One Reckless Night (13 page)

He couldn’t think of any other woman who made him feel the way Bayleigh did. She was

special. Dane could still remember the first day he met her five years ago. The Research and

Development Department had been abuzz with the news of a new bright employee coming to the

company. With the way he worked so closely with the department, his excitement level exceeded

most.

Laying eyes on Bayleigh the first time hadn’t been what he expected. Her shyness had come

through immediately, along with her high level of intelligence. After a week she smiled at one of his

corny jokes. From then on their friendship blossomed. He could understand why his relationships

with other women were lacking. They didn’t come close to anything he had with Bayleigh. He

looked up with Isaac chuckled. “What is it?”

Isaac shook his head. “You haven’t said what your family thinks about all of this.” Isaac

paused. “You did tell them didn’t you?”

Dane laughed. “Of course they know. Mom is already planning the wedding, not to mention

the grandkids.”

Isaac gave a full body shudder. “Vanquish the thought.”

Dane smiled. “There is nothing wrong with marriage and children.”

Isaac rubbed his hand across the back of his neck. “If marriage and children are desired,

you’re right.”

Dane finished off his beer before signaling to the bartender that he wanted another. “Well,

marriage and children are what I desire. I have for a while now.”

A look of horror spread across Isaac’s face. “I know.

However, since the woman you’re fixated on is Bayleigh, I can deal.”

Dane grinned. “Enough to be my best man if it comes down to it?”

“If? Now, I’m not a betting man, but if I were I would put money on you and Bayleigh.”

Dane reached for his new beer. “Glad to know I have your vote of confidence.”

“That’s what friends are for.” Isaac slapped him on the shoulder. “I’m just glad our drinking

night hasn’t been weeded out.”

Dane glanced around the bar again. “I like being able to unwind with a few drinks after the

long work week. Besides, don’t forget Bayleigh hangs out with her friends on Friday.”

“So, you and Bayleigh have a date for tomorrow?”

Dane nodded. “Yes we do. I’m taking her to Tribeca Steakhouse.”

“Good choice.”

Dane smiled at Isaac. “I learned from the best.”

Isaac grinned and Dane enjoyed the rest of his beer while talking to Isaac. An hour later he

was headed home. The blonde chick Isaac had flirted with all night came over to introduce herself.

Dane had taken the opportunity to excuse himself. He was past ready to leave anyway. His mind was

preoccupied with Bayleigh again.

Spending uninterrupted time with her was a luxury. So far things were okay but not exactly

what he wanted them to be. It was different trying to balance their friendship, relationship, and work

life all together. Bayleigh would panic if he wasn’t careful. He couldn’t figure out why the deer-in-

headlights look would come out on occasion. When he looked into her eyes sometimes, he could

read the uncertainty there. It puzzled him because Bayleigh had no reason to be unsure with him.

The close friendship they had was a solid starting point, or so he hoped.

Dane made the short drive home. Walking into his empty house, he sighed. Having Bayleigh

in his bed beside him would be a nice bonus. Unfortunately it would have to wait until tomorrow.

Once he had her there he didn’t plan on letting her out for a long time. Now he just had to perfect a

plan to keep her there.

* * * *

“You look more happy than usual. Is your mystery guy responsible for that?”

Bayleigh smiled as she cut into her swordfish. She was having an impromptu Saturday lunch

with Tasha. Over the years she and Tasha had always been close and her marriage to Jarvis hadn’t

changed that. They were still as close as ever. It bothered her not to tell her sister about her newly

forming relationship with Dane, but she wasn’t ready for the fallout. Not when everything was so

new. Still, she knew it was bound to come out eventually. She might as well do it on her terms.

Bayleigh looked up at her sister, a small smile on her face. “I guess you could say he is

responsible.”

Tasha grinned. “You guess? Okay, I’ll pretend to buy into your nonchalant attitude. I can’t

wait to find out more about him.”

Bayleigh cleared her throat. “He’s not a complete mystery.”

Tasha paused with her fork in mid-air. “What does that mean?”

