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  She looked at him, straight-on. “I’m okay, really. Please believe me.”

  “I do. Just know that you can come to me, anytime for any reason. I might not have the right answers, but I’m always here to listen.”

  * * *

  It was one of those days at the theater.

  Doug blew out a circuit fiddling around with various holiday lighting effects to use in the upcoming Christmas show. The blown circuit threw the stage, auditorium and backstage area into pitch-blackness, which meant the tech people, including Harper and Sasha Marek, who had come in to help, left for the day. Hailey called the arts council office and Tandy promised to send over an electrician, ASAP.

  ASAP turned out to be several hours.

  In the meantime, Hailey and Rashonda Kyle, her intrepid assistant director, moved to the lobby, where the lights were still on, and conducted the first half of the afternoon’s rehearsals as best they could in the not-ideal space. Rashonda, mother of five, Valentine Bay Elementary PTA president and Tandy Carson’s eldest daughter, was as much a town treasure as her mom. Kids somehow always listened when Rashonda gave instructions, so things went more smoothly than might have been expected. Plus, the revue was just what its name implied—a series of skits, songs and dances—so Hailey’s rehearsal schedule had the cast broken up into manageable groups.

  Not ideal, rehearsing in the lobby, but doable. The electrician finally appeared at a little after three, and by four thirty he’d fixed the problem at a cost of five hundred bucks and change, which he expected to be paid right now or sooner.

  Hailey had Rashonda take over running six little ballerinas through their interpretive dance to “Autumn Leaves,” and was about to call Tandy and ask who was writing the check when Roman strolled in through the glass doors that led out to the street.

  There ought to be a law against a guy looking that good. The man was pure eye candy in a rust-colored sweater and charcoal-gray pants, his sculpted jaw dusted with just the right amount of sexy scruff, big body loose and relaxed, not a care in the world.

  “Never mind,” said the electrician. “I think this is the guy.” He plucked the invoice from between Hailey’s fingers.

  Roman had his checkbook with him. He signed the invoice and handed over the check. Whistling a happy tune, the electrician exited, leaving Hailey and Roman standing there staring at each other while six girls in black leotards leaped and twirled in the background to the jazz stylings of Cannonball Adderley.

  “Roman to the rescue?” she dryly inquired.

  He gave her an easy one-shouldered shrug. “It’s my building. I like to be sure things are done right—though the truth is, all the wiring in this pile of rubble will have to be replaced during the conversion.” He leaned closer and she got a way-too-seductive whiff of his cologne. “Unless you give in to your burning desire to be mine forever and become my wife?”

  She made herself scowl at him in general disapproval of his hasty wedding plans—not to mention, his heartless scheme to make a hotel out of an important community resource. Scowling, however, was challenging at the moment. He was so deliciously manly, and she couldn’t help remembering how good it felt when she had his arms around her. “You need to stop getting married for all the wrong reasons.”

  He didn’t even have the grace to look humbled by his past matrimonial mistakes. “This time, all the reasons are right.”

  “Sure they are—and I can’t stand around arguing with you all day. I’ve got a show to put together.” She started to turn.

  He caught her arm and the usual thrill shot through her. “When I quizzed Tandy Carson about the blown circuit, she said the lighting director did it. Who would that be, may I ask?”

  “Doug was just doing his job, trying out some lighting effects.”

  “Dickerson.” He was scowling. “That guy’s a menace. I should have a talk with him, man-to-man.”

  “Would you back off on poor Doug? You just said yourself that the wiring needs to be replaced.”

  He glared at her as though the force of his stare might allow him to see inside her head. “You really don’t think it’s his fault?”

  “I don’t. Honestly.”

  His grip on her arm eased a little. And he said, almost gently, “What time are you finished here?”

  “Why?”

  “I’ll come back. We’ll get some dinner.”

  She should say no. He was controlling and overbearing and he needed someone to hold the line on him.

