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The small gesture meant a lot to him. He placed his hand on hers. “He struggled for a long time. It was hard, but I know he’s happy where he is.”
“It must be difficult for your mom as well. She was his caregiver for so long.”
Hayden nodded, thinking of the way she’d taken on that role without any word of complaint. His father was diagnosed with ALS about eight years ago. The cruel disease slowly took the vibrant man Hayden knew and left him helpless. He blinked back his emotions.
“She’s trying to find herself again.” He paused and lifted his hand, knowing he couldn’t continue to touch her soft skin without it becoming awkward. “She asks about you.”
Lana’s eyebrows raised, and he immediately wished he could take back those words.
“She does? Why?”
Hayden silently cursed himself. Why did he say that? Yes, his mother asked about Lana all the time, but it was because she knew he still carried feelings for her. She had seen them together. She knew how hard he’d fallen for her.
“Um…” Okay, this is the part where his brain was supposed to work. But nothing came to him. “She misses you?”
Arg. Why did that come out as a question? He was messing this all up. Before Lana could respond, he changed the subject. “If you’re not busy today, maybe we could go do something.”
She stiffened, and he could see invisible walls form between them. That was not the right thing to say, either. He tried to backpedal. “I mean, as friends. Maybe just hanging out, you know, across the room, or something…” Lame. Why couldn’t he think straight?
Lana tugged at the bottom of the oversized t-shirt she wore. “I did want to see a movie. If you’re not busy—”
“I’m not,” he said before she could finish.
“Okay. Then let’s look at what’s playing.”
He breathed out and relief cascaded over him. “Sure. I’ll grab my phone and check.”
Maybe today wouldn’t be terrible after all. Maybe they would have the chance to get the awkwardness out of the way and become better friends, more like they were five years ago. But even as the thought crossed his mind, he realized they were more than friends five years ago. He’d fallen deeply in love with her. And judging from his racing heart, he was still in love with her.
Could he handle just being friends with Lana?
CHAPTER7
The lights dimmed and Lana settled back into her seat. Even though she still wore Hayden’s clothes, they were comfortable and had the added benefit of no one recognizing her out in public. She took off her sunglasses. “We got great seats.”
“I love the back row.” Hayden put the bucket of popcorn between them. “Are you ready die from fright?”
She raised one eyebrow at him. “I love horror flicks. You’re the one who gets scared.”
He straightened his back. “No way. You must be thinking of someone else.”
Yeah, right. “It was you who screamed like a baby hyena all throughAliens.”
His mouth fell open. “They were jump scares. I was startled, that’s all. Can’t a guy get startled?”
She giggled, thinking of how they’d watched the film in her penthouse apartment, and he’d hung on her arm the entire time. It was kind of him to say he wanted to watch this movie with her when she knew he didn’t love the genre.
He tossed a piece of popcorn into his mouth as the video on the screen reminded everyone to shut off their cell phones. “Hey,” he said, leaning closer to her. “Did you ever finish building that Millennium Falcon out of Legos?”
Most people thought she was crazy when they found out she loved Legos. But Hayden had thought it was cool and helped her work on it several times. “Not yet.”
“Oh? Why not?”
She frowned, growing uncomfortable. It had been hard to work on it after Hayden broke up with her. It reminded her of him. “I’ve just been busy.”
“Ah. I see.”
The movie turned out to be just the thing she needed to get her mind off her mother. And it wasn’t super scary. Hayden seemed to enjoy it as well, although, she had to admit being a bit disappointed he hadn’t clung to her during any parts. Was that why she’d chosen this film? Was she hoping to get physically closer to Hayden? She pushed that thought away. Surely that wasn’t it.
