Just One Night Together (Flatiron Five Fitness #3) - Deborah Cooke Page 0,85
Tiffany came in and pushed the door shut behind her, then bounced on the bed. She picked up a stuffed bear and gave him a snuggle. “How cool that you’re crashing in my old room.”
“It’s neater than I’ve ever seen it.”
Tiffany laughed again. “Two sisters, completely opposite. One a neat-freak and one a tsunami of disorganization. I should drop by in the middle of the night and mess up your stuff while you’re sleeping.”
“You’ll have a hard time finding my stuff in here.”
“True.” Tiffany nodded. “You got the minimalist inclinations in this family.”
“Hardly. Brad and Matt have their share.”
“So, it’s more accurate to say that I’m the family packrat.”
“If the shoe fits...”
Tiffany smiled. “Speaking of which, I want to come to New York to shop for my wedding dress.”
Haley immediately understood. “You can stay at my place, if you want. We’ll both fit on the sofa bed.” And it was possible that they would still be able to move around the apartment if Tiffany only stayed a few days. Haley knew from experience that her sister’s baggage would seem to explode on arrival and her belongings would cover every available surface within minutes.
“Wow, you offered without even wincing.”
Haley smiled. “I’m assuming you won’t stay long.”
“I won’t. But a free place to stay isn’t all. You need to come shopping with me.”
“For your wedding dress?” Haley winced then. The notion of spending thousands of dollars on a dress for a single day always bothered her. “Seriously?”
“Seriously. You need to take five days off, Wednesday through Sunday. I’ll come Tuesday night, we’ll shop for four days and live the wedding fantasy.” Haley groaned. “Then we’ll go dancing and get really drunk on Saturday night before I crawl to the airport on Sunday.”
“We have taxis. You don’t have to crawl all that way.”
“I’ll probably have to crawl to the curb for the cab.” Tiffany nudged Haley. “Maybe I’ll find you a hot date—unless, of course, you’re going to hook up with Garrett again.”
Haley ignored that. “So, this would be your bachelorette party or your last fling?”
Tiffany’s eyes widened. “God, I hope not. You’re my big sister. You can keep me from doing anything I might regret.”
“Like dragging home a hot guy.”
“Exactly that.”
Haley shook her head. “I don’t think three will fit on the sofa bed.”
“An excellent consideration. And in exchange for your good sense and wise judgment, I’ll buy all your meals and transport for the shopping adventure, plus your frilly drinks on our big night out.” Tiffany crossed her heart and held up her fingers. “I promise that I won’t even mess with the organization of your cupboards.”
Haley smiled. “Sounds like an offer I can’t refuse.”
“That was exactly the idea.” Tiffany grinned. “We could get commemorative tattoos.”
Haley rolled her eyes. “I’m going to guess that you’ve already picked the dates.”
“No. Look at your shifts and choose a weekend. Sooner is better.”
“So, you’ll know you have the dress.”
“No! So, I know you’ll still be in New York!”
Another reference to her inevitable move. “Come next week,” she said on impulse. “I have it off.”
“Excellent! Let me see if I can get the days.”
“And don’t count on my moving before I even survive the job interview.”
Tiffany waved off the comment. “You’ll ace it. You ace everything. Just think: you’ll be living here in time for the wedding!” She kissed Haley on the cheek and headed for the door before Haley could protest.
Commemorative tattoos. Maybe she and Tiff weren’t really related.
Damon stood in the church with the priest and his mom’s ashes and found himself thinking of Haley. It had been two weeks since he’d goaded her into leaving, two weeks during which she hadn’t called or stopped by. Two weeks since he’d heard her voice or felt her touch.
Two weeks in which he’d missed her more sharply than anyone he’d ever lost.
Even his mom.
It had easily been the longest two weeks of his life.
Damon told himself that it was good he’d ended things when he had, before there’d been any chance of him really hurting her. That didn’t change how much he missed her.
Being responsible didn’t seem like such a good thing.
He was starting to hope that the therapist was right and that he might, one day soon, have more to offer Haley Slater than he did now.
For the moment, he wanted to thank her for kicking his ass.
He watched the door, hungry to see her again. He’d let the hospital staff know about the service. It had been in the local paper and because