Always My Hero (17 page)

“Your parents were footing the bill for all of it.” Ryan groaned, kneading the muscles at the back of his neck, sore from a night spent on the couch.

“It wasn’t like I didn’t try to help out. I’m not completely selfish. But you never know when auditions will come up and it’s really hard to get a boss to juggle your schedule at the last minute.”

“You got fired.” He began to pace again.

“The catalyst in a series of unfortunate events.” Her delicate sigh held just enough drama to remind him of her true calling.

Ryan had to admit that Haley made a damned fine actress. Even if she’d considered herself too pretty to hang out with the drama club kids in high school. Relying on her looks to get her where she thought she needed to be, Haley turned her nose up at high school roles. Her sights were set much higher.

“What happened, Hal?” He used the nickname she’d barely tolerated when they first started dating.

Her eyes snapped to his and for the first time he could see the turmoil. She was frustrated, angry, and upset. That was understandable. Haley was used to getting her way. But she was also scared. And this was a side of his ex-wife that he’d never seen before.

“Let’s just say I couldn’t afford the lifestyle I’d chosen for myself.” She hung her head, picking at the knee of her skintight leopard-print leggings.

“I’m assuming you were still waiting tables at that joint all the Hollywood muckety-mucks frequented near the studios?” He pressed his lips together when she merely shrugged. “So you were fired from your job, then you were kicked out of your upscale apartment because you could no longer pay the rent. Am I close?”

“I lost the Prius too,” she pouted.

“My alimony checks are still getting cashed. You got a hell of a deal on that. What, exactly, am I paying for if you don’t have an apartment or a car?”

“How do you think I could afford to fly back home? Thank you for that, by the way.” She had the audacity to sound cheerful, like he had bought her a gift.

“And now you’re here to mooch off me. Live rent free. Eat my food. Use my washing machine and shower. How did you even know I was back in town? Or did you try looking for us in Cali first?” It didn’t matter. If she was desperate enough, it wouldn’t have been hard to find him.

“It’s not like that. Give me a little credit. Is our getting back together so far out of the realm of possibility that you can’t even imagine it?” She stretched her long legs out on the couch in her classic “Come and get me, Tiger” pose. Years ago, that would have had him rock hard and salivating in seconds.

“I’m with Bree now, Hal.” He could have added, “Like I should have been all along,” but that would have been unnecessarily cruel. No sense kicking his ex while she was already down.

“And besides, I’m not stupid—or blind. I saw the way you were ogling every single guy at that calendar shoot today. Why did you even come with me to that, if not to hook up? Whose number did you score? Hmm?”

She had the good grace not to deny it.

“You need money. You need to pay your parents back for all the help they’ve given you. You need to get back on your own two feet and support yourself, and you need to give up the idea of your own talk show.”

“Reality show. And I will make it someday. Jesus, you’re worse than my parents! Where do you get off telling me I have to give up my life’s dream? It’s not like you’re some huge NFL All-Star with your own bobble head and T-shirts.”

“Classy. Yeah, throw that in my face, why don’t you? That hasn’t been my dream in a long time. As a matter of fact, it was more your dream than mine. I just wanted to play ball. You wanted me to be the big household name.”

“You have to admit that would have been a helluva premise for a reality show. The Hollywood starlet and her big, hunky pro-football husband.”

Nope. He didn’t care for it any more now than he did back when she’d first suggested it in college. In fact, the idea made him throw up in his mouth just a little. It was on the tip of his tongue to tell his ex that this just wouldn’t work, but she must have sensed that. Haley flew off the couch, gripping his forearms and fixing him with an award-winning look of pure desperation, complete with tears.

“I have nowhere else to go, Ry. My parents are through with me. My brothers and sisters won’t answer my phone calls or emails. I burned too many bridges trying to get what I wanted. And now I have to face the consequences.”

Haley’s family was a great group of people. Patient and caring, he couldn’t imagine what it would take to get any of them to give up on one of their own. She might think that being broke, with no place to live, was bad. But if she’d alienated people that Ryan honestly couldn’t see turning their backs on anyone, then Haley had much bigger problems than she realized.

