Her expression softened, but then tightened again.
I leaned forward. “Look, Madison has no idea what love is. Don’t accept what she
thinks
she knows. It’s from her misguided perception.”
Hannah’s jaw tensed. “But you thought you loved her.”
The physical distance stretching between us was brutal, even though it was only a few feet. Hannah had her legs crossed in front of her as a barrier, but we needed contact more. I pushed off from the bottom of the couch and crowded in close. She stared at my chest as I pushed her legs up and bracketed mine around hers.
With a gentle finger, I tipped her chin up, forcing her gaze to meet mine. “I loved a mirage of a girl back when I’d been young and foolish. Until that point, she was the best thing that had ever happened to me. But I didn’t see that she only supported me when it suited her motives. The moment hers weren’t aligned with mine, she no longer cared about me. No matter what I thought I felt for her at the time, that’s not love. My time with her had been a joke. Her callous actions made me see her true self.”
She gave a heavy blink. “How do you know I’m different? That you love me?”
Good question. Even better, how could I trust in what Hannah and I had? I’d been a great judge of people until Madison had pulled her con job on me. Back then, I thought she’d changed with me after she’d burned through all those guys. I thought she’d been capable of love.
But Madison and Hannah were night and day. Madison was hard-edged and manipulative. Hannah, easygoing and genuine. Where Madison found fault in others and turned a blind eye, Hannah saw the good in people, offering to help any way she could. And Hannah didn’t have to try at all. It came naturally to her. There was no comparison.
And in hindsight, my proposal to Madison had been driven by logic. Feelings I’d had for her had been rooted from our childhood friendship. Beyond that, maybe they’d only been superficial. My grasp of life back then had been an initial version: Cade 1.0.
What I felt now was worlds-apart different. With Hannah, my heart both ached and soared. In every incredible way that made me never want it to end.
I inhaled deeply, smiling. “There aren’t enough words to describe what you do to me, for me. Every day, I wake thinking about how I can make you smile, cause your laugh. I know I love you because of the things I want to learn about you, endless ways I want to touch your body, your heart. There are so many adventures I want to take you on, experiences I want to have with you—just to live in that moment with you.”
Her mouth fell open slightly, but no words came out. I began to worry I’d overwhelmed her, when all I’d wanted to do was reassure her. Prove to her with words how I felt.
“You okay, Maestro? I think I stunned you speechless.”
She nodded, throat working as she swallowed. Her voice rasped out. “I’ve never…that was the most beautiful thing anyone has ever said to me.”
Lifting my hand, I watched her carefully as she closed her eyes in anticipation of the contact. My fingers brushed her cheek as she leaned in toward my touch. “I mean every word.”
I sighed, wishing I could obliterate all the crap. Hannah didn’t deserve to be dragged into the mud that Madison seemed hell-bent on flinging. A part of me thought
fuck it
, I’ll kidnap Hannah to our tropical island, and the rest of the world would still spin, going on without us.
But I wasn’t built to escape responsibility. Letting people down didn’t exist as an option. Kristen may have offered to take over, but I knew she and the girls would struggle to handle it all. They needed me. Hannah needed me.
I just needed to figure out a way to keep the balance.
As I loaded the back of the Jeep Mase and I shared, the drama of last weekend and the pressure of getting two more events nailed out began to fade into anticipation for the party at my parents’ place. I needed to relax more than I’d realized. The realization hit when my alarm sounded and I’d raced around, excited as I tossed last minute items together—without the jolt of coffee. Yeah, that happened before noon like…never.
I bent over and lifted the last box Kristen had dropped off yesterday, then slid it onto the only remaining open space on the floor. After scanning the tightly packed area, I wedged my leather overnighter into a safe place on a box between two bags of decorations. Almost set.
When I went back into the house to retrieve Ava’s supplies (her leash, crate, bowls, and food enough to last the weekend), the pup trotted behind, jumping around, unable to contain her eagerness. That made two of us.
