Chapter Two
CHAPTER TWO
H aisley felt Nash Scott the moment she stepped inside Highrise.
She froze. Her heart tore fire through her chest.
Of all the crappy luck…
After committing the ultimate sin of falling for him, she hadn’t known what to say two years ago when she’d walked away. She still didn’t.
Scanning the place, she caught sight of him. Given his height and that buzz of dark hair he kept brutally short, he wasn’t hard to find. Not surprisingly, he stood with his brother—also a mountain of a man. Even less surprising, Nash had a date under his arm. Of course he’d landed Lissa Hollister. Why wouldn’t he have sweet-talked the local it girl into bed?
But Haisley wasn’t jealous. At all. Not even a little. Maybe the fact she’d been replaced stung her pride, but she didn’t feel anything else. She refused to. Her relationship with Nash had been nothing more than a multimonth hookup, right? He’d made that clear from the onset. So had she.
But during all their breathless, scorching-hot nights together, she’d surrendered more than her body to him. She’d given him her heart.
And when she’d gotten the shock of her life, she’d had no choice but to run.
“I didn’t know Nash would be here tonight,” Gracelyn murmured in her ear. “I’m sorry.”
Haisley shook her head. “It was bound to happen eventually.”
After all, Lafayette wasn’t a huge town, and the number of decent nightlife spots were few and far between.
“Probably,” Charli agreed, looking even less in the mood to party than she was.
Where was her friend’s husband? Haisley hadn’t gotten the scoop on Daniel since she’d returned to town, but she would…
“We can go somewhere else. He hasn’t seen you yet.” Gracelyn pulled her phone from her stylish crossbody bag. “I can text Madison to let her know there’s been a change of plans.”
Haisley was trying to decide—stay or run—when Lissa Hollister tore past her and stomped out the exit. What was that about? She shouldn’t care. And she shouldn’t be surprised. The woman was infamous for playing hard to get.
Also not shocking, Nash didn’t go after her. He’d always been the love-’em-and-leave-’em type; he’d warned Haisley about that from the onset. Clearly, nothing had changed.
Then Nash turned in her direction, and she stopped caring about the blonde.
Time stood still. She felt rooted in place, blood thundering as Nash captured her gaze. Their stares fused.
Oh, god .
She struggled to breathe. Hell, she couldn’t even blink. Awareness goose pimpled her skin. She tingled. Her veins caught fire.
That hard-edged face she’d fallen for looked more rugged than ever. His expression wasn’t readable…but clearly she wasn’t welcome.
What had she expected? She’d been a mere convenience. He’d proven that when she’d left, and he hadn’t even tried to come after her. Just like he wasn’t coming across the room to see her now.
She had to face facts. Whatever had been between them had been temporary on his part and one-sided on hers.
“Haisley?” Gracelyn asked again. She sounded worried.
The sweetest of her friends always meant well, but… “Don’t worry. He’s not chasing me away or ruining our plans. Let’s get some drinks.”
Since she was moving back home, might as well get used to bumping into Nash. It was bound to happen. If she acted like it didn’t matter, hopefully it soon wouldn’t. Fake it ’til you make it and all that.
Tearing her gaze from his dark stare took all of her will, but she managed, then turned for the bar. Both relief and crushing sadness filled her. That man had turned her life upside down, flipped her heart inside out…and he apparently didn’t even know. Or he didn’t care. She’d thought she was different to him. Clearly, she’d been kidding herself.
Move on, girl. It’s past time .
But when she’d tried, when she had met guys in LA, something always kept her from saying yes. No, someone. Best not to BS herself.
She’d never gotten over Nash Scott. She probably never would.
“Margarita on the rocks, no salt,” she told the bartender. “Make it a double.”
He nodded, then took her friends’ orders.
“Madison will be here any second,” Gracelyn announced, tucking her phone away.
Good and bad. Her bestie would be another buffer between her and Nash…but she’d also bring her husband, who worked with Nash. Who was his friend. Would that drag Nash to her side of the room?
Five minutes later, she knew the answer was a resounding no. Madison spotted the couple the moment they walked in. Matt greeted Nash, then joined his wife again. Instead of coming to talk to her—even to say hi—Nash huddled in the corner with his brother and Laila, Zy and Tessa, along with a few others—and a line of tequila shots.
Less than a minute later, every last one of those shot glasses was empty. The rest of his entourage stared at him like he’d lost his mind.
Whatever. She had to stop fixating and start getting on with her life.
“Bestie!” Madison hugged her tight. “How are you doing? Get most of the house cleared out?”
Haisley hugged her back, grateful for the change of subject. “Yeah. Garage, too. Aunt Cynthia was a pack rat.”
