The Trouble With Snowmen (10 page)

Chapter 20

Haley shook all over. How dare he? How dare Larry say that to her? She felt stupid. She’d actually started thinking that Larry had gone tonight because he liked her. How could she have misread that severe look he had given her as she and Travis had danced? Why had he gone to so much trouble to dance with her? So he could humiliate her? “I can’t believe I thought—”

“What’s with you?” Travis asked.

She’d been staring out the window of Travis’s truck, forgetting for a second who she was with. She wiped her eyes before looking at him and tried to smile.

Travis took off his hat and set it in the middle of the long bench seat before driving out onto the street. “What was going on with you and Max’s boyfriend?”

Haley was finished with lying. Maybe, if she came clean now, he would forgive her and they could start new. “He’s not his boyfriend.”

“No?”

“I slept with him after we broke up,” she blurted.

“What?” Travis swerved a little but quickly got back on track. “Who’d you sleep with? Max, or the other guy?”

“Larry. I slept with Larry. I was trying to get over you, and Maximilian and Regina said you were a snowman, which is a really long story, but the ending is . . . I slept with Larry.”

“Oh.”

Haley sat there, waiting for more of a reaction, but when nothing came, she felt bad. She must have injured him so much he couldn’t speak. “I’m sorry. It won’t happen again. He’s out of my life for good.”

“That’s okay. Hey, you hungry? I still need about 500 calories in protein. And after that beer, I’m going to have to do two more sets of squats tomorrow.”

“What?” She shook her head. “Did you hear what I said? I had
sex
with that guy, Larry. He’s actually Larry White, the famous writer.” Tears streamed down her face without permission. Even though it was dark inside the truck, she turned away. She didn’t want Travis to know how much that famous writer with all the women around him at the bar had gotten to her. All those girls . . . Larry White was probably used to getting freebies. What a jerk!

“Oh!” Travis said. “I knew I recognized him.”

Haley whipped her head around. “Don’t you care that I slept with another man? I threw myself at him, and he thought I was a whore, a prostitute. He thought I gave him a freebie!”

Travis busted out laughing. “He thought you were a prostitute? Why? I’ve seen plenty and you ain’t nothing like that.”

“What? You’re not mad?”

“I broke up with you. I’m sure that was devastating.”

“Why aren’t you mad?”

He glanced at her, a frown on his face, and gave a quick shrug. “We were broken up. When people are broken up, that means they can do the nasty with whoever they want.”

The nasty. Her heart sank. Why would she think that he had stayed faithful after he’d broken up with her? As she sat there, trying to be mad at him, she couldn’t. All she could think about was Larry. She was furious with him.

Travis pulled up along the sidewalk in front of the multiplex but didn’t turn off the motor. “Can I come in?” he asked after a second.

It felt weird because he’d never had to ask before, it had always been understood, an open invitation. But he must have felt the difference in their relationship now from before too.

“That would be nice,” she said, even though she knew he wanted sex, and she didn’t. But she had an ulterior motive.

As soon as they stepped inside her apartment, Travis began to remove his shirt.

“Wait,” she said, “before you do that, I thought maybe I could make you some eggs. You said you were hungry.”

He seemed to think about it for a second, and then he nodded in agreement. “Four, way over-easy, and a piece of toast.”

She walked toward the kitchen. “Okay. It won’t take long. Why don’t you sit at the bar, and we can talk while I cook.” She exhaled, not believing how she had to treat him like a child just to get him to sit down and have a conversation with her.

It worked, though, he sat down at the countertop on the little bar stool.

She poured him a glass of water before getting the eggs out of the refrigerator.

“What do you want out of life?” she asked in a low voice, hoping he wouldn’t get up and run.

“You know. I’m almost finished with my EMT training, and then I’ll be ready to apply at the fire department.”

“Really? You want to be a firefighter?”

“Duh, I’ve been volunteering for a few weeks but after my EMT class is finished, I’m going to put in my application.”

“How did I not know that?”

He shrugged a shoulder. “You didn’t ask.”

