by Layla Hagen
“Why?”
“Insisted I dropped you as a client.”
“What did you tell her?”
“That she was interrupting my lunch.”
Only Hailey.
“I tried to keep calm, but it wasn’t easy. She said to my face that she stuck around you so long hoping you’d invest in her show.”
I clenched my teeth. “Proud of it, was she?”
“I’m sorry.”
“Doesn’t matter.”
I was ready to change the subject, because I didn’t want this to ruin the mood, but Hailey’s body language tipped me off that something was bothering her.
“What’s wrong?”
She shrugged, but I wasn’t having it. “Hailey?”
“Do you still have feelings for her?”
“No.” I moved closer, touching both cheeks. “I mean it. Why would you think that?”
“I don’t know. She’s beautiful.”
“Babe, she doesn’t hold a candle to you.”
“Don’t butter me up, mister. She’s a nationally known TV moderator about to have her own fashion show. Have I mentioned that she looks as if she just came out of a photo shoot?”
“She’s also selfish and a cheater.”
“I know.”
I kissed her forehead, wanting to reassure her in any way there was. I knew what it felt like to wonder if you’re sharing the person next to you with someone else, even if just mentally. It fucking sucked.
“You’re beautiful, Hailey. And there’s no one here”—I tapped my temple and my chest—“except you.”
I kissed her hard, wanting to ease any fears she had, remove any insecurities. I felt the tension leave her body and drew her closer to me, kissing a corner of her mouth, slowly making my way to the center. She smiled against my lips, and I deepened the kiss, needing more of her. She made a small delicious sound when I stroked her tongue. I wanted her so badly. I wanted to be connected to her in every way.
When I lifted her off her feet, she wrapped her legs around me. My cock was trapped between us. She gasped when she felt my erection through the light fabric of her dress.
I pressed her back to the wall, rubbing back and forth, feeling her grip my shoulders harder every time I nudged her clit.
“Easy there,” I murmured. “Dinner first.”
She sighed, burying her head in my neck. “You’re right. But I want to take a shower first.”
***
“I have this excellent app for food delivery,” she said after she got out of the shower a while later.
“I’ll do one better. Room service.”
Her eyes lit up. Damn, she was cute. I’d do just about anything to put that expression on her face.
“Oh, I forgot. Man, the perks of living in a hotel. You can have gourmet food whenever you want. If I lived here, I’d weigh a ton.”
“I can think of a few ways we can burn calories.”
She waggled her eyebrows, snapping her fingers, as if she’d just had an aha moment. “That’s right. You also have a pool. Another perk. We could go swimming afterward.”
“Not exactly what I had in mind.”
I pushed a strand of hair behind her ear, lingering with my fingers at the back of her neck. She licked her lips.
“Hitting the gym?” she went on, her tone turning sassy.
“No, that’s not what I had in mind either.”
“Going out for a run?”
“Maybe I should just throw you over my shoulder and carry you to bed.”
She pointed a finger at me. “You’d starve me just to get your wicked way with me? That just won’t do, Mr. Davenport.”
She sat on one of the bar chairs, inspecting the menu.
“Oh, man. I want to order at least five things.”
“So order them. Go wild.”
She rubbed her palms, grinning from ear to ear. I could get drunk on her excitement, her joie de vivre, just Hailey in general.
Half an hour later, the elevator pinged, and a server came in with our dinner, placing it on the bar.
“Thank you, Mark,” Hailey said, glancing at his name tag.
“Have a great evening.” He smiled at her, his eyes glued to her body.
“That will be all, thank you,” I said tightly.
Hailey cocked a brow after he left. “Why were you giving poor Mark the side eye?”
“Didn’t you see the way he looked at you?”
“Umm... you’re jealous?”
“Yes.”
Her eyes widened. Why was she surprised? Was she seeing someone else too? The thought was unthinkable, and yet.... For a second it felt as if my heart had stopped beating, or the air supply to my lungs had been cut off.
I swallowed hard, cupping her face, bringing her even closer.
“We spoke about there not being anyone else besides you for me. How about you?”
Her eyes widened. “No one. Of course.”
“Good. That’s good.”
She smiled, bringing her lips over mine. She tasted like honey. She’d already stolen a bite? Damn, she was adorable.
“I want to start with the honey cake,” she said when we paused to breathe. “Should I slice it in half?”
I couldn’t hold back a smile. “Would be less than half now, wouldn’t it? You already had a bite.”
She lowered her gaze to the cake, probably wondering how I could tell. She’d been careful enough that the cake still looked intact.
I leaned closer, biting her earlobe lightly, loving that the skin on her arms instantly turned to goose bumps. “I could taste it on you.”
“Busted,” she whispered. “Just had to check if it tasted as good as it looked. And it does.”
I laughed. I couldn’t help myself.
“You’re something. You can have it all to yourself.”
She dug into it the next second. After dinner, Hailey announced she wanted to inspect my bar closely, hopping behind the counter.
“My family used to own a bar,” she said
“Really?”
