When Darkness Falls(21)

He swallowed hard, overcome with guilt. Here he was, plotting ways to avoid her, and she’d planned this dinner and stood there behind the table in her black dress, skin glowing in the candlelight, dark eyes fixed on him as if he were the most amazing man in the world. As if he were perfect.

“Haley, I, this is so nice, but I wish I’d known you were planning something. If I’d known, it’s that I—”

“You need to go out?” She gripped the back of the chair. “I checked your calendar and nothing’s listed, so I figured this was a good night.”

“No, I forgot to tell you. There’s this, uh, this new performer downstairs and Al wants me to meet him, you know, talk to him before the show.”

“Al wants you to.”

He should have been warned by the flat tone in her voice, but he went ahead. “Yeah. We’re thinking of making him a regular.”

“Uh-huh.” She pulled out the chair and sat. “Why don’t you tell me?”

He backed away from the table. “Tell you what?”

“Whatever it is you’re trying to avoid talking to me about.”

“I’m not avoiding.”

He inched toward the door, all the time feeling ridiculous. He couldn’t exactly sneak out without her realizing it. At the same time, he felt angry at her. Unfairly so, but he was. He’d talk when he was ready, he’d deal with this when he was ready, why couldn’t she let him alone?

“Then what is it?” Because she was sitting, she had to look up to meet his eyes, but her set expression and the straight way she held her back made it seem as if she were level with him, if not looking down.

“There’s no ‘it.’ I told you, I need to be downstairs,” Devon said.

“Don’t lie.”

“I’m not. We’ll talk later.”

She stood and picked up the salad bowl. “We’ll have to sometime, Devon. Because I’m not letting this go. With Brian, I always did that, and I got blindsided. I’m not doing it again.”

He seized the opening. “I can’t help what happened with Brian, and I’m sick of hearing about him. Maybe if you’d stop living in the past, our marriage would work.”

It was true, he told himself, if not the whole truth. Since he’d known her, it was Brian this and Brian that. He’d be paying for Brian’s mistakes forever.

“So this is about Brian.” Her lower lip trembled, but her voice was steady. So was her hand, the one holding the bowl.

He exploded. “There’s no ‘this’. There’s nothing wrong. There’s nothing going on.”

She flinched, and a few spinach leaves fell on the table.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I’m busy tonight, that’s all.”

He turned and left. As he shut the front door, he heard the water running in the kitchen sink.

He took the stairs down, entering through The Underground’s kitchen. His hands shook. He hoped Haley wouldn’t follow him. He didn’t want to argue in front of everyone. His stomach rolled. He didn’t want to argue at all. God, he was f*cking this up.

Al was behind the bar, filling a beer stein. Devon headed over and slid onto a bar stool, though he didn’t intend to drink. The show hadn’t started yet. The Moody Blues played in the background. Every now and then he wished Al would spend a little time in the twenty-first century.

“Dev.” Al ambled over. “What are you doing here? I thought you and Haley had an evening planned.”

His heart sank. “Why do you say that?”

“She called yesterday to see if you needed to be here for anything. Said she wanted to make a nice dinner, surprise you.”

Devon suppressed a groan. No wonder she’d been so sure he was lying. Not that it would have been hard to figure out lately, the way he’d been acting. Al was looking at him, forehead creased in concern.

“I didn’t know,” Devon said.

Al smacked his own forehead. “You haven’t been home yet. I ruined it.”

“It’s okay,” Devon said. “I’ll act surprised.” His stomach burned. Now he couldn’t go anywhere else. If Haley came down looking for him, it would really look bad.

“You two having problems?” Al said.

Devon sighed. “Yeah. In a way.”

“In what way?”

“In a way I can’t talk about.” Devon slouched on the barstool. “I’m sorry.”

“No need to apologize to me.” Al patted his hand. “Marriage is tough sometimes. You’ll work it out. You’re a good boy. A good man.”

“Thanks, Al.”

Devon appreciated Al’s confidence in him, but he didn’t deserve it.





Chapter Nine


Haley heard the apartment door creak open. Devon called her name. His footsteps crossed the dining area where Haley had cleared the table. The lace tablecloth was folded in the hall closet, the plates put away. She’d tossed the food, knowing she ought to eat, that she might feel better if she did, but not able to. And the thought of facing leftovers the next day felt too sad, despite the money she’d spent on the meal.

She sat in the bedroom, legs curled under her in the wicker chair she’d brought with her when she’d moved in, a book in her lap. She wasn’t reading. Instead, she stared at her reflection in the window, and at the darkness beyond it. The overhead light was off. Only the night table lamp glowed, casting a circle around her. Her mind felt empty. Frozen. She hadn’t expected Devon to return tonight, so she’d figured she’d let herself be frozen. Eventually she’d thaw and start figuring out what to do next. For now, a temporary vacation from everything seemed fine.