Chapter 13
Tanner
“D o you really have a friend you’re visiting in Helena on Saturday, or are you making up that excuse to take me there?” Hannah asked as we ate dinner at Charlie’s on Thursday night.
I didn’t blame her for asking that question since I’d been persistent about spending time in her company over the last few days.
As usual, she looked beautiful without really trying.
She’d arrived at Charlie’s after doing some errands.
Her hair was slightly tousled like she’d been rushing to get here on time, and she was dressed in ass hugging jeans and a bright colored sweater.
Just like every other day that I’d seen her this week.
Hannah was big on color, the brighter the better. She’d always insisted that wearing bright colors made her dark hair and eyes less boring.
I’d always argued that her hair and eyes were gorgeous regardless, but I’d usually gotten an eye roll whenever I’d told her that. Personally, I did think that colors suited her personality. She always looked like a bright ray of sunshine, even on the crappiest of days.
Luckily, I’d been able to see her several times this week so far.
On Monday, we’d gone grocery shopping together after work, where I’d discovered that some things about Hannah had never changed.
If I tossed crap food into my cart, which I usually did, she’d quietly take it out and replace it with something healthier. If I tried to switch them back, she’d wait until she thought I wasn’t looking, and switch them again.
It was a ritual we’d probably gone through thousands of times in the past.
I’d just forgotten how damn cute she could be when she was concerned about my health.
I’d finally grinned at her and let her mostly have her way. She hadn’t touched a few of the junk items that she knew I loved, and I was getting older. I probably didn’t need to be eating like a college guy anymore.
Hannah wasn’t exactly a health food nut. She indulged in junk food, but she didn’t live on it like I did.
On Tuesday, I’d picked her up to get ice cream at the local shop in the evening because ice cream was one of her favorite things at any time of year.
Yesterday, I’d gone into work a little late because I took Hannah to The Mug And Jug early to get coffee.
She’d adamantly refused to get a cinnamon roll, but she’d ended up snagging a few bites of mine, telling me the calories didn’t count if it wasn’t her cinnamon roll.
I’d found that comment to be absolutely adorable, and I would have fed her the entire thing if she’d let me.
Tonight, I’d insisted on dinner at Charlie’s.
“I planned on going to Helena,” I hedged.
Honestly, I hadn’t planned on seeing my friend in Helena for lunch until after I’d heard that Hannah was doing a wedding there on Saturday. But it was planned now.
Helena was a long drive. She was leaving tomorrow evening so she could get up early for the wedding preparations on Saturday. That would put her on the road after dark alone. I could get her there on my private jet in a fraction of the drive time, and she wouldn’t be driving on the remote roads and highways by herself at night.
Yeah, the roads were still good right now, but that could change at any time.
The weather could change in Montana in the blink of an eye, and it often did.
I’d told her to cancel her bed and breakfast reservation because I had a two bedroom hotel suite.
She’d pushed back on canceling her own reservation, but I’d eventually convinced her that it would be more practical for us to stay at the same place since I planned on getting a rental car.
Okay, so I’d booked that suite on Monday night, after I’d learned more about her plans, but I hadn’t been lying.
Not exactly .
I had, in fact, already booked the hotel before I’d asked her to cancel her reservation.
Hell, I knew I was stretching the truth, but I was fucking desperate.
There was no way she would have agreed to let me take her to Helena to avoid driving alone for a long distance at night.
Hannah pushed her empty soup bowl away and reached for her toasted turkey sandwich that had just gotten to our table moments ago. “How is our going out of town together going to improve my standing in this town?”
I grinned. “How long do you think it will take for word to get around that we left together in my jet? We’d have to be on very friendly terms for that to happen.”
She sighed. “I suppose you’re right. But I don’t want to give people the wrong idea. What if they think we’re together again because we went away for the weekend? Things are already different for me here, and it’s only been a few days. I’ve booked more appointments in this town in the last day or two than I’ve booked since I’ve been home in Crystal Fork. You probably don’t need to keep putting yourself out to be seen with me as much anymore.”
Yeah, well, I had a problem with that possibility.
I wanted to be with Hannah.
Every. Single. Fucking. Day.
Maybe I’d forgotten what it was like to be with her on a daily basis, but now that I’d been reminded what that was like, I was getting completely addicted to that feeling all over again.
Even though I’d been a dick to her at the end of our relationship, I had missed her.
