“You’re from California?” he asked.
“Born and raised in the OC.” I nodded.
“I grew up in Studio City.”
We stood there for a moment, gazing at each other, and I wondered if he was going to kiss me. But just as he moved toward me, my cell started ringing. And even though I was more than willing to ignore it, Dane smiled and said, “You should probably get that.”
I raced toward my purse, grabbed my cell, and flipped it open, though I was sure it was too late.
“This is Shannon Atkins from Atlas In-flight Service, I’d like to speak with Hailey Lane, please.”
Oh my God! Is this for real? Does she really think she can still harass me even after I’ve quit? I mean, what is with these people?
But I didn’t say any of that. Instead I just rolled my eyes and said, “Speaking.”
“Oh good, I’m so glad I caught you! You probably haven’t even realized it yet, but it seems you’ve lost your ID.”
“Excuse me?” I said, wondering what the heck she was talking about.
“It’s sitting right here on my desk. It looks like the lanyard broke, so it must have just fallen right off your neck without you even noticing. Lawrence found it on the ground right outside his office, and he brought it to my immediate attention. So when do you think you can come by and get it?”
“Well, I’m not exactly sure,” I said, gripping the phone and trying to digest this most recent turn of events. Was she really unaware of the fact that I’d quit? And had I really scared Lawrence straight? So to speak.
“I’ll just keep it locked in my desk. But don’t forget to call before you come in, since you know you can’t enter the lounge without it. Enjoy your weekend, Hailey!”
“Um, you too,” I said, closing my phone and wondering if Atlas had become like a bad boyfriend that I’d never be able to shake.
“Is everything okay?” Dane asked, already sitting at the table
I looked at him and smiled. “You’re not gonna believe this,” I said, heading over to join him.
The cabin is secure when all
baggage is finally stowed.
“I swear, Chez Dane is by far my favorite restaurant.” I smiled, leaning back in my seat feeling happy, lazy, and full. “I don’t know
anyone who can throw together braised short ribs and pumpkin
orzo on a moment’s notice. What’d you do? Attend Cordon Bleu between all of your other accomplishments?”
“Nope, just a hobby,” he said, refilling our wineglasses.
“And I bet Jake loves the leftovers,” I said, glancing over at the chocolate lab lying on the living room rug and noticing how his head perked up at just the mention of his name.
“So when do I get to read this book of yours?” Dane asked, leaning back in his chair and smiling.
“Uh, when it’s revised, edited, copyedited, bound, and sitting on the shelf in Barnes and Noble?”
“You’re gonna make me wait?”
“Well, you didn’t seem all that interested before it sold,” I teased.
“I didn’t even realize I had it until I called you.”
“Fair enough.” I shrugged.
“So,” he said, pushing his chair away from the table. “Should we head out on the town? Or stay in and watch a movie?”
I looked at him standing across from me and realized I’d been having such a surprisingly nice time just hanging with him and Jake that I really didn’t feel like going out into the cold and crowded night. “What movies do you have?”
“I’ve got a pretty good selection in the den. Why don’t you choose one while I put this stuff away.” He smiled.
“Need any help?” I asked.
But he just shook his head. “The movies are in the cupboard, under the flat screen. I’ll meet you in the den in ten,” he said, smiling and heading for the sink.
I made my way down the hall, and the second I reached the den I looked at the couch and thought,
Oh crap, Cadence’s book is still under there!
And I knew that no matter what it took, I needed to get it back on the shelf while I had the chance.
But I also had to pick a movie.
And knowing I only had ten minutes or less to accomplish both of these tasks, I wasn’t sure which to conquer first. I mean, if I went straight for the book and then Dane came in and I hadn’t picked a movie, he’d wonder what the hell I’d been doing all that time. But if I took too long picking a movie, then I ran the risk of getting caught with my hand under the couch.
Okay,
I decided,
I’m just gonna pick a movie, any movie, and then I’ll go find that stupid book.
But when I opened the cupboard I found four shelves chock-full of DVDs.
Great,
I thought, quickly scanning the titles,
this is gonna take forever.
Apparently he owned all of my favorite movies, and I had no idea how I’d choose just one.
I ran my fingers over the cases:
American Beauty, Chinatown, The Pianist, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,Selen,Pulp Fiction, High Fidelity, Annie Hall, Requiem for a Dream, Ghost World, The Shaw shank Redemption, Harold and Maude
. . .
Knowing I didn’t have time to waste I reached for
The Graduate,
which I hadn’t seen in years but which always made me laugh, followed by
Silence of the Lambs,
which I’d recently seen on TNT but wouldn’t mind seeing again; then I tossed them onto the table, slammed the cupboard door, and made a beeline for the couch.
Slinking around the back of the sofa, I quickly scanned the room, making sure that other than me, the den was completely empty. Then, giving myself the all-clear, I dropped to my knees, bent forward, and slid my arm under as far as it would go.
I was down on all fours, feeling around as best I could, hoping I could locate the book before coming across anything disgusting, when I realized that with my arm bent the way it was, and with the couch being kinda long, it was quite possible I would crawl like this forever and still not maximize my full potential.
So straining my neck and peering over the top, I checked to make sure I was still alone. Then I flattened myself on the ground, turned my head so that my cheek was resting on the smooth hard-wood floor, and pressed my nose firmly against the brown damask upholstery. And keeping one eye closed, I scoped with the other, trying to make out the shape of a bestselling book in the sliver of shallow, dark space before me.
