Page 30 of I’d Be Honored

It may have been wishful thinking, but Maddie was sure that something had begun to thaw between them the night before. Maybe it hadn’t been a full melting of Hayley’s icy walls, but a softening, at least. Like now she could wedge a toe in and carefully begin to climb.

“Is this seat taken?” A voice, smoother than mulberry silk, brushed down her neck.

Maddie jumped, wondering how Hayley had managed to sneak up on her. She looked up, a witty retort on her lips, but the air left her lungs.

Hayley Maddox looked stunning, of course—high-waisted black slacks that hugged every perfectly sculpted curve, a sleeveless silk top dipping low enough to make Maddie’s mouth go dry—but it was the nervous smile on her face that left Maddie breathless.

She ached to reach for Hayley, to pull her near and give her a reassuring kiss, to make it clear that she cared about her and would do anything to make her comfortable. But Maddie also knew that she needed to move slowly, cautiously, and at Hayley’s own pace, or else she might take off like a feral cat.

Easier said than done, Maddie thought as she scanned Hayley’s figure again.

“I was actually saving it for someone, but you’re way too beautiful to turn away.” Maddie offered a playful wink.

A rare blush crept across Hayley’s cheeks, and Maddie took a moment to savor it.

Hayley’s gaze drifted down Maddie’s tank top, and Maddie made a silent wish Hayley would never stop looking at her like that, as if Maddie belonged on a menu, reserved for those with only the finest taste.

Hayley hesitated, lingering in that uncertain space where neither knew whether it was appropriate to hug. She slid into the seat across from Maddie, skipping the greeting entirely, leaving the low hum of conversation around them to fill the silence until a server approached.

“We’ll take a dirty martini and a Macallan neat, please,” Maddie supplied deftly, offering a quick smile before the waitress turned to leave.

Hayley raised an eyebrow.

If Maddie didn’t know better, she might have even thought that Hayley looked a bit impressed.

“Am I wrong?” Maddie asked, feeling bold. “You always order a glass of scotch when we’re out together.”

“Which has only been once,” Hayley pointed out.

“Three times, actually. Although you were drinking a dirty martini the first time we met. A woman after my own heart.” Maddie smiled at the memory of Hayley’s surliness that night. “Should I call the waitress back and change it?”

“No,” Hayley said softly. “No, that’s—that’s perfect, actually. Thank you.”

They settled into an easy, shallow rhythm of small talk, sticking to safe topics for at least thirty minutes—a new eccentric buyer who Hayley was working with, Maddie’s accidental subway detour last week. They were uncomplicated scripts that either one of them could have used with a stranger in an elevator. But as they ordered a second round, the conversation turned toward the upcoming wedding, and their words began to falter.

Maddie felt her enthusiasm dip as Hayley’s responses grew shorter and more clipped, not understanding where she had gone wrong. She’d thought that their mutual best friends would be another simple, low-risk topic, even if they had butted heads when Caitlin first came to New York. Surely Hayley didn’t still hold a grudge against Caitlin, did she?

No, she realized. It wasn’t Caitlin’s name that had soured Hayley’s expression. It was the concept of marriage itself. And it wasn’t this wedding that had been making her so abrasive over the past few weeks—it was any wedding. Maybe she got stood up at the altar, Maddie mused. It would definitely require a strong person to be with a woman like Hayley, after all.

Unable to suppress her curiosity any longer, Maddie suddenly blurted, “So what’s your whole no-dating thing about?” She finished her second martini in one swig and fixed her gaze on Hayley. “I mean, don’t you want a future with someone?”

Hayley’s face grew hard, and Maddie knew she had just said the wrong thing.

“I have a future. My own, that I built.” Hayley’s voice was sharp, but her eyes had gone flat. “And I will judge the success of my future by how much my company’s revenue has increased.”

It sounded rehearsed, and Maddie simply didn’t buy it. Hayley may have been a shark, but Maddie had seen her unconditional compassion toward Gemma. Whether she was willing to admit it or not, a heart still beat within Hayley’s chest and craved connection.

“Of course, you’re right.” Maddie scrambled. “I didn’t mean to imply that life wasn’t worth living without a partner.” Was it, though? Shaking her head slightly, she went on. “But why not share it with someone? Doesn’t that sound lonely?”

She watched as Hayley slid her glass back and forth across the glossy wood of the table, her expression now unreadable.

“Sorry,” Maddie offered gently. “You totally don’t have to answer that.”

Hayley let out a soft breath and swallowed a small sip of scotch, her throat working. “No, it’s alright. It’s just been a while since anyone has actually asked.” She paused, then seemed to make a decision before finally meeting Maddie’s gaze.

When Hayley spoke again, her voice was heavy. “I’m not afraid of the commitment, if that’s what you’re thinking. People always seem to believe that I am, but I’m not.” She didn’t look away, her sincerity raw and unmistakable. “That’s the easy part.”

“So what, then?”