  “Come on, Hailey. Dinner. You and me.”

  She glanced down at her tatty green UO hoodie, ripped skinny jeans and oldest pair of Chucks. “Casual. I’m talking burgers and fries and a tall Dr Pepper.”

  “Wherever you want to go, whatever you want to eat.”

  “Five thirty—six at the outside.” She shouldn’t be so easy. However, not to be easy was hard to remember when she would prefer to be a whole lot easier, if only he would reach out and take what she’d tried so hard to give him last night.

  He still had hold of her arm. With a gentle tug, he pulled her close enough to brush a sweet little kiss to her temple and growl, “I’ll be here,” in her ear.

  Her midsection melted and she felt the foolish, dreamy smile as it formed on her lips. “Get lost. I have work to do.”

  “Five thirty,” he said and released her.

  She found herself rooted where he’d left her, gazing longingly after him as he went out the glass doors.

  “There goes trouble,” said Rashonda out of the corner of her mouth. She’d moved in close as Hailey was busy watching Roman’s fine backside walking away.

  “Ain’t that the truth,” Hailey agreed and then clapped her hands to get everyone’s attention. “Okay, the lights are on in the theater. Let’s take this show onstage.”

  * * *

  At Hailey’s request, Roman took her to Raeleen’s Roadside Grill for the best burgers in town. After the meal, they strolled the historic district to work off the carb-and-meat overload. Roman held her hand. It was a windy, gray evening.

  But to Hailey, it seemed the most beautiful Monday ever.

  When they returned to his impossibly futuristic sports car, sandwiched themselves inside and tugged down the scissor doors, he turned to her. “Come back to the house with me.”

  She had a strong premonition that she was asking for a repeat of the night before—a lot of scorching-hot kisses leading to her going home to her favorite battery-powered pleasure enhancer. She should be more upset about that.

  She wasn’t, though. Not really. Yeah, she wanted a sex life with an actual man again.

  But she also had a lot of fun just being with him. She liked trading barbs with him. She felt like he got her in a way only Harper and Nathan ever had.

  “Take me to the theater,” she commanded. “I’ll get my car and follow you.”

  He kissed her. That went on for a while, the two of them craning over the console that reminded her of the bridge of the Starship Enterprise, going at each other like a couple of out-of-control teenagers.

  She was the one who finally pulled away. “We’d better stop. It’s way too tight in here to keep this up.”

  He drew her close again, but only to rest his forehead against hers and stroke a big hand down her hair. It felt so good—his caress, the warmth of his breath on her skin.

  Finally, he sat back. “You’re right. Let’s go.”

  At Roman’s house, Theo was already in bed and Sasha had gone upstairs. They went out the back and down to the firepit. He turned on the flames and they sat together on one of the loungers. He wanted to hear about her day, and she shared the details of Daniel’s visit.

  Roman cradled her closer. She felt his lips brush her hair. “Is he going to be a problem?”

  She tipped her head back to see his eyes. “Daniel a problem? Why?”

 
“You just said he tried to warn you off me.”

  “No. I said he was checking in with me.”

  “Because of me. Because I showed up with you at the family dinner Sunday.”

  “Right...” She let the word trail off, not sure what he was getting at.

  “He thinks I’m wrong for you. I’m too old for you and I have a son and I’ve been married twice.”

  She wriggled around to face him. “Yeah. He said those things.”

  “So then, he did warn you off me.”

  She kissed him, hard and quick. “You need to put on your listening ears.”

  “Don’t patronize me, Hailey.”

  “Don’t be overly sensitive.”

  “I am not, nor have I ever been, overly sensitive.” Those silvery eyes smoldered at her.

  Yeah. Overly sensitive. No doubt about it.

  Maybe this conversation required a bit of physical distance. She kind of had trouble concentrating on what she was saying when he was too close. Her brain got all tangled up with the feel of him and the yearning inside her and the scent of him that made her picture his giant bed upstairs with the two of them in it, naked, sheets all tangled, the blankets fallen to the floor.