And a very unwilling guardian after her mother’s untimely death. Cynthia had made it very clear that she’d purposely chosen not to have children and didn’t appreciate having a seven-year-old dumped on her doorstep. But since Haisley’s father had walked out when she’d been a baby, her mother’s sister had been her only remaining family.
“I think the word you’re looking for is hoarder,” Gracelyn corrected with a dimpled grin.
Haisley forced a smile. “You’re right. I just trashed forty years of People magazine. I’ve donated all her clothes, cleaned out the kitchen, reorganized every closet… I even sold most of her furniture and hired a painter. It’s taken me a solid week, but it’s starting to feel like my space.”
“That’s great!” Madison encouraged. “I’m so glad you decided to move home. Nothing has been the same without you.”
Haisley scoffed. “From what I hear, you’ve hardly come up for air since you and Matt got married. And now that you have the handsomest little boy…”
“He’s so precious.” Her bestie smiled like a proud mommy, then slid a hand over her belly. “He’ll make a great big brother.”
“Seriously? I’m so happy for you!” And a little bit envious, if Haisley was being honest. “What did Matt say when you told him?”
She blushed. “That’s why we’re late. He, um…wanted a celebration of our own.”
“You just told him tonight?”
“A few hours ago.”
“Congrats!”
“So jelly,” Gracelyn said with a grin that actually held zero envy. “And super happy for you.”
Charli tried to muster a smile but fell woefully short. “You deserve all the happiness.”
Her voice was even more somber than her expression. Yeah, something was up, and since the dude Charli had married last year in a Vegas chapel wasn’t around tonight, there must be trouble in paradise.
No shock. Love only worked out for the fortunate few. For everyone else…it was a fairy tale at best. A pipe dream. To Haisley, it had always been a bitter disappointment.
Since Charli seemed to be struggling, Haisley made a mental note to take her friend to lunch or something soon. Madison was riding high with her new pregnancy. Gracelyn was too optimistic to understand Charli’s despair. So that left her to commiserate over how badly love sucked.
The bartender set down their drinks. Haisley sucked hers back. Gracelyn sipped her fruity umbrella cocktail like a woman who didn’t imbibe much and couldn’t hold her alcohol. Charli chugged a double mojito in less than ten seconds, then asked for another. Haisley decided to keep pace with her. Wasn’t New Year’s Eve for getting trashed?
Yes, and apparently now for avoiding exes, too.
Madison, clutching a cold bottle of water, just shook her head. “What are you going to do?”
Haisley shrugged. “Replace some of the kitchen appliances, the refrigerator first. That thing is a relic. Then I think?—”
“I meant about Nash.”
“Nothing. He doesn’t give a shit.” And I hate that I do .
“According to Matt, that’s not true. Apparently, Nash was pretty torn up after you left.”
“If he was sad, it was only because he lost his easy pussy.” Which I stupidly gave him whenever he wanted . “No doubt he’s moved on.”
“That’s what men do.” Madison shrugged. “After I walked away from Matt to marry Todd, you know?—”
“He fucked half the town? Yeah.” She’d hated having to tell Madison something that hurt so much. “But his heart was always with you. Since you left Todd and came home, he hasn’t given another woman the time of day. You’re it for him, girl. Do you know how lucky you are?”
“Every day.” Madison took her hands. “Don’t give up on Nash. I think he still has feelings for you.”
“No need to blow sunshine up my ass.”
She would have said more, but Matt rolled up to the bar and settled his arm around his wife’s waist. He looked at her as if she hung the moon and stars before dropping a kiss on her lips.
“Haisley.” He tipped his hat.
“Hi, Matt. Congrats on your coming baby.”
His smile widened. “I’m the luckiest bastard on the planet.”
“I think I’m pretty lucky, too.” Madison beamed.
Haisley tried not to cry. She didn’t want Matt, but she craved the kind of love Madison had. Unfortunately for her, it didn’t exist. She was destined to be attached to someone who’d never really wanted her.
Isn’t that the story of your life?
The bartender blessed her with another double margarita and a wink. She vaguely remembered him from high school. Yeah, that was a big no thank-you. She gave him a wan smile and a nice tip, then started downing her second drink.
“Ten minutes until midnight.” Gracelyn bounced with excitement.
Yippee. All the couples in this place would be sucking face when the clock struck twelve. She wouldn’t. Neither would Gracelyn and Charli, so at least she wouldn’t be the only sad schmuck alone.
Maybe she should order another drink so she’d have something to do when the countdown ended.
“Wanna dance?” a stranger asked behind her, his voice friendly.