Unable to see anything but black, I inched my body forward like a Navy Seal on a highly sensitive, top-secret mission, sweeping the sliver of space with my left arm, which, stretched to its full ex-tent, was beginning to ache from all the strain.
Where the heck was it? I mean, the couch was long, but it’s not like it was all that wide. So where the heck could it have gone?
And by the time I’d made it to the end, I’d barely collected so much as a dust ball. But knowing it was under there somewhere (since I’m the one who’d put it there) and sensing the minutes slip-ping away, I decided to head back where I came from, arm sweeping, and double-checking the entire way.
I was inching backward, keeping flush to the floor and using the toes of my black leather boots for leverage, when I felt the very tips of my fingers graze something that felt like it might possibly bemade
of paper. And crushing my body as hard as I could against the back of the couch, I extended my arm so far I thought it would pop from its socket, as my fingers frantically reached for what I now knew was Cadence’s book.
And just as I grasped it, I felt someone breathe softly in my ear. “Shit!” I jumped, pulling away from the couch, and turning to see it was only Jake. “Jeez! You scared the heck out of me,” I whispered as he sniffed at my face and licked my cheek. “Go on now.” I pushed him with my free hand, the one that wasn’t throbbing and still partially wedged under the couch. “Go find your master. I’ll be through in a minute,” I told him, anxious to get back to work before Dane came in and found me like that.
And just as I slid back to the ground, pressing myself against the couch and getting into position, I heard footsteps.
Followed by the sound of Dane’s voice saying, “Looking for this?”
And then I closed my eyes and froze.
And then I reviewed my options.
I could either:
A. Stay put for as long as it took, refusing to budge, breathe, or speak.
B. Pretend I’d lost an earring, and was just looking for it.
C. Get up and own up.
I chose A.
“Hailey?” Dane said, his voice filled with worry. “Are you okay?” I lay there for a while, trying not to think about how much worse this probably looked from his angle; then I took a deep breath, retrieved my cramped and throbbing arm, and got up from the floor, awkwardly unfolding my body until I was finally standing before him.
“Oh, hey,” I said, having decided to take the nonchalant approach, and casually ridding myself of tiny pieces of lint. “I, um, Ithought
I dropped something.” I shrugged, avoiding his eyes and suppressing a nervous laugh.
“Was it this?” he asked, holding up Cadence’s book.
My arm was aching, my knees were bruised, my hands were sweaty, and my face was on fire. I’d been caught flat on the floor, minesweeping under his couch, and the whole time he knew exactly what I was up to, which made me wonder just how long he and Jake had been watching me before they’d let their presence be known.
Though it’s not like I was about to ask. I was far too humiliated to do anything now but go home, lick my wounds, and pack up my belongings so I could move to another state.
“Um, I should probably go,” I said, heading for the door as he quickly stepped in front of me, blocking my path.
“Hailey,” he said, reaching for my good arm.
I stood there staring at his feet, wondering how on Earth I was going to get out of this. And when I finally found the courage to look up and face him, I was even more humiliated to see him looking so amused. I mean, even though it might have been funny for him to watch, believe me, it wasn’t such a riot having to live it. So I shook my head and stared at the ground again, thinking that if I could have any of the superpowers, I would definitely choose invisibility.
“I should explain,” I said finally.
“You don’t have to explain anything,” he said.
“Yeah, well, I think I do,” I told him, wanting nothing more now than to just get it over with. “Look, the last time I was here, I was checking out your books, and I came across the one by Cadence, and I knowr it was none of my business, but I—”
“Hailey, I’m not dating Cadence,” he said, rubbing my arm, trying to get me to look at him, but no way was that happening.
“Okay, fine,” I said, wishing he’d just let me finish so we could all go live our separate lives. “But still, I pulled it off the shelf and—”
“And you read the dedication, misinterpreted the whole thing,
assumed I was dating Cadence, tossed it under the couch, thought I was a slimeball for asking you out, avoided me like the plague, started taking the service elevator, fled to Greece, moved out of the building, only to show up here tonight just so you could retrieve it and put everything right.”
“Yes,” I said, shaking my head sadly while my face burned with shame. “Except
no!
Not the last part. I mean, I didn’t come here just for the couch.” I finally looked at him, and once my eyes met his, I couldn’t look away.
“Then why’d you come?” he asked, dropping the book and moving toward me.
“Um, because I know you like to cook . . . and because you offered to celebrate with me . . . and—” I stopped. He was standing very close now, holding both my hands in his and gazing into my eyes. I swallowed hard.
“And?” he said, his lips warming into a smile.
“And, I guess, basically, because you were number three on my list of people I wanted to celebrate with,” I whispered, closing my eyes as he leaned in and kissed me on the side of the neck.
“Oh yeah? And who were the other two?” he asked, nibbling on my ear now.
“Um, a fifty-six-year-old woman and a gay guy. Oh yeah, and my mom. So you’re actually number four,” I said, laughing nervously.
And while I was laughing, he kissed me. Brushing my hair off my face and pushing his mouth first gently, then urgently against mine. And everything about this kiss felt so good, and so right, and so natural, and so safe that I felt like I was finally home.
And as he moved in even closer, wrapping his arms around me and holding me tight, I happened to glance down just as the toe of his shoe collided with Cadence’s book, tapping it on the corner and sending it all the way back under the couch.
But I didn’t say anything. We just kept on kissing.