Page 50 of Steal My Breath Away

I glanced up the stairs, hoping Haley would come down to save me. “I don’t know. I haven’t thought that far ahead. Right now I’m focused on keeping her safe.”

“Big surprise,” she said. “I know what happens because I saw what happened with all the girls you slept with in high school. You moved on. Fast. And you didn’t look back.”

“That was years ago. I’m a different man now.”

“Are you though?” She held up her phone and flashed a picture of me and Jessica outside Jessica’s mansion after theVanity Fairparty. Jessica had had way too much to drink and that, coupled with her emotional despair after losing the award to her greatest rival, had left her barely able to walk. I’d had to pick her up and carry her inside. “Do you know what all the gossip columns are saying?” She showed me another picture. “That you’re together. Not only that, someone did some digging and found out you’ve been very, very close to all the female celebrities you’ve guarded.”

I didn’t bother looking at the screen. I knew about the rumors.

“Gossip sells. It doesn’t mean any of it is true.”

“That’s hard to believe when I know your history,” she spat out. “I’m sure you know how Haley felt about you when we were growing up. You took advantage of her before you deployed, andyou’re doing it now, and I won’t stand for it. She’s been through enough, Ace. She’s lost enough. She has so much pain buried inside her that I’m terrified one day she’s going to break.”

Paige had always been viciously protective of Haley. There was nothing I could say that would change her mind about me, but I tried.

“I care about her.”

“If you cared about her, you would have left her alone,” Paige spat out. “As soon as this job is over, you’ll walk away just like you did before, and she’ll never hear from you again. And it will kill her, because she’s not like all your other girls. For some reason I have yet to understand, she thinks she has a connection with you. She likes you, and now you’ve already hurt her because you slept with her knowing exactly how this is going to end.”

“Paige! Do you have a class, too?” Haley called out from the stairs. “Are you going to walk with us?”

“No, I’ve got some work to catch up on,” Paige replied. “Good luck on the test.” She shot me one last glare before she stormed away. I made a mental note to lock my bedroom door at night.

“What were you and Paige talking about?” Haley asked after I’d checked the street to make sure she was safe to walk outside. “She didn’t seem happy.”

“She’s not happy we slept together,” I said honestly. “I’m not her favorite person.”

Haley shrugged. “She’ll get over it when I tell her it’s not serious. You’ll probably be leaving for your next assignment soon. It’s been weeks and nothing else has happened. No threats. No attempted kidnappings. The whole thing has probably blown over.”

Her words felt like a knife in my heart. I hadn’t really thought through what we were doing except for feeling guilty that we were doing it at all, but until that moment I hadn’t realized it wasn’t just casual to me. I had wanted Haley for what seemed like forever. From the first day we met, I’d felt a connection to her that I hadn’t felt with anyone else before. She’d seen me—thereal me. And I’d seen her. We’d been friends, shared the tragedy of her father’s death, and we’d always been there for each other. Even when I made the mistake of kissing her before I deployed, I thought the best thing I could do for her was leave her alone. I’d never imagined that it would be four years before I’d speak to her again—four years of running from my feelings. But I wasn’t that man anymore. I’d gained perspective in the air force and now I had a chance to be physically present for her in ways that I wasn’t before. I’d never stopped caring for her, and this time I wasn’t going to run away.

Paige was worried that Haley would be hurt, but I had a feeling the person who was going to wind up being hurt was me.

Chad came to meet me at the coffee shop later that afternoon. I was at my usual table in the corner where I had a good view of the door and the counter where Haley was busy serving customers.

“What the hell, dude?” Chad sat beside me. “You look like you want to kill someone.”

“That ball player has stopped by every time Haley is on shift.” I nodded at the tall, lanky blond wearing a Havencrest Warriors jersey. “And he’s not here for the coffee.”

“Is he a threat?” Chad chuckled as he sipped his energy drink. “Should I call the police?”

“Only if he touches her.” My hand clenched on the table. “And in that case, he’ll be needing an ambulance.”

“I don’t think she needs that level of protection. Haley can take care of herself.” Chad, always so chill and relaxed, tried to reassure me. “We all went dancing on the stage at a club one night. Some dude kept getting in Haley’s space, trying to dance right up against her. She put two hands on his chest and shoved him off the stage without missing a beat.”

I didn’t doubt his story. I’d seen Haley wrestle Matt in their backyard, and it wasn’t until he was well into puberty that he’dbeen able to beat her. Even then, he would be packing a few spectacular bruises.

I folded my arms and tried to glare the baller out of existence. “He’s too tall for her,” I grumbled. “He’s got to be at least six foot seven. Why doesn’t he find a woman his own size?”

“Probably because there aren’t any.” Chad pulled out his phone and flipped through the screen. “You’ve got it bad, dude.”

“I’m just doing my job.”

Chad wasn’t buying it. “Things were bound to get complicated when you two decided to hook up.”

I raised an eyebrow in query, and he shrugged. “The house isn’t that big, and we’re all pretty tight.”

All my fears and regrets surfaced in an instant and I was tempted, so tempted, to share. I hadn’t had a close friend since Matt died, but I couldn’t trust myself not to lead someone astray. I couldn’t put myself through the pain of losing another friend. I’d opened up to Chad about the attack on Haley, but this was personal, and I didn’t do personal anymore.

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