That snaps me out of my Sean-induced haze.
Forgot? That’s such an enormous lie I’m surprised her nose isn’t growing. Hailey is the one who had to put up with my miserable self in the months after Sean left and never came back. She still teases me about it when we get drunk enough to reminisce.
Sean rubs the back of his neck. It makes his biceps bulge, and it takes all my willpower to look away. “It was a long time ago. I’m actually surprised you recognised me.”
“Likewise.” I want to say more, to drag this conversation out of the pit of awkwardness it’s heading into, but my brain is blank. Sean Richmond is hotter in person than anything my memory could conjure up, and all I can do is stare at him.
Fabulous.
I imagine he’s thanking his lucky stars he escaped when he did.
“Well,” Hailey says, patting me on the arm. “If you don’t mind, I just need to borrow Vic for a few minutes.”
Sean jolts like she’s startled him, and he steps back. “Of course.”
“Shall we?” Hailey gestures to a hallway that leads down the side of the bar where Joe is already standing. And fuck me, for a moment I forgot that he was here too.
Jesus Christ, Vic.
I immediately snap out of my Sean-induced stupor and remind myself that I am, in fact, a fully functioning adult with responsibilities. I offer what I hope is an attractive and sincere smile. “It was great to see you again, Sean.”
“You too.” He smiles back. It reaches all the way to those beautiful blue eyes of his and I’m sure I detect a hint of amusement in them. “We should catch up properly, soon.” With a nod, he turns back to the group of people behind him, and Hailey drags me away into the hallway and then round the corner.
“Who’s that guy you were drooling over?” Joe asks as we follow Hailey into the office at the back.
“Someone I knew when I was at uni,” I say, then frown. “And I wasn’t drooling,” I mutter, and he laughs.
“Yeah, you were. Look...” He shoves his phone under my nose, and there, in horrifying detail, is my face. And yep, I have this dreamy look in my eyes and a dopey smile.
Fuck my life.
Joe laughs again, probably at my mortified expression, then seems to take pity on me. Pocketing his phone, he nudges me with his shoulder and whispers, “He’s hot for an old guy, though.” Then he disappears through the office door and starts chatting with Charlotte.
I’ve frozen on the threshold, not sure whether I’m off-kilter from the fact that Joe thinks thirty-eight is old. Or that my son might be attracted to men as well as women and I hadn’t realised.
Hailey wraps an arm around my waist, and I automatically drape mine over her shoulder. “Don’t feel bad,” she murmurs. “He hasn’t told me either.”
“But you suspected?” I whisper back because she doesn’t sound surprised.
She hums. “Maybe a little.” She pats my hand. “If he wants to tell us anything, he will. When he’s ready.”
“Yeah, you’re right.” I push it to the back of my mind because sheisright, and I’m not going to make a big deal out of it.
“And you were totally drooling,” she adds as she pushes past me.
I catch her arm before she can escape. Ignoring her comment, I say softly, “Did you know he was in there?” Charlotte and Joe stop talking and glance over at us. Hailey’s resigned sigh is as good as an admission. “Didn’t you think that was something I might like to know?”
She tugs me inside and shuts the door behind us. “I was hoping he might’ve gone before we went in there. He doesn’t normally stay late on a Friday.”
My eyebrows rise. “Normally? How often is he in here? And why have you never mentioned it once in all our phone calls and texts?”
She shifts guiltily from foot to foot. Either that or she needs the loo. I glance down at her, remembering she’s heavily pregnant, and sigh. “Are you all right? Do you need the toilet, or to sit down?”
“What?” She stops moving and slaps me on the arm.
“Ow! What was that for?” I scowl at her and she glares back. “I didn’t know if it was a guilty shuffle or the baby.” I shrug helplessly and she laughs, shaking her head.
“Guilty shuffle.”
