Page 32 of Running Towards You

I did my best to compartmentalize when I was with my client and focus on what they needed, but my mind kept reliving last night, filled with long caresses, deep kisses and pleasure so hot it could melt the sun.

Haley still wasn’t back at her bungalow by the time I was done, and I tried not to let it bother me. She was perfectly capable of taking care of herself, and Hanalei was relatively safe. Plus, everyone knew her now and would keep an eye out. It's what people did around here—especially Mahina, which was who Haley was with.

I’d always been protective. It came with the territory of being an older brother, but now I felt downright overbearing, and I couldn’t seem to help it. Every time I remembered catching that sleazebag taking pictures of Haley, I got a sick feeling in my gut. Haley may not have thought much of it, but it was haunting me, along with whatever was going on in San Diego that had Tess calling with concern.

Putting my board up, I went into my house and looked around, contemplating my next move. Then I gave in and did what I’d promised myself I would never do since Haley came back to Hanalei: I did an internet search of her ex.

I reasoned I needed to know how much trouble might be brewing here. If it was enough to have Tess worried, then I had to cause to worry, too.

What met my eyes had my stomach instantly turning. The ex-fiancé looked like most politicians: classically handsome but smarmy and full of shit. He appeared to be doing his best impersonation of a Kennedy, but he clearly lacked charisma.

The first few headlines featured video clips and sound bytes of a teary Marcus telling the interviewer he didn’t know what went wrong and he’d been totally blindsided. And then there were pictures. One of Marcus and Haley together looking forcefully happy for the cameras, though I could see how posing for the camera was a strain for her. She hated that sort of attention. But in each picture, she dutifully stood next to Marcus and represented him well. I was down the rabbit hole now, and more pictures appeared. Slightly blurry ones that were taken from a distance of Marcus and a mystery blonde he was making out with. The pictures were dated two weeks before the wedding was to have taken place.

“Piece of shit,” I muttered, shaking my head. Tess had been careful to spare me the details of what made Haley run, butnow it was coming together. She must have discovered he was a cheating bastard right before the ceremony.

I kept scrolling. There was a video entitled “Runaway Bride.” I couldn’t help but click the link. According to the caption beneath the video, the press had captured video footage of Haley in all her bridal glory, along with my little sister in her dreadful maid of honor dress, running out of the church like their asses were on fire and hailing a car.

I couldn’t help but laugh at the sight because Haley was clearly using her old track skills the way she hightailed it out of there. Whoever put up the video added music in the background and The Chicks’ song “Ready to Run” played as the harried bride and her dutiful maid of honor disappeared inside a sleek, black car that raced off.

So many emotions were warring inside of me. Worry, rage at her ex, and pride in Haley and my sister. Leaving like that could not have been easy. It was no wonder she kept running all the way to Hanalei. I couldn’t blame her for getting as far away from that son of a bitch as possible.

And she’d ended up straight in my arms.

But I couldn’t focus on that right now, or I’d end up at her door like some panting puppy and I needed to process everything I’d just read.

I spent too much time looking at the myriad of headlines and quotes from Marcus implying that Haley was only marrying him for money. I would have continued torturing myself if it wasn’t for my phone ringing. It was my agent.

“Hey Bo, this isn’t a good time.”

“What are you talking about, kid? This is a great deal I got cooked up for you. We need to talk about what you’re going to say to the interviewers.”

“That’s if I decide I even want to do it,” I cut in.

Bo scoffed. “Why on earth wouldn’t you do it? This is a gem of a deal. I mean, you would have killed for this two years ago.”

I sighed. “I know that Bo, and I appreciate how hard you worked for that, but I’m not sure... a lot has changed in the last two years.”

“This is just stage fright,” Bo insisted. “You’ve been out of the public eye for a couple years and you’re nervous about being front and center again, that’s all.”

I was silent for a moment before I said, “Yeah... maybe.”

“Look, I know it feels scary to you after everything you’ve been through but you’ve got to get back in the saddle—and hell, at least they’re offering you a saddle, they could have left you out to pasture.”

I snickered, because that’s exactly how it’s felt for the last two years. I was the golden boy of football for most of my career and the second my body failed me, I was dumped and forgotten.

“So I’ll arrange the plane tickets and we’ll fly you in for an interview by the end of the week,” Bo said.

I was quiet as he went on detailing his strategy of what to say during the interviews when I moved the mouse on my computer to close the browser with Haley’s heartbreak all over it, but in doing so the mouse rolled over the video clip preview showing Haley running, her veil flying behind her, her big fluffy skirt hooked over her arm as she ran away from everything that was wrong for her back to Hanalei... and me.

At least that’s what I liked to think.

Bo rambled on, and I had to interrupt to get a word in edge wise. “Bo? Slow down, man. Listen, I know you want to get this buttoned down, but... I need more time to think about it.”

Bo exhaled loudly over the phone. “What is going on with you, kid? Your focus isn’t there anymore—what’s going on?”

“Nothing, I have a friend who’s going through a rough time that I need to help with, and then I can make a more clear-headed decision about this.”

“Jesus, don’t tell me this ‘friend’ is a woman. Remember what I always told you, Cooper, women come and go, but opportunities like this are rare—and they don’t break your heart. It’s like when that one broad left you—she was taking the edge off your game. You can’t afford to be distracted. You’ve got too much going for you, my boy.”

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