Fade to Black (7 page)

“No, but she’s different. It’s actually
nice. Instead of going out all the time, we’re staying in and getting to know
each other.”

“
Mmm
-hmm, I’ve
heard that before.”

Dory slapped her. “Get your mind out of the
gutter. We’re taking things slow. It’s really nice, Lily,
she’s
really nice. I don’t think I’ve ever been treated this way
before. It’s like I matter.”

Lily’s heart melted for her best friend. Dory
wanted to be loved like everyone else, and now she might have the chance. She
leaned over and gave her a big hug. “Congratulations. You know I want you to be
happy. And that doesn’t mean you’ve got to be a stranger. If you love her, so
will I. I don’t want to lose you.”

“You’ll never lose me. I’ll always be here
for you. Now, let’s talk about the delish Devlin Cross. Where’s that going?
Don’t think I didn’t notice what he’d said and who it was directed at. Spill,”
Dory giggled as she prodded Lily for information on Devlin.

“I’m not sure what to tell. He’s a perfect
gentleman around Leo and me. Yet fun at the same time. Leo loves having a male
role model around, and he’s a pretty good one.”

“See, didn’t I tell you?”

“Yes, and you were right. Go ahead and make
a note of that in your book, I said you were right. But as to where it’s going?
Well, I don’t know where it can go. He’s a famous movie star and I’m a small
town artist who has a son to
raise
. I can’t go jetting
off at the drop of a hat. So really, I’m going to enjoy his friendship while
he’s here. And when I’m old and grey, I can remember when I touched a star.”

“Wow. Are you telling yourself a line or
what? ‘I can remember when I touched a star.’ Girlfriend, get your head out of
the clouds. I haven’t seen the two of you together, but knowing you, and I do,
you’re falling for him. You aren’t going to remember this fondly, you’re
already setting yourself up to have your heart broken.”

“So what if I am? You know Leo is the most
important thing to me, and I’m not going to chase after any man who has money
on the off chance of making my life easier. I love my life, I love my son, and
I won’t ever make him feel like his mother is selling herself to the highest
bidder while he gets left behind and ignored.”

“Listen, I remember what your mom did and
how she treated you. But you are a completely different mother. Some women
should never have children, and your mother was one of them. She used you to
land her next richer husband. But you aren’t her. Think about this, and don’t
answer right now. Open yourself up to the possibility of you and Devlin having
a relationship. Even if it only lasts while he’s here, it’s something
more
than you had before. You have to
start taking chances. Leo isn’t going to need you forever. I know it’s harsh,
but he’s growing up. In a few years he’s not going to want to spend time with
you, he’s going to want to hang with his friends. Do him and yourself a favor
and don’t shy away from relationships anymore. He’s old enough to handle this.
Do it.”

Lily sat there for a few minutes not saying
anything. She knew Dory was right, but after all this time, she was scared.
Maybe she had hidden behind her son long enough. “Okay, I’ll think about it.”

“Great, that’s all I ask. Now that we’ve
cleared up your little celebrity romance, let’s move onto my celebrity crush, Shakira.
She has a new video out and you know I like blondes. Besides, you’ve kept me up
late talking my ear off, and I need something to get my blood pumping so I
don’t fall asleep driving home.”

~^~

Hayden had heard all she could bear.
Sneaking down the stairs, she didn’t notice the blood, which flowed down her
hand and dripped from her fingertips. She’d bit them the whole time she was
listening to the two women. Plan after plan whirled through her mind before
finally settling upon the perfect one. The whore wouldn’t know what was coming
for her. Hayden knew what she needed to do. It wouldn’t bring her any pleasure
either, none at all. A giggle bubbled up and she covered her mouth with her
hand in the hopes no one would hear it. She couldn’t even think about it
without laughing. Who was she fooling? Of course she’d enjoy it.

The whore was going to make a play for
Devlin, she was sure of it. She knew the type. Next thing she’d know, the whore
would be planning a wedding and having another brat with her man. There was no
way she was going to let it happen. She had to be taught a lesson.

Chapter
Nine

Devlin
ended up coming over most days, visiting for a few minutes to catch up or
sharing a meal with them at the end of the day. They fell into an easy rhythm
of talking and spending time together. He hadn’t attempted to kiss her again
and she wasn’t sure if she was relieved or pissed. Lily had started to have
dreams about him almost every night. Waking up every morning wanting him and
wondering when he was going to show up was driving her crazy.

“Come on, Leo, we’re going to be late,”
Lily said.

“Be right there.” A minute later he came
skidding into the room with his duffle bag over his shoulder. “All right,
what’s taking you so long? Let’s go.”

Looking back at him, she said, “Funny guy,”
as she opened the door and stepped out and into Devlin. “Oh!”

“Well, hello.
Nice to see
you.”
His arms went around her. “Where are we going?”

“Leo has a little league game, and we’re
running late.” Her face turned red as she felt the heat from his body.

He smiled as he tucked a wild strand of
hair behind her ear. “Then let’s go.” Slowly he removed his arms from around
her, giving her hip a squeeze before letting go.

They all piled into Lily’s SUV and headed out
to the park. Leo talked the whole time about everything new that had happened
in the past twenty-four hours. Once they arrived at the park, Leo was out the
door and running off to his teammates. Lily and Devlin left the car a bit
slower and met at the front of the SUV.

“So, what goes on during
small town little league games?”

“Oh, it’s a hot bed for gossip, rivalry,
and losing your voice cheering the home team. Just so you know
,
you’re going to be the hot topic.”