Thinking back on it now, all I’d wanted was to hear Hannah’s voice when I’d called her the last time we’d talked before she’d left. Maybe I had been severely distracted by work, but I’d missed hearing her voice.
I got my wish.
I had heard her voice from Tokyo.
Unfortunately, I hadn’t really been listening to what she was saying. If I had listened, she never would have been out of my life in the first place.
I took a slug of my water to wash down a huge bite of my sandwich before I spoke. “I honestly don’t give a flying fuck what people think. The nature of our relationship is none of their business. The whole point was to let people know we didn’t have hard feelings between us. What if I told you that I want to be with you in Helena just because it’s nice to be in your company again? I thought I’d take the bikes and we could do a bike path up Mount Ascension on Sunday. There’s no snow in the forecast.”
The brief look of excitement on her face made it worth stretching the truth about my trip to Helena.
“I’d love that,” she said with a smile that made my damn cock sit at attention. “But we weren’t planning on spending another night.”
“I’ll extend my reservation.”
All right, now I was blatantly lying. I’d already reserved until Sunday.
Fuck! I hated bullshitting Hannah, but I wanted to spend time with her. She didn’t seem eager to spend more time together than necessary, even though I had offered to be a real friend to her.
I couldn’t blame her for that, but the more time we spent together, the more comfortable she seemed with me.
I didn’t want to screw that up by missing an entire weekend that I could easily be spending with her.
“Are you sure you can do that?” she asked.
“Yep,” I said confidently because I was already booked for Saturday night.
“I’ve never ridden in Mount Ascension, but I’ve heard it’s a nice ride.”
“I’ve hiked there before,” I told her. “But that was a long time ago.”
“Are you sure you don’t mind?” she asked hesitantly.
Hell, no, I didn’t mind.
I realized at some point Hannah would decide we’d spent enough time together to prove to people that we didn’t hate each other.
Before that happened, I was going to have to convince her that I really wanted to spend time together simply because I wanted to be with her.
“I did suggest the trip,” I reminded her.
“I guess I just don’t want you to feel like you have to do it. I know you’re trying to make up for what happened in the past—”
“This has nothing to do with the past, Hannah,” I said abruptly. “Is it so hard for you to believe that I’ve enjoyed the time we’ve spent together this week?”
In some ways, Hannah was the same person she’d always been, but there were differences, too.
I wanted to know everything about the Hannah who was sitting across the table from me right now .
She shrugged. “Maybe that is hard to believe sometimes,” she said softly. “We’ve been out of each other’s lives for a long time.”
“Which means we have a lot of catching up to do,” I said firmly. “I want to know who you are now, Hannah.”
“I’ve told you about most of my life in Seattle. Other than my business, it wasn’t all that exciting.”
She hadn’t told me about her life in Seattle.
Not really.
She’d told me about her business and her previous business partners, but very little about her personal life.
Maybe she wasn’t comfortable talking about the men in her life with an old flame, but there must have been relationships for her.
Hannah was too damn beautiful and warmhearted. If I was a stranger who had run into her in Seattle, I’d definitely want to know her better.
Hell, now that I thought about it, maybe it was better if I didn’t know about that part of her life.
“You told me about your business. What did you do for fun?” I asked curiously.
“I had a great circle of friends there,” she said after she’d swallowed the last of her sandwich. “Most of them were in my field. In the beginning, I did all the tourist things. Later, I visited the museums and I really liked Pike Place Market when I had the time to get there. When it was nice weather, I wanted to check out biking paths. There was never a shortage of things to do in Seattle. It has a pretty vibrant nightlife scene, but I got tired of the clubs pretty quickly. I did love the comedy clubs, concerts, and going to the theater.”
“You didn’t get enough of the theater in New York?” I asked.
Hannah and I had gone as often as possible to see the shows in New York.
She smiled. “Never. You know me.”
I did. She was always clamoring to see a new performance, and I’d tried my best to get her there because it made her happy.
I’d enjoyed every new show we’d seen, but I’d never loved Broadway like Hannah.
“Do you ever miss all that excitement of the city?” I questioned.
“Sometimes,” she admitted. “But I miss the peacefulness and the scenery of Montana when I’m in the city, too. I guess there are trade-offs no matter where you live. I was born and raised here. Despite the fact that the people in this town weren’t happy with me, it feels like home.”
