that he wasn’t wearing anything but a pair of loose running shorts made a few other things contagious as well. Like Jo’s desire to rip off all her clothes and let Hayden make love to her again—bacon breath and all.
As if he could read her mind, Hayden’s kisses turned more serious. His toned body pressed against hers, caging her to the mattress. She looked into his vivid blue eyes. They were so open and honest, and they were asking her for permission. Permission she wanted to give, but she couldn’t ignore the angry red welts on his jaw and the violet tinge of fresh bruises that marred his torso, or the thick bandages on his hands. His hands!
Jo pushed Hayden away and sat up, quickly pulling his bandaged hands into her lap. His left one was out of the brace he was supposed to be wearing. “Hayden, where’s your brace?”
“I took it off.”
“You have to wear it.”
“I’ll wear it later,” he said, brushing back her hair and pulling her closer.
It was obvious his mind was still only thinking of one thing. Jo’s was too, but another roll in the sheets was not worth hurting him further. She’d done that enough already.
“Where’s your brace?” she asked, trying to climb away from him.
He pulled her back. “I don’t need it.”
She broke away. “Hayden, you have a broken hand!”
“I know. I took some painkillers. It doesn’t hurt. Now all I need is you. So, get your sweet, sweet ass back over here and let me feed you some more bacon, beautiful.”
Jo eyed him suspiciously. “How many painkillers did you take?”
“Two-ish . . .”
She rolled her eyes. It was like arguing with a puppy. He was so stinking adorable with his drowsy words and bacon smile that she couldn’t resist him. She grabbed the plate of waffles and crawled back over to settle herself in his lap. “I’ll make you a deal. You eat some food to soak up your painkillers and then we’ll talk more about my sweet, sweet ass.”
“Deal.” Hayden grinned at her through a huge bite of waffles. “But don’t think I’m gonna let you off the hook this time. This isn’t like all the other rules we break. If I eat all these waffles, I’m tearing your clothes off and making you mine, right here, right now, no more excuses.”
His tone was teasing, but Jo felt her insides tighten with need at the threat. She swallowed her desire trying to keep the conversation light. “I’m pretty sure we’ve proved all our rules were useless at this point.”
Hayden winked. “That’s ‘cause we forgot to make the most important rule of all.”
“What’s that?”
“We forgot to say we weren’t allowed to fall in love.”
Jo’s breath caught in her throat. Every part of her skin instantly felt like it had caught fire. She began to tremble as the truth of Hayden’s words engulfed her like an inferno, burning away whatever resistance and doubt she had left. All she could do to stop herself from trembling as her emotions overwhelmed her was to wrap her arms around Hayden and bury her face against his shoulder.
“It’s okay,” he whispered, holding her tight. “I would’ve broken that rule anyway.”
She smiled into his neck and let the tears come. “Me too.”
55
Hayden
It was safe to say there was more food scattered about the bed than in either of their stomachs but Hayden didn’t really care. He’d admitted how he felt to Joy and she hadn’t turned away. She’d pulled him closer until there was no space left between them, until they filled every part of each other.
He’d made love to Joy before, but something about this time felt different. She didn’t hold back. She let him see so much more of her this time and it crippled him. She was so incredibly beautiful and bright and deep and kind and selfless. She was doing the world a favor by hiding it, because up close, it was blinding.
Hayden almost wished he didn’t witness all her beautiful layers, because he was now incredibly certain he would never survive if she turned him away.
Please don’t let this be it, Joy.
Please don’t give me a taste of heaven and take it away.
He still needed to tell her about
his heart transplant and the uncanny date it shared with Max. That was the last hurdle between them. And as good as things were, as much as he didn’t want to do anything to ruin this perfect moment, Hayden could feel the secret gathering strength between them.
He rolled onto his side and propped himself up on his elbow. Joy was still laying face down, a cheek pillowed on her arms, her golden hair falling around her like a silky waterfall.
“Hey,” he said, dropping a kiss onto her bare shoulder.
“Hey,” she murmured, smiling up at him.
The unguarded beauty of her brilliant green eyes nearly knocked his nerve into another dimension. Hayden took a deep breath, steadying himself.
Oh, God please don’t let me ruin this.
Please don’t let this break us, Joy.
“Joy, I need to tell you something . . .”
She picked her head up and something in her expression said she already knew whatever he had to say was nothing good. She sat up and pulled her knees to her chest, wrapping arms around them as she bit her lip, expectantly waiting.
Hayden automatically reached forward to free her perfect lip. “What did I tell you about being nice to these lips?”
Joy smiled apologetically as Hayden sat up, too. They were face-to-face now staring at each other, waiting for what neither of them wanted to come. But it had to. One of them would speak, and the spell of their perfect morning would be over.
Hayden reached across the space between them and cupped her cheek. He needed one more moment . . . just one more memory to sustain him when she walked away. Because as optimistic as his heart was, his mind was practical. It had run all the outcomes and none of them included a happily ever after once Joy knew the truth.
He grazed his thumb slowly over the flushed apple of her cheek. “Joy . . .”
She made a wounded sound and suddenly flung herself at him. Her arms were around his neck and she was sobbing, her thin frame shaking with grief. “Joy? What’s wrong?”
The Summer Boyfriend Page 28