by Violet Duke
Haley waved her down. âExcuse me. Can I get a Bacardi and Coke?â
âOooh me too,â Becca added.
The pretty server nodded and headed back to the U-shaped bar that was located in the center of the large space. She navigated easily through the crowds of people gyrating against each other on the dance floor.
Haleyâs heart sank as she looked at all of the couples moving to the music. Haley loved dancing. It was really the only part of going out to clubs she liked. She wasnât a huge drinker and sheâd never once used the bar scene to âhook upâ. When Haley went to a club, she spent the time there shaking her tail feathers on the dance floor. Unfortunately, the only person she wanted to dance with tonight was Eddie.
In the four years sheâd been back, heâd never attended one of Haleyâs birthday celebrations, which she completely understood. Since she and Emily shared a birthday, it meant that it was his daughterâs birthday too. Of course he would spend it with Emily. Itâs not like he could get a babysitter for his daughter on her birthday. Especially since Haley was her babysitter.
Still, she couldnât help the fact that she was sad that he wasnât here. Sheâd tried to dance away her melancholy mood, but maybe it was time to call in the big gunsârum.
After the waitress delivered their drinks, Becca raised her glass. She spoke loudly to be heard as she made her toast. âTo the best big sister a girl could ever have. Thank you for always being there for me. I love you so much, Haley. Happy birthday, sissy.â
Just as they were about to clink glasses, a deep male voice said, âHey, stranger.â
Both she and her sister turned around at the greeting.
âBrian!â Becca jumped off her seat and threw her arms around her childhood BFF.
Becca and Brian had been inseparable growing up. The two of them had built forts in the backyard and skipped rocks down at the river. Then when they got older, theyâd signed up for clubs together to support each otherâs interests. Becca had joined drama club for Brian and Brian had joined science club for Becca. For a while there, Haley had thought that the two of them would end up together. But as far as Haley knew, they had never been anything but friends. Theyâd even double-dated to prom, each having their own dates. Whenever anyone would ask them about it, they would just say that they were like brother and sister.
âWhat are you doing here?â her sister asked as Brian stepped into the partitioned area and sat down with them.
âI just got in today. My dadâs having open heart surgery so I came home to help out.â
âOh my gosh, B. Iâm so sorry.â Beccaâs eyes filled with worry.
âIâm sorry, Brian.â Haleyâs heart went out to him. Brianâs mom had been wheelchair-bound for years and his dad was the sole provider in their household.
âHow long are you back for?â Becca asked.
âNot sure.â Brian shook his head. âI might have to take a semester off. Weâll see.â
Haley hoped it didnât come to that. Brian had gone to community college right after high school for financial reasons. But he had done so well heâd earned a scholarship to NYU Film School and transferred as a true junior.
âAre you meeting someone here orâ¦?â Becca asked.
âNo, I ran into Bobby at the gas station and he said everybody was coming here tonight for Halesâs birthday. Oh, so yeah, happy birthday, Hales!â He stood and gave Haley a quick hug. âSorry, Iâm kind of out of it.â
âOh stop.â Haley waved her hand dismissively.
âSo do you guys want to dance?â Brian asked, nodding his head towards the dance floor.
âYou guys go ahead. Iâm good,â Haley said as she took a sip of her drink.
âNo, Haley.â Becca shook her head, sticking to her guns and refusing to leave Haley by herself. She appreciated her little sisterâs loyalty. She did. But she really just wanted to sit, drink her drinkâ¦and think about Eddie.
âSeriously. Go,â Haley insisted.
Becca was mid head shake when something caught her eye and she popped up like a spring-loaded jack-in-the box, kissed Haley on the cheek, and said, âOkay, if youâre sure.â Then she turned and practically dragged Brian onto the dance floor.
Oookay. That was weird.
Just as she picked up her rum and Coke, she heard a familiar voice beside her ear and chills ran up both of Haleyâs arms. âHappy birthday.â
It couldnât be.
Turning her head around slowly, she felt her heart slamming in her chest.
It was him.
Eddie was here. At The Grill. On her birthday. Wearing one of her favorite shirts. Sheâd told him so when heâd worn it to go out on a date a few months back. It was a charcoal-gray button-up shirt that fit his body like it had been tailor-made for him. Black slacks and just the right amount of stubble sprinkled across his face finished off his look. The man was oozing sex appeal, and for a moment, Haley forgot how to speak. Not that it mattered. Since sheâd laid eyes on Eddie, her tongue had inexplicably swollen in her mouth to what felt like double its natural size. Haley knew that men had a particular muscle that swelled when they got turned on, but she had never heard of woman having any such thing.
âDo you want to dance?â Eddieâs low voice could barely be heard over the music, but luckily, since Haley was already staring at his perfect lips, and sheâd always had a talent for reading lips, sheâd caught every word.
Haley nodded. She stood, hoping her wobbly legs would hold her. Thankfully, there was a steel bar at the end the VIP section that she was able to grasp on to for support.
