stopped himself. What was he doing? He had no business noticing women. Particularly someone like Haley Scott. Someone like…
He looked away from her but not before she glanced back and caught him studying her. The color spreading on her cheeks suggested that she’d mistaken his curiosity for pity. Of course, she would think that on a day like today.
“So…” Caroline cast a frown his way. “Where’s everyone else?”
“It’s just us, I’m afraid,” Amy Warren said as she emerged from the kitchen, wiping her hands on her apron.
“The guys aren’t here?” Jenna looked disappointed. She and Dylan had always been the closest among the Warren-Scott children, but even they had lost contact over the last few years.
Amy Warren shook her head. “Dylan’s at an optometry meeting in Chicago, and Logan has a date.”
She cast a glance Matthew’s way as if daring him to contradict his youngest brother’s story. Somehow Matthew managed to keep a straight face. There were few nights when Logan didn’t have a date, but none that couldn’t have been rescheduled. Matthew had a better excuse than either of his brothers for not coming tonight—a child-care crisis—but, as usual, he was present and accounted for. Just once, he wished he could share the freedom from obligation his brothers enjoyed.
Trina Scott crossed the room to hug her best friend. “Thank you for inviting us.” Like the elephant in the living room, she avoided mentioning the reason her daughters were in town in the first place.
“Here, let me take some of that food for you.” Matthew reached for the casserole dish in Jenna’s arms.
“Elizabeth will show us where the kitchen is,” Jenna told him, though they could have found it blindfolded.
Elizabeth led Jenna and Caroline down the hall. Caught in some hushed conversation, the two mothers headed in the same direction, leaving Matthew and Haley standing alone in the entry. Haley had moved away from the door and was staring at a photo collage on the wall.
“We had a lot of good times back then,” she said when he stood next to her.
“The best.”
As Matthew tried to come up with something comforting to say, the impulse to touch her shoulder surprised him. Even if she’d had a lousy day, Haley was a grown woman now. She could take care of herself. His knight-in-shining-armor gear fit uncomfortably, and he doubted she would appreciate his need to protect, anyway.
At the sound of someone clearing her throat, Matthew glanced back at his mother and Mrs. Scott.
“What are you two just standing there for?” Amy asked. “Now get in the kitchen and help, or it’ll be midnight before we eat.”
“Many hands make light work,” Trina added.
Her comment made him smile. How many times had Mrs. Scott or his mother said those same words while they were all staying at the beach condo in Hilton Head or in that mountain rental in Gatlinburg?
“After you, ladies.” Matthew gestured gallantly.
“Just make sure you’re right behind us,” Trina said.
When he and Haley were alone again, Matthew paused, searching for the right words. Something wise, he hoped. Something that would make her feel better. But when he peeked at her, Haley was watching him.
The side of her mouth lifted. “You heard them. Now get to work.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He saluted, but he must have failed to hide his surprise that she’d played along with the old family game because Haley crossed her arms over her chest.
“I’m not made of blown glass, you know.”
“Never said you were.”
“Then stop looking at me like I’m about to shatter.”
“I didn’t mean to—”
She waved away his apology before he could finish it. “Forget it. I’m getting used to it. Everyone I’ve talked to today…even mom’s new neighbors—they all feel sorry for me. It’s a real blast.”
“I can imagine.”
“I always wondered what it would be like to be a celebrity.” She moved her head back and forth, as if weighing her opinion. “It has a downside. Anyway, we’d better get in there before they send a search party.”
Haley started down the hall, Matthew falling into step behind her. Outside the swinging kitchen door, he gave in to the earlier temptation and rested a hand on her shoulder. She stiffened but didn’t shake away his hand.
“I’m sorry about…everything that happened,” he said.
“Yeah, me, too. But what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger.”
She had to be speaking of today and the loss of the person she’d cared about enough to consider making her husband. Matthew understood that. The hurt he’d played a part in had been a long time ago and nothing compared to what she’d experienced today.
Still, he’d been apologizing for both.
Chapter Two
As Haley scanned the length of the Warren family’s formal dining table, she felt warm for the first time all day. Yes, a few of the maple dining chairs were empty, and a pint-size newcomer sat cross-legged in another, but the place offered the same comfort she had remembered.
She’d always loved coming here, hearing her mother and Mrs. Warren tell the same stories that never lost their sparkle. There was stability in the sameness, comfort in the familiarity.
Even seeing Matthew again hadn’t felt as awkward as she’d expected, so her excuse for staying away from Scott-Warren gatherings seemed silly now. Matthew had always been a decent boy, the one who’d insisted that she and Logan be allowed to play board games with the older kids. She should have known he wouldn’t grow into the type of man who would embarrass her over the past. That sweet little girl across the table, the one with two sandy-brown braids and caramel-colored eyes that mirrored her father’s, reminded her that Matthew had more important things on his mind these days.
Though Matthew had changed some since the last time she’d seen him, she still would have recognized that baby face anywhere. At twenty-eight, he’d filled out his lanky frame, and the peach fuzz that used to dust his upper lip and chin had been replaced by a five o’clock shadow, two shades darker than his hair. He probably chose those mod-shaped glasses rather than contacts to make him look older.
“Remember the time that Haley fed soap shavings to Logan’s fish?” Mrs. Warren was saying when Haley returned to the conversation.
“Poor Crunch,” Caroline said and made a sad face.
“Am I ever going to live that down?” Haley frowned. “Who names a fish Crunch anyway?”
Seated next to her father, Elizabeth looked up from the pile of peas she was scattering on her plate. “Miss Haley killed Crunch?”
Everyone
