Chapter 15
Hannah tossed a nervous look over her shoulder as she fumbled with the lock. Her eyes passed over me, standing behind her, to Étienne, who towered over her next to the door. Biting her lower lip, she turned back to the door, jiggled the doorknob, then finally pushed the door open.
“One moment,monsieur, mademoiselle.” Étienne pushed past us to survey the apartment for threats.
I rolledmy eyes at Hannah and shrugged. “Sorry, he’s the suspicious sort.”
Before I could finish the sentence, Étienne was back and gave us the all clear. Wow, her place must be tiny. Étienne raised his eyebrows as I passed him in the doorway. I didn’t have much time to wonder what that was about, as it became evident when I crossed the threshold.
Hannah was a slob.
Not like a little messy in thatshe forgot to pick up her shoes. Hannah wasa lotmessy, as in I was pretty sure most of her clothes were strewn from one side of the room to the other. Judging by the number of outfits in this room alone, she couldn’t have many clothes left in her closet.
“Like I said, I wasn’t exactly expecting company.” Hannah’s voice sounded small as she took in the room as well.
It wasn’t like it was dirty.As far as I could see the carpet was clean, and she kept the food and dishes in the tiny kitchenette area. It just looked like her closet threw up all over her apartment.
“Rachel came over to borrow an outfit the night we met you guys. Then there was the next date night—I kept trying on different outfits and nothing looked right. I didn’t want to mix up…Whatever. Come on. It’s cleaner in my bedroom.”
We passed through the tornado room of clothes, with the tiny attached kitchenette, down a small hallway with two other doors before she pushed one open and pulled me through. It was like stepping into an entirely different apartment. She had a huge sleigh bed that looked like it might’ve been solid mahogany. The dark wood gleamed under an intricate vine-and-thorn chandelier. Large planters inthe corners held tree branches decorated with tiny fairy lights. The whole vibe was like something from the end ofSleeping Beauty—the part where Prince Phillip sliced through the thicket of thorns and vines to get to his princess. It was sweet. And looked way too custom for someone who couldn’t afford a fancy dinner.
Hannah tossed her purse on top of her dresser facing the bed and gave me anervous smile. “I know it looks a little sweet, but when I was in high school—I was in a car accident. The streets were wet and I took a turn too fast and crashed into a streetlight. It was entirely my fault, and fortunately I was alone in the car so at least no one else was hurt. But the car rolled and I wasn’t wearing a seatbelt, so I broke a leg, an arm, and two vertebrae in my back—” Hannah pausedand waved her hand when she saw my expression. “I’m fine now. It was scary at first. They didn’t know if I’d walk again, and I spent so much time in the hospital. The hospital bill alone almost bankrupted my parents. Then when they released me to go home, I spent a lot of time in bed recuperating, and my dad wanted to give me something to help me get through it, so he built me this.”
“Oh, mygod, Hannah.” I swept her into my arms and held her tight. The thought of her going through something like that made me sick to my stomach. I’d seen the surgical scars on her back earlier, but then never asked her about them. I felt like a selfish prick. Here I’d been going on and on about my drama when she’d been through so much herself. I held her in my arms and squeezed like I could make all herpast hurts go away by my mere presence. “But you’re okay now? Everything healed correctly? Wait, what’s the bandage on your neck for?”
“Oh, I, uh, burned myself with my curling iron this morning. It’s nothing. I’m fine.”
I let go of my breath in a whoosh of air. “Thank God. Between your story and that bandage and how you cried in your car earlier…I put those three facts together and got somethingscary. I’m glad I was wrong.”
“You saw that?” Hannah groaned and buried her face in my chest. Her voice came out muffled against my shirt. “I thought no one could see me.”
“Apparently those clear things on each side of your car not only let you see out but also let others see inside. You might want to keep that in mind the next time you get in your car.”
“Shut up.” Hannah pulled back to hitmy arm lightly. “How was I supposed to know that I had a stalker lying in wait a few cars over?”
“The running engine might’ve tipped you off.”
Hannah smiled and rolled her eyes. “Whatever.”
“So what’s going on? Why were you crying?”
“I don’t know. Nothing? Everything?” Hannah stepped out of my arms and walked over to tug on the sky-blue bedspread as she remade her bed. “I cleaned out my stationat the salon this morning and had some words with Kennedy. She was being an über bitch like always. And I almost missed an appointment because of it. I was frazzled and stressed-out and wishing that being an adult wasn’t so hard.”
“Not to mention the pain from the burn on your neck.”
“What? Oh, yeah. That, too.” Hannah shrugged, then looked up at me shyly. “And I was missing you.”
“You weremissing me?” A smug smile stretched my lips.
Hannah traced the edge of her bedspread with a delicate finger. “Maybe a little.”
“Are you missing me now?”
“Maybe a little.”
“I think we can do something about that.” I crossed the room and pulled her into my arms. Bending down, I covered her lips with mine, kissing her softly at first. My heart hurt to think of all the upheaval she’d gone throughin just a few short days. Losing her job, fighting with her boss, learning I wasn’t who I said I was. I wanted to make her feel better. I pulled away and smiled down at her. “I think we’re both wearing too many clothes.”
“Wow, there’s no in-between with you, is there?” Hannah laughed softly.
