Page 80 of Missing Pieces (Men of Manhattan 3)

"Oh my God." She seemed completely transfixed as she walked onto the small bridge. "What is this place?"

"The Venice canals. They made them to look like Venice, Italy." I joined her on the little bridge. She was looking out at the water, where more little bridges could be seen in the distance. Colorful houses were on either side of the canal. It was almost like we had stepped into a different world. And maybe time did stop for a minute, because the smile on Hailey's face would last a lifetime in my mind.

"This is the coolest thing I've ever seen." Her smile grew even wider.

I wrapped my arms around her. "Better than the Grand Canyon?"

"Absolutely."

"Better than the ocean?"

She nodded.

"Better than that speck you thought was a buffalo?"

She lightly slapped my arm. "I did see a buffalo. I swear. But yeah...this is better." She smiled up at me. "Seriously, I could stay here. In one of these houses."

"What about the fishy smell?"

"You can't smell it over here. Besides, I'm already used to it. Really, this is amazing." She leaned forward on the railing of the bridge. "There's even little fish in the water!"

I looked down at the orange fish swimming.

"I want to stop time," she said softly as she placed her hand on top of mine on the railing.

I looked down at her. She looked wistful. And beautiful. God, she was so damn beautiful. But time couldn't stop. She needed to go home. Maybe she did have four months, but now there was this sense of urgency. I had this awful feeling in the pit of my stomach. "Hails, let me drive you to the airport."

She laughed as she looked up at me. "You're really trying to get rid of me, aren't you?"

"It's not that, I..." I let my voice trail off. Why was I holding back? I had already confessed my feelings to her. She was still standing here. And she hadn't run off when she found out about Penny or the investigation. She was invested in us too. This wouldn't scare her off either. But I hated talking about it. I hated reliving it.

Chapter 43

Hailey

Thursday

"Tyler, what's wrong?" His face had suddenly changed. I wanted him to be in this moment with me. But I could tell his mind was somewhere else completely. And the look on his face worried me. Was he upset about tomorrow? He didn't have anything to worry about. He was brave and so much stronger than he realized.

"I just, I don't want you to regret spending one more day with me."

I laughed. "I couldn't possibly."

"You know what I mean." He put his hand on my hip and pulled me close enough to feel his body heat. His words and his actions always seemed to contradict each other. He was trying to push me away, yet pulling me closer.

"My dad is going to be okay. He's going to fight this just like he has everything else. He's going to be fine. Why are you pushing this?"

He scratched the back of his neck. He slowly looked back down at me. "I'm sorry." He leaned his back against the railing and folded his arms across his chest.

I wasn't sure if it was intentional, but it felt like he was shutting me out. For the first time in a long time, he had made me feel like I could rely on someone. I wanted him to feel that way about me too. "You're not alone either, Tyler."

A small smile crossed his face. "I know. I have you."

"Which means you can talk to me." I felt like I was on the cusp of finally getting to know h

im better. I didn't want him to hold back. I wanted him to trust me. I had finally put all my worries and fears out there. If he could do the same with me...maybe we really would have a shot here. Distance wasn't an issue as long as we were completely open with one another.

"I miss him. My dad, I mean."

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