Authors: Kate Hopkins
"You might want to grab a jacket while you're at it," he told her. "It's chilly out."
His thoughtfulness brought a lump to Haley's throat. Before she could stop herself, she said, "If only he had been more like you."
"I'm not perfect," he stated.
"You're pretty damn close," she croaked.
Simon smiled crookedly. "I have flaws, sweetheart. There's no point in telling you what they are. You'll learn them soon enough. Get your jacket."
Haley fetched her jacket and purse from the hall closet and rejoined Simon in the foyer. He took the jacket out of her hand and held it open for her. She slipped her arms into the sleeves. "Thank you."
"You're welcome."
They stepped out into the chilly night air. Shivering, Haley locked the door and led the way to the car. Simon pushed a button on his key chain to deactivate the alarm and opened the passenger side door for her. She got in and reached for her seatbelt. At that moment, her cell phone rang. She rifled through her purse, took out the phone, and glanced at the small-lit display screen. It was Chad. Not the least bit curious as to what he wanted she returned the phone to her purse.
"You're not going to answer that?" Simon asked, sliding behind the wheel.
"It's Chad," she explained. "I don't answer calls from him anymore."
"He and I had a brief conversation at work yesterday." He inserted the key in the ignition and started the car. "Do you want me to turn the heater on?"
"Yes, please." Haley shifted slightly and looked at him. "What did you two talk about? If you don't mind me asking."
"We talked about you." While Simon fiddled with the heater, he filled her in on his and Chad's conversation.
"Five years of friendship down the drain. All because I let you get involved in my problems," Haley said once he finished telling her what happened. "I should've insisted that you stay out of it."
"We're not having this conversation, Haley." Simon put the car in reverse and backed out of the driveway. "It's over and done with. I have no regrets. You shouldn't either."
"Stubborn man," she murmured to herself.
"Did you say something?"
She smirked. "No."
. . . .
The party was in full swing when Haley and Simon arrived. They scanned the crowd, looking for Darla, and spotted her standing near the bar. She was engaged in conversation with a small group of people. Haley snatched Simon's hand so she wouldn't lose him in the sea of people and headed in the direction of the bar. As they approached Darla, the crowd around her broke up and scattered.
"Haley, Simon," she said with a smile. "I'm glad you two could make it."
"We're glad you invited us," Haley said.
"There's quite a crowd here, Darla," Simon commented, his eyes moving over the crowd. "Your charity should make a nice profit."
"I hope so," she said. "The children need all the help they can get."
Haley felt a rush of affection and respect for the older woman. Every year, at Christmas and her birthday, instead of gifts, Darla asked friends and family to donate money to a charity of her choosing. This year she was asking everyone to donate money to a charity that helped children with cancer. "It breaks my heart when I think of all the children that are sick and dying."
"It breaks mine too, dear." Darla sighed heavily. "Where's Chad?"
"I don't know," Haley told her.
And I don't give a damn,
she added silently.
"He didn't come with you?" Darla asked, frowning.
"She came with me," Simon informed her. "Chad didn't tell you?"
"Tell me what?"
Haley turned and glanced at Simon. "Should I?"
"You don't have much of a choice."
He was right. She turned her attention to Darla once more. "Chad and I broke up."
"Oh, dear." Darla touched her arm. "What happened?"
Haley hesitated. "He . . . I mean we, wanted different things. It just wasn't working anymore."
"I'm sorry. I was so sure you two would be together forever."
"So did I," Haley uttered, her heart squeezing painfully in her chest.
Darla embraced her. "You will always be a part of our family."
"Thank you."
"You two mingle." She released Haley. "Eat, drink and be happy. This is a party. Being the birthday girl, I insist you enjoy yourself. Now I have more guests to greet. I will see you later."
"Why didn't you tell her that her nephew's a cheating bastard?" Simon asked her, after Darla moved on.
Haley reached out and picked a piece of lint off his blazer. "Telling her didn't feel right. I don't know why. Maybe it's because it's her birthday and I don't want to ruin her evening." She smiled at him. "Would you like to dance, Mr. Wilcox?"
"I would love to dance with you, Ms. Denton." Simon laid a hand on the small of her back and steered her toward the dance floor. Finding an empty space among the swaying couples, he grasped her right hand gently in his left hand and wrapped an arm around her waist. She placed her hand on his bicep and they began to move to the slow song that was playing.
"If I step on your toes, please forgive me." Haley cleared her throat. "I fear I might be a bit rusty. It's been a while since I've last danced."
"That makes two of us," he replied. "I don't get out much."
"We'll have to work on that." She turned her head slightly and caught a whiff of his cologne. Inhaling deeply, she felt a stirring deep inside of her. She closed her eyes and willed her body to behave. "I hope you know that I don't just want to spend time with you to make Chad jealous. I - I want to spend time with you because I enjoy being with you. There is your cooking too."
