LITMIR.BIZ

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back anyway.” She punctuated her words with a violent smack of the broom. “Jerk.” At the last imprecation, their customer glanced back at them. Blue eyes studied them in open curiosity.

      Smiling reassurance at the man, Jen plucked the broom from Haley’s hands and set it aside. She led Haley by the elbow to a coloring table on the other side of the store.

      “Sit.”

      Haley dropped into a child-size chair. The fit was perfect, as Haley wasn’t much larger than a child herself. Her shoulders slumped and she twined her fingers together in a big, white-knuckled fist.

      “Okay. Now give.” Jen’s voice was a soft command.

      Haley blinked furiously at her tears, glancing at Jen and then away. “I wanted to surprise Peter. So I dropped by his office after lunch. I found him at his desk. With his secretary. And I don’t think they were discussing business.”

      Jen’s eyes widened. “Peter? Your boyfriend?”

      “The guy who wanted me to spend the weekend on the lake with him? The guy who claims to love me? Yeah, that’s the one. I walked in on them. Having sex on his desk.”

      Jen’s lips tightened in sympathy. “Oh, Haley.”

      “He didn’t even look up when I opened the door.”

      “He doesn’t know you saw him with her?”

      “Oh, he knows.” Haley’s voice grew stronger. “I got on his secretary’s intercom and announced an emergency meeting in his office. ASAP. That got his attention.”

      “You didn’t!”

      “I did. And he all but shoved his new girlfriend off the desk trying to find his pants.”

      Jen tossed her head back, laughing. “Oh, that’s good. I should have known you wouldn’t just slink off quietly.”

      “Why should I?” Haley raised her chin, feeling militant on behalf of all womankind. Defiantly, she met the eyes of the blond man who was openly staring at them. He smiled slightly, disarmingly, then turned back to the mound of plush animals.

      Jen, who missed the exchange, ended her laughter on a sigh. Her expression grew more serious as she studied her friend. “I’m glad you didn’t let him get away with it.” She paused then continued more softly. “Are you okay?”

      Haley shrugged, the glow of victory fading to disappointment. “I’ll live. At least I caught him before we went away together.”

      “Were you really going to spend the weekend with him?”

      Haley shrugged. “I don’t know. I hadn’t really made up my mind yet. He seemed so perfect. He was handsome, charming, successful. He seemed to really care about me. Did I mention the handsome and charming part?”

      Jen eyed her sympathetically. “It’s rotten, I know. But I have to admit I’m kind of relieved. I was starting to worry that you were talking yourself into love with him just because everyone else thought he was wonderful.”

      Haley looked up in surprise. Jen had never voiced such doubts before. “I think I could have loved him. Or at least the man I thought he was.” Her glance slid over to the blonde, who had dropped to one knee and was now studying a collection of trucks on a low shelf. Faded denim stretched taut across tight buttocks, the waistband gapping slightly in complement to the hard contours of the man’s back. Annoyed with her wandering gaze, Haley forced her attention away from their customer. No more princes!

      Jen tapped a long fingernail against her lips, her eyes narrowed thoughtfully. “I don’t know. Has it occurred to you that you’re not exactly heartbroken by what Peter did? Angry, sure. But devastated? No.”

      Haley weighed Jen’s observation, honestly tried to picture herself living with Peter. Spending every day with him. She couldn’t see it. How was that for honesty? “I guess Peter wasn’t exactly the love of my life. It was humiliating to catch him cheating on me, though.”

      “Not as humiliating as having your co-workers catch you with your pants down, I’ll bet.”

      At that, Haley managed to crack a tiny smile. “Good point.”

      Jen shook her head and squeezed Haley’s shoulder. “You’re better off without him.”

      “I know.”

      “You okay?”

      Haley nodded and stood up.

      “Good girl. I guess I’d better get back to it.”

      Jen retraced her way across the store. The blonde focused his smile on Jen, though his glance kept straying back to Haley.

      Conscious of the tearstains on her face, Haley turned her back on the man. She picked up the broom she’d been abusing and resumed her task—without her earlier vigor. She pulled chairs out to sweep crayon bits off the floor, rearranged a stack of picture books and checked a dollhouse display for damage. She saw that only a tiny teacup had fallen prey to little fingers.

      The Toy Boxx, located in a trendy little plaza in west St. Louis County, Missouri, was a popular hangout for kids whose parents were shopping at the nearby department store. Some of those faces had grown familiar and even dear to Haley over the summer. Now that school was in session, she’d miss the constant stream of pint-size customers. She loved their joy, their enthusiasm, even their mischief.

      So when did such open, sincere creatures turn into the deceiving jerks she’d dated her whole life? she wondered.

      Absently, she listened to Jen explaining the features of a remote control car. The deep rumble of a masculine voice echoed in the pit of her stomach. Haley forced herself not to look over her shoulder at the source.

      Her dating failures had become so comical she and Jen had taken to nicknaming them. First there had been Football Flynn, her high school boyfriend who had played the field in more ways than one. Then there was her college sweetheart, dubbed Big-Man-On-Campus Brad. His charisma and wicked green eyes had charmed both her and her bank account into a puddle beneath his feet.

      There had been a few casual relationships with men since then, but no one truly serious until Peter. He’d seemed so decent and so attractive, so incredibly perfect that she and Jen had dubbed him Prince Peter. That should have been her first clue. When he’d asked her out and intimated a future together, it had seemed almost too good to be true. She’d pictured herself living happily ever after with a handsome, loving husband. Some fairy tale this turned out to be. Jerk.

      The unmistakable sound of the cash drawer opening and closing drew her attention.

      “Thanks, Mr. Samuels. Have a nice day.” The pleasant tones of Jen’s voice were soothing to Haley.

      “I appreciate the help.” As he turned and strode toward the door, his eyes met Haley’s. She stared. He smiled and nodded slightly before opening the door. The bell jingled cheerily after his exit. Something about the man seemed vaguely familiar. Haley frowned a moment, thoughtful, then shook her head and sighed. She couldn’t place him.

      She turned back to Jen. “Sorry I caused such a scene, especially with a customer in the store. It was incredibly unprofessional.”

      Jen grinned. “I don’t think he minded.” She hustled to the back room and returned with a box, which she passed off to Haley.

      Haley set the box behind the cash register then began gathering up the defective toys to be returned. “I don’t get it, Jen. Why do the men I date always turn out to be rotten? All men can’t be that bad. Frank’s not.”

      Jen smiled at the mention of her husband. “No, he’s not.”

      “So how do I find my Frank?”

      Jen paused thoughtfully. “I don’t know. Patience helps. That way you’re not rushing into relationships with men who aren’t worth your time. Look around you. The nice guys aren’t going to jump up and shout for attention.

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