Her mind was still attempting to process the fact that Eddie was here. She would have thought that this was just a drunken hallucination, but sheâd only had a sip of one drink, so that theory didnât really work. This didnât feel like a dream. Usually in her dreams, she didnât question whether or not it was or wasnât a dream, so that pretty much nullified that notion. Maybe sheâd actually gone crazy and lost her mind from a combination of no sleep, the stress of opening up the store, and constantly obsessing about Eddie. That was probably it. Eddie was a figment of her delusional imagination.
As she descended down the two red carpet-covered steps that led to the lounge seating area, Eddie reached out and took her hand. The heat of his large palm and thick fingers surrounding her, radiated through her body. Nope. Not a figment of her imagination. Eddie was real. He was here. And he was hot as sin.
âWhereâs Em?â she asked loudly so that she could be heard.
Eddie wrapped his arm around her waist and leaned down, his mouth next to her ear. âShe wanted to spend the night with Chelle. For her birthday.â His lips brushed against her outer ear as he spoke and goose bumps broke out all over Haleyâs body.
âOh no.â She looked up at him as her hand covered her chest, her lips tilting in an understanding smile of commiseration. âIâm sorry. I know thatâs gotta hurt.â
A look of intensity flashed in his eyes, but as quickly as it had appeared, it was gone. âSheâs growing up.â One side of his mouth lifted in a lopsided grin.
As Eddie maneuvered them through the throngs of people on the dance floor, his hand rested on Haleyâs lower backâexactly the way it had when theyâd gone back stage at Emilyâs performance. Haley loved when Eddie touched her. Every time he did, even if it wasnât sexual, she felt more connected to him.
As they made it to the center of the dance floor, the pounding club music stilled and a slow song began playing. Just as Haley started looking around to see if anyone else thought that it was odd the DJ was playing a slow song, she heard him announce from his booth, âThis one goes out to Haley Sloan. Happy birthday, Haley.â
/> The bar exploded in cheers and all of the couples surrounding them began moving slowly to the music. Eddie wrapped his arms around Haley and pulled her close to him. She looked up at him with a questioning look. This seemed orchestrated, but there was no way Eddie would dedicate a song to her. Was there?
Staring down at her, he tightened his grip around her waist and stated simply, âI wanted to slow dance with you on your birthday.â
Shock did not even begin to describe what Haley was experiencing.
As they began to sway together, Eddieâs thumbs rubbed in slow circles on the small of her back. The calloused pads on his fingers brushed against her bare skin, causing every one of her feminine nerve endings to spark to life. She laid her head against the solid strength of his shoulder and melted against him as she breathed in his masculine scent.
Thoughts were trying to overwhelm Haley like violent waves crashing against a shore. Every time she would get one to go away, another one crashed in its place. What did this mean? Did Eddie really care about her? Was it possible that there was a future for them?
Haley didnât know the answers to any of those questions, but she did know that tonight, on her birthday, she was slow dancing with the man she loved. And that was enough.
*
EDDIE LEANED BACK against the couch and checked his watch before he rested his arm along the back of it. Haley had been gone for almost twenty minutes. He knew girls took a while to use the bathroom, but this was ridiculous.
It was almost last call. Most of her friends had already taken off. Her cousins Seth and Bobby and their wives Amber and Sophie had bounced over an hour ago. All of her sisters except Krista had left before them, and Krista was only still here to wait for Chris.
As he sat and waited, Eddie tried to calm down his raging hormones. Since the moment heâd laid eyes on her in that slinky blue dress, heâd been sporting wood and wanting to take her home and get her out of it. He wanted to touch her. He needed to touch her. The one slow dance theyâd shared had been over far too fast. If it had been up to Eddie, he would have had her on the dance floor pressed up against him all night. But this wasnât that kind of place. In fact, heâd had to tip the DJ over a hundred bucks just to get him to play the one slow song he had played.
But it had been worth every penny. The look on Haleyâs face when heâd told her that heâd wanted to slow dance with her on her birthday had been worth ten times that amount. Priceless even.
Eddie still wasnât sure exactly how things were going to work out with Haley. He knew that they definitely had a lot to talk about. But not tonight. Tonight he wanted to take Haley home and make love to herâin a bed this time. He wanted to worship her body, and after they were both drained and exhausted, he wanted to hold her in his arms while they slept. They could talk tomorrow.
If she ever came out of the bathroom.
Patience had never been one of Eddieâs strengths, and whatever reserve he did have was now used up. Also, he was getting a little concerned that she was okay in there. He knew she wasnât drunk, so he wasnât worried about that. Sheâd nursed two drinks all night and drunk a ton of water.
But maybe sheâd gotten sick. What if she was in the bathroom and needed help and no one had come looking for her? He picked up his pace as he headed across the bar to the back hallway where the bathrooms were located. With each step, his heart rate picked up speed.
He took the corner at full-out jog and almost plowed right over her.
âHi!â she exclaimed in surprise as he managed to stop just short of running her over.
âHey.â Embarrassment crept up inside of him at the fact that his mind had gone from âwhatâs taking her so long?â to âoh my god, sheâs probably passed out on the floorâ in about .000025 seconds.
He needed to get a grip.
