Chapter 27
REID
I checked my phone for the fifth time, sitting in the restaurant in the building next to the address Bianca had given me. It was seven o’clock, yet still no sign of Hailey. Eventually, I broke down and texted Bianca.
Reid: Are you sure the address is right?
Bianca: OH MY GOD, yes. What kind of spy/plotter do you think I am? I get my facts right. She’s probably just working late.
Probably. Certainly. But now that I was here, I just couldn’t wait to see her. Talk to her. Hold her.
Finally, at eight o’clock, a car pulled in front of the building, and Hailey climbed out.
It was as if I’d only taken half-breaths until now.
I darted out of the restaurant, heading straight toward her.
She searched for something in her bag, not seeing me until I was in front of the staircase.
And then she startled, nearly stumbling backward.
“Reid. What are you doing here?”
“Came to see you, beautiful.”
“How long have you been here?”
“Four hours and twenty-three minutes. Not that I’m counting.”
I thought I’d known just how much I’d missed her, but being this near to her…. Fuck. I’d never needed anyone more than I needed Hailey right now.
“Can we talk?” I asked when she didn’t say anything.
“Umm… you flew all the way here to talk to me?”
“Yes.”
“Okay. Talk.”
“Can we go somewhere more private?”
She fumbled with the keys in her hands, running a hand through her hair.
“Fine, let’s go upstairs.”
Fuck. She looked as if she’d rather do anything other than invite me into her apartment.
It was on the second floor, sparsely furnished, lacking Hailey’s usual flair and joie de vivre.
Turning to me, she folded her hands over her chest.
“Reid?” she prompted. “You said you wanted to talk.”
“I want to apologize, Hailey. For the way I reacted in the coffee shop, for the way I talked to you, for not replying to your voice message…. It wasn’t right.”
Softness flashed in her eyes, but only for a few seconds.
“Thanks for saying that. You could have just said that on the phone. You didn’t have to fly over here for that.”
I walked closer to her, taking immense pleasure in the fact that she wasn’t backtracking. She inhaled sharply when I stopped right in front of her, looking at her lips.
“That’s not the only thing I came to say. And the rest of it has to be said in person.”
“And what is that?”
“I love you, Hailey, and I miss you. Desperately.”
She shook her head, blinking fast.
“No, don’t say that. I know I handled things badly by just deciding on my own, and I’m really sorry for that. But you made me feel like what we had wasn’t worth fighting for.”
Jesus, that was unacceptable. Fucking unacceptable. And I was going to fix it. All of it.
“Hailey, listen to me. I was…. I don’t do well with surprises. You know I don’t. It’s no excuse, but it is true. I was only half-hearing what you were saying. In my mind, I was already imagining how things were going to play out, how this couldn’t possibly work.”
“And instead of talking things out, you just decided it was easier to pull back in your shell?”
“I’m here now,” I said weakly. She shook her head again, stepping around me.
“How did you even know where I lived?”
“Bianca.”
Hailey frowned. “How did she know?”
“Your sisters.”
She gave me the very first smile for the day.
“We’re being ambushed.” She dropped her head in her hands, laughing. I moved closer. It was all I could do not to hoist her up in my arms and kiss her.
“What?”
“Interfamily ambush. This is new. They’re taking this to the next level.”
She looked up at me from between her fingers, and maybe she realized I was a fraction of a second away from claiming that kiss I so desperately needed, because her eyes widened.
“Reid, I don’t know what to say,” she murmured.
“You don’t have to say anything right now. Just know that I’m here to show you that we belong together. I’m not leaving until I win you back, pretty girl.”
Hailey
After Reid left, I was in a frenzy. Next morning, I woke up with the strangest feeling that I was still dreaming.
It had been a good dream, though. Reid had starred in it.
I blinked open an eye, and then the other.
My heart was beating faster. Holy shit. It hadn’t been a dream.
He’d been here. Here. For me. I was jittery all through my morning routine, barely paying attention to what I was doing.
My mind was on Reid. What was he thinking? Where was he now?
I didn’t have to wonder too long about that, because when I stepped through the doors of the nearest Starbucks, there he was. Looking as irresistible in his jeans and polo shirt as he’d looked yesterday in that suit.
“Morning,” he greeted.
“Fancy seeing you here. Coincidence?”
I had a déjà vu of him showing up at that movie screening, when I asked him the same thing. His eyes sparkled. He remembered too.
“Absolutely fucking not.”
“Mmm… Bianca striking again?”
“No, just my power of observation. It’s the only Starbucks in a five-block radius.”
“I see.”
“Would have ordered your usual too but didn’t want to risk it getting cold. Didn’t know exactly when you’d show up.”
He was already holding a coffee cup but waited patiently while I ordered my treat.
“We can sit right there.” He pointed to two comfy-looking armchairs by the window.
“Hmm… I sense you have a master plan in the works.”
The responding grin slayed me. “What can I say? You know me too well.”
Once we were both sitting, he asked, “How is work?”
“Boring. We don’t have many clients. We’re mainly trying to acquire some, but honestly, even for the clients we do have, the work just isn’t very riveting. I spoke to Cameron, and everything’s calming down considerably in LA.”
One corner of his mouth twitched. I narrowed my eyes.
“I’ve heard that Marion’s fashion show was unexpectedly canceled. Did you have something to do with that?”
“Will saying yes earn me points?”
She smiled. “Maybe.”
“You’re being hard on me. But I deserve it. Yes, I did. And just to come clean, you’ll find out soon enough that Victor what’s-his-face no longer works for LA Lifestyle. Also had something to do with that.”
“You didn’t.”
He leaned in, straight into my personal space. “I told you I’ll protect you. That’s me keeping that promise. I love you, Hailey.”
“Reid….”
He looked at my lips, and just when I thought he would kiss me, he pulled back.
“So—breakfast and dinner. They’re mine.”
“What?”
“I’m here to win you back. I need time to do that.”
“Okay… I can probably do breakfast.”
“And dinner,” he insisted.
“I might have client meetings.”
“You just said you don’t have too many. We’re doing dinners too,” he concluded.
I didn’t know what to say, what to do. He’d hurt me, but didn’t everyone make mistakes?
Especially when they were facing uncertainty?
I’d been guilty of that myself. It was just…
what if it happened again? I didn’t think I could get through it again.
I decided to change the subject. To focus on him.
“How are you even here? Who’s taking care of operations?”
“My CFO is in charge of everything.”
I jerked my head back. Reid laughed.
“He had a similar reaction when I informed him of his new duties.”
“For how long did you leave him in charge?”
My real question was, for how long was he here?
And by the way his gaze dropped to my mouth, he knew exactly what I was asking.
He smiled at me wolfishly. “For as long as it takes.”