Bayleigh couldn’t keep this from her sister any longer, nor did she want to. “It’s Dane.”

The look of shock on her sister’s face was comical. Tasha opened her mouth but no sound

came out. Her sister closed her mouth, cleared her throat, and tried again.

“Dane Holden? Your
best friend,
Dane?”

Bayleigh nodded, still amused at her sister’s reaction. To be honest, it was similar to her own

when Dane first told her of his attraction to her.

“The only Dane I know.”

Tasha sat her fork down. “Are you serious, Bayleigh?”

She rolled her eyes. “We both know I wouldn’t joke about this, Tasha.”

Tasha stared at her for another long moment before she spoke. “I can’t believe I didn’t see it

before now. The two of you are good together.”

It was Bayleigh’s turn to be shocked. “What do you mean?”

Tasha picked her fork back up, a huge smile on her face. “Bayleigh, it’s no secret that you

and Dane have a close friendship. One of the best foundations for a relationship, in case you didn’t

know.”

“If it doesn’t ruin the friendship,” Bayleigh murmured.

Tasha laughed. “Why would your friendship be ruined?”

Bayleigh sighed. “Because, if one of us hurts the other and our trial relationship ends, how

can we go back to being friends?”

Tasha frowned. “Trial relationship?”

Bayleigh nodded. “Dane suggested we give a trial relationship a try to see if we’re a good fit

for each other.”

“A trial relationship? The two of you are nuts.” Tasha shook her head in disbelief. “I

probably shouldn’t ask, but how long is this trial relationship supposed to last?”

Bayleigh gave her sister a small smile. “Six months, providing we don’t call it quits before

then.”

“What happens if you do make it to six months?”

Bayleigh shrugged. “We extend the relationship?”

Tasha rolled her eyes. “The two of you are certifiable. Good Lord, Bayleigh. Dane is nice,

attractive, he cares about you, and more importantly he isn’t a jackass like Erwin. You are insane to

be wasting time like this.” Tasha reached across the table. “Things don’t always turn out the way we

expect them to. Sometimes they turn out better.”

Tasha gave Bayleigh a look of understanding. “I’ll tell you a secret. For a long time I was

afraid to settle down. I think it was the reason I chose the guys I did before Jarvis.” Tasha smiled

sadly.

“Guys that didn’t treat me the way I was worth being treated.”

Bayleigh couldn’t hide her surprise. “I never knew you felt like that.”

Tasha shrugged. “I didn’t know either, until I met Jarvis. Do you remember how insane

Jarvis drove me in the beginning?”

Bayleigh smiled. She could recall, very clearly how irritated Tasha had been in the beginning

when her sister first mentioned Jarvis. “Yes, I do.”

Tasha released her hand. “I never told you how we met.”

Bayleigh shook her head. “No you didn’t”

Tasha sighed. “I met Jarvis the night of my messy breakup with Darius. I was a complete

mess, drunk and belligerent. Jarvis saw me, realized I was the ex-roommate of his friend’s girlfriend,

so he decided to come to my rescue. He kept the bartender from calling the police, and promised to

escort me home.”

Bayleigh chuckled. “So you made a good first impression?”

“It gets better. Jarvis had to pull over twice on the way home so I could throw up. When he

finally got me home, he put me to bed, where I made a pass at him. He thwarted my attempt before

making me take aspirin and drink two cups of water,”

Bayleigh looked at Tasha, amused. “Jarvis always had been a gentleman.”

“Oh, it gets better. Jarvis left for the night, but showed up early the next morning to nurse

me back to health because I had a massive hangover. After he fed me a light breakfast, he made me

drink this horrible concoction, which made me want to hurl again. He then escorted me into a cool

shower. Afterwards, I realized everything he was doing and it made me feel embarrassed.”

Bayleigh looked at her sister with puzzlement. “Why? He was taking care of you.”

Tasha nodded. “I know. I felt pitiful, but Jarvis stayed with me the whole day. He made me

lunch and dinner. I wanted to repay him, so I offered him sex.”

Bayleigh gasped. “Tasha!”

