17. On Your Mark, Get Set, Go

Hailey swallowed, shipping a little knot down the smooth ivory column of her neck, drawing Noah's eye. The desire to taste the skin along her throat surged inside him, rekindling his frustration over last night's lost opportunity. When Charlie had told him this morning she had asked for a few extra days at the Loose Moose, Noah's hopes had picked themselves up and dusted themselves off. He had another shot.

She uncrossed her arms and reached for the envelope. Tapered fingertips danced across its surface. "What's this?"

"What I owe you for last night. Along with the tips Dixie saw you stuff into the jar."

She pushed away the envelope and his hands with it. "I can't accept this."

Why was he not surprised at her reaction? "Yes, you can." He pushed back.

She stubbornly folded her hands together and rested them on the edge of the table, out of his reach. "No, I can't. I just now found out from Amy that you paid for the new battery in my Toyota and the tow. Between that and sending Dixie over with food and wine the first night after you saved me from freezing to death, I really can't do it. I should be paying you."

He dropped the packet on the table with a thud. "Don't think so. You bailed me out last night and worked your ass off, all with a smile on your face. If you ever want a job—"

"I already tried that, and she turned me down," Amy hollered from her kitchen. "And FYI, I get first dibs if she changes her mind."

Jesus! He rolled his eyes while Hailey fought a snicker. "I've got an envelope for you too, big ears," he yelled back.

"Keep it," Amy sang.

"Not gonna happen." He lowered his head and gave Hailey a fake glare. "Same goes for you, surfer girl."

Hailey unclasped her hands and traced tiny circles on the tabletop, staying far away from the stuffed envelope that sat like an explosive device between them.

"Right. Moving on. We'll debate me paying you in a minute. How about you tell me what Ursula said instead?"

Her eyes widened. "Why?"

"Because you did your best to avoid me right after your exchange with her on the stairs, and because there's a high probability whatever she said wasn't true."

She gaped. "You saw that? But you were slammed behind the bar."

"Not a lot gets by me." Plenty got by him, especially when it came to women, but what the hell? He was running with it, especially if it got him the answers he wanted. "So tell me why things turned chilly between us after you two talked."

Hailey schooled her features into a passive mask. "I didn't think it was in my best interest to spend time with a man who was capable of laying a kiss on one woman while his longtime girlfriend was in the same building."

Bingo. His suspicions about Ursula had been right, which was a sad statement. His mind returned to the analogy of her being like a tick burrowed into his flesh that he couldn't extract, and like the nasty insect, she spread disease that affected everything and everyone around him.

"She's not my girlfriend, and she wasn't in the same building when we kissed. Not that it would have made a difference."

"Her being your girlfriend or being in the same building?"

"Being in the same building. If she had been my girlfriend at the time, I would never have kissed you." Truth.

Hailey waved her hand. "A technicality."

"A pretty big one, wouldn't you agree?" When she didn't reply, he folded his arms over his chest. "As I recall, you kind of opened the door to that kiss. Don't get me wrong. I'd do it again, given the chance." And frankly, I was looking forward to finishing what we started. "Back to Ursula. She has no claim on me. That ended a long time ago."

Hailey seemed to flinch, which gave him a modicum of righteous indignation—and breathed life into a tiny flame of hope. "You do have quite the fan club vying for your attention, so it's not a stretch to assume you get around."

He stared out the window for a beat while he processed her words, folding inside with the realization this was a small town and gossip traveled faster than a skier down a sixty-degree slope. Though she'd only been here a few days, someone might have already filled her in on his … past exploits. It also bugged him that she believed him capable of cheating. He had played around—a lot—especially when he'd been younger, but he had never cheated on a partner, whether the relationship lasted a week or six months. Then again, from her perspective—especially with Ursula being Ursula and Germaine coming on strong … Yeah, he got it.

He brought his gaze back to hers. "Well, you assumed wrong. As for Ursula, everything's a game, and she doesn't like to lose."

Curious eyes searched his. Her voice was gentle when she said, "What happened?"

Would baring himself get him back in Hailey's good graces? He hated to go there and put his dumbassery on full display—he hadn't even laid out the whole story to his brothers—but his gut told him she wouldn't accept anything less than complete honesty, and for some unfathomable reason, he wanted her to have faith in him. Oddly, he couldn't recall feeling that way before about anyone but his mother.

"I'll lay out the whole sordid story if you really need to hear it," he offered.

"I'm not sure I need to hear it, but I admit I'm curious. How about you give me a sec to check my email about an appointment I have later today while you get yourself that cup of coffee? Then you can tell me the condensed version, just so I'm able to arrange the puzzle pieces in their correct order." She arched her brows in question.

