Runaway Heart (A Game of Hearts #2) (29 page)

Della smirked. “I met Hannah several months back when she came with her team for a tournament. My nephew, Ed, introduced us.”

That was partially true, but I respected Della’s reasoning for keeping the real story to herself. And, honestly, I officially met Della with Ed when he’d come to pick up his jacket.

“Your nephew, Edward?” Mom questioned, eyes sparkling.

Della gave a slight nod of her head.

“How in the world did you meet Della’s nephew, Hannah?” Mom asked me, one eye squinting like she’d done to me as a child when I accidentally broke her favorite teacup.

I couldn’t help but chuckle. “I met Ed in Rum Cay when Maggie and Phillip got married. Ed is Phillip’s best friend.”

“And you and Ed are…?” Mom dug in.

I blushed. “I love him. He’s the reason I was forced to let go of the past. I couldn’t love him and hold on to all of my demons. I had to figure it out, and I did. I chose him. I chose love.”

Della beamed. “Well, then I expect you’ll be wanting to tell him that yourself.”

Biting my lip, I gave my head a sharp jerk. I really needed to see him. I had to know it wasn’t too late. But how could I just up and leave Mom when we’d barely scratched the surface of our reunion?

“Go, Hannah. I’ll still be here after you see him. We have plenty of time to catch up.” Mom laughed, batting her hand at my weak refusal. “I’m here, and I’m not going anywhere until I get myself situated. Besides, we have the rest of our lives now that we’ve found each other again.”

I shifted restlessly in my seat. What was the right choice?

“I’ll call you a car,” Della said, taking the choice away from me.

“You really love him?” Mom asked. Her eyes searched mine as I thought of seeing him again.

Happiness bubbled up, along with fear. The excitement of seeing him threatened to buckle my composure completely. I had to believe he’d meant what he said about waiting for me.

“I really do, Mom. I never knew I could love someone as much as I love him.” I clutched my fist over my heart.

“Does he know how you feel?” She pulled my clenched hand into hers and squeezed.

I threaded my fingers through hers. “No, and that’s why it’s so important for me to see him. I need to tell him everything. I need him to know he’s it for me. He’s my soul mate, and I don’t want to go another minute without him knowing that.”

“Well, then I guess you better go run a brush through your hair and shake out your rumpled clothes then.” She helped me to my feet.

Della breezed back into the room. “The car will be round in twenty. I’ve given the address to the driver, so you’re all set, Hannah.”

I dug around in my bag, hauling out my brush and tugging it through my hair. “Thank you, Della.”

Della gestured to my suitcases. “Would you like me to put your things in one of our guest rooms? You have time to change if you’d like and maybe pack an overnight bag.”

I blushed thinking about what would happen once I saw Ed. If he hadn’t given up on me, there would be no chance of me coming back to Della’s right away. “Um…”

“Pack a bag, dear. It’s an hour from here where Ed lives, and I know my nephew. He’s not going to let you out of his sight right away.”

I kept my sigh of relief to myself, thankful Della pretty much made the decision for me.

“Come along. I’ll take you to your room so you can freshen up.”

I followed behind her, feeling as if my feet didn’t quite touch the ground.

“VIOLET’S POSTED THE NEXT TWO weeks’ worth of events. Ye might want to check it out before ye get a start on anything else,” Charlie said, sticking his head into the hallway when I passed by his office.

“Booked us, has she?” I backtracked to the corkboard opposite Charlie’s office.

“What the bloody hell is a rolling party?” I scanned over the dates filled with Violet’s loopy handwriting.

“Fuck if I know,” Charlie answered, shrugging. “But at least it’s not that men-bashing women’s hate group. Once was enough for me, thanks.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. It wasn’t funny at the time, but thinking back on what some of those women said… complete nutters, the whole lot of them.

“At least tonight’s a fun one.”

“It’ll be crazy, that’s for sure,” Charlie called over his shoulder, heading back to his office.

I made my way to the bar to help prep the combined stag-and-hen party for Charlie’s cousin—Drew and his fiancée Ally.

After Aunt Della’s gala two weeks ago, I had an even harder time keeping Hannah from taking over all of my thoughts.

Ever since her phone silence, I wasn’t sure what to think anymore. I’d told her I’d give her time, but I hadn’t expected for her to stop talking to me all together. I should have picked up the phone weeks ago and called her. Even if I just left a message. Maybe she was testing me, seeing if I’d meant what I’d said when I told her I loved her.

Fear snaked its way through my veins, causing my stomach to clench and my heart to hammer in my chest. Grabbing my phone, I didn’t stop to think about it as I brought up her name and pressed the call button.