She turned. He wasn’t familiar—a plus. He looked maybe a year or two older—another plus. He wasn’t a troll. And he had a nice smile. “Why not?”
As the music slowed, he led her onto the tiny floor in the middle of the bar. Instantly, he pulled her against his body and swayed with the romantic tune. The dance shouldn’t have been awkward, but this dude was a total stranger who didn’t seem interested in talking. And he’d suddenly grown ten roaming hands.
She grabbed his wrists and pulled his grip off her ass. “What’s your name?”
He laughed. “Something that rhymes with fuck.”
Did he think he was being clever? Was she supposed to guess? “So, Rhymes-with-fuck, do you live in Lafayette?”
“No. Visiting a college friend who grew up here.”
Someone she probably knew—a minus, especially when his hands began wandering again. It also hadn’t escaped her notice that he hadn’t bothered to ask her name.
“Listen, beautiful, if you don’t have someone to kiss at midnight, I’m your man.” He copped another feel of her ass.
Hell, no . The longer they danced, the more he gave her the heebies.
She dragged his hand up to her waist again. “What makes you think I kiss strangers whose names rhyme with fuck?”
“Why should I think you don’t? Jase said you were good in high school.”
Haisley rolled her eyes. Jase Simmons—douchebag extraordinaire. He’d been a lying, using, trash-talking asshole back then. He’d been famous for telling a girl what she needed to hear to drop her panties, only to ignore her the next day while he told all his buddies on the football team that he’d had sex with her, subjecting her to the leers of his teammates for weeks. Adulthood hadn’t changed him. It probably hadn’t changed his caliber of friends, either.
“Because I don’t kiss random guys, even on New Year’s Eve. If you’re looking to get lucky tonight, you chose the wrong girl.”
The last thing she needed was romantic entanglement, especially with another player. If she wanted that, she’d take up with Nash again. But she had too much on her plate, between settling the last of her aunt’s affairs, making the house hers, and starting her new social media director gig after the holiday.
“You’re turning me down before I even ask?” he chided.
“I’m setting expectations. If you’re getting laid tonight, it won’t be by me.”
Thankfully, the song—and their dance—was mercifully nearing the end. A glance around the room told her that the clock would strike midnight in less than five minutes, and Nash was polishing off another round of tequila shots.
Suddenly, Haisley wished she was anywhere else. At least if she were home, she’d be curled up with a decent book and her cat. When the new year started, she’d be stuck here in a crowd…yet still feel utterly alone. Not that her posse wouldn’t try to cheer her up. They would, and they would mean well. She loved her girls. But now that she’d seen Nash, she didn’t feel much like celebrating because her heart still felt broken.
She’d been kidding herself otherwise.
Rhymes-with-fuck stopped dancing and stepped away before the song ended. “If you’re going to be a cunt, we don’t have much to say.”
Since he didn’t mean anything to her, Haisley could care less that he’d called her something vile. “We have nothing to say. Buh-bye.”
As he stomped off, she headed toward the bar where Matt and Madison were supposed to be watching her drink…but they only had eyes for each other. It was fine. She was partied out anyway. She should have stayed home with her feline, her eBook smut, and her fellow online sleuths in the Crime Solvers International group, cheekily known as CSI.
Out of her peripheral vision, she caught sight of movement from Nash’s corner of the bar. She flicked a glance in his direction. When he pinned her with a hot gaze, her heart skipped.
Biting back a gasp, Haisley broke their connection and jerked back to focus on her friends. But his stare was still on her. She felt his visual touch through her whole body.
Emotion clogged her throat. Why couldn’t she get this man out of her system? And why couldn’t she stop herself from turning back to look his way?
Instantly, their gazes melded. The music and the loud chatter faded away. Even her friends dissolved into the background.
Suddenly, determination stamped across his rugged face. Her pulse leapt. Time froze. Oh, god. What was he going to do? She had no idea what he had in mind as he started toward her…
* * *
Around Nash, people collectively turned to look at the flat screens around the bar where the typical New Year’s Eve broadcast from Times Square had entered the last sixty seconds of its countdown. As this year ended and another began, he realized one thing: he’d spent this entire fucking year without Haisley under him. Most of the last, too. He’d be goddamned if he spent next year without her.
Blindly, he reached for the beer his brother had ordered him a while back. It was lukewarm, and he didn’t care. He chugged the whole thing down and slammed the bottle on the table. Unfortunately, imbibing too much had only proven that no amount of booze was going to take his mind off Haisley.
Thank fuck the tool she’d been dancing with backed off. He’d looked angry, too. Nash suspected his sassy, sexy girl had told the motherfucker to get lost, and good for her.
