Page 26 of His Best Friend's Widow
“Hailey,” he responded with her name, and it felt good on his lips. He’d never said her name with quite so much meaning behind it, and he wanted to keep doing it.
She looked like she wanted to say something else, but she wasn’t sure.
“Whatever it is, you can say it,” he said.
Her cheeks flushed an adorable shade of pink. “Landon, I…” Her eyes were soft and dreamy, and Landon let his gaze drop to her lips. He took one breath before slowly lowering his head.
“Mama?”
Hailey’s face went white, and she jumped away from him as if lightning had struck at her feet. “Huh? What? Are you okay?” Hailey stammered.
“Are you coming to tuck me in?” Charlotte asked, rubbing her eyes.
“Oh, yes, yes. I’m coming right now.” She went to her daughter.
Landon let out the breath he didn’t know he was holding and crashed onto the couch. He heard Hailey quietly speaking as they moved down the hall. “Landon was just showing me how you danced tonight.”
He put his hand to his forehead. Had they upset Charlotte with what she’d seen? Did they look as close and comfortable as he felt? All the worry came crashing down on him again.
The only thing he knew was that holding Hailey in his arms was the most wonderful thing he’d ever felt, and he couldn’t wait to do it again.
And for that he felt completely terrible.
13
Hailey sipped her coffee while clicking through her emails Monday morning, but her mind was elsewhere. Charlotte had talked about the dance all weekend. Hailey couldn’t remember when her little girl had been so happy. Ellie said she couldn’t wait until she was old enough to go to the dance.
But Hailey carried the memory of her own short dance. It was sweet and simple, but dancing with Landon made her feel strong and comfortable. When she leaned her head on his chest, she felt like she wasn’t carrying the weight of the world on her own anymore.
“Hey there, sunshine.” Jackie interrupted her thoughts.
Hailey blinked rapidly as she turned to face her. “Hey, how’s it going?”
“Nothing with me, but something is definitely going on with you.”
Hailey felt her cheeks flush and tried to hide her smile. “What are you talking about?”
Jackie pointed her index finger from Hailey’s head to her toes. “Something has happened. You’re all smiley and look like you’re about to giggle like a junior high school girl.”
Hailey waved a hand in the air. “No, I am not.”
Jackie rolled her eyes. “It’s not even nine o’clock on a Monday morning. No one smiles like that on Monday. She stepped in and leaned against Hailey’s desk. “I’m not going anywhere until you tell me.”
“It’s nothing,” Hailey said. “I just had a good weekend. Charlotte went to the daddy daughter dance, we watched football together, and it was just all so nice.”
Jackie narrowed her eyes. “Did you take Charlotte to the dance?”
“No, Landon took her.” She couldn’t help the grin that spread.
“Aha!” Jackie shouted. “There is something going on.”
Hailey held up a hand. “No, there’s nothing going on. He’s just helping out with the kids.”
“And did he come over to watch the football game?”
“Yes, it’s becoming a tradition.”
“So he’s just hanging out with the kids, and you’re there, but nothing’s going on, even though you have that goofy smile on your face on Monday morning?”
