by S. G. Sonysa
I suddenly recalled the time when he would grab my wrist like this then kiss my hand. But as fast as I recalled the past, I pulled myself back to the present and snatched my hand from his grip.
“Okay, fine.” I got inside the car.
“Put on the seat belt,” he said, making me glare at him while I put the seatbelt on.
“Noah, do you know some people look really beautiful when they are angry,” Chase said and started to drive.
Noah just giggled making me glance at him with narrow eyes while my face was heating up with a blush.
I glanced at Chase and saw a smile playing on his lips.
I tried to stop myself, but my lips twitched upward.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Dinner Invitation
Hailey
When we arrived at my house, Melanie invited Chase inside and insisted him to stay for lunch.
Chase agreed to have lunch with us when Noah gave him his best puppy face, making it impossible for him to resist.
I followed Mom to the kitchen. “Mom, did you ask Chase to pick me up from college?” I asked her.
“No, I didn’t ask him. He showed up at the door at half past twelve and asked me to let him meet you and Noah, so I told him that you went to college. He asked me when your class will end and took Noah to pick you up,” she replied.
“You let him meet Noah when I wasn’t around.”
“Yes, I let him meet his son under my and your father’s supervision.”
“He came to pick me up with Noah, and there was Brittney. She created a scene,” I said, massaging my head.
“Hailey, you pushed him away three years ago when he came to explain. Now you need to stop hiding and give him a chance to explain himself.” Mom squeezed my shoulder.
“Mom, he didn’t try to contact me in the last three years. He never asked me about Noah. Now, he is engaged.”
“Hailey, you told him not to contact you until you contact him yourself. He has been in touch with me for the last three years. He would ask me about you because he cares for you, honey. Whatever he has done in the past wasn’t right, and I am not telling you to forgive him. I am asking you to give yourself a chance. You gave me one when I was the cause of your pain, and I got a chance at redemption,” she said as tears trailed down from her eyes.
I wiped her tears and said, “Mom, please, stop crying. I forgive you, and I love you. In the past three years, you were my greatest support. You taught me how to be tough and held my head high in front of the world.”
She hugged me, and I rubbed her back.
Yes, she had changed. The woman I knew in the past died when Emily left. This woman was my mother, only mine and I loved her.
In these past three years, she did everything in her power to turn me into a strong girl.
“I will not push him away again,” I said, pulling away from the hug.
“Thank you, Hailey.”
She turned around, wiped her tears, and started cooking lunch. I started helping her in the kitchen. I took a quick glance in the living room to make sure Dad was not trying to murder Chase.
I was amazed at what I was seeing. My dad was watching TV and doing a great job ignoring Chase’s presence. Like he didn’t exist, which was better than the murder scene that I was picturing.
After my grandfather’s death, Dad had become silent. He would only smile when Noah was around.
Chase was sitting on the couch with Noah on his lap. He was listening to Noah’s story about his favorite cartoons.
A smile appeared on my face, looking at them.
That was when Mom decided to look at me. She caught me smiling like a fool, and her face lit up with a teasing smile. I bit my lips to stop the smile and straightened myself, so I didn’t appear like a complete fool in front of her.
She raised her eyebrows at me, and I shrugged my shoulders at her.
“I am going to my room to freshen up,” I told her, leaving her in the kitchen.
I went to my room to use the washroom. I was washing my face when I caught my reflection in the mirror. There was a pink hue on my cheeks, and my dull brown eyes were shining. There was a smile on my face without any reason.
I shook my head at myself and dampened the towel under the tap water. I placed the towel on my hot cheeks to make them look normal again. I heard mom calling me down, so I walked out of the washroom. I opened my hair and sprayed some perfume on myself then I went down to the dining room.
Everyone was already settled on the chairs, leaving only one chair empty that was magically beside Chase. Noah was sitting on the right seat beside his dad, and he was already filling his plate. He never ate without me, but the minute his dad showed up in his life, he forgot about his mother.
Mom’s mischievous eyes landed on me.
“Hailey, why are you standing there? Come take a seat,” she said with a smug face, knowing why I was still standing.
I narrowed my eyes knowing that she planned to make me sit beside Chase. I was sure she was the one who told everyone where to sit.
Chase saw my hesitation and smirked like he was challenging me to take a seat beside him.
I said to myself, “You are not a shy sixteen-year-old girl anymore, and you shouldn’t show him that you still feel nervous around him.”
He had no idea what he was getting himself into by challenging me.
I settled on the seat beside him without showing any signs of discomfort and started filling my plate with the freshly cooked food. We were all eating silently. I reached for the bowl of mashed potatoes, which was in the center of the table, and at that time Chase also decided to reach for it too.
I was the first one to take hold of the bowl, and his hand was above mine. I gasped at the sensation. We both froze and stared into each other’s eyes. My heart beat accelerated when he slid his hand back. He left the electrifying sensation on my skin when his fingers brushed mine.
I took a risk and looked into his eyes, and my heart pounded in my chest, seeing the intensity in them.