He pushed out a sigh. "Fair enough." Moseying over to the coffee service, he found a clean cup and spoon laid out for him. Mercifully, Amy was nowhere in sight, and he prayed to God her ears wouldn't dial into what he was about to spill.

He dropped back into the seat across from Hailey. "Did you get squared away?"

"Yep, all set." She rested an elbow on the table, dropped her chin in her palm, and leaned in.

He pulled in a lungful of air and traveled back to the dismal night of Wyatt's wedding.

After seeing Wyatt and Serena off, he had returned to the reception, and Ursula had been MIA. When she had reappeared much later, she'd been disheveled and complained of stomach trouble, so he had taken her back to their room and tucked her in.

When he'd woken before the sun the following morning, she hadn't been in bed beside him. He'd dressed and gone looking for her, wondering if she'd been so sick she'd sought medical help. But as he'd rounded a corner, a giggle and a flash of pink dress had caught his attention, and he'd frozen in his tracks at the sight of her kissing one of Wyatt's hockey buddies in the doorway of a different room.

"I have to get back before he notices I'm gone," she'd said in that breathless way she had. The guy had rumbled undecipherable words, to which Ursula had purred, "Oh my! Round three?" A sultry smile had played on her lips—also familiar. The dude, dressed in only a pair of gym shorts that didn't do a thing to hide what was on his mind, had pulled her into the room and slammed the door. Noah's stomach had plummeted to his ankles, leaving him feeling as though he'dhad stomach flu. He had wanted to puke.

He lifted his eyes to the ceiling before leveling them back on a patiently waiting Hailey. "I took her to my cousin's wedding, and she ended up getting it on with another guy while oblivious me slept in the room we shared." Even this abbreviated version took a big bite out of his pride.

Hailey's eyebrows cinched together with concern or sympathy—he wasn't sure. "You were cuckolded," she murmured.

Coldcocked? Sounds about right. "I was what?"

"It's an old English term that makes ‘she got it on with another guy' sound more charming somehow. Any way you slice it, though, it's a terrible way to treat someone."

And yet Noah had let Ursula use him, which brought him back to the same question: Why? The ugly truth was ego had driven his decision to bring her. She turned heads wherever she went—hell, entire bodies! He'd enjoyed a sense of smug satisfaction with her on his arm. What the fuck did that make him? Shallow, shortsighted, and incredibly stupid—for starters. Staring down his foibles made him shrink inside.

Fortunately, Hailey saved him from his self-reproach. "Did you confront her?"

"No, I left." His mind in a tailspin, he had stared at the closed hotel room door a beat before pivoting on his heel, packing up, and getting the hell out of there. Now here he was, bleeding out in front of a woman he'd only known for three days. Fate had one hell of a strange sense of humor.

Pleats formed between Hailey's brows. "Was it something she'd done to you before?"

Shit. In for a dime, in for a dollar, as his mom liked to say. He steeled himself to face his idiocy. "Yes. But in my defense, we'd been broken up for a while before the wedding, and I'd thought, ‘We're older now,' maturity and wisdom, water under the bridge, and all the other garbage you tell yourself."

Ursula had pulled some shit in the past, but she'd never left his bed to hop into someone else's under the same roof on the same damn night.

Hailey nodded. "Understandable. She is stunning."

"I used to think so. Now I only notice the flaws when I look at her." The words simply slipped out, but he recognized them as his new reality. Too bad he hadn't been so self-enlightened when he'd decided to invite Ursula along.

"You sound like two magnets who kind of repel and attract each other at the same time."

"Not a bad comparison, except this magnet has removed himself from the field."

The creases between Hailey's brows deepened. "Why does she believe you're still together?"

"She's Ursula. She believes whatever narrative suits her mood. But you know what? Her inclinations no longer affect me. I'm done," he repeated. But sadly, he wasn't.

She canted her head. "You look like someone just took away your favorite toy."

He shook his head. "I'm trying to make inroads with this resort up the road so we can collaborate, but she works there now, and she's the gatekeeper."

"And she won't unlock the gate?"

"She'll unlock it, but the price is too high."

Hailey pursed her rosebud lips. "Up the road. Are we talking about Silver Summit?" He nodded, and she continued. "Is aligning with them critical?"

"I'm not sure, but I'm at a point where I'm grasping at straws. It's selfishly motivated on my part"—as in, the tavern's survival depended on it—"but I do believe it would be beneficial for both sides."

"And there's no way around her?"

"Not that I've found yet." Sitting forward, he drummed his fingers on the table's edge. "Let's change the subject."

