She shook her head slowly as if she’d been as lost in him as he’d been in her. Her voice was husky and sexy as hell when she said, “No. That’s okay.”
He nodded toward where they’d left their towels and deliberately kept the return conversation light. The perfection of the weather and the day made it easy to talk about nothing in particular and still smile through it.
Too soon, they were shaking the sand out of their clothes and putting them back on. Hailey smoothed the material of her dress over her hips and said, “I was so excited about getting this dress, and I didn’t even wear it that long.”
Spencer stepped into his jeans but halted before securing them. Tongue in cheek, he said, “I won’t say it. I can’t say it.”
She made a face at him, then put her hands on her hips. “You might as well. I’m curious.”
“Nope, I’m abiding by our rules.”
“Just spit it out.”
He let his grin shine. “A dress that doesn’t stay on long? That’s always been my favorite kind.”
She laughed and smacked his arm playfully.
Being with her shouldn’t feel as good as it had the first time around, but it did. In many ways, it was even better.
God, I hope I don’t fuck it up a second time.
Chapter Ten
That night, after tucking Skye in bed, Hailey took the remaining craft supplies off the kitchen table in the guesthouse and tucked them away in a cabinet. When she finished, she sat down with the four freshly painted sets of wooden nesting dolls. Each said something about its creator.
Delinda chose to draw cats of various colors. She’d chosen a traditional style, and the result rivaled the quality of any Hailey had ever seen in a store.
Michael attempted to paint Star Wars characters with hilarious results. They all ended up looking vaguely like who he said they were. Everyone had fun guessing, and he didn’t seem to mind when they guessed wrong.
Hailey found a design for robots that made Skye laugh, so she did her best to re-create them. They weren’t perfect, but Skye was playing with them even before they’d dried and that was good enough for Hailey.
Skye had stared at her unpainted wooden dolls for a long time before snapping her fingers and saying, “I’ll do it by age. Delinda, you’re the oldest, so you’ll be the biggest.” She’d looked at Hailey, then Michael. “Then Michael, right? Or are you older than he is, Auntie Hailey?”
Hailey had ruffled her hair. “I’ll get you for that.”
Skye was already choosing her paint while she answered, “Bring it on.”
Delinda’s delighted laugh surprised them all. “Oh, Hailey, we’re in trouble.”
With a cheeky smile, Skye had replied, “You’re the ones who wanted me to speak—”
“Yes, we did, and hearing you joke again makes me so happy.”
Skye had looked up from painting, suddenly serious. “I make you happy, Auntie Hailey?”
“You do, sweetie. Happy. Sad. On our best days and our worst day—I’m always grateful for you.”
Skye had held up the tiniest of her nesting dolls. It was still blank. “If you ever have a baby of your own, will you love me more because you knew me first? Or will you love it more than me because it will really be yours?”
Michael had cleared his throat.
Delinda had remained surprisingly silent.
Hailey had stood, then bent down so she was eye to eye with her niece. “There is no more or less when it comes to love. I love you, and if I ever have a baby I will love it, too.”
“What if you don’t have enough love?”
Not caring that they still had an audience, Hailey pulled Skye in for a hug. “When you look up at the stars, can you see them all?”
“No,” Skye said softly.
“But you know there’s more of them than you can see, right?”
“Yeah, everyone knows that.”
“Well, that’s what your father would have told you about love if he were here. He and your mom loved you more than you could ever measure. I love you the same way. And if I ever do have a baby, that’s what I hope you’ll feel because it doesn’t matter how we came together—we’re family.”
Skye had looked across at Delinda. “I changed my mind. I hope she has a baby. I hope she has a hundred babies. I want a big family.”
“Easy there, Tiger.” Hailey laughed. “I’m a long way from getting married and thinking about babies.”
“The important thing is that Skye would be okay if you did meet someone,” Delinda had asserted.
Hailey was beginning to think Delinda might be hoping something would develop between her and Spencer. If she was, Hailey wasn’t sure how she felt about that. On one hand, it was sweet and could be taken as a compliment. On the other hand, not everything worked out the way people hoped and it was pressure Hailey wasn’t prepared for.
Alone in the guesthouse kitchen, Hailey picked up Skye’s tiny piece that now had a face and a baby bottle drawn on its side. She didn’t dream about having a baby of her own—not anymore. Any desire she’d ever had had taken a backseat, along with so much else, as Hailey had gone into survival mode.
Things are finally stable. Shouldn’t that be enough for me?
Her phone buzzed with a text message. You up?
Spencer.
H: Yes.
S: Busy?
She could have said yes. She could have also said she was too tired to talk, but the truth was she wanted to hear his voice before she went to bed. No, Skye is asleep.
Her phone rang and she answered it on the first ring. “Hey,” he said in a deep tone that always sent her heart racing.
“Hey, yourself.”
“How was your day?” he asked even though he’d spent the day with her.
“Better than expected.”
“Mine, too. What did you end up doing with Skye?”
Her gut reaction was to wonder if he was asking to be polite or if he really cared. I’ll never find my way back to happy if I second-guess everything everyone says. “We had craft night.”
“What did you make?”
“Russian nesting dolls.”
“And here I was picturing finger paint and Play-Doh.”
She laughed. “Skye’s seven and she’s bright. She likes a challenge.”
“Me, too.”
A flush warmed Hailey’s cheeks, and she closed her hand around the baby nesting doll she was still holding. At any other time in her life flirting with him would have been exciting. There was too much to consider to let go and enjoy it now. “If it were as simple as just you and me—”
“I know, but I won’t pretend I’m not interested in more. You and I have always been real with each other.”
Now. I have to tell him now. “Spencer, there’s something you need to know.”
“Auntie Hailey? Who are you talking to?” Skye asked from the kitchen doorway.
“A friend,” Hailey answered quickly. “Go back to bed.”
Skye walked into the kitchen instead and sat down next to Hailey. “Is it a boy?”
“I shouldn’t have called so late,” Spencer said.
“It’s okay.” Hailey tried to keep a stern face as she said, “Even if my phone rings, she knows she should be in bed.”
“What’s his name?” Skye asked. It was hard to be upset with her when she propped her face up on her hands and smiled.
“Skye, I’m having an adult conversation—”
“Is he your boyfriend?”