Chapter Four
The following day, Nathan made sure he got to the restaurant about fifteen minutes early so that he would hopefully be the first one there. He needed to feel in control of the situation and he knew if he was rushing to get there, then that control would have been lost and he would have felt out of sorts. That was something he couldn’t let happen. Too much was at stake and time was definitely of the essence.
At five minutes to one he saw her walking towards him and he found himself smiling. If he thought she looked good yesterday, then that was nothing compared to how she looked right now. Her auburn hair had been left down but the sides of it had been pulled back and she was wearing a knee length black and white summer dress which displayed her tanned legs nicely. As she came to stand in front of him, he noticed her toes peeking out from the black sandals she had on her feet and he smiled at the different pastel colours she had painted her nails.
“Hi,” he said when she was close enough to hear him.
“Hi. Have you been waiting long?”
He shook his head and lied. “No, I only just got here.”
“Oh okay. Uh, should we go inside?”
“Yeah. I actually booked a table, I know how busy this place can sometimes get,” he told her as he opened the door to the restaurant and gestured for her to enter first.
The pizzeria was a family run business and had a nice homely feel to it. Nathan hoped that the overall ambience of the place would help relax both of them and help him decide whether Haley was the right person to help him out. Like his cousin, he too got a good feeling from her.
After they had been seated and had given their orders to their waiter, they sat there in silence for a few minutes.
“So, uh, how long have you been in Tree Hill?” He finally asked after he had taken a sip of his mineral water.
“Almost four months now.”
“And do you like it?”
“Yeah,” she said giving him a smile. “I really do. Your mom and your aunt have been great and I really like Brooke and Lucas.”
Returning her smile, he said, “I’m glad. They’re good people.”
The awkward silence returned and was only broken by Haley clearing her throat. “You live in Chicago, right?”
“Yeah. I moved there a year or so after I finished college. I studied architecture and I now have my own design company.”
“That’s great,” she told him. “Do you miss living here or do you prefer the big city?”
Nathan thought about it for a moment before responding. “I think I prefer the big city and not having everyone knowing your business. Don’t get me wrong, I miss my family but when I’m here, it’s like…”
“Living in a fishbowl?” she suggested.
“Yeah.” He chuckled. “That’s exactly it. Sometimes it feels like I can’t walk down the streets here without people looking at me.”
“Paranoid much?” she teased and he laughed at her words.
“Maybe I am. So, tell me about yourself. I’m sure it’ll be a lot more interesting than hearing about me.”
Picking up her own glass, Haley sipped her water. “There’s not really much to tell. I’m from Georgia and I moved here around four months ago.”
“You’re not giving me much to go on here, Haley.”
“Okay, what exactly do you want to know about me?” She asked, raising one perfectly arched eyebrow in question.
“Let’s start off with the easy stuff. How about your age, how many brothers and sisters you have, favourite colour…”
“Don’t want to know much, do you? Okay fine. I’m twenty years old, I have five brothers and sisters and my favourite colour is purple. How about you?”
Nathan stared at her in surprise. She was only twenty? She didn’t look it. He could see she was obviously younger than him but there was a maturity about her that belied her real age. What the fuck was Lucas doing setting him up with someone so young?
“Nathan, are you okay?”
He nodded. “Yeah, I’m fine.”
At that moment, they were interrupted by the waiter bringing over their plates of food and he breathed a sigh of relief that they would have something to focus their attention on.
Haley could feel something was off but she didn’t know what. She picked at her pasta dish, all of a sudden not feeling as hungry as she had been before. “This is really good,” she said hoping to break the silence and she watched as his blue eyes looked across into hers.
“Yeah, it is. So, you’re from a big family, huh?”
“Uh huh. I’ve got three brothers and two sisters, I’m the youngest.”
“Aww, the baby of the family,” he teased.
“Watch it mister, I’ll have you know there’s nothing baby-ish about me.”
“I can see that,” he whispered but it was loud enough for her to hear and she blushed. He couldn’t help smiling at how cute she looked when her cheeks flushed with embarrassment.
“How about you? Do you have any siblings?”
Chewing and then swallowing a bite of his pizza, he shook his head. “No, I’m an only child but Lucas is almost like a brother to me. I spent a lot of time with him and his parents when I was growing up. Things weren’t always the best for me at home, especially with my Dad,” he found himself revealing.
Nathan didn’t know why he did that but there was just something about her that made him want to be honest with her. He never revealed things about himself or his family, not even to the friends he had in Chicago. Yet here he was, telling a complete stranger about himself. He was brought out of his thoughts when he felt her hand cover his which was resting on the table.
“I’m sorry, Nathan.”
“It’s okay. He’s gone now and I know I should be sorry about that but…”
“It’s okay not to be,” she told him, a soft smile gracing her features.
“Thanks.” They sat there for a moment longer just looking at each other before they both looked away and continued eating.
Glancing up at her and seeing that she was concentrating on her food, he took a moment to study her and he liked what he saw. A strong sense of wanting to get to know her better took a hold of him and he realised that spending the next three years together didn’t repulse him at all.
Marriage had been something he never wanted for himself, not after seeing his parents destructive relationship. When they had finally divorced, it had been a huge relief for him and, he suspected, for a lot of other people in the town who had had to deal with seeing their sometimes very public fights. Unfortunately, that hadn’t been the case with both of them deciding to continue living in the same town, albeit in different parts.
But now, looking at the pretty young woman sitting opposite him, he felt like they could at least have a solid friendship and who knows, he thought to himself, maybe something stronger would develop from that as time passed.