Good for him, too. Now he didn’t have to break the asshole’s arms.
He knew precisely who he wanted to kiss at midnight, and he didn’t give a goddamn that they hadn’t had a conversation in two years or that everything between them was in shambles.
He. Wanted. Her.
A surge of reckless determination coursed through his veins. Given the way she was focused on him as he crossed the bar, heading straight for her, he didn’t think his desire was one-sided.
“Haisley,” he boomed.
She didn’t move. Others did, jumping out of his path. The crowd parted like the Red Sea. He ignored the whispers and the gawking. In that moment, absolutely nothing mattered but reaching her.
“Ten, nine, eight…” the crowd chanted collectively.
As the deafening countdown rang out around them, Nash didn’t—couldn’t—pull his stare from Haisley as, one giant step after the other, he ate up the distance between them.
“Nash? What do you?—”
“Want?” he drawled.
“Seven, six, five…”
Grabbing her by the waist, he pulled her close, his dark stare unwavering. Raw, primal intensity scorched his veins. The urge to tear off her little black dress and plow his way into her doubled when her breath caught and her eyes widened.
He tightened his fingers around her.
“Four, three, two…
“You,” he growled, dragging in her familiar musky-sweet scent that had always been his undoing. “I want you.”
Fuck, one look, one touch, and she threatened to shatter the walls he’d constructed around his heart.
But that’s the way it had always been. The pull between them was so goddamn strong…
“One. Happy New Year!”
Nash surged forward, dragging Haisley against him. Their chests collided. She let out a whimper, her fingers tangling in his shirt. Then his mouth crashed onto her soft lips in a searing, desperate kiss. With a gasp, she thawed against him and kissed him back.
People whooped and hollered around them. Celebratory music started up. Glasses clinked and laughter ensued. All of it faded to a distant hum as he lost himself in Haisley and the sensual flavor of her mouth. Her fucking taste felled him… Sweet, light, so achingly familiar, just like her curves.
He was drowning, dying. The sensual overload threatened to undo him.
Instead of backing away, finding his breath, and collecting his thoughts before he did something really stupid—like tell her he was still in love with her—he lifted Haisley off her feet and carried her to the nearest wall. Without a second thought, he pressed her against the mirror-clad surface, pinned her with his body, and deepened their kiss.
Nash half expected her to protest. But no. She threw her arms around his neck and parted her lips wider.
That was all the invitation he needed.
He drove his tongue into Haisley’s mouth possessively, thrilled as fuck when she lifted her legs and wrapped them around his hips. He gripped her ass in his hands, dying to devour her, to lose himself in her intoxicating embrace. She had to feel how hard he was for her, like he’d always been.
God, he’d give anything to erase the last two years.
As suddenly as he’d kissed her, Haisley wrenched free, her chest heaving. She stared up at him, her eyes shimmering with a firestorm of unspoken emotions. “I can’t do this.”
Her trembling whisper nearly took him out at the knees.
Nash brushed a calloused thumb across her cheek and searched her gaze. “Why? Tell me what the hell happened between us.”
Tears pooled in her eyes. Her pain, her raw vulnerability, was like a stab to the heart. “Nash, I…”
“What?”
“I can’t do this. Again. With you.”
He strained to hear her whisper above the din of the rowdy crowd. But in that moment, as far as he was concerned, no one existed except them.
“What can’t you do? Talk to me? Touch me? I don’t understand.”
Haisley bit her lip to hold back tears and shoved out of his embrace. “I know.”
The loss of her touch left him frozen and aching. “But I don’t. Spell it out.”
She shook her head, tears falling down her cheeks. “Please believe me… It’s better this way.”
When she tried to push past him, he grabbed her arm. Yeah, he knew he was riding a dangerous line. No meant no, and he respected that. But he wasn’t trying to force her to have sex with him; he just wanted answers.
“The fuck it is. Why did you walk away?”
She yanked free and retreated. “It’s in the past. Leave it there.”
Without another word, she fled, disappearing into the throng of partygoers.
Nash watched, cursing under his breath. He ran a hand through his hair, bitter regret burning his tongue. Why wouldn’t Haisley talk to him, tell him what had upset her? Why wouldn’t she tell him what the hell had torn them apart?
As he had for the past two years, he thought through their last days together. At the beginning of that week, she’d been as welcoming and hungry for him as she’d been from the start. By the weekend, she’d told him to fuck off. In nicer language, yes, but the end result had been the same. She’d claimed he was too rough, too overbearing, and too kinky. Since she’d embraced those sides of him for the previous twelve months, he’d intended to call bullshit and make her be fucking honest—before he proposed.