“Who?
Me?
Nah.
They’ll be too interested looking at your
lovely face.”

“Wow… you’re a smooth talker.”

He put his arm around her and pulled her
toward him, kissing the top of her head.
“And cute, too.”

“You’re okay.”

He laughed and squeezed her. “That’s it. Don’t
let me get away with anything.”

“Oh, I won’t.” She led them up to the top
of the bleachers to wait for the game to begin. It didn’t take long before the
other mothers started coming over to say hello to Lily. She knew exactly what
they were doing, and knew who would go overboard with Devlin and who was simply
curious.

Things died down once the game began. They
both cheered for Leo, jumping up when he connected with the ball and ended up
on second base. When he rounded the bases toward home, she clutched Devlin’s
hand. When Leo was called safe, she jumped into his arms.

Ducking her head, she pushed away and said,
“Sorry.”

“No worries.” He bumped her shoulder with
his. “See, I’m irresistible.”

“Dream on, Cross.”

“Oh, I am… I am…”

She stood there watching her son get high-fives
from his teammates and smile and wave up at them all while wondering what
Devlin meant. There was no way Devlin Cross was dreaming about her like she was
dreaming about him. And if he was, oh, holy hell, things were going to get hot.

~^~

Hayden stayed in the background watching
them at the ball game. She fumed at seeing them together, her mind screaming
over and over. They were out in public where anyone could see them, flaunting
the fact they were together when he was hers. He was blatantly cheating on her,
acting like a family with the whore and her son.
A family,
which should be hers with Devlin.

She pulled her phone out and dialed his
number. She wanted to know what he’d do. Would he answer or ignore her? She clutched
the phone tighter as it started to ring. A tear ran down her cheek, one single
tear was all she would allow. He never even moved to answer his phone. He
didn’t know it was her calling because he was so focused on the whore. What was
the point? Should she leave a message?

“Devlin, darling, I’m sorry I missed you
while I was on the east coast. Maybe we could get together when you are back in
Los Angeles.”

They were the reason she was doing this. It
was all on their shoulders now. Her plan was set in motion and soon everything
would come crashing down.

She walked by Lily’s SUV and acted as if
she’d dropped something on the ground. When she stooped down, she carefully
propped a nail up against the tire so when the whore backed out of the spot
she’d run over it. It was a gamble knowing Devlin was going to be in the car. All
she wanted to do was give them a little scare right now, not hurt someone, yet.
Besides, it had worked so well when she’d done it a few days ago.

Sadly, the call she was hoping for never
came.

~^~

Once the game was over, Lily attempted to
navigate to the bottom of the bleachers as once again all the women were going
up to talk to Devlin. She was tired of dealing with them and couldn’t imagine
what it would be like on a daily basis. After talking to the coach, she turned
and saw Devlin attempting to break away from them and reach her. She held up
her keys to him to let him know she’d be at the car.

She was surprised it only took him a few
moments to open the door and climb in. “Sorry.” He turned around to talk to
Leo, “Awesome game, dude. Congrats.” He held up his hand for a high-five.

Leo slapped his hand with a loud smack. “It
was nothing. We usually beat these guys anyway.”

“So what’s next on the agenda?” Devlin
asked.

“Pizza!”
Leo yelled from the backseat. “Ninja Turtles
love
pizza.”

“And so do little boys,” Lily said.

“And moms,” Devlin added.

“You’ve got me there,” Lily agreed.

“Hey, Mom, is Aunt Dory joining us? I
missed her at the game.”

“Oh, she’ll be there. She had a meeting
with someone who was going to donate to her animal shelter. She wants to be
able to take care of some extra animals and she may be able to do that now.”

“Cool.”

All of a sudden there was a loud pop and
the wheel pulled the SUV to the left into oncoming traffic. Lily took her foot
off of the accelerator and fought with the steering wheel. Lucky for them they
weren’t going fast and she was able to get to the side of the road without
getting into an accident. She turned around to see Leo’s huge eyes looking at
her. “Are you okay?”

Leo nodded at her, unable to speak. She
reached out and touched his leg. “It’s okay, baby. I’ll be right back. I need
to change the tire.”

“No,” Devlin said. “I’ve got this.”

“You can’t change the tire,” Lily said.

“What, you think I can’t do it?” he asked
her.

“When was the last time you changed a
tire?” Lily asked.

“Actually a few days ago, smarty pants. I
had one too. Now stay here,” he said.

“Fine.”

“A thank you would be great.”

“I’ll wait to see if you can do it,” Lily
said with a laugh.

“Oh, ouch.
Here I go to prove you wrong.”

“Good luck.”

“Mom…” Leo called out.

“Yeah, bubby?”

“That was kind of scary.”

“Yeah, it was.”

“But it was also kind of fun.”

“Yeah, how come that doesn’t surprise me?”

They sat there in silence. Lily tried to
get her heart rate back down to normal. She also hoped that by staring at her
hands, they would stop shaking. She was happy Devlin was out there changing the
tire. She could do it herself, but she’d been scared, which would have taken
her longer to complete the job. Before she knew it, Devlin was climbing back in
the vehicle.

“All done.
Do you have anything to wipe my hands with?”

“That was quick, thank you.” She dug
through her bag. “Here, I have some wipes.” She smiled shyly at him, assuming
the women he was used to
didn’t
have wipes handy. “I
have a boy; these are a requirement.”

He smiled at her. “No worries. Besides,
when someone says something about pizza I move quickly.”

“Awesome! Let’s go, Mom!” Leo bounced in
his seat as much as the seatbelt would allow.