Love, Laughter, and Happily Ever Afters Collection (176 page)

Haley and Eddie looked at each other and said, “Sugar high.”

Haley laughed and kissed The Colonel on the cheek once more before rounding up the kids like cattle and herding them into the family room all while she picked up paper plates with half-eaten cake on them.

“That is quite a young lady,” The Colonel said.

“Yes, she is,” Eddie agreed.

Yes, she is.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

HALEY WAS TRYING her best to enjoy herself. She honestly was. It was her birthday. She was at The Grill bar-slash-nightclub. It was one of her favorite places to dance. All of her sisters and a lot of her friends and some of her cousins were here. She was wearing a one-of-a-kind Amber Sloan original; Amber had designed the backless navy blue halter dress just for her, and she felt like a million bucks.

Great place. Great friends. Great dress.

It was no one’s fault but her own that she wasn’t having the time of her life.

“Do you want to dance?” Becca asked, speaking loudly over the pulsing music.

“No, I’m good,” Haley shouted back.

“Okay.” Becca shrugged and leaned back against the plush leather couch.

“You can if you want,” Haley said encouragingly.

“No.” Becca shook her head. “I’m not going to leave the birthday girl all by herself.”

“I’m fine. Really. Go. Dance,” Haley insisted.

Becca just shook her head again and stayed seated.

Haley didn’t want to spoil other people’s good times just because
she
was missing Eddie. Which was beyond ridiculous considering the fact that she’d just spent the entire day with him. Or at least at his house. They hadn’t really said that much to each other besides when they were cutting the birthday cake. Nevertheless, she had been around him all day.

Haley needed to have an attitude adjustment, and she needed to do it sooner rather than later. Although the song did say “It’s my party and I’ll cry if I want to,” Haley decided to pass and choose for her birthday anthem “Go shorty, it’s your birthday. You’re gonna party like it’s your birthday, gonna drink Bacardi like it’s your birthday.” Yes, a drink—that’s what she needed.

As luck would have it, a cocktail waitress just happened to be making her rounds near the VIP section of the club Krista had reserved for the party.

Haley waved her down. “Excuse me. Can I get a Bacardi and Coke?”

“Oooh me too,” Becca added.

The pretty server nodded and headed back to the U-shaped bar that was located in the center of the large space. She navigated easily through the crowds of people gyrating against each other on the dance floor.

Haley’s heart sank as she looked at all of the couples moving to the music. Haley loved dancing. It was really the only part of going out to clubs she liked. She wasn’t a huge drinker and she’d never once used the bar scene to ‘hook up’. When Haley went to a club, she spent the time there shaking her tail feathers on the dance floor. Unfortunately, the only person she wanted to dance with tonight was Eddie.

In the four years she’d been back, he’d never attended one of Haley’s birthday celebrations, which she completely understood. Since she and Emily shared a birthday, it meant that it was his daughter’s birthday too. Of course he would spend it with Emily. It’s not like he could get a babysitter for his daughter on her birthday. Especially since Haley was her babysitter.

Still, she couldn’t help the fact that she was sad that he wasn’t here. She’d tried to dance away her melancholy mood, but maybe it was time to call in the big guns—rum.

After the waitress delivered their drinks, Becca raised her glass. She spoke loudly to be heard as she made her toast. “To the best big sister a girl could ever have. Thank you for always being there for me. I love you so much, Haley. Happy birthday, sissy.”

Just as they were about to clink glasses, a deep male voice said, “Hey, stranger.”

Both she and her sister turned around at the greeting.

“Brian!” Becca jumped off her seat and threw her arms around her childhood BFF.

Becca and Brian had been inseparable growing up. The two of them had built forts in the backyard and skipped rocks down at the river. Then when they got older, they’d signed up for clubs together to support each other’s interests. Becca had joined drama club for Brian and Brian had joined science club for Becca. For a while there, Haley had thought that the two of them would end up together. But as far as Haley knew, they had never been anything but friends. They’d even double-dated to prom, each having their own dates. Whenever anyone would ask them about it, they would just say that they were like brother and sister.