âHave you met Trenton?â Haley asked, gesturing to the man standing next to her. âHe owns The Daily Grind, the coffee house across the street from Tempting.â
Eddieâs caveman instincts immediately kicked in and he wanted to throw Haley over his shoulders and pound on his chest. Knowing that probably wouldnât go over too well, he held out his hand instead. âNice to meet you.â
The blond-haired, blue-eyed coffee shop owner tentatively shook his hand like a wet noodle. Eddie had to suppress a smirk.
When Eddie and Riley had been about twelve years old, The Colonel had taken them and a few other boys to a World War II museum. That day, heâd talked to the boys about what it meant to be a man. To live with honor. To serve your country. To protect whatâs yours. All that heâd said that day had resonated with Eddie, but one pearl of wisdom in particular stood out in Eddieâs mind, something he knew until the day he died heâd never forget.
After making an impassioned, eloquent speech to the boys, The Colonel had finished by looking them all in the eyes and saying with conviction, âAnd always have a firm handshake. As a man, youâre only as good as your word and your handshake. When you shake another manâs hand, you lock your wrist and look him in the eye. A handshake says a lot about you. Donât be a pussy.â
At the time, all the boys had been so shocked to hear that word come out of The Colonelâs mouth that theyâd just stared at him in stunned silence. Later, he and Riley had laughed so hard they almost cried talking about the fact that The Colonel had said the word âpussy.â
But The Colonel had been right. A handshake did say a lot about a man, and in Trentonâs case, it said that he was in fact a pussy.
âTrenton was just talking about cross promotions and maybe even putting together a âsmall business owners of the Riverwalkâ group.â As Haley spoke, her words sounded perfectly polite but her eyes were screaming âHelp me!â
Now, instead of suppressing a smirk, he was suppressing a smile. âWe need to get going.â He tilted his head towards the door.
âOh, okay.â She mouthed, âThank you,â before turning back to Trenton. âIt was great seeing you. Let me know if you need any help organizing that group.â
Trenton began to speak but Eddie wrapped his arm around Haley and guided her out of the hallway before Trenton had the chance to utter a peep.
They stopped at the bar so Haley could say her goodbyes to Krista, who gave him a nod and said that she was glad heâd finally removed his head from his ass. Haley looked up at him with a questioning look in her eye. He just shrugged it off.
As they walked to his truck, Haley was smiling from ear to ear. He could feel her happiness. It was palpable. Somehow knowing that he was the one who was making her radiate joy caused that caveman in him to rise back up. Haley felt like his. Not like he owned her but like she was his to take care of. He wanted to keep making her smile. To keep that joy radiating off of her like rays of sun beating down on the earth.
Opening the door, he held her hand as she stepped up into the truck. She smiled down at him sweetly as she settled in, and his heart ached. It was like he could physically feel it cracking open. Haley was slowly breaking down the protective barriers heâd erected.
They were there for a reason, and he didnât want to think about what would happen if she tore them down completely.
As he made his way around to the driverâs side, he tried not to think about it. Tried not to worry about the future. Tried to live in this moment and just…be.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
��WHATâS THIS?â Haley asked, holding up the small box heâd painstakingly wrapped before he came here tonight.
âItâs for you. Open it,â Eddie said as he shut his door and put his key in the ignition.
Her face shined with excitement as she carefully ran her finger beneath the taped wrapping paper, keeping it intact as she opened it. This was a far cry from what heâd seen his daughter do earlier today. Sheâ�
�d torn into her packages like the Tasmanian Devil. Heâd half expected to see her sitting in a puff of smoke when she was done.
After Haley had unwrapped it completely, she carefully folded the paper on her lap.
âWhat are you doing?â he asked.
She continued her task, not glancing up as she answered, âSaving the paper.â
âYou save wrapping paper?â Eddie had always considered wrapping paper to be kind of like toilet paper; it was only good for one use.
âWhen it comes from you, I do,â she said quietly, her light blue eyes peeking up at him through dark lashes.
Time to go. Urgency roared inside of him. Since the moment heâd laid eyes on Haley tonight, heâd been sporting a half-stiffie. Now it was at full strength. As he pulled out of the parking lot, he was concerned that he was so hard he wouldnât be able to drive.
His eyes were trained on the road illuminated by his headlights ahead of him when he heard a gasp from the passengerâs seat. Stealing a glance to his right, he saw Haley cradling the antique silver locket heâd picked up in Chicago almost six months ago in her palm.
âHappy birthday,â he said. Eddie really hadnât planned this well. He hadnât known when to give it to her. He hadnât wanted to do it in the club or at his daughterâs birthday party. Now he wished heâd waited until he wasnât driving so he could put the delicate silver chain around her neck.
âOh my gosh, Eddie. Itâs so beautiful!â she exclaimed.
âOpen it,â he said.
He heard the soft click of the locket separating. âWhere did you find these?â she asked in a surprised tone.
âYour mom gave them to me,â he explained.
After heâd found the locket, heâd had no idea what to put in it. So heâd asked Chelle what girls liked in their lockets. His sister had given him a strange look before telling him that it was probably different for every girl but usually whatever they loved the most.