Mom coughed loudly, and it brought us out from la la land.
I put the bowl of mashed potatoes back on the table and placed my hand on my lap feeling my skin tingle. My face flushed with embarrassment. The rest of lunch, I didn’t take the risk of glancing into Chase’s eyes again.
After we were all done with lunch, Chase decided to leave, promising Noah to come and meet him tomorrow.
I walked with Chase to the door.
“Hailey, can you come out with me? I need to talk to you,” he said.
I nodded my head and went out.
“Hailey I…Uh I want to take you and Noah out for dinner tomorrow. That is if you don’t mind having dinner with me.”
“You don’t need to take us out for dinner. If you want to meet Noah again, you can come here and meet him. I won’t stop you from meeting your son,” I said to him.
“I want to talk to you about something important. Please, let me take you both out for dinner.”
I glanced at him with curiosity.
Why did he want to take Noah and me out for dinner?
Maybe he wanted to tell me about his engagement with Clara.
I smiled sweetly at him and took a step back.
“You can tell me anything you want right here. I don’t go out with strangers,” I said, feeling proud for refusing him.
After hearing my words, an emotion similar to hurt appeared on his face, but he masked it quickly with a smirk.
He took a step forward until he was standing close enough to me to whisper in my ear.
“Hailey, if you called me a stranger one more time. I will be forced to remind you how much I know about you,” he said, placing a kiss on my ear.
My eyes went shut at the sensation he aroused in me. I remembered the night we ate spaghetti in my room and got to know each other. He placed a kiss on the same spot that night too and left me thinking about him all night.
To a stranger, it would look like he had murmure
d something in my ear, but in reality, he had made my stomach clench with his kiss.
He took a step back from me, and I opened my eyes to find a sly smile playing on his lips.
My jaw clenched.
Did he think he could just do things like that to make me agree to go out for dinner with him?
I glared at him.
“Did I tell you how beautiful you look?” he asked.
I narrowed my eyes at him and glared harder.
“Dinner is tomorrow at eight in the evening. I will come to pick up both of you.”
“I didn’t say yes.”
“You didn’t say no either. See you tomorrow beautiful,” he said and winked at me then got inside his car.
My jaw dropped, and I stared at his speeding car.
I went back inside the house and found my mom standing near the window. She must have been spying on us through the damn window.
She gave me her teasing smile. “So what were you guys talking about?”
“He wants to take Noah and me out for dinner tomorrow,” I told her in the most boring voice I could manage.
“Oh! That’s great.” She was so excited. It was like I just told her I was going on a date.
I cursed my stupid brain for not working properly whenever I was around him.
The rest of the day went pretty quick. When night came, I put Noah in bed and read stories with him when he fell asleep.
My cell phone beeped indicating that I had received a message. I unlocked my cell phone and found a message from Chase. It was a simple good night message, but for some weird reason, it put a smile on my face.
[Morning]
Thump, Thump
Thump, Thump
I groaned, hearing the loud knocks on the door.
Who the hell wanted to take my door down?
I got up from bed and opened the door. I rubbed my eyes twice to clear my vision, but the person standing in front of me didn’t disappear.
“Julia, what the hell are you doing here knocking at my door in the morning? It’s good that Noah is a heavy sleeper or I would have killed you,” I said, but she only rolled her eyes at me.
“Oh my sweet, Hailey, it’s eleven in the morning. I think you have had enough sleep to look fresh for your date with your ex-husband.”
“Excuse me? It’s not a date. And how did you know he asked me to have dinner with him?”
“A little birdy told me that you have a date with him, not dinner,” she said in a singsong voice.
“Why would I go on a date with an engaged man?” I sat back down on the bed.
“What did you say? Is he really engaged?”
“Yeah, I think so,” I said, scratching my head.
“If he is engaged, it’s not a problem. You can still make him regret leaving you. You can make him jealous by showing up on dinner wearing a sexy dress and turning some heads around.”
“I don’t want to make him regret anything. I’m happy with my life. He has moved on with his life and got engaged to another woman. It is not like he wants me back,” I said with a sarcastic laugh.
“Hailey, I am not in the mood to hear your depressing talk. Get up and get ready. We are going out.” She pushed me in the direction of the washroom.
No one knew how to stop Julia when she set her mind to do something except Oliver, her boyfriend, her neighbor, and the love of her life. But even Oliver couldn't save me at the moment from his devil of a girlfriend because he went to Florida for two weeks to visit his grandma.
I went inside the washroom did my routine and got changed into my simple denim jeans and cream-colored knit sweater.
We went down, and I grabbed the sandwich that Mom prepared for me. I kissed her cheek and left with Julia.
She took me shopping and forced me into buying a sexy black bodycon dress. It was too revealing for my liking, but Julia didn’t know how to take no for an answer. The dress was black, floor length, and fitted on my body like a second skin. It was V-neck and backless.
Our next stop was the spa. We both got a manicure and pedicure. Julia told the girl to curl my hair into loose curls, which looked nice on me.