“Yeah. My parents immigrated here from Ireland and owned an Irish pub. Then Landon and Val ran it for a few years. I always wanted to snoop behind the counter, but I was too young and wasn’t allowed.”
“Let’s prepare some cocktails together.” I walked behind the counter too.
“Oooh, yes. Something that goes with the delicious dinner we just had.”
“Whatever you want. Let’s decide what we want to mix.”
She clapped her hands, inspecting the bottles closely. “Okay, I’m a wine girl, so I’ll just admit I’m clueless. I’ll trust you. Just don’t give me a hangover.”
“I’d never do that. Even though it would keep you here in the morning too.”
She glared at me. “Hey! Don’t make me regret trusting you.”
I leaned into her, kissing her cheek. “Never.”
We ended up making a mess of the whole place, but I hadn’t laughed so much in a long time. I was up late, which meant I wouldn’t be able to wake up at five tomorrow to swim before the pool opened to the other guests.
Hailey was turning my schedule upside down, but I didn’t care one bit. This wasn’t how my evenings usually went, and yet I liked everything about it: the ease between us, the way she looked at me, felt against me.
As we started our last cocktail, my thoughts drifted to reviewing the schedule for the rest of the week. I was going to restart my swimming routine the day after. I needed the energy boost. The one I got from my fifteen minutes on the bicycle in-between my afternoon meetings wasn’t enough. Damn. I did sound like a robot.
I glanced at this beautiful woman next to me. Would this eventually push Hailey away? Make her look elsewhere for the excitement I couldn’t give her? I couldn’t bear it. Not from Hailey. When she put the finishing touches on her cocktail—a cherry on a stick—I stood behind her, running my mouth down the side of her neck, twirling my tongue over her bare shoulder.
“He
y. Stop distracting me, or there will be no more late nights like this.”
I unzipped her dress, letting it fall to her waist, moving my mouth even lower. She gasped.
“Or sleepovers,” she threatened, only it didn’t really sound like a threat, because she was whispering. I continued my descent down her back slowly. The thought of her dating someone else had driven me crazy. I was in this deep and had no idea what to do about it. When I gripped her hips, turning her around, the smile she gave me was so big that I decided it didn’t matter that I couldn’t map out the next steps. I had this gorgeous woman right here with me. That was all that mattered.
Chapter Sixteen
Hailey
A week later, it was time for Val’s obstetrician checkup. When the baby appeared on the screen, my eyes started to burn. He or she was so little. Carter, Peyton, April, and I were all huddled around the bed. I was the only one about to shed tears, but I wasn’t embarrassed in the slightest. I was so happy for my sister, for the entire family.
“Ahhhh, congratulations. It’s a girl.”
All of us started talking at the same time, and it was all I could do not to jump up and down with joy. I hugged April and Peyton, who were already reciting potential girl names. Carter squeezed Val’s hand.
“Let me take some measurements, but everything looks normal.”
Afterward, when the doctor asked to talk to Carter and Val, I went with the girls to the coffee shop across the street, entertaining them. April was fifteen and already a fashionista, so we had lots to talk about. Peyton was listening to us with rapt interest.
When Carter and Val joined us, I immediately noticed my sister’s demeanor had changed. Her shoulders were hunched, and she was frowning. When Carter suggested to the girls that they go to the counter with him to buy a second round of treats, I knew I wasn’t imagining things. The second they were out of earshot, I focused on Val.
“What’s wrong?”
“You can tell something is wrong just by looking at me?”
“Duh. You’re my sister. So, spill it. What did the doctor say?” My hand flew to my stomach. I braced myself.
“The baby is okay, I’m okay, but she advised me not to fly this trimester. I can’t come with you to Chicago in two weeks.”
I felt so much relief, it was as if my very bones had turned liquid. Val was supposed to give birth mid-June. We were in the third week of April now. We’d booked the trip eons ago, before we knew she was pregnant, but in retrospect, I should have realized that flying so late during a pregnancy wasn’t a good idea.
“Val, forget about Chicago. What else did the doctor say?”
“Aside from the fact that I’m at an advanced maternal age? At least she didn’t call it geriatric pregnancy.”
I winced. Both sounded harsh.
“She just said that it would be good if I didn’t do anything strenuous.”
“She suggested bed rest?”
“Not exactly, but she thinks travel would take a toll. Especially with a longer flight. I’m really, really sorry.”
“We can do Chicago another time. Or not at all.”
“But you already have the hotel booked.”
“I’ll just go by myself, then. I’m used to it.” When I worked as a consultant, I ventured alone everywhere I went.
“You can convince someone else to take my place.”
I frowned, not quite understanding where she was going with this.
“Okay.”
“Why don’t you ask a certain broody hotel owner if he wants to join you?”
“Reid? No, he’s not into this.”
“Doesn’t hurt to ask.”
“Val, this is just so new. If I bring this up now, he’ll just think I’ll always have unreasonable expectations.”
“But you want to go with him, don’t you?” she said, smiling coyly.