“What are you doing here?” her sister asked as Brian stepped into the partitioned area and sat down with them.

“I just got in today. My dad’s having open heart surgery so I came home to help out.”

“Oh my gosh, B. I’m so sorry.” Becca’s eyes filled with worry.

“I’m sorry, Brian.” Haley’s heart went out to him. Brian’s mom had been wheelchair-bound for years and his dad was the sole provider in their household.

“How long are you back for?” Becca asked.

“Not sure.” Brian shook his head. “I might have to take a semester off. We’ll see.”

Haley hoped it didn’t come to that. Brian had gone to community college right after high school for financial reasons. But he had done so well he’d earned a scholarship to NYU Film School and transferred as a true junior.

“Are you meeting someone here or…?” Becca asked.

“No, I ran into Bobby at the gas station and he said everybody was coming here tonight for Hales’s birthday. Oh, so yeah, happy birthday, Hales!” He stood and gave Haley a quick hug. “Sorry, I’m kind of out of it.”

“Oh stop.” Haley waved her hand dismissively.

“So do you guys want to dance?” Brian asked, nodding his head towards the dance floor.

“You guys go ahead. I’m good,” Haley said as she took a sip of her drink.

“No, Haley.” Becca shook her head, sticking to her guns and refusing to leave Haley by herself. She appreciated her little sister’s loyalty. She did. But she really just wanted to sit, drink her drink…and think about Eddie.

“Seriously. Go,” Haley insisted.

Becca was mid head shake when something caught her eye and she popped up like a spring-loaded jack-in-the box, kissed Haley on the cheek, and said, “Okay, if you’re sure.” Then she turned and practically dragged Brian onto the dance floor.

Oookay. That was weird.

Just as she picked up her rum and Coke, she heard a familiar voice beside her ear and chills ran up both of Haley’s arms. “Happy birthday.”

It couldn’t be
.

Turning her head around slowly, she felt her heart slamming in her chest.

It was
him
.

Eddie was here. At The Grill. On her birthday. Wearing one of her favorite shirts. She’d told him so when he’d worn it to go out on a date a few months back. It was a charcoal-gray button-up shirt that fit his body like it had been tailor-made for him. Black slacks and just the right amount of stubble sprinkled across his face finished off his look. The man was oozing sex appeal, and for a moment, Haley forgot how to speak. Not that it mattered. Since she’d laid eyes on Eddie, her tongue had inexplicably swollen in her mouth to what felt like double its natural size. Haley knew that men had a particular muscle that swelled when they got turned on, but she had never heard of woman having any such thing.

“Do you want to dance?” Eddie’s low voice could barely be heard over the music, but luckily, since Haley was already staring at his perfect lips, and she’d always had a talent for reading lips, she’d caught every word.

Haley nodded. She stood, hoping her wobbly legs would hold her. Thankfully, there was a steel bar at the end the VIP section that she was able to grasp on to for support.

Her mind was still attempting to process the fact that Eddie was
here
. She would have thought that this was just a drunken hallucination, but she’d only had a sip of one drink, so that theory didn’t really work. This didn’t
feel
like a dream. Usually in her dreams, she didn’t question whether or not it was or wasn’t a dream, so that pretty much nullified that notion. Maybe she’d actually gone crazy and lost her mind from a combination of no sleep, the stress of opening up the store, and constantly obsessing about Eddie. That was probably it. Eddie was a figment of her delusional imagination.

As she descended down the two red carpet-covered steps that led to the lounge seating area, Eddie reached out and took her hand. The heat of his large palm and thick fingers surrounding her, radiated through her body. Nope. Not a figment of her imagination. Eddie was real. He was here. And he was hot as sin.

“Where’s Em?” she asked loudly so that she could be heard.

Eddie wrapped his arm around her waist and leaned down, his mouth next to her ear. “She wanted to spend the night with Chelle. For her birthday.” His lips brushed against her outer ear as he spoke and goose bumps broke out all over Haley’s body.

“Oh no.” She looked up at him as her hand covered her chest, her lips tilting in an understanding smile of commiseration. “I’m sorry. I know that’s gotta hurt.”