When we came back home, it was already five in the evening. Julia made me sit on the chair in front of the mirror because she wanted to do my makeup. I tried sitting still, but it was not possible for me to sit still while she poked my eyes. I wiggled in my seat a few times and made weird faces in the mirror to annoy her.
After Julia was done, I told Noah that we were going out for dinner with his dad. He jumped up and down and did the happy dance on the way to my room.
I changed him into his white pants and white dress shirt, paired with a black coat and black shoes. He looked so handsome that Julia couldn’t resist taking his pictures and uploading them on her profile. Julia loved children in general, and Noah did have a special place in her heart.
Julia entered my room again while stuffing her mouth with cupcakes, which I baked last night before going to bed.
She told me to get changed into the black dress that we bought today.
“Are you out of your mind? I’m not going to wear that dress,” I said to her.
She glared at me then picked up my favorite novel.
“I will rip every page of this novel one by one if you didn’t get changed into that dress within five minutes.” She threatened me.
I knew how merciless she was, so I hurriedly got changed into the black dress.
I glanced at myself in the mirror and gulped. The dress fitted my body perfectly. It showed all my curves, and the slit on the left side revealed lots of skin.
When I was done admiring myself, I turned around to find Julia dangling my stilettos in front of me.
I took them from her hands and wiggled my feet in them. My black stilettos with golden straps matched perfectly with my outfit.
Simple gold loop earrings adorned my ears, and my gold charm bracelet dangled on my wrist.
Mom looked at me with a lovely smile, and Julia winked at me.
We heard the doorbell and went to the door. I saw a sleek black car parked in front of the house and a man dressed in black.
He walked to me when he saw me standing at the door.
“Hello, ma’am. I’m James. This is for you from my boss,” he said, handing me a bouquet of red roses and a card.
I opened the card and read it.
Hailey, I’m sorry for not coming to pick you up, but I am sending my driver. I hope you forgive me for not coming to get you myself. I’ll be waiting for you in the restaurant.
Yours,
Chase
I smiled after reading his sweet note and bid goodbye to Mom and Julia. When Noah and I were settled in the car, the driver started the car. After the twenty-minute journey, we reached the restaurant where Chase was waiting for us.
James opened my door, and I got out of the car with Noah. I entered the restaurant, and my breath got caught in my throat.
The restaurant was very beautiful and decorated in vintage style. Expensive chandeliers hang from the roof, illuminating the whole place with light.
The lady at the reception walked towards me.
“Welcome, Mrs. Edwards. Mr. Edwards is waiting for you in the VIP section on the rooftop. Please follow me,” she said, smiling politely.
I didn’t know why I didn’t correct her when she called me Mrs. Edwards and followed her to the elevator. Noah was grasping my hand tightly, looking excited to meet his dad again.
***
Chase
I was waiting anxiously for them to arrive at the restaurant. I kept glancing at my wristwatch every two seconds. I hoped she would like the idea of dining here on the rooftop.
I heard the sound of the elevator and my head snapped in the direction of the elevator. Noah came out from the elevator first and ran towards me. I picked him up in my arms and placed a kiss on his cheeks.
Then my eyes landed on Hailey, striding towards me in a black dress that fitted her body like a glove and
showed off her beautiful curves. Her hair was styled in loose curls resting on one shoulder. Every head in the restaurant turned to look at her.
My mind was simply numb, and I put Noah on the ground before I could drop him in shock.
She was the most gorgeous woman in the world I had ever seen.
I wanted nothing more than to kiss her at that moment and tell people that I was the lucky man whom she belonged to. But I controlled my stupid urge before I would do something to make her leave.
“Hi,” she said, looking at me with a beautiful smile on her face.
Even her voice sounded sexy after three years.
My eyes strayed on her pretty cherry-colored plum lips, which were moving, saying something to me, but I wasn’t hearing her as I was too busy staring at them.
“You’re looking gorgeous. Thanks for coming,” I said, taking a step closer to her and got hit with the sensual fragrance of her perfume.
She looked me in the eye, and I felt my world tremble. We stared at each other until her eyes landed on Noah who was trying to pluck a flower from the vase. She ran to stop him, and that was when my eyes landed on her smooth back.
Shit! She was wearing a backless dress.
I gripped the table in shock. When did she start to dress like this?
She looked so sexy and beautiful, and my eyes were stuck on her then I realized that I was not the only one appreciating the view. I glared at the other men, and they averted their eyes.
I walked to her and asked her to sit.
When we were settled at the table, the waiter approached with menus, and we ordered dinner.
While we were waiting for dinner to arrive, the waiter served us drinks and appetizers.
She put the straw in her mouth to drink the cocktail, and I wished to be that straw so I would be able to touch her beautiful, kissable lips.
I realized that I was falling in love with her more each second.
“You said you wanted to talk to me about something important,” Hailey said, staring at me.
“Uh…Yeah. Actually, I have planned something for Christmas.” I started feeling little uneasy under her gaze.
