“We’ll have it at home. We can put Matty to bed, and I’ll order in. Just the two of us. It will give us a chance to talk.”
Her face lit up with a smile. “Yes, please. I’d love to have dinner with you.”
Richard didn’t care what it took; he was determined to do this right. He wanted to woo the hell out of this girl, to sweep her off her feet until she could never run again. They’d been careless before, letting love pour through their fingers like sand through an hourglass. Neither of them was innocent in the clusterfuck they’d found themselves in. They’d both given up before they should have.
This time…he was determined this time he wouldn’t let her get away.
Twenty Five
June 1st 2012
“Try to keep still,” Hanna urged Matty, making a futile attempt to fasten his diaper before putting him in his pajamas. Matty laughed, kicking his legs in a bicycle-movement, trying to twist his body from the mat. She tapped his rump playfully, leaning in to blow a raspberry on his stomach, his soft skin vibrating loudly under her lips.
“No!” He wriggled again. “No that.”
Hanna stopped tickling him and looked up. “No that?” She tried to hide her excitement; she couldn’t remember him ever stringing two words together before. Until now his communication had been limited to single-word sentences.
“No.” Matty was firm.
“Let’s get you ready for bed, then.” She lifted him up to standing, rolling up the legs of his pajama pants and helping him to step into them. “You need to get some sleep, little man.”
“No sleep.” He was on a roll, and made her laugh. She couldn’t wait to tell Richard about this new development.
“That’s right, Matty. No sleep yet, not until Daddy gets home.” She pulled his top over his head, tugging it down. “But then, definitely sleep.”
As soon as she finished dressing him, Matty escaped from her grasp, running across the pale wooden floor of his bedroom, to the floor-length window on the far side. The evening sun warmed his face, lending him a golden hue, and he jumped up and down, pointing at the cars on the street below.
A crashing noise from the hallway made Hanna turn away from the windows, her brow creasing in consternation. A moment later she could hear Richard’s voice.
“Hanna? Matty?” He sounded almost frantic. She’d barely stood up before he rushed through the door to Matty’s bedroom, panting for breath, his chest rising and falling rapidly. He walked straight over, pulling her toward him, crushing her tight frame with his strong arms.
“Thank fuck.” He tucked her head beneath his chin. “I had this horrible feeling you’d be gone.”
This wasn’t good. She put her arms around him, hands hesitantly rubbing his back. “Where would I go?”
Matty ran to them, squealing. Richard bent down and scooped him into his right arm, pulling Hanna back to him with his left. He leaned forward until their foreheads touched, his eyes a blink away from hers. She could feel his warm breath washing over her face.
“Richard, what’s happened?”
Matty grabbed Richard’s face and pulled it away from Hanna’s, leaning down to push his own against it. “Da.” He cupped his father’s cheeks with his plump hands, laughing when Richard butterfly-kissed him with his eyelashes.
Richard inhaled deeply, managing to gain control of his breathing. He kissed Matty one more time before putting him on the floor, turning to face Hanna once more, a look of fear molding his features.
“I called my lawyer today, asked him if I could put some sort of restraining order on you to stop you leaving the country.” He looked as though he was admitting to a mortal sin. Hanna stepped backwards, trying to work out why her heart beat a little faster.
“What did he say?”
“He said I needed to talk to a shrink.” Richard’s laugh was dry and cold. “So I did. I talked to somebody.”
“Oh.” Her heart was racing. Hanna wondered whether it was from fear or attraction.
“Hanna, we’ve really fucked things up.” His voice was gritty and deep. He reached his hand up and dragged it through his hair, causing the ends to stand up. “We have no trust.”
“I trust you.” Her voice was small.
“You don’t. If you trusted me, you’d never have left; either time.” He reached out a tentative hand, brushing her cheek with his fingertips. “You never once trusted in my love for you.”
“And you don’t trust that I’ll stay.” Hanna started to pick at the skin around her nails. She felt despondent. He was right; their lack of trust was like a huge mountain between them. “What did the shrink say?”