Instead, he returned from an op that Monday to the news that she’d left town for good.
Nothing in his life had been right since.
With burning eyes, he watched Haisley grab her purse, hug her girls, and leave the bar.
For the past two years, he’d sworn that if he ever saw Haisley again, he wouldn’t let her go without getting answers. Then he would fight tooth and nail to win her back. But as he watched her disappear into the cold, humid night, he couldn't help but wonder if he was too late. If he’d lost her for good.
Cursing, Nash turned away, his every step weighted with despair, as he returned to his brother and his gang.
As he approached the table, Trees whistled. “That was a hell of a show.”
“Bite my ass.”
Laila laid a gentle hand on his forearm—a huge step forward for the woman who had once been a prisoner of a drug cartel and, until Trees crashed into her life, had known only abuse and violence at the hands of men. Thanks to his brother’s protective embrace and marshmallow interior, his sister-in-law was no longer afraid. “She has feelings for you.”
He turned to the petite Hispanic beauty with a shake of his head. “I know you’re trying to make me feel better, but?—”
“She does,” Tessa seconded. “I may not know Haisley well, but women understand women.”
Were they insane? “She wrenched away from me and ran as if her ass was on fire.”
I can’t do this. Again. With you . The finality in her tone had been like a knife sliding between his ribs, gouging out his heart, and shattering the last of his hope.
Laila sighed. “ Sí, but how did she kiss you before that?”
Tessa pointed at his sister-in-law as the women exchanged a knowing glance. “What Laila said.”
The reason seemed obvious to him. Every time they’d had sex, it was off the chain. Of course he loved pussy, but with Haisley it had been so much more… Every moment with her had been scorching. Consuming. Indelibly etched into his memory.
The ladies were suggesting her reason for clinging to him had less to do with her genitals and more to do with her heart. Nash wanted to believe that, but honestly, he didn’t fucking know. And he needed to.
Now.
“Damn it.” He spun around, bumped and shouldered his way through the crowd, then footraced out the door, bursting outside and sweeping the parking lot with a frenetic scan.
She was gone. Goddamn it.
Nash stood there, his breath misting in the frigid air as bitter regret damn near choked him. He had been a fool, complacent and cocky, when he’d let her walk out of his life two years ago without demanding answers. And now, when she finally showed up again, she’d slipped through his fingers once more.
Never fucking again.
Clenching his fists, Nash let out a ragged sigh, his gaze fixed on the twinkling lights of the city. Haisley was the other half of his soul, the one woman who had ever truly seen him, the good and the bad. She was out there. And he wasn’t letting her go a third time without one hell of a fight.
Steeling his resolve, Nash turned and headed back into the bar, scanning the crowd for Madison. Haisley might be gone…but her bestie would know exactly where to find her.
Instead, Matt intercepted him. “Hey, buddy.”
“I need to talk to your wife.”
His pal shook his head. “Nope.”
After he’d helped his pal save Madison from her ex, Matt wasn’t willing to engage in a little quid pro quo? “You’re going to cut me off at the balls?”
“I’m not. I’m saving your breath. Madison won’t tell you shit. When it comes to secrets, she’s locked down tighter than Fort Knox. Besides, she’s pregnant again, and the hormones…” Matt shook his head. “I have healthy respect for those. If you know what’s good for you, you will, too.”
The news was like a punch in the gut. Sure, he was happy as fuck for them. Nash had never wanted marriage, picket fences, and babies…until Haisley. Now he was jealous as hell.
“Congratulations, man. That’s fantastic.”
“We’re over the moon, but you and I can talk about that later. Right now, you want to ask my wife how to get back in Haisley’s good graces—and her bed—right?”
And how to capture her heart for good. “Yeah.”
“You didn’t hear this from me…but on Monday, she’ll be starting a new job working for some local hotshot real-estate developer.”
“What does that have to do with me?” Barging into her place of employment would only piss Haisley off.
Matt shrugged. “Thought you might know something. How about this? She belongs to an avid online sleuthing group called Crime Solvers International. Anyone can join, even anonymously. I looked it up.”
Suddenly, Nash’s phone dinged. He glanced at the text.
“That’s the link.” Matt clapped him on the back.
Nash stared at it for a minute, then a slow smile spread across his face. If Haisley wouldn’t talk to him, this might be his only in. Backdoor clandestine shit wasn’t his first choice…but she was setting the pace. That didn’t mean he couldn’t bend the rules and hurry her along. “Anonymously, huh? Game on.”
He was determined, now more than ever, to reclaim the woman he loved, no matter what it took.