  She pushed at his chest. “Let me go.”

  He held on and grumbled, “Stay here.”

  She kissed his stubborn jaw. “I’m only retreating to the next lounger over.”

  “You never retreat.” Those big, hard arms banded closer. “And I like you right here, with my arms around you.” He nuzzled her neck, and then nipped at the sensitive skin—his teeth digging in just enough to send bolts of pleasure zipping straight to her core. His hand had strayed up under the hem of her hoodie and he stroked his fingers up and down the bumps of her spine. It all felt amazing—that big, stroking hand of his, the scrape of his teeth down the side of her throat. She longed to start ripping his clothes off, getting down to some serious business right here in his backyard.

  But he was unlikely to go there with her tonight—at least, not unless she promised to marry him. That, she was not going to do. They needed a lot more time, the two of them, together, before wedding bells started ringing.

  And even if by some miracle he announced that he’d changed his mind and would take her to bed after all, it was wiser and safer for her to get on the Pill first. She pushed at his chest again. “We need to talk, and you are distracting me.”

  He muttered something disagreeable, but he did release his hold. She got up, tugged her hoodie back down over her hips, smoothed her hair with both hands and switched to the other lounger.

  “Daniel does not disapprove of you and me getting together,” she said firmly.

  He levered his lounger down flat, stretched out on his side and braced his head on his fist. “Listen to you. He ‘does not disapprove.’ Double negative. You’re hiding something.”

  “I am not—look. Okay, yeah, he was concerned at first. But he got over it. You have to understand, Daniel’s the dad in our family. He takes his role seriously. If he’s uneasy about one of us, he follows up and makes us talk it through. I can’t say I love it when he knocks on my door and won’t go away until he’s convinced I’m okay. But I appreciate how much he cares, that he’s on the case as our substitute dad.”

  Roman sat up. He held out his hand. She took it. He tugged her over to his side and hooked an arm around her. “I like it better when I’m touching you.”

  With a happy sigh, she leaned her head on his shoulder. “I’m telling you the truth, Roman. Daniel and I had a good talk. He understands that I really like you and he’s fine now with me going out with you.”

  “Maybe I should have a talk with him...”

  She pulled away enough to give him her sternest frown. “There’s no reason to fix what isn’t broken. Let it go.”

  He smirked at her. “You’re really bossy. I don’t like bossy women, as a rule.”

  “If you’re planning on turning that uncalled-for remark into a backhanded compliment, don’t even try.”

  He chuckled. “Bossy. Yeah. Just like I said.”

  * * *

  Roman showed up at the theater on Wednesday afternoon. Hailey was in the middle of rehearsals. She gave him a quick wave and went back to work. His mother was already there with Theo. The little boy liked to nap in his stroller while Sasha painted scenery backstage.

  It was the first day of rehearsals for the finale, which included the entire cast. As Hailey had pretty much expected, everything went wrong. Not to worry, though. They still had plenty of rehearsals to whip things into shape before the first performance in mid-October.

  Roman hung around for over an hour. Hailey spotted him now and then, lurking in the wings stage left with his son in his arms, looking like every woman’s idea of the perfect man, big and fit and handsome—and he loved his little boy. An ovulation-inducing sight if there ever was one.

  He was still there when rehearsal ended, though by then, Sasha and Theo had left.

  “Dinner,” he said, coming down the stairs stage left to join Hailey and Rashonda at the big folding table in the front row. “Finish up and let’s go.”

  She didn’t argue. Why would she? She enjoyed his company. Overbearing as he could be at times, his kisses set her on fire, and he was a lot of fun to argue with. Plus, her stomach was growling. If he wanted to feed her, she wasn’t about to say no. She and Rashonda gathered up their things and they all three walked out together.