“Oh.” She knew he was in school to be an emergency medical technician and had figured that would be his career future. The realization that Travis wasn’t the only one at fault in this relationship kicked her in the head. “I’m sorry I didn’t ask.”

“No problem. You’ve seemed busy.”

“Yeah, I guess so. But I’m happy for you. That’s a very noble job. I like that.”

“Thanks.”

She poured the eggs into the frying pan, and they sizzled and bubbled. “You know my parents, especially my mom, wanted me to be a doctor or a lawyer. She believed, drilled it in my head that her daughters could be whatever they wanted to be. My mom was proud that she’d saved all her life so me and my sister, Mae, could go to college.”

“I didn’t know you had a sister.”

“I do.” Haley heard the toast pop and so she took it out of the toaster and placed it on the plate. “Butter?”

“No.”

“Anyways, she always told us how she wished her parents would’ve done the same for her. But they’d been poor, and the only thing my grandparents hoped for was that my mom find a good husband.” Haley added the eggs to the plate, grabbed a fork out of the top drawer, and handed it all to Travis.

Travis shoveled the food into his mouth and had about finished the eggs by time Haley had made it to the barstool next to him. “I went to Stephen F. Austin a few miles away from home in Nacogdoches. Out of my mom’s two favored career choices, I picked the law thing and got my degree in Criminal Justice. And then I told my mom I needed a break from school. That I’d decided to work for a while before applying to law school.”

“Is that what this is about?” Travis asked. “You going to law school?”

“No, the opposite. The truth is, in the back of my mind, I knew that I was never going back to school. I don’t want to be a lawyer. I don’t even want to be a law assistant.”

“What do you want to be?”

Haley had tried to keep this dream at the bottom of her priority list. It made her feel undeserving of her parents’ sacrifices and expectations. But it wouldn’t stay there any longer. She had to say it out loud. “I want to be a wife. I want to get married and have a family.”

Travis began choking.

Haley handed him his water, and he gulped it down.

“You okay?” she asked.

He nodded and when he stopped coughing, he said, “That’s funny.”

“It’s what I want more than anything.”

“You’re not joking, are you?”

She shook her head. “No, I’m not. And don’t worry. I know you’re not ready. Staying together is not fair to either one of us. It would be better to admit it right now. We don’t love each other.”

“But I like you a lot.”

“That’s not enough. I’m sorry, Travis.”

The twist of his mouth and the solemn look in his eyes let Haley know he knew it was over too.

Chapter 21

Haley woke early the next morning to an empty bed, reminding her of what had happened with Travis the night before. It is better this way, she told herself. Too bad that their first real conversation had also been their last. Even though there had been no tears shed this time, she still felt sad.

Before last night, she had placed all the blame on Travis. Now she saw how she’d avoided conversations with him too. Most likely, it had been a shield to protect her from the truth that they didn’t have a future.

After the night’s sleep, she didn’t feel like she had a right to be angry at Larry. Sure she still felt embarrassed and a little confused. She kept thinking about how he had stood by the dance floor, five o’clock shadow, messy hair, and stared at her with those dark, intense eyes. But there was something else that the moment revealed, a vulnerability. In that one second she could have sworn she felt this connection, like Larry had never looked at anyone like that before. Like it hurt him to see her with someone else.

But she must have read too much into it. She had to stop fantasizing and face reality. She had to think about her future.

After her talk with Travis, other things became clear. Mostly, why she had decided to walk out and leave Larry without pursuing their relationship when she knew there had been bright, bright blaring sparks. Of course he’d been unkempt, and she had thought he was dirt poor. But it wasn’t her just being shallow. She didn’t think he would be able to support her if she decided to stay home after she had a baby. Talk about thinking in fast-forward.

Now that she knew who he was, it didn’t help her cause either. She’d read all the articles about the sexiest bachelor in the literary world. He was intimidating, to say the least. And did she really think he was the type of guy who would want to settle down? He dated women like Brenda and went to fancy places and got freebies from prostitutes. That was what this whole snowman thing had been for, hadn’t it? To teach her how to recognize the guys who would break her heart.

Haley made her way down the hall to Maximilian’s apartment. She wasn’t mad at him anymore, either. She knew he loved her and wanted what was best for her. She knew that in his eyes, he’d helped.