I laughed. “That’s right, girl. We’re goin’ on a trip.”
Mase followed us out front, barefoot with a half-full beer bottle in hand. “If she stalls out, cut the engine, pump the gas, and count to ten before trying to start her again.”
Confused, I turned around, brows drawn low. “What?”
The lazy shit busted up laughing. “Just messin’ with ya’, man. Tuned her up last week. She purrs like a kitten.”
Amped about the trip, I shook my head with a snort. The Jeep was his daily driver, and I’d freaked thinking I’d have to scramble for transportation. “Do not fuck with me this early. I’m uncaffeinated. Uncool, man.” I pegged him with a serious look. “Take good care of my bike. I’ll take good care of your wheels.”
“And my dog.” Mase squatted, and Ava raced over to him and jumped against his chest. He fell back, pretending she’d had the force to tackle him. Then he tumbled over her, growling and roughhousing.
I chuckled. “And
your
dog? I figured our shared custody agreement allowed for a weekend at the parents’.”
Ava and Mase really had taken to one another. Even though the dog was a gift to Hannah, Ava stayed at our place. But after all the months Mase had campaigned to get a dog, bringing her into the house had done wonders for the guy. Instead of being holed up in his room, morose when he couldn’t ride waves because of the weather—or his woman, because of her law school studies—he spent time out in the yard, bonding with his new best friend.
I patted the passenger seat while calling, “Come on, girl!” Ava looked at it, decided it was too big a leap, and jumped onto the floorboard first instead, then the seat.
After closing the door, I saluted Mase. “Don’t burn the house down.”
He flipped me off.
I grinned, shaking my head. “See ya’ Sunday.”
Before picking up Hannah, I drove over to Loading Zone, needing to drop off my draft of next year’s business plan to Ben. I knew he’d be there this early; the man lived and breathed our bar.
I parked in the shaded spaces around back and shut off the engine. Ava tilted her head as she stared at me, one ear flopping to the side.
“I’ll be right back girl.” After I closed the door, I used the remote start on my keychain to lock the doors. Then I restarted the Jeep, letting it idle with the A/C on full blast to keep her cool.
I unlocked Loading Zone’s back door and walked down the hallway to Ben’s office. He wasn’t in there, but I dropped the paperwork onto the center of his desk. Light shone down the hall from the bar area. I continued toward the front to investigate.
Ben stood behind the bar with a scowl on his face, arms propped on the edge of the counter. He glanced my way. “We have company.” The warning look he gave me shouted that it wasn’t the good kind.
“Who’s here?” I racked my brain. The time of day threw me.
“Health inspector.”
“Didn’t we just have an inspection three weeks ago?”
“There was a complaint,” Ben clarified.
I frowned. “About what?”
“Some bullshit about a bartender not handling the fruit with a gloved hand. She got sick a few hours later.”
“She?” Couldn’t be Madison. Or could it? No. The girl on the phone, crying, wanting to be different, asking for my forgiveness wouldn’t be that stupid.
The inspector walked out from the kitchen area and approached Ben. “Here’s a copy of my report. You guys run a clean shop, and I’m impressed with everything. Please remind your bartenders to wear gloves when directly handling food. Last time I was here, they were all good. It was during operating hours, and I didn’t see any infractions.”
“Hi, Spence.” It was the same inspector we usually got. “Great to see you again.” I shook his hand. “Did the complainant give their name, any other details?
“No. She remained anonymous. But by law, we have to respond to all complaints.”
“Thanks. Just curious. We have a puzzle we’re trying to solve and think it might be the same person who’s doing everything possible to make life difficult for us.”
Spence nodded. “We’ve seen it before. Competition. Angry employees. Just keep up the good work, and their efforts will be nothing but a waste of their time.”
When Spence stepped out the front door, I shot a glance at Ben.