Chuckling, Simon squeezed her waist. "I'll cook for you any time, and I enjoy being with you too."
"I'm glad." Haley glanced over his shoulder and caught sight of Chad. He was standing at the bar with a drink in his hand. He turned and they locked eyes with each other. She glared at him.
"Is something wrong?" Simon inquired. "You're as stiff as a board."
"I'm fine." She leaned back and gazed at him. "I just saw a snake, that's all."
"Is that what we're calling him now?" he asked, arching an eyebrow.
"Can you think of a better name?" she said dryly.
"Yes, but I'd rather not say it out loud."
Haley grinned. "That bad, is it?"
"You have no-"
"I want to dance with Haley," Chad suddenly snarled, bumping into Simon.
Before he could stop himself, Simon went forward, banging his forehead against Haley's. She let out a moan. "I'm sorry." He touched her forehead. "Are you all right?"
"Y-yes."
"Did you hear me?" Chad shoved Simon. "I said-"
"Stop it!" Haley snapped. She laid her hand on Simon's arm. "Are you okay?"
"Never been better." He fixed Chad with a stare that Marian Wilcox would have been proud of. "You're not dancing with her. Now get lost."
"This is a family gathering," Chad said coolly. "You're not family. So why don't you get lost?"
"I leave and I'm taking her with me."
"Sweetheart." Chad moved toward Haley, his arm outstretched. "Please-"
"Now you know better." Simon knocked his hand away. "No touching. I don't-"
Chad lunged at Simon, throwing a punch that landed solidly on his jaw. Simon flew backwards, hitting the floor with enough force to knock the wind out of him. Gasping with horror, Haley knelt beside him and helped him sit up. A crowd of people, hoping to witness a fight, gathered around and watched them as though they were there for their entertainment.
"Don't you people have better things to do?" Haley growled at them. "There's not going to be a fight, so stop gawking at us." She lowered her head and stared at Simon. "Did he hurt anything?"
"Yeah, my pride," he answered, rubbing his jaw. "Can I hit him back?"
"No." She caressed his cheek. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."
"It's not your fault," he assured her. "Help me up."
Haley helped him stand. "Do you want to leave?"
"Hell, no," Simon said. "They haven't served the cake yet." He sneered at Chad. "You might have won this round, but the next one is mine."
Chad smirked at him. "You going to let her tell you what to do? Who's wearing the pants in the relationship? You or-"
Anger welling up inside of her, Haley gave into it and punched him in the nose.
Chapter 1
1
The tension in the car was almost more than Haley could stand. She glanced over at Simon. His jaw was swollen. Guilt tore at her and she swallowed hard past the lump in her throat. He got hurt because of her. It was all her fault. She lowered her head and studied her scraped, swollen knuckles. Every movement of her hand was agony. She deserved to suffer. Taking a deep shaky breath, she turned her attention to the passing scenery.
A few minutes later, Simon pulled into the driveway and parked behind Haley's car. He killed the engine and they sat there in the tense silence. There was so much Haley wanted to say to him, but she didn't know where to start. She released her seatbelt and shifted in her sear. "I-"
"We'll talk inside," he said abruptly. He opened the door and got out of the car.
Grabbing her purse, Haley got out and followed him to the door. She retrieved her keys from her purse, unlocked the door, and led the way inside. She switched on the light, flooding the foyer in a warm glow, and set her purse and keys on the table. "Simon, I-"
"You should put some ice on that hand," he interrupted coolly.
"I deserve to be in pain." Haley turned and made her way to the living room.
"Would you care to explain that to me?" Simon said, following her. "Why do you deserve to be in pain?"
"Because I'm the reason why Chad punched you." She held up her hand when he started to speak. "There's no point in trying to tell me otherwise. It's my fault. If you hadn't tried to keep him away from me, you wouldn't have gotten hit." She shrugged out of her jacket and laid it over the back of the couch. "Like I said earlier tonight. I never should have involved you in my problems. This plan we concocted needs to end. Provoking Chad is a bad idea. I don't want you to get hurt again. It's best we-"
"He punched me, Haley," Simon cut in. "It's not as though he tried to kill me. I've gone through worse tripping over my own feet. It's not a big deal." He took off his blazer and tossed it onto the recliner. "Sit down. I'll be right back."
Haley sank down onto the couch and slipped off her shoes. She sat back against the cushion and waited for Simon to return. He came back, several seconds later, with a frozen bag of vegetables wrapped in a clean dishtowel. Wordlessly, he held it out to her. "Thank you," she muttered, taking it from him. She placed it on her knuckles, wincing at the pain. "Would you like me to get you some Tylenol?"