A look of intensity flashed in his eyes, but as quickly as it had appeared, it was gone. “She’s growing up.” One side of his mouth lifted in a lopsided grin.

As Eddie maneuvered them through the throngs of people on the dance floor, his hand rested on Haley’s lower back—exactly the way it had when they’d gone back stage at Emily’s performance. Haley loved when Eddie touched her. Every time he did, even if it wasn’t sexual, she felt more connected to him.

As they made it to the center of the dance floor, the pounding club music stilled and a slow song began playing. Just as Haley started looking around to see if anyone else thought that it was odd the DJ was playing a slow song, she heard him announce from his booth, “This one goes out to Haley Sloan. Happy birthday, Haley.”

The bar exploded in cheers and all of the couples surrounding them began moving slowly to the music. Eddie wrapped his arms around Haley and pulled her close to him. She looked up at him with a questioning look. This seemed orchestrated, but there was no way Eddie would dedicate a song to her. Was there?

Staring down at her, he tightened his grip around her waist and stated simply, “I wanted to slow dance with you on your birthday.”

Shock did not even begin to describe what Haley was experiencing.

As they began to sway together, Eddie’s thumbs rubbed in slow circles on the small of her back. The calloused pads on his fingers brushed against her bare skin, causing every one of her feminine nerve endings to spark to life. She laid her head against the solid strength of his shoulder and melted against him as she breathed in his masculine scent.

Thoughts were trying to overwhelm Haley like violent waves crashing against a shore. Every time she would get one to go away, another one crashed in its place. What did this mean? Did Eddie really care about her? Was it possible that there was a future for them?

Haley didn’t know the answers to any of those questions, but she did know that tonight, on her birthday, she was slow dancing with the man she loved. And that was enough.

* * * * *

EDDIE LEANED BACK against the couch and checked his watch before he rested his arm along the back of it. Haley had been gone for almost twenty minutes. He knew girls took a while to use the bathroom, but this was ridiculous.

It was almost last call. Most of her friends had already taken off. Her cousins Seth and Bobby and their wives Amber and Sophie had bounced over an hour ago. All of her sisters except Krista had left before them, and Krista was only still here to wait for Chris.

As he sat and waited, Eddie tried to calm down his raging hormones. Since the moment he’d laid eyes on her in that slinky blue dress, he’d been sporting wood and wanting to take her home and get her out of it. He wanted to touch her. He needed to touch her. The one slow dance they’d shared had been over far too fast. If it had been up to Eddie, he would have had her on the dance floor pressed up against him all night. But this wasn’t that kind of place. In fact, he’d had to tip the DJ over a hundred bucks just to get him to play the one slow song he had played.

But it had been worth every penny. The look on Haley’s face when he’d told her that he’d wanted to slow dance with her on her birthday had been worth ten times that amount. Priceless even.

Eddie still wasn’t sure exactly how things were going to work out with Haley. He knew that they definitely had a lot to talk about. But not tonight. Tonight he wanted to take Haley home and make love to her—in a bed this time. He wanted to worship her body, and after they were both drained and exhausted, he wanted to hold her in his arms while they slept. They could talk tomorrow.

If she ever came out of the bathroom.

Patience had never been one of Eddie’s strengths, and whatever reserve he did have was now used up. Also, he was getting a little concerned that she was okay in there. He knew she wasn’t drunk, so he wasn’t worried about that. She’d nursed two drinks all night and drunk a ton of water.

But maybe she’d gotten sick. What if she was in the bathroom and needed help and no one had come looking for her? He picked up his pace as he headed across the bar to the back hallway where the bathrooms were located. With each step, his heart rate picked up speed.

He took the corner at full-out jog and almost plowed right over her.

“Hi!” she exclaimed in surprise as he managed to stop just short of running her over.

“Hey.” Embarrassment crept up inside of him at the fact that his mind had gone from ‘what’s taking her so long?’ to ‘oh my god, she’s probably passed out on the floor’ in about .000025 seconds.

He needed to get a grip.

“Have you met Trenton?” Haley asked, gesturing to the man standing next to her. “He owns The Daily Grind, the coffee house across the street from Tempting.”