I didn’t want to give them reasons to worry. In the past, I’d brushed off their comments as teasing, but this sounded as if Dad had given everything a lot of thought.
Mom and Hailey were laughing when they returned.
“Howard, let’s go. Can’t let old bags of bones like us steal more of their evening. Come on.”
Hailey was smiling from ear to ear. “No, don’t leave. We can order dessert. Have you tasted the cheesecake? It’s amazing.”
She really meant it. She liked spending time with them. How had I gotten so lucky? Emotion crawled up my throat.
“You two enjoy dessert, but we’ll make ourselves scarce. Take good care of my son, okay?”
“Don’t you worry, Mrs. Davenport. I still have a lot in store.”
My mother beamed wholeheartedly. After they left, I waggled my eyebrows at Hailey.
“So, pretty girl. What exactly do you have in store for me?”
Hailey shrugged, giving me a look between coy and sassy. “You’ll just have to wait and see, Mr. Davenport.”
“I’m not good at waiting.”
“So what are you going to do about it?”
I waggled my eyebrows some more. “Well, for starters, I have a devious plan to convince you to have dinner with me every evening before your trip to Chicago in two weeks.”
“Oh.”
I frowned, because she didn’t look half as enthusiastic about the trip as she used to be.
“All set for it?”
She wrinkled her nose. “Yeah, it won’t be that exciting, though. Val can’t come. We were at the doctor’s office yesterday. She and the baby are okay, but he told her it’s best not to travel, especially because the flight is four and a half hours. I’m still debating if I should go at all.”
That light in her eyes dimmed a little. I knew how much she’d been looking forward to the trip. I couldn’t believe it, but I was annoyed she hadn’t even asked me.
“What if I go with you?” I asked, shocking even myself. Hailey’s mouth popped open.
“No, that’s okay. It’s Monday to Wednesday, remember? Not a weekend trip. I know you have a million things to do. Can’t just ask you to drop them for me.”
My heartbeat intensified as a bout of guilt shot through me. Clearly, I hadn’t shown her how much I cared for her. I was going to change that.
“Unless you want to,” she said quickly. “But I don’t think you do. And that’s okay.”
The light was back on in those soulful brown eyes. I’d put it there, and damn if I didn’t want to be the one responsible for it every day. My mind raced as I thought about my schedule. I planned meetings so close to each other that chaos would ensue. It would probably throw my entire month off course, but I’d wing it somehow. No way was I going to let Hailey down.
I remembered Dad’s words, wondering if he’d brought this up for the first time because he sensed how much Hailey meant to me. So much that I was ready to get out of my comfort zone, change the way I did things, if it meant it brought me closer to her. I felt different around her, there was no question about that.
“We’re going,” I announced.
“Really?” Her face exploded with a grin so big, I couldn’t help kissing her.
“Really.” I spoke against her lips.
“You know what? I think you just earned the right to know what I have in store for you tonight.”
“Pity. I was hoping you’d make me work for it.”
She laughed as I pinned her to the nearest wall with my hips, kissed along her jawline.