And he. Couldn’t. Touch her.
“How are you here?” she asked, a slight shake in her voice.
“Airplane.”
She rolled her eyes.
“I mean, how did you find me? It’s been six months.”
He took a step closer. Though there was a bar between them, the rage and angst and general “missing the fuck out of this woman” was starting to boil.
“It’s been six months, thirteen days, and three hours. East Coast time, of course.”
She frowned. “You have it down to the hour?”
“Hard to forget the hour you left me on a damn boat.”
“Please. It was a luxury cruise ship that docked in Florida. Not the sinking Titanic. I didn’t leave you. Vacation was simply over.”
A small smile tugged at his lips, but he wasn’t happy. Not in the least. He’d almost forgotten how mouthy his wife was. And he liked it. It also made his muscles tick and his blood pump hot.
“Vacation or not, you left your husband and ran off. The redhead opted to go down with the ship for her man. You didn’t even leave a note.”
“And yet, you found me.”
“I told you once that I’d always come for you.”
Her lips parted, and her eyes skated over him. He didn’t have to be a mind reader to know exactly what she was thinking. She was recalling the time he had come for her. The first time. All those months ago.
“Maybe I didn’t want to be found?” she offered.
“Were you hiding?”
She bit her bottom lip. Something she did when she was nervous. He’d learned that over the two weeks they’d spent together.
“I don’t hide,” she said calmly, placing her hands on her hips and raising her chin.
He raised a brow at her challenge. So she had wanted him to find her. Otherwise she would have told him to fuck off by now.
That’s when the truth hit him. So clear he could damn near read it off her face.
“You missed me,” he said. Looking her up and down and watching those prefect breasts rise and fall on heavy breaths. “And you’re happy to see me.”
Pride swelled like a dry sponge dropped into water. Hannah’s presence was hydrating, something he’d been missing more than he truly realized. His chest felt bigger, his lungs taking in more air, like he hadn’t been able to take a deep breath in months.
He inhaled deeply, the empty cave that housed his heart finally feeling fuller. Warmer. Happier. He clutched at this feeling, because the next steps of his plan were going to be tedious and a pain in the ass. He’d need to recall this moment. Remember how it felt right now to breathe Hannah in. To know she was the only one who made him feel whole.
“I’m surprised,” she said quickly.
“That’s not a denial.”
“Oh, I’m in denial, all right. Starting with what happened between us.”
He adjusted the cuffs of his button-down shirt and flicked his wrist. His entire hand itching to land on all that creamy skin. Especially her bare arms and high cleavage.
Her thick, dark lashes against bright blue eyes made his hand itch more. Because he wanted to touch her face. See if her plump little mouth opened on a gasp when he kissed her. Like it had all those months ago. See if she remembered how much she liked kissing him. Because she did. He knew that for a fact. He couldn’t get a single night’s sleep without hearing her moans and soft pleas in his mind.
“Are you just going to stand there staring?” she asked.