‘He has exceptional taste, your husband,’ Hayley said.
‘He does.’ Katrina cocked a sideways grin. ‘He married me, after all.’
The friends laughed together and returned to watching the sun go down. The amber rays were almost fluorescent, the ocean sparkling madly.
It was beautiful.
Perfect.
Just like their lives.Chapter 20HANNAH
Just when I thought I could finally relax, all it took was one little thing, one little reminder, and that familiar spiraling sense of fear from years gone by took me prisoner. I was at its mercy. I couldn’t control my fear. Couldn’t think clearly. So I hid. And I listened. My mind spun off endless scenarios. I convinced myself he’d found me again. That he was in my shop. That my life would be over.
And I would do anything to protect myself.
Then I saw Ryan’s face. Heard his voice. Felt safety engulf me. Suddenly everything was going to be okay. But what if I had pulled the trigger?
As I lie next to Ryan, watching him sleeping, my hand resting on his bristly cheek, I make myself a promise to be more in control in the future. To not let my fear beat me. A simple picture of a face from my past brought my new world crashing down, almost beyond repair. I can’t let that happen again. I can’t ruin this new, beautiful thing I have with Ryan.
Leaning in, I kiss the corner of his mouth softly, smiling when he hums sleepily. Then I carefully edge off the bed and go to make coffee. I’m not single. That’s what he said amid the madness. The man who’s made me not single is in my bed. Sleeping. After staying the night with me. ‘Don’t fuck this up, Hannah,’ I say to myself. Ryan’s a good man. He deserves my all. But one thing I have to accept is that he can’t have one piece of me. My secrets. No one can ever know that part of me. That alone could ruin everything.
Once I’ve made Ryan’s coffee, I set it by the bed, then throw on my red dress and head downstairs as I knot my hair. It’s only now I notice the time. ‘Shit,’ I blurt at the clock, blinking my sleepy eyes and checking again. Nine o’clock. How did that happen? I walk to the door and check out on the street, seeing the usual suspects all out in force, going about their daily business. I’d better wake up Ryan.
I pivot and hurry back through the shop, but a rap at the door stalls me by the checkout. I look back and laugh when I see Alex’s face squished up against the glass. She spots me, and her eyes light up as she waves somewhat frantically.
I rush over and open the door for her, and she bursts through in a whirlwind. ‘Where’s Dad? I need to speak to Dad.’ She flies around in a panic, to every corner of my shop, like she might find him tucked away in a nook. Does she remember how big her dad is?
‘What’s up?’ I ask, closing the door.
‘It’s my mum.’
‘Oh my God, is she okay?’
Alex quits the urgent march and levels me with a serious look. ‘No, she’s not okay.’
‘Why, what’s wrong with her?’
‘I think she’s in love with my dad.’
I cough on nothing, not sure what I’m supposed to say to that. From what I know, Darcy and Ryan share a mutual hatred. ‘What makes you think that?’ I ask, and instantly wonder if I should have kept my stupid mouth shut. It’s nothing to do with me. But then again . . . I look back to the stairway to my apartment. He’s in my bed. I’m not single. God, am I going to find myself with competition? Should I be worried? Am I worried?
‘She spoke about him more last night than she’s spoken about him in my entire life. And all nice stuff.’ Alex stamps her foot and starts pacing again, throwing her arms up and down. ‘God damn him, he should never have pulled that knight-in-shining-armor stunt and saved her. She’s gone all mushy.’
Now I’m definitely worried. ‘What knight-in-shining-armor stunt?’
Alex freezes, turned away from me. I wait for her to answer me, hating the swirl of anxiety in my gut. Darcy Hampton is a woman who gets what she wants. I knew that after spending two seconds in her company. Am I capable of fighting for a man? Do I want to? Do I have the strength? God, I knew all this was too good to be true. Finding Ryan, his daughter accepting me. Coming to terms with what I need to do in order to move forward. And now his ex is going to swoop in on her Manolo Blahniks and take my happy place away.
Alex eventually turns to face me, a stupidly fake smile on her face. ‘You feeling better?’