FIFTEEN #2
After dinner, Maddie laced her fingers through Hayley’s to lead her out of the restaurant. The soft murmur of the main dining hall greeted them, gently popping their bubble of privacy.
Hayley sighed, already missing it.
“Hayley!” A familiar voice cut through the room, and a cold ripple of dread slid down the back of her neck.
She froze mid-step, her heart dropping into her stomach.
Just a few feet away sat Amy Thompson in a tight black dress much like her own, her posture perfect and her smile practiced. Her husband grinned from beside her. He was also a lawyer, Hayley knew, a middle-aged man with the kind of face that people forgot as soon as they looked away.
“Amy. Hi.”
Amy’s eyebrows lifted when she spotted their joined hands. “And who might this be?”
“Right—” Hayley cleared her throat and eased her fingers free. “This is my… friend. Madison.” She paused, turning to Maddie. “Madison, this is Amy Thompson, she…” Hayley could feel herself floundering. “She—and her husband, Jake, of course—they’re clients of mine.”
Amy gave her a suggestive look that told a different story, and Hayley prayed that Maddie hadn’t seen it.
Jake laid his arm across the back of his wife’s chair. “You know, I haven’t had the chance to thank you for finding our new place. You’ll have to come by and see what we’ve done with it.”
“Oh, I was just doing my job.” Hayley waved a hand in dismissal.
“Nonsense!” Jake sat upright, his eyes brightening with an idea. “You know what, I actually have a meeting out of town in a couple of weeks. Amy, darling, why don’t you have Miss Maddox over for a little girls’ night while I’m gone?”
Amy clasped her hands, a wicked grin spreading across her face. “Oh, what a great idea. I’d love to have a girls’ night,” she purred, her eyes gleaming. “Maybe you could even bring your friend.” She winked at Hayley before raking an eager path down Maddie’s figure with her gaze.
Hayley’s blood ran cold.
Before she could respond, Maddie chimed in from beside her, smiling politely at Amy. “Count me in. It would be great to get to know someone else in Hayley’s life.” She sounded so earnest that it made bile rise to Hayley’s throat.
“We should leave you to your meal.” Hayley excused them before any more damage could be done. “Enjoy the rest of your night.”
Hayley walked toward the front door before the Thompsons had a chance to say another word, not checking to see if Maddie was behind her.
Once they reached the sidewalk, Maddie let out a dry laugh. “Well, that was interesting.”
Hayley kept her eyes on the pavement. “What was?”
“The way that woman looked at you.” Maddie’s tone held a challenge, soft but unmistakable.
Hayley’s gaze flicked from the cracks in the concrete to Maddie, whose head tilted in a silent invitation to tell the truth.
“I’ve known her a long time.” Hayley kept it vague. “I’ve done a lot of business with her and her husband.”
Maddie just nodded, saying nothing.
Nausea twisted in Hayley’s stomach as she flagged down a taxi. When one finally pulled up to the curb, she turned to Maddie with a smile that threatened to shatter. “Thank you for tonight, I had a really great time.”
Maddie’s shoulders slumped, the sparkle vanishing from her eyes in a way that hit Hayley like a blow. “You don’t want to come over?”
Hayley shook her head slightly, her vision beginning to narrow. “I should get home. I… I have to get up early for work.” She held open the cab door, silently begging Maddie to get in.
“I can come to your place if that’s easier.” Maddie hesitated. Her voice was soft and hopeful, trying to save something Hayley was already pushing away.
“No,” Hayley snapped, and Maddie flinched. “Just… go back to Caitlin’s.”
Maddie slid into the back of the car, her movements stiff, staring straight ahead as the door clicked shut.
Hayley caught the next cab and sank into the vinyl seat with a heavy sigh that scraped against her ribs.
She had planned to invite Maddie home with her, but then she’d watched as Amy’s gaze groped Maddie, and Hayley felt repulsed.
Repulsed by Amy, and repulsed by herself for selfishly leading Maddie on—pretending to be someone she wasn’t.
Guilt surged through her, sharp and suffocating. Maddie had just given Hayley the most romantic evening of her life, and she repaid her by sending her home alone without so much as a hug.
But seeing Amy had snapped something inside her, a brutal reminder of who she really was. Hayley didn’t date. She didn’t fall in love. No one took care of her. She took care of herself. That was the rule. That was survival.
A hollow ache spread through her chest. Meaningless sex, that was safe. That was familiar. That was what she was good at.
Her heart threatened to crack at the thought of hurting Maddie, but Hayley had to put a stop to it, whatever it was they’d been doing. She had lost herself, somehow becoming foolish enough to imagine a future with a woman who looked at her like she was worth fighting for.
But then Amy’s cold, calculating gaze had sliced right through her fantasy, reflecting back the truth and returning her to her senses. Hayley wasn’t someone people stayed for.