  Roman took Hailey to this great little Italian place a few blocks from the theater. After dinner, they window-shopped and then he took her back to his house, where they ended up in the backyard, sharing a lounger by the firepit as the fog rolled in.

  She didn’t get back to the cottage until almost midnight. Harper was already in bed.

  The next morning, early, she went to her doctor and got a contraceptive shot. Roman couldn’t hold out against her forever. Eventually, she would get lucky and she needed to be fully prepared.

  Friday, they went to dinner and a show in Astoria. When he dropped her off at her place that night, he wrangled another invite to Sunday dinner at Daniel’s.

  She had a condition. “Bring Theo and your mom.”

  He joked that his mom cramped his style, but he agreed to invite her. Sasha said yes. They all rode together in Roman’s SUV—a.k.a. the Dad Car.

  The afternoon went well, Hailey thought. Sasha got along great with everyone and Theo was universally adored. Gracie and Dante Santangelo came. They had Dante’s eight-year-old twin daughters with them for the weekend. The twins, Nicole and Natalie, had struck up a friendship with Coco Killigan. The three girls hauled Theo and Riley around with them for most of the afternoon as Daniel’s three little ones followed in their wake. All the kids seemed to love hanging out together, even smart and serious ten-year-old Ben Killigan, on whom Nicole Santangelo just possibly had a crush.

  From then on, for Hailey and Roman, a pattern was established. As September became October, they were together constantly—two or three evenings a week and always on Sunday at Daniel’s. Hailey really was gone on him. He was such a great guy, even with the occasional dickish and domineering behavior.

  He asked her and Harper to plan a party for Theo’s first birthday and she happily agreed. She would have done it for free, but he insisted on paying H&H Productions the going rate. When she explained to him her plans for Theo’s special day, he called her a genius and asked her to marry him yet again.

  She smiled and sweetly said no.

  He still wouldn’t sleep with her. He was very hands-on, though, in the best sort of way. Whenever they were alone together, they shared endless, steamy kisses and some pretty intimate caresses. But he always called a halt before the main event, after which he would suggest that they should get married.

  Was she tempted to say yes?

  Maybe. A little�
��or even a lot.

  But it was much too soon. Neither of them had mentioned love and love should come first before two people started talking about saying “I do.”

  And they weren’t in love, were they?

  Her mind shied away from the question every time she started to consider it. In her life, she’d been in love with only one man, and since she lost Nathan, she’d honestly believed that he had been the one, her one. She’d been so sure that true, forever love would never be hers again.

  However, this thing with Roman felt...special. Powerful. Her love for Nathan seemed so long ago now, a beautiful, bittersweet interlude, not the grand passion she’d once believed it to be. That made her sad.

  And then she would remind herself not to get too serious—about the past or about Roman Marek. She was having a great time with him. For now, that was more than enough.

  On October 7, Theo was a year old. The following Saturday, they threw the birthday boy a party at the house on Treasure Cove Circle. H&H Productions filled the place with balloons and streamers and passed out party hats and whistles. Roman had invited every child in Hailey’s family—meaning all the kids who attended Sunday dinner at Daniel’s. Even Nicole and Natalie Santangelo came up from Portland for the event.

  Sasha had ordered a giant cake shaped like a truck. They had wagon rides, bubble catching and a parade through the house. The bigger kids built a castle out of oversize colored blocks. It was Theo’s job to knock it down, with Riley’s help—to cheers and applause from everyone. And then they had story time, which consisted of Ben Killigan reading Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You? as Coco led the others in making animal sounds at the end of each rhyme.

  Later, after Theo had blown out his candle, Sasha served cake and ice cream and Roman took a bunch of pictures of Theo with bits of cake and green icing all over his face.

  Harper leaned close to Hailey and declared, “No doubt about it. Our best party, ever.”

  They high-fived each other on that one.

  Hailey was still grinning after everyone left. Harper hung around to clean up, heading out the door when everything was pretty much done. Roman took a worn-out Theo upstairs for a much-needed nap.