Looking up from her food, Haley caught his eye and she blushed again at the intense way he was looking at her. It was making her feel self-conscious and so she asked, “Do I have something on my face?”
“Huh? No, no you don’t. Sorry, I didn’t mean to stare.” He could feel his own face growing warm at having been caught.
“Can I ask you something?” she asked a few moments later.
“Sure, what is it?”
“Why did you ask me out? I mean, we only just met yesterday and…”
“I like you,” he found himself blurting out without thinking about what he was saying. Once the words had passed his lips, he realised they were completely true and he wasn’t lying to her, something he was grateful for.
“You don’t know me and I don’t know you.”
“So let’s get to know each other.”
“I don’t know if that’s such a good idea. I mean, I work for your family for a start and…”
“So what? I don’t see how that’s a problem.”
“You wouldn’t. Look, I don’t mean to be rude but I can’t afford to lose this job. How do I know if us being friends or whatever isn’t going to cause a problem somewhere down the line and I’ll lose my job because of it?”
“That would never happen, Haley. My Mom and Karen aren’t like that. They’d be more likely to kick my ass for hurting or upsetting you, not that that’s my intention or anything,” he quickly added. Seeing her check her watch, he asked, “Are you supposed to be somewhere?”
Ignoring his question, she began to get up from her seat but she stilled when he placed a hand on her wrist. “I’ve got to go.”
“Where?”
“That’s my business.”
“Let me give you a ride there. My car’s just parked down the street.”
“It’s fine, I’d rather walk.”
“C’mon, please?”
Haley sighed as she looked into his face. “Okay.”
Smiling at her, he gestured for their waiter to bring over the check which he did a few minutes later. After leaving the money together with a tip on the table, he got up from his seat and went around and helped Haley to her feet. Without realising what he was doing, he took her hand in his and led her out of the restaurant and it was only when they were outside that he realised what he had done and he reluctantly released her hand.
“The, uh, car’s this way,” he told her and they walked side by side in silence. “So, where am I taking you?”
She took a deep breath before answering him in a quiet voice. “The bar on Crawford Street.”
He didn’t need to ask the name of it as everyone had heard of Temptation. Hell, he and the guys had used their fake IDs in there several times as soon as they had looked old enough to pass for twenty-one.
“I take it you know the one I mean,” she couldn’t help saying despite already knowing the answer from the tell-tale silence.
“Uh…yeah. Why am I taking you there?” He turned to look at her and saw the way her eyes were focused on the ground.
She waited until they had reached the car and were inside it before answering him. “I work there.”
“Oh.” Her sudden laughter made him turn to look at her sharply and she gave him a reassuring smile. “I’m not one of the strippers if that’s what you’re thinking. I work behind the bar.”
“But you’re not twenty-one yet.”
“I, uh, lied about my age. It was the only job I could get when I arrived here and I was desperate.”
“Why did you come to Tree Hill?” he couldn’t help asking, curious to know her story.
Sighing, she rested her head back against the headrest behind her. “I had to get away from all the pitying stares I kept getting. I’m from a small town in Georgia where everyone knows everyone else’s business. My family has never been rich, we’ve all had to work hard for things but when my Dad was laid off work things got really hard. Thankfully, my brothers and sisters have all finished their college educations and it was just me that was left. I had to drop out because we could no longer afford it.”
“Weren’t you entitled to financial aid or something?”
She shook her head. “Apparently, the money my Mom was bringing home was just over the limit which would have let me qualify for financial help. I couldn’t ask them to dip into their savings although they did offer. The last thing they wanted was for me to drop out but I had no choice. I was already working in a coffee shop just off campus and I managed to get some extra shifts and then I got another part-time job working in a bookstore but…”
“But you couldn’t keep up with your studies because of all the time you were spending working?” he finished for her and he watched her nod her answer.
“Yes, that’s pretty much it. My Dad wasn’t the only one in our town to be laid off from the electricity company he worked for but because he’s older, he’s found it difficult finding another job. I got a letter though yesterday from my Mom telling me that he and a couple of other guys are thinking about going into business together and from what she’s said, it looks promising.”
Nathan smiled at her. “That’s great and I hope it works out for them. Does that mean that you’ll be going back home and back to school?”
“No. I really can’t face going back to the same school. Even some of my so-called friends turned on me when I had to drop out. I’m happy here and…”
“You like working at Temptation?”
“Not really. The people I work with are really nice but some of the guys we get in are pretty sleazy. I just meant I like this town and I like working at the café.”
“So quit the bar job.”
“I can’t. The money I earn at the café isn’t enough to pay my rent and utilities let alone groceries.”
“Does anyone else know you work at the bar?”
“I haven’t told anyone except you. It’s not exactly the sort of place you want to put on your resumé,” she joked and felt better when she saw him return her smile.
As Nathan looked into her face, he made a decision there and then. He knew if he married her, he could give her financial security, that she could give up the bar job and go back to school. The only problem was that he didn’t think she’d want to leave Tree Hill but he could get around that. He had the best people working for him in Chicago and he had a more than adequate office at the house he owned here in Tree Hill that he could work from.
“I’m going to ask you something Haley, and I know it’s going to sound really weird but I promise, there is a logical explanation to it. All you have to do is say yes.”
Haley chuckled. “Right, I’ve heard that before. Yes what?”
“Yes I will,” he teased with a straight face.
“C’mon Nathan, I’m going to be late for work. Yes I will what?”
“Yes you will marry me,” he finally said and watched her mouth drop open in a mixture of shock and surprise as she stared back at him. It looked like it might take a while for him to get an answer out of her.