Playing with Danger (Desire Bay 2)

“You may not be a crafter, but you have other talents.”

Hannah wasn’t so sure. She put her forehead in her hand and twirled her whiskey. She was so close to getting what she’d always wanted. What she’d worked for. Her own business, in her small town, stable and middle class. Where she’d always prayed to be. Not trash. Not scraping by. Not just a bartender. And not Silas Hastings’s daughter.

“I just need a win,” she said.

Laura nodded. “Is everything going okay with your dad?”

Hannah shot her head up. “How do you know?”

“Small town,” Laura said softly.

Great. The gossip train was still in full gear. Not that it was surprising—Hannah just hated talking about her dad. Or how regularly she had to bail him out of jail.

“Everything is fine. I just need . . .”

Grant.

She didn’t know why his name smashed into her head. Because he was complicating her life more. She was playing his game for now, only so he’d leave and be gone for good. So why couldn’t she stop thinking about last night?

Because it had been good.

Really damn good.

“Have you talked to Grant about it?” Laura said, as if reading her mind.

“There’s nothing to talk about. This is my bar I’m trying to get with my money.”

“He’s your husband.”

“Not for long,” Hannah mumbled.

Laura frowned. “Really? You won’t even entertain the idea of staying with him?”

“To do what? We have different lives in different places. It was impulsive, and he’s basically blackmailing me. Romantic, huh?”

“Actually, it kind of sounds like it,” Laura said with a grin and took a sip of her tea. “Jake and I play forbidden strangers. Where he walks into a place he knows I’m at and we pretend that we’re first meeting and then—”

“Go bone in his truck. Yeah, I’m aware of your game,” Hannah said.

“Well, you should try it. Maybe it’ll be a nice change out of the grouchy pants you’re constantly wearing.”

Hannah smiled and took a drink of her whiskey. She loved Laura. Her bright, go-get-’em attitude and all. But the situation with her and Grant was different. Difficult. And not some fairy tale. She couldn’t help but wonder, though, what that fairy tale would be like. Laura was her best friend and a good resource. Maybe she should talk about her situation with Grant? Get some insight? She’d never talked shop about marriage before and had no clue what being a wife even meant. She’d married Grant out of haste and longing.

She remembered how that fire had felt in her stomach when she thought of losing him. Never seeing him again. Maybe she’d had heatstroke on that ship, but deep, deep down, she knew that would just be another in the long line of excuses she’d thought of over the past half a year.

“You say I’m grouchy like you’ve never been grouchy with Jake,” Hannah offered, trying to sneakily set up a conversation.

“Oh, I’ve been full-on pissed with Jake, but that’s not what marriage is about.”

“Is it about who wins the fight?” Hannah asked, genuinely wanting to know.

Laura laughed. “Of course not. It’s about knowing what you’re fighting for and knowing when to back down.”

Hannah didn’t do well with backing down. “Like compromise and all that crap?”

“Compromise is a big part of it, but mostly it’s waking up every day and making a choice, while also realizing that he wakes up every day and has a choice. And if you start and end every moment knowing your choice is him, then that’s when you fight for each other. Because marriage is hard.”