Leave it to him to fall in love backwards.
Sometime during dinner, Rick popped back in to say he was leaving. He asked Haley if she’d be all right
without him, making Jeremy want to hit him again, only harder this time. Haley cut him off at the pass by
swearing she’d be fine. He gave her a peck on the cheek, gave Jeremy a look of warning, then left.
They were alone in the house and Jeremy hadn’t been able to take his eyes off her.
She was beautiful.
It had only been two days and he was ready to take her to the bedroom and make love to her all over
again. But he could see by her body language she wouldn’t be too keen on the idea. If nothing else, he
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did know how to read a woman’s body language. And most especially Haley’s. Besides, they had things
to straighten out first.
He made an attempt at small talk as he shored up his nerve. “I thought you said Rick was married.”
She frowned. “Yes, he was. They got a dissolution pretty much right after they were married.” She
shrugged. “According to Rick, they both realized they’d made a horrible mistake. Rick is home now and
I think he may be wanting to move back, leave California for good.”
“That sounds promising.” Jeremy could care less about Rick and his marital woes, but he wasn’t ready
to profess his feelings just yet. He wanted to watch her for a few more minutes. He could spend his life
watching Haley.
“Yes, it would be wonderful. I never much liked having him so far away.”
Suddenly, he blurted, “I’m sorry, Haley.”
She set her fork down and stopped eating, but she never looked at him and that nearly killed him.
“You already apologized for the blood.”
Her voice was so quiet and she seemed so fragile. The distance between them was too much. Jeremy
left the stool and went to her, crouching low beside her. He placed his hand on her thigh and thrilled at
the small contact. “I’m not apologizing for that, baby. I’m apologizing for being a dickhead back at the
cabin.”
She turned to him and Jeremy felt himself drowning in her expressive eyes. They were so vivid, so full of
emotion. “What do you mean?” she asked, still hesitant and wary.
Jeremy rubbed his palm over her thigh, aching to be able to do more, and whispered, “I should have told
you I love you. I should have trusted you to know your own mind.” Her eyes began to fill and he went