His grin was wide and unabashed. “They really are perfect, Delinda.”
“Hush,” Delinda said in a stern voice that did nothing to intimidate Alessandro. Her expression was serious when her eyes met Hailey’s. “I promise to consult you before I even consider doing anything nice for you or Skye. Are you happy now?”
She’s lashing out because she’s hurt. She doesn’t have an ulterior motive. She’s just a lonely old woman who doesn’t know how to connect with people. How awful to be her age, to have all the material things she had, and still not understand how relationships worked.
Hailey took a page from Skye’s book and pulled Delinda to her for a tight hug. It was a bit like embracing a plank of wood, but when Hailey stepped back, Delinda looked both flustered and moved by the experience. “Just because I don’t agree with how you did it, doesn’t mean that I don’t appreciate what you did. Thank you for caring about Skye enough to arrange all of this.”
Delinda cleared her throat and in a stern tone said, “Hailey, how do you expect that poor woman to be able to load the pony with Skye hanging all over it? Take her to play with the other children before the day ends without her having made any friends at all. I didn’t invite that unruly herd here just so they could trample my flowers.”
“Of course,” Hailey said with a smile. That tough-as-nails act only makes me want to hug you again. She walked over to where Skye was promising the pony that she would visit that evening as if it could understand everything she was saying. “Skye, you have company waiting to spend more time with you.”
Skye rubbed the pony’s nose. “I have to go, Clover, but don’t worry. You’re my best friend. I’ll never leave you, and you’ll never leave me. Right, Auntie Hailey?” The uncertainty in her voice gave the question a crushing emotional weight.
Hailey wanted to promise her niece that nothing would ever come between her and Clover. Her heart broke at the realization that she couldn’t. Life didn’t work that way. Hailey had been about Skye’s age when she asked her father why she didn’t have a mother. He’d told her the truth, that her mother hadn’t wanted to be a mother anymore. At the time, it had hurt Hailey to hear it, but over time she’d understood that lies would have been worse. At least she had the truth. “Ponies are a big responsibility. Remember that you’ll have to work to repay Delinda.”
Dammit, Delinda. Couldn’t you have gotten her a bunny?
“I will,” Skye promised, and Hailey hugged her.
Hand in hand, they walked toward where the other children were playing. Will I ever watch you fumble through raising your own little ones? I hope so. Not about the fumbling part. I hope you do better than I am, but maybe we’ll look back and laugh at what right now feels catastrophic.
After returning Skye to the group, Hailey sat on the stone wall that lined a garden and her mind wandered to Spencer. I really can’t judge Skye for wanting something of her own.
It took being with other men to realize how unique what I had with Spencer was. Her thoughts wandered back to the simple joy of laughing for hours with him at Mangiarelli’s. We never needed more than each other to be entertained. It was that good.
Is it a mistake to go back there? I’m not that carefree girl anymore. He’s not a football-playing computer geek. What could we be now except for two strangers reminiscing over something that had been good but also too fragile to survive when tested?
He thought I broke up with him for someone else.
I thought he’d never even bothered to come after me.
What did we know?
Maybe Mangiarelli’s will be where we forgive not only each other but ourselves.
An image of him leaning over her in the hallway of his office building teased her senses. Her body warmed as she remembered how good it had felt to be near him again. He’d always been attractive, but the boy she’d known had become a man . . . a yummy, confident, sexy man. His eyes were as deliciously dark as she remembered, but his face had stronger lines. He was still built like he could plow across a football field, but there was now a sophistication about him. She’d never imagined him in a suit, but damn, he wore it well.
One lunch.
That’s it.
We’ll talk about the past, have a few laughs, and leave with a sense of closure.
Yes, that’s why I’m going. I need . . .
Images of the two of them, pulling off each other’s clothing with lustful frenzy, temporarily overwhelmed her. She was there again, arching her naked breasts against his bare, muscular chest. His hands were cupping her ass, lifting her off her feet. She was once again wrapping herself around him, welcoming his cock, begging him to go deeper, harder. The memory shifted, and she was clutching the back of the couch in his garage while he rammed into her from behind. Her body clenched at the hot memory. Yes, they’d had problems, but sex was never one of them. Being with him had always been sinfully, blissfully easy.
Closure.
She shook her head and took a deep breath, glad she was alone.
The next morning could not go by fast enough. Normally Spencer lost track of the time while working on a project, but his eyes kept returning to the clock. He swore when he realized only fifteen minutes had passed since the last time he’d checked the time.
The door of his office flew open and his older sister, Rachelle, strode in, followed by an apologetic Lisa. “I’m sorry, Mr. Westerly. I told her you were busy.”
Spencer stood and stretched. He wasn’t getting much done, anyway. “It’s fine, Lisa. Hold my calls.”
“Yes, Mr. Westerly.” Lisa closed the door as she left.
With her dark hair pulled back in a ponytail, and dressed in jeans and a flowered blouse, his sister sat in one of the chairs in front of his desk. She and Nicolette had a lot in common, although he doubted either would admit it. Nicolette considered herself the angsty rebel of the family. Rachelle saw herself as a second mother to her younger siblings. The three of them had once been close, but lately their visits were a harbinger of a headache. “What’s up, Rach?” Wait for it. Wait for it.
“You have to tell Nicolette that she can’t take money from Dad. Mom is beside herself.”
Spencer moved to the front of his desk and sat back against it. And they wonder why I don’t take their calls. “Hello, Rachelle. It’s nice to see you. Hello, Spencer, it’s great to see you, too.”
Rachelle sighed impatiently. “Could you be serious for one minute? Everyone is really upset. You shouldn’t have gotten involved. You know how Mom feels about Dad’s money.”
“Whoa,” Spencer said as he raised one hand out in front of him. “First, Nicolette asked me for my opinion, and I gave it to her. Second, money is not evil—people are. If Nicolette wants to take her father’s guilt money and do something good with it, you and Mom are the ones who should back the fuck off.”