“Maximilian,” she called as she entered his apartment. She wasn’t about to get undressed until she was sure they were alone.

“Haley,” Maximilian shrilled from the bedroom and came running into the living room and then jumped up and down. “You are not going to believe this!”

“No!” She knew there could only be one thing that would have him this excited.

“Yes! I got the freaking call! I made it! I’m on
Catwalk Wars
!”

They held each other’s hands and jumped up and down screaming and laughing. When they stopped, Haley said, “I’m so happy for you.” But then a sob blurted out.

“Haley? Are you okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine. I don’t know what that was. This is the most wonderful news.”

“Come on, there’s something wrong.”

“Stupid tears.” Haley wiped at her face, but she wasn’t fast enough to stop them. “I’m going to miss you, that’s all. New York is so far away.” And I’ll be alone, she thought. Everyone was leaving.

“I’m not going to NYC. The show’s in Dallas. Texas. Dallas is a hotspot for trend setting. Dallas is the little New York when it comes to fashion.”

“Really? Okay, that’s good. But still you’ll be hundreds of miles away.”

He had a big smile on his face. She guessed she deserved it after she’d been so mean to him. He wallowed in her misery.

“I don’t have to be.” Maximilian wiggled about with a wide smile across his face. “I, my dear, have a proposal.”

“Uh-oh. Should I sit down for this?”

“No, you should jump up and down for this! Girl, get this, if I win, I get $250,000!”

“Oh wow, that’s a lot of money, Maximilian. No wonder you’re so hyper.”

“I know, but there’s more! I can bring my own model.” He pointed at Haley. “If I win, my model gets $50,000!”

“Wow!” Haley said.

“Well, what do you say? I know you don’t want to be a model, but this is a onetime thing and the clothes fit you so perfectly. I would
so
win if you were my model.”

Haley did sit down. “I don’t know.”

“What do you have to lose? Your job situation is grim.”

“Thanks for reminding me. But it’s not that. I would have to be in front of lots and lots of people and on television! I don’t know if I could do that. I’m nervous just thinking about it.”

“You’ll be wonderful. It’ll also give you some time away from the cowboy so you can see how wrong y’all are for one another.”

“I already know. We broke up last night.”

“Really? Yay! I mean, I’m sorry.”

“Nothing to be sorry about. You and Regina were right all along. Travis is not right for me.”

“Well, then you have no reason to stay, now do you?”

They heard a knock at the door.

“Come in,” Maximilian sang.

“Am I early?” Larry asked.

Haley cut her eyes at Maximilian.

“Right on time. And I’ve told you, you don’t have to knock. We are family now.”

Larry’s attention went to Haley.

She tried not to acknowledge if she agreed with Maximilian or not about the whole family thing. She also tried to keep her cool, but every time she was around him, her heart beat sped up.

“I got the most wonderful news,” Maximilian said. “I am going to be a contestant on
Catwalk Wars
!”

“That’s cool. What’s that?”

“Are you serious?” Maximilian spat. “It’s only the number one reality show on TV about fashion. It is huge. Soon I will be America’s next favorite designer. And a quarter millionaire.”

Larry went to shake Maximilian’s hand and Maximilian gave him a giant hug. Larry hugged him, patting him on the back. “That is great news, buddy. Congratulations.”

“I know,” Maximilian said as they parted. He then smiled at Larry and then Haley. “I’ve got to run out and get some more fabric . . . or something. Be ready by time I get back. Outfits are on Rack Number Three.”

“Wait,” Haley said. “I know what you’re doing.”

“Do you?” Maximilian said as he walked out the door. “I’ll be right back, and you promised to help me, so don’t you dare leave.” He shut the door behind him.

Haley stole a glance at Larry and felt flustered that Maximilian had left like that, forcing Larry into an awkward situation.

Thankfully, Larry broke the silence. “I want to apologize for what I said last night.”