“Do you think I want to be here? It’s humiliating, having to admit that I need help. But this could be a good thing, Baby. I can help you out with Wesley. He deserves to know his momma. We have years of catching up to do.”

Ryan tried not to flinch at the feel of Haley’s fingers wrapped tightly around his arms. He wasn’t sure when, but at some point, a long time ago, lust had turned to disgust and he could barely stand being this close to the woman. But she had a point. Wesley was her son, too, and even though he could legally tell her to screw off, he just wasn’t that kind of guy. This was the part of parenthood where he had to do what he should, even if it wasn’t what he wanted.

“Bottom line, Haley: you want to stay here, then you get a job. You put twenty-five percent of your earnings aside to pay your parents back. The rest you save. I won’t make you contribute to rent or food, but I need to know you’re socking everything away. And this situation is temporary. As soon as you are making enough to support yourself, then you find your own apartment and you become the woman your parents know you can be.”

“I’ll be your live-in babysitter, but I refuse to be your maid, as well.” She’d let go of him to fold her arms across her chest and thrust out her pointed chin.

“You abandoned Wesley once before, but he is your son by blood, and as long as you live under my roof you will treat him like one. You’re the damned actress. Pull out those skills and pretend you know what the hell you’re doing.” He threw her a hard look that dared her to argue.

“I’m not a ‘kid’ person, but I’ll try. I don’t know what to say to him. What’s he into? What if he hates me?”

She paused, racing for the suitcase she’d set up beside the couch when he'd told her that was where she was sleeping last night. Digging around, she pulled out a package of airline snack mix and a pair of airline-issue throw-away headphones. She held them up triumphantly.

“Here. I got him a gift. What do you think?”

I think you’re giving him the crap you didn’t want from the plane ride,
he thought, snidely. But he gave her points for trying. She wrung her hands and sent panicked looks out the window, waiting for the bus to drop Wesley off at the end of the driveway. She quickly chewed her bright red lipstick off her lower lip. A part of him wanted to feel bad for her. A very tiny part.

“Bree was right. This will be good for you guys tonight. I’ll be next door, but he’s eight years old, Hal. Unless the apartment is burning down, I don’t want to hear about it. I’ll be your buffer through dinner, but then you’re on your own.”

“What do you see in her anyway? She’s a geek. A librarian who loves her books and probably has at least ten cats. She’s so far beneath you, Ryan.” Haley stopped worrying over the bus’s arrival to look over her shoulder with a sneer.

The guys had tried to tell him that Haley was cruel to Bree. That she was catty and vindictive. But he’d refused to see that side of her. And that had been in high school. They had all changed so much since then. All of them except Haley. It made him sad. Sad for her, sad for her parents that had, apparently, given up on their daughter who just couldn’t be happy with her lot in life.

“Show the best fake-enthusiasm at finally getting to know your son or I swear to God you can spend the night on the street. I don’t give a damn if it’s below zero.” He gritted his teeth and sent her a warning glare as the bus ground to a squeaky stop in front of the duplex.

And just as if she’d flipped a switch, Haley was suddenly beaming with happiness and excitement. Only the lipstick on her teeth gave evidence to her true feelings.

Wesley was a good kid, the best. Though Ryan didn’t want Haley in his life any longer than necessary, his son deserved to know his mother and he hoped the boy could charm the woman into falling in love with him. But would it be enough for her to want to take an active role in raising him? Probably not.

At least Wesley had Bree to show him what a loving, supportive mother was like. Yeah, Ryan could totally see them as a family. And if Haley ended up having a small role in it? Well, every family was a little dysfunctional, right?

“Are you sure they’re all right together?” Bree accepted the glass of wine Ryan handed to her before he carried his own to the spot beside her on the couch.

“Do I think it will be intensely uncomfortable for both of them? Yes. Do I think Wes is in any danger from a mother who doesn’t seem to have matured any since high school? Not at all. Don’t worry about it.” He squirmed into a corner of the sofa and gestured for her to rest her back against his chest.

