CHAPTER THIRTY

Peter sat on his leather couch and stared into the inky darkness. The moment had been right to kiss Hailey. Why did that phone have to ring and ruin it? He massaged his temples.

On the other hand, maybe it had done him a favor. What was he doing getting involved with Hailey? She’d go back to Colorado and leave him here. Missing her. That wasn’t what he wanted. Or needed. Sara had already left one gaping hole in his heart; he wasn’t anxious to have another one.

He laid his head back. Thoughts and images of Hailey swirled around his mind. Her contagious smile. Her dark hair, long and soft, falling past her shoulders. Her flawless face. The vulnerability in her voice when she shared her painful breakup. The way her mesmerizing eyes danced when she spoke about her grandparents. And to top it off, she was easy to talk to. To be with. It felt so relaxed.

It wasn’t fair to compare her to Sara. Even in the short time he’d known Hailey, he could tell she was nothing like his ex-wife.

But his heart still struggled to believe it wouldn’t be shredded. He’d thought his dream life was with Sara. He’d planned on it and dreamed about it, but it wasn’t. His life was shattered when she left.

Now, in the dark, all his fears rose again, making him realize that he wasn’t ready for this.

***

Early Monday afternoon Peter received a frantic text from Laura asking him to pick up Benji after school and take him to karate.

After they arrived at Seaside Martial Arts School, Peter sat on a chair inside the large, industrial-looking room and watched his nephew throw kicks and punches at a large punching bag. Benji then started sparring with a partner. Peter grimaced a few times and hoped no one would get injured. When the instruction concluded, the students bowed to the sensei. Benji came bounding over to Peter.

“Hey, buddy, good job out there.” Peter held up his hand for a high-five.

“Thanks, Uncle Peter.” He slapped Peter’s hand and then glanced around the room. “Is my mom coming?”

“I think she’s planning to meet us back at my place. We’ll get some dinner to bring home.”

Benji’s eyes widened. “What are we having?”

“I don’t know.” Peter knew exactly what his nephew wanted because it was always the same thing.

“Oh, oh. Pizza? I love pizza.” Benji licked his lips.

Peter laughed. “Then pizza it is my young padawan.”

“Huh?” Benji wrinkled his nose.

“You know, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin.”

Benji stared at him blankly.

“You gotta be kidding me. Star Wars?” Where has my sister been keeping this kid? Underground?

“Oh, yeah. I’ve heard of that.”

“You and I need some serious man time together. What’s your mom got you watching? Chick flicks? Love stories?”

Benji shrugged.

Peter patted his deprived nephew on the back. “We shall remedy this immediately.”

After they picked up a pepperoni and sausage pizza, Peter and Benji made themselves comfortable on the couch in Peter’s condo and started watching The Phantom Menace.

“You are going to love these movies, I’m telling you.” Peter bit into a piece of pizza.

“Maybe we should wait for my mom,” Benji said.

“No way. This is our time. We are going to eat pizza, watch Star Wars, and bond.”

Benji smiled.

About halfway through the movie, the doorbell rang.

“Probably your mom,” Peter said. He went to the door and let his sister in.

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t think I’d be this late. Thank you so much for getting Benji.” She gave him a hug.

“No worries.” Spending time with his nephew was more like a reward than anything.

Laura kicked off her shoes, then wound her hair up into a bun. “He went to his karate class?”

“Yep. And we got some pizza and now he’s watching Star Wars.”

“You’re the best.” Laura smiled. “Thank you. I don’t know what I’d do without you. My boss is being so unreasonable lately.”

“Do you want some pizza?” he asked.

They walked into the kitchen. Laura grabbed a piece and took a big bite. “I’m starving,” she said with her mouth full of pizza.

Peter opened the refrigerator and pulled out a jug of chocolate milk. He poured a glass for Laura.

“You and your chocolate milk.” She took a swig. “How was your weekend?”

“Good.” He wasn’t sure he wanted to get into specifics.

“Have you seen the woman from the restaurant?” She took another bite. “Heidi?”

“Hailey.” Mentioning her name made him smile.

“So have you seen her?” Laura’s eyes grew wide.

He nodded, knowing full well she would press for more information.

“Details, bro.” Laura motioned with her fingers.

Peter leaned against the counter. “We went to the karaoke bar, and then I had dinner accidentally at her grandparents.”

Laura quirked her eyebrow. “Accidentally?”

“Her grandmother left her knitting bag when they came for Harry’s appointment. So I returned it and she invited me to dinner.”

Laura gave him a suspicious look.

“What?” It was completely innocent. He was simply trying to do a nice thing for June.

“You had to return it personally?”

“I thought she’d want to have it.” Why was Laura questioning his motives?

“You like her.” Laura smiled and nodded at the same time. “A lot.”

He shook his head. “I was only . . .” He let it trail off, because Laura was right. He did like Hailey—more than he wanted to admit—which was why his insides were like pretzels.

“When are you going to see her again?”

Peter put the milk back in the fridge.

“Well?” Laura asked expectantly.

“I don’t know.”

Laura sat atop the barstool. “What? Why don’t you have plans?”

He had no answer. Except that he was afraid Hailey would work her way deep into his heart and then abandon it.

“You can’t spend your life being scared that history will repeat itself,” Laura said as if reading his mind. “You have to take a chance one of these days.”

“I did. I took her out. Like you suggested.” What else did she want?

“No. I mean a real chance.” She took a swallow of milk. “At love. At commitment. At a future.”

“But—”

“But nothing. Don’t be stupid.”

He crossed his arms in front of his chest. “She’s going back to Colorado when her grandfather recovers.” Laura would obviously see the futility of future dates.

“That’s easy,” Laura said.

“It is?” What did she mean?

Laura gave him a do-I-have-to-explain-everything kind of look. “Make her want to stay.”

“I can’t ask her to move here.” Was his sister crazy?

Laura shrugged. “This is the first woman that’s gotten your attention in years. Don’t let her slip away.”

Peter sat on the barstool next to Laura. “I’m not even sure she’s interested in any kind of relationship.”

“Why wouldn’t she be?” Laura grabbed another piece of pizza.

“She just went through a bad breakup.” Having gone through one himself, he remembered all too well how much it hurt.

“You can’t keep one foot on the deck and one in the pool, you know. You have to jump in with both feet.” Laura picked a piece of sausage off her pizza and popped it into her mouth. “If you don’t, you’ll never swim.”

“Huh?”

“It means”—she poked his arm with her finger—“stop being an idiot.”

He shook his head and then stood. “Let’s watch the rest of the movie with Benji.”

After Benji and Laura left, Peter sat on the couch and drummed his fingers against his leg. A tug-of-war raged in his mind. On the one hand, being alone was safe, secure. He didn’t have to worry about being hurt and enduring all that pain again. On the other hand, he couldn’t get enough of Hailey, and he wanted to spend as much time with her as he could.

Peter laid his head back and closed his eyes, delving into his psyche. He did want love, commitment, and a future. He still wanted the dream of a wife and kids living in a house in the suburbs. If he were being honest, Peter needed Laura to give him that proverbial kick. Left to his own devices, he’d probably become an eternal hermit to protect himself from heartache. But is that what he truly wanted—to guard his heart at the expense of missing out on something amazing with Hailey?

Peter opened his eyes and gazed out the window. He grabbed his laptop and surfed the Internet looking for ideas for another date. He’d lived in Daytona Beach for a few years but hadn’t been part of the dating scene, so he wasn’t sure where he could take Hailey. After almost thirty minutes, he found what he was looking for.