“Don’t worry. Jarvis turned me down, for four months to be exact. I thought I was going to

go crazy. Jarvis kept insisting he wanted to get to know me first. When we finally did it, I thought

the earth moved and that scared the hell out of me. I avoided him after that, but he wouldn’t let up.”

Bayleigh shook her head. “I had no idea.”

“That isn’t the end of it. My relationship with Jarvis was good. No, it was great. Even so

when he proposed to me a little over a year into our relationship, I broke up with him.”

Bayleigh’s mouth dropped open. Here she had been thinking she was feeling irrational when

it came to Dane. Her sister had her beat big time. “You
what
?”

Tasha nodded, pausing to take a sip of her tea. Bayleigh was stunned. As well as she knew

her sister all of this was news to her. How had she missed this? When she thought about it,

everything seemed perfect. Tasha must have read the question in her eyes. “I hid it well. Remember

the two month period when I stayed away, making up excuses about school, work, even Jarvis?”

Bayleigh nodded, recalling the time frame her sister referred to. “I remember.”

“I was hiding my break up with Jarvis. I was confused, embarrassed, upset, and basically an

emotional wreck. I was miserable. Realizing I made a mistake, I crawled back to Jarvis begging him

to take me back. Thankfully he took me back and here we are today, but it wasn’t easy.” Tasha

exhaled softly. “I know your fear Bayleigh, but don’t be afraid of your own happiness. Trust

yourself. Dane is good to you. He always has been. Don’t be afraid to admit you’re happy with him.

It won’t go away if you do.”

Bayleigh stared at her sister, wanting to give her a hug. She and her sister might not be alike

personality wise, but they seemed to be on the same wavelength when it came to emotional issues.

Looking into Tasha’s eyes, she knew her sister understood. Unfortunately, she had limited herself in

the past when it came to men. Dane often said those exact words to her. Bayleigh hadn’t understood

what he meant then but now she had a better understanding. Dane could be a pain sometimes when

he pushed her. However, in the end it seemed to work out. Still she was afraid of the emotions

coming to the surface now that she was letting Dane in on such a personal level.

“Did you ever feel like you didn’t deserve Jarvis?”

To Bayleigh’s surprise, tears sprang into Tasha’s eyes. “
Oh
,
Bayleigh
. We are more alike than

you will ever know. But you deserve happiness. You deserve Dane.”

Bayleigh gave her sister a sad smile. “I’m scared,” she whispered.

She looked up as Tasha slid from her side of the booth, before coming over to sit next to

her. Tasha embraced her and Bayleigh embraced her sister back. “Talk to Dane, Bayleigh. Tell him

the truth. Let him know what you are afraid of.”

Bayleigh ducked her head. “Dane already knows. I can see it in his eyes. He doesn’t push me

the way he does in our friendship.

He’s patient and tries to allow me the time to reach my own conclusion.”

Tasha smiled. “If he’s willing to be patient in that way, don’t you think you should trust

him?”

Bayleigh looked up. “I do trust him.”

The protest sounded weak even to her own ears. Tasha pulled back to look at her, her

expression skeptical. “Are you sure you trust him?”

Bayleigh opened her mouth to respond but no sound came out. Did she trust Dane? Her

actions said she didn’t. She didn’t have any faith in him at all where it counted. He had stood by her

when it really counted during their friendship, yet she didn’t think he would do the same in their

relationship.

Dane never tried to change her. He complimented her on her new fashion, but she knew he

liked her just fine without them. Bayleigh looked up when Tasha leaned closer to her.

“I learned a very important lesson with Jarvis. Love isn’t neat. It doesn’t come in a pretty

package wrapped with a neat bow. You have to open yourself up and be willing to accept the good

with the bad. Dane makes you sparkle, Bayleigh. The way mom does with dad. The way I do with

Jarvis.”

Bayleigh digested her sister’s words. When she was around Dane, she did feel happier, even

with the change in their relationship status. Even now as she sat enjoying lunch with her sister, her

mind was on her date with Dane tonight. She was looking forward to spending time with him.

“Mom and dad are going to be beside themselves when they hear about this.”