“I just don’t understand why she showed up now. And why you? Surely she could live somewhere else.” She’d put work and the calendar project on hold, and damn the consequences, in order to help Haley find her own place in town, if that’s what it took.

“She has no money. And she doesn’t have the support of her family. Not that I blame them. But what kind of example would I be setting for Wes if I kick his own mother to the curb when she’s completely down and out? Besides, I get the feeling she’s in more trouble than she’s letting on. I was married to the woman, remember? She can’t handle her own finances on the best of days. I just want to help her get back on her feet.”

The rumble of his voice vibrated through her back, strangely relaxing and titillating all at once. It was hard to stay focused on her nemesis. “Does she realize how lucky she is to have your help? She’d better appreciate it.”

“I don’t want to talk about Haley any more. Drink up. Next time I swear I’m bringing a bottle of Tequila, instead of wine, if it’ll loosen you up faster.” Ryan reached around and clinked his glass against hers, waiting until she’d taken a sip before drinking from his own.

He was right. She was obsessing. This was their makeup night and Haley was not going to ruin it for them again. Bree felt the wine slide all the way down to her stomach. She’d been too nervous to eat dinner, so the alcohol was bound to go straight to her head. Loosening up would not be an issue for long. She giggled. Oh dear.

As though he sensed she was past loose and close to sliding off the couch, Ryan plucked the stemware from her hand and put it on the coffee table. He tucked her more comfortably against him, resting his chin on top of her head for a moment. She could smell the wine on his breath. It was bold, just like him.

“I didn’t do this right, last time. I showed you how I felt, but I never said the words.” Ryan turned her around to face him.

“You didn’t have to say anything. I knew.” Bree laid a palm over his heart, gasping as he gripped her chin between thumb and forefinger and tipped her face up until she was staring straight into his eyes, his very soul bared for her to see.

“Just the same … I love you. I loved you then, but I feel like that was so childish, immature. What I feel for you now, it’s grown. I never stopped loving you.”

“I love you too, Ryan. Now … then … always.”

For one long moment they remained still, their eyes locked. If she were an artist, she would draw his face, his expression, as it was right now. But she was not, so she settled for committing it to memory.

“Do you remember our first time?” he whispered. His words tickled their way past her ear, as he’d shifted his body so he could reach her neck and feast on her collarbone.

Only like it was yesterday. Her mom and stepdad had taken a weekend trip to Cape Cod. They’d trusted her alone in the house for the first time. Any other teenager her age would have done something wild and daring, like throw a party. But Bree had planned to spend the night reading under the stars. She had been setting up her little backyard retreat when Ryan slipped through the side gate.

“I was supposed to be at the bonfire, down at the pond. The last hurrah before all of us went off to college.” His voice was gruff, words interspersed with warm, wet kisses that had her writhing until they were both lying down, with their bodies flush on the long couch.

He hadn’t spoken a word as he’d approached her that night, merely strode across the lawn and kissed her like it was the single most important thing in the world. The only thought her brain had been capable of forming at that moment was “finally.” Never mind that he was Haley’s boyfriend. Forget that this was wrong and that things would go back to normal in the morning. For this one moment in time, Ryan Pettridge was hers.

“You looked so beautiful, standing there in the fading sunlight, your bare feet digging into the grass, that hideous gunny sack dress hiding the most scrumptious body underneath.”

She would have laughed out loud, had he not chosen that moment to cup her breast in one large palm. He kneaded and squeezed, finding her stiffened nipple with his thumb and torturing it through the layers of her clothing. Unable to stand it, Bree pushed at his hands until she had a little breathing room, then she yanked her sweater off over her head.

“I have to say, your taste in clothes has greatly improved over the years.” Ryan eyed the midnight blue satin of her bra appreciatively before dipping his head to taste her right through the fabric.

Closing her eyes, she drifted back in time. Ryan had lowered her to the blanket under the stars, and she remembered hoping the neighbors wouldn’t hear her soft moans and come over to investigate.

“Not just a beautiful body, a beautiful soul.” Back in the moment, Bree arched upward as he brushed the satin cup down, claiming her with his mouth, the suction she could feel all the way down to her toes.