Haley shook her head. “No, I’m sorry. I should be the one to apologize. I had no right to be mad at you. You told me the truth. And that’s what I owe you. I’m not sure what all Maximilian told you, but I used you. I told Travis everything, and I want to clear the air with you, too.”
Crap, I’m rambling
. But this was her chance.

“You don’t have to do that.”

“Yes, I do.” Haley concentrated on the floor not wanting to see his expression as she told him the story, from the beginning to “ . . . and after I was sure you were asleep, I got dressed but left my shoes, like a melted snowman.”

She really tried to be honest but somehow she’d left out a few things, like her feelings for him, and had added a major lie, that it had all been to get Travis back.

Larry hadn’t said a word and without looking at him, Haley wandered over to Rack Number Three, aimlessly searching through the clothes.

Maximilian walked through the door. “I sure hope y’all had a chance to talk because I can’t wait a second longer to get my collection in order.”

“It’s fine,” Larry said. “I have some neglected characters I need to get back to.” And he left.

“Kind of thick in here,” Maximilian said. “Why was he so pissed off?”

“You didn’t need him for a fitting?” Haley asked. “You think he was mad?”

“Yeah, like someone had shredded his novel, mad. And nope. It was a ploy, my dear. He wanted to have some time with you.”

“He planned this? I thought you set me up. I thought you set us up.”

“Not me. Did you get a chance to talk?”

“If you mean did I spill my guts, then yes. All over the place.”

“When you say ‘spill your guts,’ exactly what all did you say?”

“Everything.” Haley heard the quiver in her own voice, and the feeling of regret swept over her. “I told him how Travis dumped me, and y’all told me he was snowman and then how you told me it takes one to know one. How I basically used him and left him like an ugly one-night stand.” She inhaled and exhaled. “And I even said I did it all to get Travis back. That it had worked. Most of which, you already told him. Right?”

“Oh dear.”

“What do you mean, ‘oh dear?’”

“I didn’t tell him much. Why would I? He doesn’t need to know all the craziness. All he needs to know is that you like him. Because he really likes you, Haley.”

“He said that? He said he likes me?” Heat rose from Haley’s feet all the way to her stomach.

“Yeah, the man pretended to be gay, went to a country bar, which was way, way out of his comfort zone, and even threatened to beat up Travis.”

“Really?” Haley let her heavy head fall forward. “I feel sick.”

“He was chasing after you again today because he wanted to apologize for that freebie remark. Which, by the way, I think is hilarious. The way you two thought you were someone else. He thought you were a prostitute and you thought he was poor . . . Sorry. Too soon?” He shook his head. “But anyway, he wanted to try and start over. He just wanted a chance to talk to you.”

Haley began to pace. “It doesn’t matter anyway. Everything is out in the open. I needed to tell him everything. I had to, right? Why am I upset then? It’s not like we have a future. I need a man who will commit, and Larry White does not seem like the type of guy who’d want to do that. What the hell is he trying to do to me anyway? I mean, he already has a girlfriend. Does he just want another roll in the hay?”

“Wait. He doesn’t have a girlfriend.”

“What are you talking about? You knew. The other day you said that his heart belonged to someone else.”

“I meant you.”

“I thought you were talking about my boss . . . well, ex-boss.”

“The lawyer?”

“Yes, the beautiful, smart, rich, sophisticated Brenda Fisher.”

“That doesn’t make sense. You must be mistaken.”

“No, I’m not. Not about that. But everything is confusing. I’m so confused. My head feels like it’s going to burst.”

“Mine too. Your love life is like calculus; I don’t get it. And would you stop pacing, you’re going to knock something over.”

Haley stopped by the mirror. “They’re a couple. Brenda even bought this place for him so that they could be close to one another.”

Maximilian put his hands on his hips. “He played me for a fool. I have a mind to march over there right this second.”

“No, it’s okay. Please don’t. Looks like I took care of it, anyway. I’m just going to try to forget about him, forget Travis, forget everything, and try to regain some of my dignity. Dignity . . . ha!”

“I’m sorry, precious. From now on, I’ll try to mind my own business.”

“Don’t you dare!”

They smiled at one another.

“Well,” Maximilian said, “now you really have no reasons not to go to
Catwalk Wars
with me.”