by Cate Beauman
“Hey.” Austin gave her a small smile and shoved his hands in his jean pockets.
“Hey.” Dear God, he looked good. His hair was wet from a shower. His muscles were so…mouthwatering. He smelled amazing. Hailey wanted to reach out to him, to hug him, but he was off limits.
“Ah.” He rocked back on his heels.
“Oh. Oh, come on in.” She held the door wider, rolled her eyes at herself as he walked through.
“You’re packing. Why are you packing? Where’re you going?”
She caught the hint of alarm in his voice, felt a small thrill. Maybe all was not lost. “I can’t afford to stay here by myself so I’m moving in with Ethan and Sarah for a while.”
“Oh.” He jammed his fingers back in his pockets and heaved out a heavy breath. “Hailey, can I talk to you for a minute?”
Wasn’t that what they were doing? “Yeah, sure. Take a seat.” She gestured to the loveseat. “Do you want something? I think I have some iced tea or water or…iced tea,” she finished lamely. God, she needed to get a grip.
“No, thanks.” He sat down. “Would you mind sitting too? I think it’ll make this easier.”
“Okay.” She rushed over to the arm of the small couch, plopped down, and sat rigid with nerves, fiddling with her fingers.
“Your lip looks good.”
She pressed her finger to the lip in question. “Yeah, it’s all better.”
“Your bruising’s almost gone too.” He reached up, skimmed his knuckle across her cheek.
She closed her eyes at the warmth of his gentle touch.
“Hailey,” he said quietly.
She opened her eyes. He’d moved closer. She gave him a nervous smile, eased away a bit.
“I have something for you.”
She cleared her throat, swallowed. “Yeah?”
Austin reached in his back pocket and pulled out a folded envelope.
“What is it?”
“Open it and find out.” He handed it over.
The university’s address was stamped in the left corner. She licked her lips, opened it, and pulled out a sheet of paper. Scanning the words, her eyes widened. “Oh my God. The university isn’t going to take my credits away.” She beamed at him, then kept reading. “Holy cow.” She pressed a hand to her chest. “They’re giving me credit for Project Mexico. I can’t believe this. I get to graduate next semester. How in the world…” She stared at him. “You did this. How did you do this?”
He shrugged. “The Dean and I had a discussion.”
“And? Is that all you’re going to tell me?”
He shrugged again and gave her a smile. “Pretty much.”
She smiled back. “Well, thank you.” For a moment everything felt normal between them—easy. Hesitating, Hailey sunk on the cushion, her thigh brushing his, gave him a hug. “Thank you.”
His solid arms wrapped around her, pulled her close. His hand settled in her hair, pressing her face to his chest. “You deserve those credits, Hailey. You were amazing.”
Closing her eyes, she held on to him. What could she say as her heart pounded in an unsteady rhythm, breaking all over again? She didn’t want to let him go, but he wasn’t hers, so she eased back. “You were—you were pretty great yourself.”
“Thanks.” He skimmed his finger along her jaw and stared at her lips.
Hailey’s stomach twisted in painful knots. She rushed to her feet, confused, unsure of where they stood. “Uh, I should probably pack.”
“Wait.” Austin snagged her hand as she started toward the remaining shelf of pretty knickknacks. “We need to talk, Hailey. I figured after you got my message, you would’ve at least given me a chance to explain.”
“Message? What message?”
“I left you a voicemail right after you left the apartment—in Mexico.”
And then she remembered. Austin had called, but she hadn’t been strong enough to listen. “I—I never heard it. I was going to wait until I got home, then I had to throw my phone overboard.”
Tension choked the room again as the yacht and everything that happened came to the surface.
“You texted Jackson before you tossed it.”
“Yeah. I knew I only had one shot.” She picked up a piece of packing paper, crumpled it, balling it tight, squeezing the wad as she vibrated with nerves.
“What does that mean?”
She shrugged. “It doesn’t really mean anything.”
“No matter how things were between us—are between us—were,” he corrected again, shaking his head, “I would’ve helped you, Hailey.”
She turned away, tossed the ball of paper on the floor, and picked up another sheet. “I couldn’t be sure.”
Austin rushed to his feet, yanked her around. “How can you say that?”
“What do you mean ‘how can I say that?’ Not even twelve hours before you’d told me we were through. You didn’t want anything more to do with me.” Sighing, she closed her eyes. Here they were again, even after some time. Any hope that they could work things out was quickly vanishing. “Look, it doesn’t matter anymore.” She removed her arm from Austin’s grasp. “You should go.”
He walked away a step, then turned. “I’m not leaving. I have things to say, things I should’ve said before but didn’t get the chance.”