“Of course, I do. I love spending time with him. He’s so... I don’t know, different than I thought. He can be broody, but he’s also fun.” I chuckled, remembering our cocktail session last week. But now was not the time to think about Reid. I had to focus on Val. I knew the next two months wouldn’t be easy. She was an active person. A few years ago, she’d had to stay at home for a few months after a car accident, and she’d taken it pretty hard.
I needed to plan a diversion for tonight, cheer her up.
First, I had to check with Carter if he already had something in mind. I sauntered to the counter under the pretense of wanting to order something for myself too and exchanged a few words with my brother-in-law.
“I did have something in mind, but I agree with you. She’ll love having the clan at the house tonight,” he said.
Did I mention that I adored Carter? He made my sister so happy.
“Perfect. I’ll set everything up.”
Lori was the planner, so I called her first, stepping to an empty corner of the coffee shop.
“Okay,” Lori said. “I’ll tell everyone else. You focus on Val.”
“Done.”
Things moved fast in our family. We mobilized quickly when one of us needed something. I was feeling victorious when I returned to the table.
“I have an announcement to make. We’re having family dinner twice this week. The clan is gathering at the house tonight.”
“What? Why? Not for me, I hope,” Val exclaimed.
“Yes, for you. You need some Connor love. Carter agreed with me.”
She turned to him, but he just shrugged, kissing her forehead. “I did.”
“But we don’t have anything for dinner. I can whip up something—”
“Hold your horses. I have it under control. Pizza, cheesecake.”
“Hailey.”
“What?”
“I feel okay.”
“I know. But an impromptu Connor get-together never hurt anyone.”
Carter and the girls were smiling, looking between us.
Val laughed. “So much for you being able to keep secrets now, huh?”
“Hey, I didn’t give Lori details. Just told her we need to lift your mood up.”
My family was always teasing me about this, and they were right. Sort of. As a kid, I’d been good at keeping my secrets, but not theirs. Even to this day, I was ashamed that I’d ruined a few surprise birthday parties (and gifts) with my big mouth. I was a work in progress, but I had made progress. I even kept to myself for a few weeks the knowledge that Jace wanted to propose to Brooke. Only a few years ago, I would have been bursting to tell my sisters. Well, I had been bursting but managed to keep myself in check. That counted, right?
My line of work was perhaps ironic given this flaw, but I had no problem keeping mum when it came to my clients. My PR role had slowly seeped into our family dynamic too. I was good at keeping everyone else calm... once I was calm.
“So pizza and cheesecake. Carbs and my favorite people? How can I say no?” Val said finally.
“That’s my girl. Any special requests?”
“How quickly will I get my food? I’m already starving, and I don’t want to ruin my appetite by eating something now.”
“Roger that.”
“I say we can already head to the house,” Carter said. “Girls, are you done?”
They both nodded.
“I’m in charge of buying food. I’ll pick it up on the way,” I said.
Val gave me a hug, whispering, “You’re a great sister. And I’m really sorry about Chicago.”
“Sis, don’t worry about it. Really.”
As soon as I was in the car, I called Lori again. “You know what I was thinking? We should make a party of it. Laid-back, of course. But upping the ante. Not just pizza and cheesecake.”
“Ah, I love how your mind works, baby sis.”
I grinned as I hung up. Operation: Take care of Val was going to be a success. I couldn’t believe she was still worried about Chicago. I’d just go alone... or... I could ask Reid. I didn’t want to send him running for the hills though. But now that
she’d planted the idea of Reid joining me, I couldn’t deny that it was appealing.
A few days where I had Reid all to myself in a city I couldn’t wait to explore? Very, very appealing.
Chapter Seventeen
Reid
“We’re definitely on the right path. The article was well received. Have you looked at the comments?” Hailey smiled, shuffling her fork through the salad bowl. We were in my office, having dinner.
“No, but I trust you. I don’t like looking myself up online.”
“Fair enough. I’ll keep you posted.”
“Do you think we’ll need another interview soon?”
“No, I think we’re good for now. We don’t want to push too much.”
She’d released snippets of information about me in several media outlets, but nothing as in-depth as that first interview.
“Got it.”
I reached for her hand and was just about to kiss her when I heard familiar voices on the corridor.
“Mom and Dad are here.”
“You were expecting them?”
“No, but they like to visit from time to time after hours.”
The rest of the staff had left for the day, which was why no one had announced they were coming up, but my parents didn’t need to be announced anyway.
“Oh. Okay. Okay.” She ran her fingers through her hair, then stood up, patting her dress. “How do I look?”
I bit down a smile. She was nervous. She hadn’t shown one ounce of nervousness when she’d come to my office the very first time, and I’d been as cooperative as a rock. But meeting my parents made her nervous.
“You’re beautiful, Hailey.”
My parents came in just as I stood up as well. Mom’s eyes widened as she looked between us.
“Ooooh, we didn’t know you had company.”
Hailey shook hands with both of my parents, who looked thrilled when she told them her name.
“Oh, you’re the girl who’s shaken up his life a bit.”
Hailey blinked, looking at me questioningly.
“Well, we were about to talk him into dinner, but we don’t want to interrupt you kids,” Dad said. I gave him points for trying, but we both knew Mom wasn’t done.