“Now that’s a dick.”
“Yeah,” Hailey said with a small smile. “I didn’t blame her for jumping ship. My whole life changed in a heartbeat. It went from carefree to all about Skye. Sometimes I still wonder if I’ve done any of it right. I’ve done my best, but I don’t know if it’s good enough.”
Spencer didn’t know enough about what she’d been through to be able to reassure her with more than platitudes, so he didn’t. He caressed her lower back and urged her to walk beside him. “What do you say we go back into Mangiarelli’s and show those kids how old people pack in pizza?”
She nodded. “I’d like that.”
“And if they start shit with me again, I’ll give them the intimidating look I perfected in the boardroom. It shuts down all arguments.” He narrowed his eyes, drew his brows together, and waited for her to be impressed.
“That’s quite a look you have there.”
He arched one eyebrow, maintaining his scowl the best he could. “It says I’m holding in a rage that if unleashed would demolish all around me.”
Humor lit her eyes. “Like holding back a bodily function?”
He threw back his head and laughed. “It’s effective, anyway.”
She laughed, too, leaning against him as she did. “You’re still funny.”
“You, too.” He almost hugged her then, but a hug would lead to kissing, and then perhaps to a place she’d said she wasn’t yet ready for. He wanted her in his bed, but he also wanted her in his life. If having both meant waiting, then he’d try not to remember how soft her inner thighs felt against his cheeks or the way she called out his name when she came.
They reentered the pizzeria with less fanfare than expected. He noticed the corner booth was empty and said, “Hey, our old table is free.”
She hesitated, then took the seat across from him. “This brings back so many memories.”
“We had fun together.”
She smoothed her hands over the plastic menu. “In the end it wasn’t enough.”
He took one of her hands in his. “I don’t know if I’m a better man now than I was then, but I want to be.”
She laced her fingers through his. “I’d like to think I’ve become a better person, but betting on me is a gamble, too.”
He’d spent the last year hightailing it away from emotional situations, but it was different with Hailey. Jordan had said he hadn’t thought Hailey was the type to cheat, and Spencer felt like an ass for ever thinking she had. Hailey had never lied to him.
Trust was something he’d lost in people lately, but he didn’t want to be that person. Meeting Hailey again felt like a sign that it was time to let go and start over. “So tell me what you’re doing right and what you’re doing wrong.” There had to be a way to return the smile to her eyes. He waved the waitress over. “And then let’s eat. Pizza?”
“Perfect,” Hailey said with a warm smile that made him think the second time around might be even better than the first.
Chapter Seven
Hailey took a sip of the soda the waitress had delivered and asked herself why it had been so important to see Spencer. Is it loneliness and loss that brought me here, or something more? Am I trying to recapture part of the past?
What was Delinda hoping would come out of us meeting up?
Did she want confirmation that it wouldn’t be a problem for her family?
Or was she playing matchmaker?
I wish I knew which outcome ends my employment with her. Is there any way to do this without risking everything? “Promise me something.”
“Anything.”
“Don’t tell anyone about today or that we’re talking again. Okay?”
He didn’t look happy with her request. “Why not?”
I should just say it now—clear the air. Spencer, I’m working for your grandmother.
Yeah, that would go over well.
What if he has a problem with me being there? Am I willing to accept the consequences when I’m not the one it might hurt the most?
I have to be smart about this. There must be an option that leaves all of us in a better place.
But maybe not one that starts with me blurting everything out. “My employer is very particular. Very. Very. Particular.”
“Even about what you do on your own time?”
“She’s an older woman with some boundary issues—”
“Then you need to set her straight that your personal life is none of her business.”
“It’s not that simple.” Hailey’s mouth dried at the thought she might not be making the right choice. “I can’t lose this job.”
He leaned forward. “Talk to me.”
She needed a shoulder even if the one he was offering was risky to accept. “I had a career up until recently. I’m not irresponsible.”
“I know you’re not. Things happen.”
She searched his face and found no hint of judgment, so she continued. “I was a retail purchaser for DIY Rite, but after Ryan died I took a lot of time off work. I’m not sorry I did. Given a chance to do it over, that’s what I would do again in a heartbeat. But it did get me terminated. I told myself that once the dust settled, it would be easy enough to find another position, but that wasn’t how it worked out.” Hailey paused, uncertain if she could share the story without revealing too much. “I came across this personal assistant opportunity, and it had everything I needed: a place to live, insurance, a good salary. It doesn’t matter if I like it or not. We need this.”
Spencer laid his hand over hers. “If you need money—”
Hailey shook her head. “It’s more complicated than that. Skye had a really hard time after her parents died.” Hailey waved a hand in the air. “I know what you’re thinking—of course she did. I thought I understood grieving, but before taking this job I was beginning to worry that nothing I did would help her. I was sinking beneath the weight of advice from professionals who kept telling me she was getting better, but I knew she wasn’t. She’d become nonverbal, needed to be homeschooled because she didn’t want to be around other children, and I felt like I was failing her . . .” Hailey took a deep, calming breath. “Unless you’d seen Skye before and after she met my employer, you wouldn’t understand how good the move has been for her. She’s talking. She’s excited again. If things stay the way they are, I think she’ll be returning to school soon. And it’s all because the woman I work for has this ability to reach Skye in a way I haven’t been able to. She says it, and Skye does it. Just like that. That easily.” Hailey winced when she heard resentment sneak into her tone. I don’t want to be that person. “I’m happy for the change in her. I really am. I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”
He held her gaze. “You wanted to be the one to save Skye.”
As horrible as it was to admit, that was a truth she could bare to him. “Yes.”
He raised his hand to caress her cheek. “You did.”
Hailey shook her head. “I was the reason she stopped talking.”