My dad strides into the living room, introducing himself to Hannah and kissing Jo on the cheek before he stops in front of Amelia. Pulling her up, he hugs her, whispering something in her ear that has her whole body relaxing, a smile I can’t see but I know is there spreading over her face before she sits back down on my lap.
Seeing the way my girl fits in with all my favorite people has warmth careening through me. I send a little prayer out into the universe Cece loves talking about so much that it will always be this way. Her. Me. These people. This family. It’s everything I ever wanted, and the only thing I need.
“Hannah?” Noah’s voice breaks me out of my thoughts. I turn and see him standing in the living room doorway staring at Jo’s older sister with a mixture of surprise and something else—something far more interesting—in his eyes.
“Oh, hey, Noah,” Hannah says casually, glancing at him. Nothing in her voice tells me she sees how Noah is looking at her, and he knows it. His face falls so fast it’s almost funny as he slinks into the living room and slouches into the empty chair across from the couch, his gaze pinned to Hannah as everyone else starts to talk. I think it’s something about dinner, but I losethe thread when Amelia puts her mouth close enough to my ear to speak without being overheard.
“You saw that too, right?” she whispers.
I grin, kissing her cheek. “Yeah, you bet. He’s got it bad.”
“Did you know?” she asks.
“He mentions her sometimes. I think he’s had a thing for her for a while, but I don’t know how long. He’s only seen her, like, three times in the last two years. He barely knows her.”
She turns a little and locks eyes with me. “Well, when you know, you know, right?”
My breath backs up in my lungs at the look in her eyes, and it takes every amount of restraint I possess to not either tell her I love her right here in my parents’ living room in front of my entire family or pick her up and carry her all the way back to my apartment right fucking now. Instead, I just kiss her forehead, then her lips, tightening my arms around her waist. “Yeah, Mystery Girl. When you know, you know.”
We turn back to everyone just in time for Noah to ask, extremely casually, “So, Hannah, how long are you in town for?”
She shrugs, her eyes shuttering a little, and I know Noah sees it too because he frowns. “I’m not sure. I just needed to get away for a while. I’m going to grab a hotel room downtown.”
“Don’t be insane,” Jo says. “Why would you stay in a hotel when I have a perfectly good guest room? I mean, I think the bed probably needs sheets or whatever since no one has ever slept on it, but I can take care of that.”
Hannah smiles but it doesn’t reach her eyes. “I love you, Jo Jo, but I’m almost positive your honeymoon period with Jordan has no expiration date. You don’t need a sister cramping your style.”
Jo leans over from her perch on Jordan’s lap and wraps an arm around her sister. “As if you could ever cramp my style.”
Cece claps her hands. “No one has to cramp anyone’s style. I just happen to have an empty apartment at my disposal.”
“You mean the apartment in our brownstone that you insist we keep literally empty because you told us to?” I ask. “The one without any furniture in it at all?”
Cece eyes me. “Have you been in there lately?”
“No one goes in there,” Cooper says. “I figured that’s where you do your spells.”
Everyone laughs, but Cece just eyes Cooper like she knows something he doesn’t. “Coop honey, I do my spells in my own house; everyone knows that. I furnished the empty apartment just last week.”
“You did what?” my brothers and I all ask simultaneously, making the girls laugh again.
Cece just shrugs. “I had a feeling we would be needing the apartment, so I furnished it.” She turns to Hannah. “The apartment is yours for as long as you need it, Hannah. It’s a good place to get away. Even if it’s just for a few nights.”
Hannah shakes her head. “It’s really not necessary. I probably won’t be here long, anyway.”
Jo reaches over and takes Hannah’s hand. “It’s perfect, Han. Stay with us. It’s a fun house, and you can write from anywhere, right? I’ve been missing you. I’m so happy you’re here.”
Hannah holds Jo’s hand so tightly her knuckles turn white, and I can see Jo’s concern for her sister written all over her face.
“Two days or two years, whatever you need. You’re Jo’s sister so you belong to us too. We take care of our own, and no one in my family stays at a hotel in our own city.” Cece leans back in her chair and crosses her legs, a satisfied smile on her face like she’s sure she’s about to get her way in all things.
“She looks kind of like a mafia don,” Amelia mumbles, and I snort out a laugh because she’s not wrong.
Hannah takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly. “Okay. Just for a few nights.” Her eyes are a little wary as she reaches her arms up and gathers her hair into a ponytail. As she wraps a hair tie around it, Noah’s sharp inhale fills the room. Before I can even turn to him to see what’s wrong, he’s up out of his chair, kneeling in front of Hannah and taking her hands in his.
“What is this?” The gentle tone in his voice is a direct contrast to the murderous expression in his eyes as he runs his thumbs over what I now see are light bruises circling both of Hannah’s wrists. They were covered by her sleeves, but her sweatshirt slipped up when she did her hair, exposing the injury.
Hannah yanks her wrists away, wrapping her sleeves tightly around her hands, and when she speaks, her voice is tight. “It’s nothing.”