Christ! I still hated that the people in this town hadn’t all welcomed her back with open arms.
She was one of their own.
“But things are improving?” I asked.
She nodded. “Some people are acting like the misunderstanding never happened. I can’t say everyone was awful. Silas, Charlie, and some of the people I knew from growing up here were nice to me from the beginning.”
Probably because they were smart enough to realize that Hannah didn’t have a mean bone in her body.
Even without my help, others would have eventually realized the same thing.
It might have taken a while, but Hannah was a hard woman not to like.
Fuck knew I was still drawn to her.
It had always been that way for me with Hannah.
Maybe I’d been able to put her out of my mind when I’d thought she’d left me for another guy, but now that I knew the truth, I was completely screwed.
I was just as mesmerized by her as I had been years ago.
Could I be her friend now?
I had no damn clue, but I also knew that I couldn’t stay away from her now.
I also knew that she didn’t trust me, and that was my biggest hurdle to get over at the moment.
If she could learn to trust me again, I’d worry about everything else…later.
Bottom line: I wanted Hannah to be happy here, and I knew her career opportunities were more limited here than in a bigger city.
She’d helped me and supported me when I was trying to get my career off the ground.
I wanted to be there for her like I should have been years ago.
And that wasn’t going to happen until she learned to trust me again.
This time, her happiness came first.
“Are you okay, Tanner?” she asked, her voice concerned. “You look like you’re thinking pretty hard about something.”
I lifted a brow and caught her gaze. “I was lost in thought. I was thinking about you.”
Her eyes widened and she looked flustered.
Had I really been such an asshole that I’d forgotten to give Hannah the attention she deserved?
She looked like she was bewildered that I’d been thinking about her instead of something else…like maybe KTD Remington.
She hadn’t asked me exactly what I’d been thinking about, which was unusual because Hannah was inquisitive by nature.
I hated the fact that she didn’t feel like she knew me well enough to ask what I was thinking anymore.
Hannah might feel more comfortable with me, but not comfortable enough.
I picked up the check, and Hannah instantly reached for her purse. “Let me give you some money.”
She’d tried the same thing at the ice cream shop, and at The Mug And Jug.
“Not. Happening.” My voice held a warning that would intimidate my most senior of employees.
She rolled her eyes. “I know you’re incredibly wealthy, but I’m used to paying for myself. We’re not together anymore.”
“Get used to it,” I informed her. “If we’re going somewhere together, you’re never going to pull money out of your purse.”
I didn’t have the right to take care of Hannah anymore in any other way. I’d be damned if she was going to toss me money to pay for her food.
I stood to go pay the check, and Hannah scrambled out of the booth.
“Thank you for dinner,” she said after I’d paid the bill and we’d stepped outside.
“You’re welcome.” I knew she wasn’t happy, but Hannah had known me long enough to know that I wasn’t going to change my mind about taking her money.
She could be stubborn at times, too, and I’d learned her boundaries.
Been there.
Done that.
And we’d learned to compromise.
We were past the point of arguing over things that were pointless.
“What time are we leaving tomorrow?” she asked.
I walked her to her car, which wasn’t far from my own vehicle.
“I’ll head over to your apartment after I get off work. I’ll pick you up this time,” I insisted. “There’s no point in you leaving your vehicle at the airfield.”
There was no public airport in Crystal Fork. Most people just flew out of Billings.
My brothers and I had constructed our own private airfield on a strip of land that we owned jointly. It was convenient to all of our homes.
“Okay,” she agreed easily. “I’ve never flown in a private jet. I’m kind of excited about that.”
Kaleb had been the first to purchase a private jet and helicopter. The three of us had traveled together for a while out of Billings before Devon and I had purchased our own jets and helicopters because we often had to be in different places at different times. We’d built the airstrip in Crystal Fork after Hannah and I had broken up.
She’d never had the chance to fly private with me.
I grinned. “Don’t get too excited. It’s a pretty short flight.”
She shrugged and smiled back at me. “I don’t care. It’s a first for me.”
I gritted my teeth as my dick twitched from watching her enthusiastic response.
All Hannah had to do was smile at me, and my damn cock was hard.
There was no other woman in the world who could elicit that response.
As Hannah drove away, I knew I was completely fucked with this whole friendship thing.
The problem was, when I was close to her, I had absolutely no desire to save myself from the heartache I knew was probably headed my way in the future.