“We’re sorry. The number you have dialed is no longer in service…”

I pulled the phone away from my head, looking down at it in confusion. Hung up and called the number back, only to get the recorded message again.

My palms broke out in sweat. My hands shook. I tried for the life of me to put it all together.

What the hell is going on?

I pulled up Messenger. There had to be an explanation for it all. Hannah wouldn’t just disconnect her phone without telling me.

Would she?

The odd-sounding ringer pulsed and warbled on and on, but Hannah didn’t answer.

My phone clattered to the floor. When I didn’t reach down and pick it up, Violet came around the bar and scooped it up, holding it out for me to take.

I didn’t want it. Her silence was all the explanation I needed.

She told me up front she didn’t want a relationship. Told me she needed to fix herself, but maybe what we had wasn’t enough for her. Just like I feared. Just like with Monica.

Violet waved the phone in front of my face. “Ed?”

I pinched my eyes closed as tight as they would go, pulling a deep breath down into my chest, feeling it expand and contract.

And then I took another.

And then another.

Don’t fall apart again, mate.

It hurt like hell to breathe. Made me realize my time was up, yet I’d continue living.

Even if it was without Hannah.

I wasn’t ready to accept it, but time didn’t care. Time was telling me to suck it up and keep moving and, no matter how much I didn’t want to, I was going to listen.

“What’s going on?” Charlie asked from across the room.

“I don’t know.” Violet sounded worried.

It didn’t matter though. I needed a moment. Hell, I needed two of them to figure out how the hell I was supposed to keep moving forward in a world where I existed without Hannah.

I opened my eyes, blinking against the kaleidoscope of colors and shadows dancing across my vision. Violet stood in front of me, lip caught between her teeth as she wrung her hands.

From beside me, I heard the sound of a phone ring, and then that damnable message again.

“Ed,” Charlie said, digging his elbow into my arm to get my attention. I wavered, torn between ignoring him and listening.

I sighed and forced myself to look at him.

“There are lots of reasons why her phone is disconnected. Don’t hurl yourself over the deep end until ye know why.” Charlie’s eyebrow kicked up, eyes wide, clinging to mine.

“Lots of reasons.” The words ripped out of me before I could call them back. They were angry words. Full of hate and menace. It didn’t even sound like me when I said them.

“Yes, arsehole… reasons. She might have needed to change her service provider, or maybe her phone broke. Maybe some wanker was calling her in the middle of the night to ask if her refrigerator was running and she got fed up,” Charlie hurled at me.

“She stopped calling me weeks ago, Charlie. Weeks. Now her phone is disconnected. What would you think if it were you in my place? What if she decided I wasn’t worth it? Or what if she thought it was easier to forget about me and move on? If I called her weeks ago, like I should have, would it have made a difference? What if I missed the chance? What if I blew it?” I shoved my hand through my hair, tugging hard enough to make my eyes water.

“I think until ye know for sure, then maybe ye should stop playing the ‘what if’ game. Besides, why haven’t you tried calling her before now?” Charlie jabbed me in the stomach with my phone.

I snatched it from him, stuffing it into my back pocket. “I was trying to let her come to me on her terms. She said she needed time!”

“Well, she’s had plenty of time, mate, so what are
you
going to do?” Charlie crossed his arms, rocking back on his heels, waiting for me to answer.

I stuffed my hands in my pockets and hunched my shoulders, wondering just how much more I could take before I snapped and crumbled.
Why the hell does love have to be so fucking difficult? Why does it seem like you have to work so hard and break so much, just to be with the one you feel you can’t live without?

“I don’t know, Charlie,” I answered. I really didn’t know.

“Well, I’ll tell ye what yer going to do, at least for today. Ye’re going to dust yourself off, pick your head up, and ye’re going to live. We have a pub to run. And no matter how fucked up the situation is… ye’re going to be okay. I won’t give ye any other choice. And then, when tomorrow comes, ye’ll do the same. Over and over, until ye find out what’s really going on. Then… then ye’ll figure it all out. Not tonight, while ye’re only running on presumptions. Okay?” Charlie clasped my shoulder, shaking me to get my attention.

Taking one more deep breath in, and letting it go slowly, I raised my head, giving it a quick jerk. “Okay.”

Charlie let out a relieved sigh. “Good. Now let’s get the pub ready for a party.”

Violet darted off, disappearing somewhere in the back as I made my way around the bar and tied my apron around my waist. Each move brought me back to my surroundings. Back to reality. It sucked. I hated it. But Charlie was right. I couldn’t fall into a pit of despair when I had no idea what the hell was really going on.