"Okay, but for the record, anyone who treats someone like that doesn't deserve another bite at that someone, er …"

A chuckle broke free, and with it, bands of tension around his chest eased. "I think you mean they don't deserve another bite at the apple."

She beamed him that beautiful Hailey smile, not seeming to mind how lame he was. "Yeah, that."

"Do you believe me?"

Her smile dimmed a fraction. "Is it important that I believe you?"

"Yeah, it is." He swallowed around the vulnerability lodged in his throat.

Her pale blue gaze slid to the side. When it landed back on him, warmth danced in her eyes. "Yeah, I believe you."

Relief rushed in. "Thank you." Silently, he filled his lungs with sweet, fresh air. "How long are you here for?"

"Um, possibly a few days."

"Have dinner with me tonight?" he blurted.

She appeared genuinely stunned by his invitation. "I-I can't. I have a dinner meeting with my boss." Her eyes widened, as if she'd let something slip.

"Wednesday?"

She shook her head.

"Thursday?"

"I'll probably be back in Montrose."

"What kind of business are you here on?"

"We're doing some work for the county. I'm not sure of all the details yet," she hedged.

Her evasiveness flipped up a little red flag until he reminded himself that every department in the county was perpetually understaffed, and it wasn't unusual for employees from other areas to fill in now and again. But he had her answer: she worked for the government.

"Help me out here. What night, day, or morning works? I'll drive to Montrose, or you can head back here." The vagueness he was picking up might be her trying to dodge him, but he was a determined dog hunting a juicy bone.

"Friday? I could come back here so you can be with Lex Luthor?" She seemed to wince.

He wasn't sure what that near-wince meant, but he saw his opening, and he ran with it. "Friday it is." One of the bar's busiest nights. He'd have to let Dixie know right away. Yeah, he was going to take advantage and rely on his staff to help him out. A date with Hailey was that worth it. "We could eat at the Majestic, though I think they're overrated, and I'm not just saying that because they're competition. Or at Silver Summit? Or at the Moose? Or my apartment? I'll cook, and we can catch up on our pirate podcasts. We're way behind," he babbled.

This elicited a charming giggle. "You cook?"

"Among other things." He couldn't stop the grin that tugged his lips wider.

"Hmm. Lex Luthor would be more comfortable at his own place, I suspect."

"I suspect," he agreed.

She bit her lower lip and looked out the window, as though she expected her answer to be written in the parking lot behind his building. A war seemed to take place in those pretty eyes of hers.

Say yes. Say yes. Please say yes.

As he sat there on pins and needles waiting for her answer, he asked himself what it was about Hailey that drew him in. Was it simply because she soothed his tattered ego? No. Something else was at play here, and he blamed it on the universe because only the big U had the power to set up their unlikely meeting and nurture whatever was sparking between them.

What little he knew about her made him eager to learn more. She was sweetness and sass rolled into a self-confident package that was beyond appealing. Vivacious. Full of life. Warm. Open. She had a way about her that made people feel special when she smiled at them. Like he felt when she smiled at him. Knowing what he did about her upbringing made him admire her even more. How someone who had been through so much could emerge with such a zestful spirit filled him with reverence. He wanted more of that.

She narrowed twinkling eyes. "I have to ask. Are you on a rebound here?"

He let go a laugh. "No. Being on the rebound would mean I'm trying to get over something, and I don't have anything to get over."

His eyes didn't waver from hers as he poured his plea into his laser focus.

"Why are you asking me to dinner?"

"Because you look hungry?" His grin widened. "Seriously, it's what a guy does when he wants to spend time with a woman."

Her mouth swung open. Shit! What had he said wrong?

"I'm just … And you're …" she stammered. Hailey Bailey was a knockout, but a flustered Hailey Bailey? Adorable.

He cocked an eyebrow.

"All right," she acquiesced. "I'll have dinner with you at your place Friday night … because I really want to see Lex Luthor."

Yes! He executed an inner fist pump.

His inner victory lap came to an abrupt halt. Friday was days away, and he didn't want to wait that long. "I'm pretty open this week. If your plans change before Friday, you let me know, yeah?"

Eyes shifting from side to side, she gave him a noncommittal "Okay" that made his hopes pull back in disappointment. Then she shoved the envelope across the table. "But you have to take this back."

"I can't take it back." He wasn't going to win this argument, if the determined set of her chin was any indication. An idea blazed in his brain. "But I can donate it to an animal shelter instead."

Her eyes softened in a way that made him feel like a superhero. "Yes, you could," she agreed.

Why did her words make him want to beat his chest? The answer came swiftly. He'd had to earn that look from her, which made it that much sweeter. Whether she knew it or not, this girl was motivating him to chase her, and he liked the challenge. He liked her. The reasons why were irrelevant.