“Then say them. I have stuff to do,” she snapped. Shaking her head, sighing, she pressed her fingers to her temple. “I’m sorry. That was rude. I’m out of sorts. The least I owe you is the opportunity to speak.” She took her seat on the loveseat again.
Austin sat as well, massaging his fingers over his chin. “I don’t know how to start, so I guess I’ll start with an apology.”
She frowned. “An apology? Why? You saved my life.”
“And took your brother’s.”
She stared at the hardwood floor, struggling with her torrent of swirling emotions. “I miss Jeremy.” She grabbed Austin’s hand as he tried to move away. “I miss the little boy I lived with so long ago. The sweet brown-eyed boy who had so much love to give, so much kindness in his heart.” She met his gaze. “But he’s gone. He vanished the night I left him alone in the hospital.”
“Hailey.” He moved closer.
“No, let me finish. I’ve had a lot of time to think.” She pressed her lips together. “I didn’t have any choice back then. I had to go, had to leave him. I was only fourteen, but I never got over the guilt, never got over the pain of losing my entire family in one night—in one way or another. I wanted to pick up with Jeremy where we left off. I wanted to believe that was possible, so I overlooked so many things. Too many things.” She squeezed his hand. “And lost everything that was truly important.”
He stared at her, gripping her fingers. “I don’t know where to go from here.”
“I’m not sure either.” She pulled free of his hand.
“Maybe we could start with friends.”
He might as well have stabbed her in the heart. “Yeah, maybe.” She stood, walked back to the knickknacks, and began to fiddle with a pretty glass flower Kylee had given her.
“Is that what you want?”
She wanted it all. “Friends?” She picked up a piece of packing paper, afraid that if she looked at him, she would give in to her tears.
He walked up behind her, rubbed his hands up and down her arms, turned her to face him. “Is that what you want, Hailey?”
She couldn’t take her eyes from his. “I—I—”
“Tell me what you want.” His voice became more gentle, pleaded.
She had to tell the truth. “Too much. I want too much, Austin.” She looked down at the floor and set the flower down on a taped box before she dropped it from trembling fingers.
“I’ll tell you what I wan
t.” His finger lifted her chin until she met his gaze. “I want back what we had before I lost my temper and said things I didn’t mean, before I broke your trust and ruined the best thing in my life.”
This was too huge, too unbelievable. She shook her head.
“About thirty seconds after you got in that cab, I realized I let you get away. I let the only woman I’ll ever love slip through my fingers.”
“Austin.” She pressed her forehead to his chest.
“Tell me what you want, Hailey.” He played his fingers through her hair.
She met his gaze and wrapped her arms around his wrists as he cupped her face. “I want you.”
Austin’s fingers clenched, relaxed. “I was afraid I would never hear that again.” He brought her mouth to his and kissed her. “I love you. I’m so sorry I hurt you, Hailey. So sorry I broke my promise and let you down.”
She locked her arms around his waist, holding tight. “I hurt you too. I didn’t believe in you. I didn’t believe the truth.”
“If there was any way I could’ve ended things differently with your brother...”
“I know.” She kissed him again. “I know.”
“Do you love me, Hailey?”
“Of course I do. I love you more than anything.”
“Good. That’s good.” Austin smiled playfully before he trailed his mouth down her neck. “I wanted to be sure.” His lips moved to her jaw. “It’s a pretty big deal.”
“Mmm.” Hailey closed her eyes, savoring the feel of Austin pressed against her.
“I imagine we should probably move these boxes down the hall. To my apartment. To our apartment.”
Her eyes flew open. “What?”
“I want it all back. I want you in my life, in my house, in my bed. I want you to be my wife.”
She stared at him, staggered. “You want to get married?”
“As soon as possible. I just spent two weeks without you. That was fourteen days too long.” He pressed kisses along at her temples. “Say you’ll be my wife. Marry me.”
“Yes. Yes, of course. I want babies, Austin. Lots and lots of babies.”
He paused. “Define lots and lots.”
“Two or three.”
“How about two with an option for three?”
She grinned. “I can live with that.”
“We should probably get a house first.”
“Yes, I think we should.” She laughed. Austin was giving her everything she’d ever wanted—him, a home, a family. “We have a lot of planning to do. A wedding.”
“Later.” Austin picked her up. “Much, much later.” He walked out of her apartment, down the hall, unlocked his door, stepped inside, and kicked it closed. “Welcome home, Hailey.” He kissed her long and deep as he hurried to their bedroom.
About the Author
Cate Beauman is the author of The Bodyguards of L.A. County Series. She currently lives in Tennessee with her husband, two boys, and their St. Bernard, Bear.
Other Titles by Author
Morgan’s Hunter
To read an excerpt from Morgans Hunter, visit www.catebeauman.com
Falling for Sarah
To read an excerpt from Falling for Sarah, visit www.catebeauman.com