I might not be able to get a hold of Hannah, but I could damn sure call Phillip. And that was exactly what I would do. I’d have my answers, even if they destroyed me in the process.

After about twenty minutes, there was nothing left to do to get ready. Charlie had gone back to his office, and Violet hadn’t come back to pester me like she normally did. She had an uncanny way of keeping me from sliding too far into my thoughts. She’d banter back and forth with me, or spit out a really awful joke. She kept me sane most days.

The first of the guests arrived, filling the pub with noise that only grew louder as more people showed up. Violet popped up out of nowhere. Her eyes, rimmed with pink, as if she’d been crying, were offset with a megawatt smile perched on her lips as she filled glasses and hurled insults across the bar.

Laughter rolled through the air, making it almost impossible to be in a bad mood. I let it go and tried to live in the moment. A happy moment with a happy couple. Toasts and cheers went up, shots went down, and somewhere in all the mix, someone started belting out a really bad rendition of Whitney Houston’s
I Will Always Love You
. Whoever it was got shut down really fast when the hissing and booing started, but only to be filled with boisterous laughter, and good-hearted insults.

I felt myself relax, laughing along with the jovial atmosphere, giving my own insulting good-natured jokes across the bar. And even though I didn’t want to think about it, it was still there in the back of my mind.

I was a man with half a heart, but I was still living.

A few hours later, the drinks slowed, and some of the party left with over-exuberant hugs and shouts following them out to the rain-soaked streets. My feet and back were killing me. I was ready for my bed and the ability to slip off into the land of dreamless sleep. I usually slept like the dead after working a big party, my mind and body too tired to come up with something close to a dream.

Those were the nights that brought me the most peace. Made it easier to wake up and keep moving forward. To keep waiting for when Hannah would reach out to me.

I leaned forward, arms stretched, palms flat against the bar rail, with my back arched to relieve the kinks, when the pub door opened with a gust of rain-scented wind. It blew in, slipping over my skin, refreshing me.

Turning my head toward it, I closed my eyes, letting it bathe my face. A tired sigh, something just shy of a yawn, worked itself up from deep inside as I pushed myself upright. My eyes felt heavy as I forced them open. Only one more hour before the pub closed and I could drag my ass to bed.

If only she’d call me. If only she would have talked about it with me instead of shutting down. Cutting me out of her life without a second thought. That was what killed me the most. She knew deep in her heart how she felt. Running from it—from me—made no sense, but, for whatever reason, she did it anyway. If she truly felt she was better off without me, I’d have no choice but to accept it.

“Hoy! Need a refill, mate,” a booming voice called out from down the bar. I grabbed the closest bottle and walked over to fill the shot glass.

“He’s had enough to fell a damn elephant. Where the hell is he putting it?” Violet asked, leaning in so only I could hear her.

I shook my head and handed her the bottle, saying, “His right leg, I suppose.”

“Have you heard the joke about the blonde in the wheat field?” she asked, grabbing a wet rag and wiping up the remains of a spilled drink.

Before I could tell her no, Charlie interrupted by jumping on the bar, glass raised. A goofy grin spread out on his lips. “Last toast of the night, and then you wankers need to go the hell home.”

A chorus of laughter broke free from those who were left as they bobbed and weaved, getting closer to the bar as he continued, “To my cousin Drew and his future wife… what the hell are ye thinkin’ marrying this arsehole anyway?” He broke off, laughing with everyone as those closest to Drew pounded on his back. Drew took it in stride and put his arm around Ally, giving her a searing kiss.

Hoots and cheers went up around them as Charlie tried to get his wayward toast back under control. “
Hoy
! Shut the hell up so I can finish the toast…” The group went a little quieter, waiting for Charlie to keep talking. “That’s more like it. Now, what was I saying?
Oh
! To Drew and Ally… may you have a happy life together. And may…”

Charlie stopped talking. Just cut himself right off and glanced toward the door like he’d seen a ghost. And then a smile lit up his face as he tipped his glass toward the front of the pub, saying, “To love, may it always come at the right time and the right place. Cheers!”

“
Cheers
!” everyone shouted back at him as he turned to me, tipped his glass, and then downed the contents. He jumped off the bar, landing right beside me. With his antics over, everyone shifted back to their seats. But Charlie just stood there, beaming from ear to ear.

“What the hell’s gotten into you?” I asked.

Charlie dipped his head toward the front of the pub.

Time stopped. My heart quit beating.

I vaulted over the bar, sliding along the polished top. A barstool crashed to the floor. Napkins exploded into the air like confetti. But I didn’t care. Nothing was going to keep me from closing the distance between us.