Ben shook his head. “Knew from the start something was up. I’m not even going there with the bartenders, other than to say the inspector came by and someone is gunning for us. Warn them all to stay on their toes.”
I gave a short nod. “Good.”
“You heading out?”
“Yeah. Just dropped the draft off on your desk. I emailed it too, but wanted to be sure you had my notes before the weekend. Is Lisa all set for tomorrow night at my parents’ place? Everything covered here?”
Ben pushed away from the bar. “Yep. We’re good. Get outta here and have a great time.”
***
The fifteen minute drive to Hannah’s flew by. I vibrated more than the dog. Having Hannah all weekend at my parents’, even though we had a party to run, seemed like a rare getaway—an unplugging we both desperately needed.
Before I pulled to the end of her driveway, she stepped out with a bag on her shoulder, waved, then turned to lock her front door. I jumped out, careful to close the door behind me, corralling Ava in and jogged over to Hannah. “Let me get that.”
I took her bag with one hand and pressed the other into her lower back before bending down and kissing her. Then I dropped her bag onto the grass and deepened the contact. Wrapping both arms around her, I pressed small kisses in a line down her neck, inhaling her tropical scent. “Damn, I’ve missed you.”
She leaned back in my arms, a pink blush coloring her cheeks. “Wow. What did I do to deserve such an amazing greeting?”
“You being here with a packed bag. Works for me.”
Ready to head out, I picked up her bag again and held her hand as we walked toward the Jeep. Ava barked, front paws resting on the driver’s door window frame.
I secured Hannah’s bag in the backseat while she climbed into the passenger side. Wasting no time, I got in, started up the Jeep, and backed out of her driveway and onto the road.
Seconds later, laughter and commotion drew my attention to the right. I snorted, laughing.
Ava had overtaken her lap, and then some. “Look how big you’ve gotten. And such a good girl. Yes, you are.” Hannah rubbed her ears, cooing and baby talking. Ava ate up the attention. Mase had been replaced.
Hannah hummed a relaxed tone. “How long of a drive is it?”
I glanced over at her again. Ava had settled down, resting her head into the cushion of Hannah’s chest—a favorite place of mine too. Yanking my thoughts from the gutter, I blinked. “Ninety minutes, give or take traffic getting out of Philly. Maybe less today.”
“And this is the house you grew up in?”
I nodded. “Mostly. Mom and Dad had both places by the time I was born. But although the apartment on Fifth had enough bedrooms, space was cramped for entertaining my parents’ friends and clients while raising four kids.”
“Sounds ritzy.”
I smiled, remembering the humble upbringing Hannah had. Lack of normal family structure or wealth didn’t mean she hadn’t had a loving home. Both of us had been lucky compared to many less-fortunate children. “Only different scenery from yours. My parents were born into money, but they had generous hearts. So they made sure to leverage their money to help others along the way.”
She sighed, nestling her head against the headrest. “I think Gran and Granpop would’ve liked your parents.”
Hannah had said her grandparents raised her after her mom died. But she didn’t talk often about her mom. Her tone seemed heavy when she did, and she usually changed the subject quickly. My curiosity wasn’t a good enough excuse to bring up the topic though. When and if she wanted to share, I would be there for her.
I recalled what little I knew about her grandparents. “They loved chess and he loved old cars? They would’ve hit it off immediately. Too bad we couldn’t have brought along Josephine. My dad would’ve loved to see her.”
“Yeah?”
“A pristine black ’67 Mustang Fastback? Oh yeah, no doubt. Wait until you see the surprise I’ve been dying to show you.”
“Looking forward to it. By the way, I had an interesting morning. Got a phone call from Chloe at the bakery. There was a food and safety inspection prompted by a complaint. A lady said she got sick at the bakery. The inspector was there and wrapped up by the time Chloe called, or I would’ve gone in. The only ding on today’s report was because Daniel wasn’t wearing a hairnet or hat over his Mohawk while preparing food in the kitchen. Otherwise, we got a great score.”