She glances at Bandit. “I’m kind of in the middle of something here. Can it wait?”
He shakes his head. “Not if I don’t want the entire store terrorized by a caterwauling cat. I’ll watch Bandit.”
She stops the belt and starts draining the tank. “Nick, can you grab those towels and dry him off?”
“Sure thing.” I wrap Bandit in a towel and lift him out.
Meanwhile, Liam watches Hannah, obviously waiting for her to leave. He swings his attention to me. “Do you have a thing for my sister?”
Okay, I wasn’t expecting—or prepared—for him to be that direct. And I have a sneaky suspicion that Mr. Skittles wasn’t his real motivation for distracting his sister. But if he wants to be blunt, then so will I. Maybe this is the opportunity I’ve been looking for to ask for her brothers’ permission to date their sister.
“I like—care about her. A lot.” I could tell Liam I’m in love with his sister, but I’d rather Hannah be the one to hear that the first time I say it out loud.
Liam’s eyes narrow for a moment. “Has Hannah told you about Bryan?”
My internal alarms sound off full blast. Does she have a boyfriend I don’t know about? Some kind of long distance thing? “No, she hasn’t mentioned him.”
At all.
My gut feels as heavy as one of those ten-pound bricks. And I’m afraid to ask who this guy is…or was, because I’m so far gone for Hannah, I don’t know what I’d do.
“She dated him a while back. He was one of the hockey players on the team she worked for. Seemed like a great guy at first, until he wasn’t.”
“You mean he hurt her.” I finish drying Bandit but leave a dry towel wrapped around him so he doesn’t get cold.
He nods. “The jerk was a player, on the ice and off.”
My turn to nod. “I understand. And you need to know I’m not that kind of guy anymore.”
There. I said it. Hopefully, Liam will believe me and pass it on to Graham.
His expression softens. “Good.”
He starts to say something else, but Hannah walks through the door. “Liam, Mr. Skittles is fine. I don’t understand why—” She stops, darting her gaze between her brother and me.
Liam tucks his hands into the tops of his jeans pockets. “Thanks, sis. Just seemed like Jenny needed help.”
Hannah crosses her arms and shoots him an annoyed look. “She’s just fine, Liam. Capable of handling difficult males. Just like I am.”
If I hadn’t fallen in love with Hannah already, I would now. Not that I want her to think of me as difficult. Maybe just irresistible?
I wait until Liam leaves before I ask the question still burning in my chest. “Hannah…tell me about Bryan.”
CHAPTER 28
Hannah
Rattled by his unexpected question, I drop my arms to my sides, feeling undone. First of all, when Nick says my name, it’s akin to an intimate caress that fills me with comfort yet stirs my passion for him all at once. Like he’s the cure to what ails me. I’ve never encountered anything quite like it. He makes me feel seen, heard…desired. And he makes my heart thump faster than Bandit’s fluffy tail.
But then he had to follow it with a question about my ex. I make a mental note to put a little more force behind my playful gut punch when I see Liam next.
Bandit licks my hand as I crouch down and check him over, allowing me a moment to compose my thoughts because this is not the conversation I expected to have with Nick today. Quite the opposite actually. I just wanted to get his parents’ address so I could show them what an amazing son they have. You know, help a friend out.
Except I have plenty of friends. I don’t need—want another one. My feelings for Nick go beyond anything I ever felt for Bryan. I could never quite picture a future with my ex. Perhaps on some deeper level, I knew he wasn’t the right guy for me.
But I’m beginning to think Nick is, and I want so much more with him than a silly flirtation or a fling. He’s like the ocean, and I’m one of those baby sea turtles, drawn to find existence in his depths.
“Liam told you about Bryan?” I figured my brother was just checking Nick out, maybe asking him if he had any intentions toward me (oh, please let the answer be yes), but I never expected him to bring my ex into the conversation.
