Playing with Danger (Desire Bay 2)

She frowned, then glanced around. He walked to the end of the bar, where they could have a little privacy.

“What are you talking about?” she asked in a hushed tone.

“Us, Hannah. I need to know. Are you going to stay married to me?”

“Why are you asking me this? I thought you had two weeks and—”

“I need to know now.” He would never walk out on her, but he couldn’t let his father’s business crumble. He couldn’t fail at one for the other, especially if the other didn’t want him back.

“Why is there a time crunch all of a sudden?” she asked.

“There’s always been a time crunch,” he said. He didn’t know why she looked so concerned. Maybe that was his answer. That despite everything, she would still go her separate way from him. He’d never told her how much money he had or the details of his mother and her crazy lies and schemes to take the company. Hannah knew enough. And he wanted her to make her choice based on him. Not anything else.

“Is this about what’s going on with your mom? Do you need help? Are you . . . struggling?”

He frowned. Did he need help? What the hell was she talking about?

“I need my wife, Hannah,” he said. “I need to know if you’re in this with me for good. If you’ll give us a chance.”

“What’s going on, Grant? I know you don’t tell me everything and have secret calls and all that, but this feels like a setup for failure.”

Her words hit his chest like a spear. “Setup for failure,” he repeated.

She leaned over and kept eye contact. “Grant, what is going on? You’re being cryptic, and I can’t commit to something when I don’t know enough about what

you’re asking me to sign up for.”

“You married me already. So you already signed up. I want to know if you’re still in it.”

Her lips parted, and Grant felt his stomach churn with fear. He needed her to have faith in him, in them, and the way her gaze searched his face, he didn’t think she did.

She didn’t answer. Looked confused and scared and sad.

His wife looked sad.

“Will you come to New York with me?” he asked. Trying a simpler route.

“I can’t leave work. I’m trying to buy this place, and the deal closes soon.”

“I’ll make sure you can travel to look over the bar several times a year,” he offered. “I’ll make sure the deal closes fine. Come to New York with me.”

“What? Are you asking me to move to New York and leave my entire life here behind?”

“What did you think this was, Hannah?”

“I thought this was us seeing if we had a shot. You are the one who started this whole thing.”

“You are the one that left me in the first place.”

Anger was rising. He tried to retrace his words to figure out how this had gone from seeing his wife happy to fighting in a bar and his heart being slowly suffocated like a heavy boot was pressing down on it.

“I can’t move to New York, Grant.”

He stared at her lovely face. Watched that single lock of hair slip off her ear and brush her face. He wanted to reach out and run his fingers through it.

She glanced down at her hands and lightly chewed on her bottom lip. “Why don’t you stay here?” she said softly.

Grant frowned. “There’s no way I can stay here, Hannah. I have a company and responsibilities in New York. I can’t live in Yachats.”