Chapter Eight
“Does this look like a tree to you?”
Kyla squinted at her canvas, as though that would make the fuzzy brown and green paint smudges morph into something more closely resembling the tree their instructor was effortlessly painting.
“Sure,”
Tessa said, also squinting. She looked up at the tree under which the instructor had set up their easel. “Maybe you need more yellow?”
Kyla sighed. “Maybe I should stick to photography.”
“It’s impressionistic,”
Hannah said. “Or an abstract. You can definitely spin that into some kind of post-modern masterpiece.”
“That’s true,”
Sabrina added, etching deep grooves into the painted column of her tree trunk. “All the priciest galleries slap some kind of fancy label on a painting and it sells for double, even if it’s random splotches. Not that your painting is random splotches!”
she hastened to add.
Kyla laughed. “It absolutely is.”
She grinned, nudging Hannah’s shoulder with her own. “But it’s a post-modern impressionist interpretation of a tree. The vibes of a tree, really.”
“They’re excellent vibes,”
Hannah said.
Her own painting more resembled a kindergartener’s drawing, all rudimentary shapes and blocks of color. Perhaps she could call it cubist and pretend it was intentional. Or she could ditch it in the dumpster by the parking lot when the class was over.
“So, Hannah, Tessa’s too afraid to ask, but we’re all dying to know how you know Ethan,”
Sabrina said.
“Oh, we’ve been friends for a while,”
Hannah hedged, suddenly very concerned with adding another layer of swirly leaf shapes to her tree.
“Really? Ethan hardly ever leaves Aster Bay. How did you meet?”
Kyla asked.
“Umm we were staying at the same hotel. A few years ago. In Boston,”
she said. “We met in the hotel bar.”
“Did he buy you a drink?”
Sabrina asked.
Hannah could feel the blush heating her cheeks. “He did.”
“And you’ve stayed in touch all this time?”
Kyla sighed dreamily. “That’s romantic.”
“Oh, it’s not—I mean, we’re not—”
“Life is so funny. What are the odds you’d end up here now?”
Kyla said, either genuinely confounded by the mysterious ways of the universe or teasing her.
But Hannah knew it wasn’t a mystery—it was karma. She’d spent the better part of a year lying to everyone except Liv and Jennifer and now she was stuck living with a man who couldn’t see past the lie.
All morning she’d swung between being supremely frustrated with his reaction—they didn’t owe each other anything, and it’s not like she’d actually lied to him since you can’t lie to someone you don’t talk to about anything of consequence—and feeling coated in shame and regret. It didn’t really matter if she’d technically done nothing wrong. He felt like she’d lied to him, and that was enough to make her wish she could go back in time to their last meeting and say—
What? What would you say? Hi, Ethan, I’m fake dating a celebrity to help rehab his image—yes, that’s a real thing—but we should still bang?
“It must be a relief to be staying with someone you know,”
Sabrina said. “I think I’d be freaked out about going to stay with a stranger. No offense,”
she added to Tessa.
“None taken,”
Tessa assured her.
"Daemon and Liv are excellent judges of character and good friends,”
Hannah said. “I trusted they weren’t sending me to stay with an axe murderer or anything.”
“What she means is my brother-in-law is overly protective.”
Tessa dropped her paint brush into the plastic cup of murky water on her easel. “I give up. No more trees for me unless they’re piped in buttercream.”
“Does that mean we can all give up now?”
Kyla asked hopefully.
“It is still so wild to me that Daemon Chase is your brother-in-law. I must have watched the Sound of Music remake he was in at least a dozen times just to see that man take his shirt off,”
Sabrina said, setting down her own paintbrush.
Tessa snorted. “Don’t let Baz hear you say that.”
Sabrina waved away Tessa’s comment as they gathered their things and made their way to the parking lot. “Sebastian knows. He gets all grumpy whenever he hears the overture now.”
“And speaking of celebrities,”
Tessa said turning to face Hannah with a grin that could only spell trouble. “What’s the scoop on Jackson Hayes?”
Kyla flung her arm out, hitting Tessa lightly in the stomach. “Tessa! Ixnay on the Acksonjay.”
She turned an apologetic smile to Hannah. “You don’t have to tell us anything. It’s probably not something you want to talk about.”
It wasn’t…and yet, she liked these women. She wanted to be their friend, even if she was only in town for a short time. And friends talked about their boyfriends, even the fake ones. Maybe this would be good practice for telling the story their publicists had crafted.
“It’s not as scandalous as the tabloids have made it out to be.”
Unless you call pretending to date for almost a year scandalous. “We met when we were in Bridget Jones’ Musical on Broadway and hit it off right away, but we realized we were better off as friends. The split happened a while ago, we just hadn’t announced it yet because we thought it would be better to wait until after the premiere.”
It was the Cliff Notes version of the joint statement Micah had emailed her that morning. By tonight, it would be all over every news outlet that had carried the story of Jackson’s cheating. At least, she hoped it would be.
“So he didn’t cheat on you?”
Sabrina asked carefully.
“Definitely not,”
Hannah said with a soft smile. “Jackson’s a great guy. He’s just not my guy.”
Kyla leaned against her beat up Honda Civic. “Is Ethan your guy?”
“I’m—What?”
Hannah stammered, her cheeks already flaming.
Kyla glanced around their group. “You met in Boston a few years ago... You’re the woman he saw in Boston last weekend, right?”
She turned to her friends. “I’m not the only one who put that together, am I?”
“Jo is going to have a field day with this,”
Sabrina said.
“You and my dad…”
Tessa trailed off, her nose wrinkling in barely contained disgust.
“I don’t know what he told you—”
Hannah began.
“Nothing. He didn’t tell us anything,”
Kyla said reassuringly. “We wouldn’t even know about it if he hadn’t told Gavin who told me and then I kind of told them.”
She flashed an apologetic smile. “Oops.”
Hannah sighed. “This is really awkward and I don’t think Ethan would appreciate us talking about it.”
“He definitely wouldn’t,”
Tessa said. “And that’s why we’re not going to talk about it anymore, right, ladies? No more talking about my dad’s sex thing.”
Hannah winced. “Sorry.”
“Okay, but can you at least tell us why Ethan goes to Boston? He’s always so twitchy about it. Unless he’s only going to meet you?”
Sabrina asked.
“I honestly don’t know. The first time we met, he was already there, but I couldn’t tell you why.”
“He didn’t tell you?”
Kyla asked.
“I guess you didn’t exactly spend all that much time talking,”
Sabrina said.
“Sabrina!”
Tessa screeched.
Oh, God, the ground can open up and swallow me whole now, please and thank you.
Sabrina laughed. “What? Hannah’s gorgeous, and Ethan oozes stern, daddy vibes—”
“And that’s enough of that,”
Tessa said, clapping her hands. “Who’s ready for lunch?”
∞∞∞
“You look like hell.”
Baz walked into Ethan’s office like it was his own, dropping a stack of files on the desk and taking a seat opposite Ethan. As if Ethan could focus on reconciling his finances today.
“It’s Cheryl and Ricky’s new rooster. It’s getting harder and harder to be their neighbor.”
Baz sucked his teeth and shook his head. “No, I don’t think that’s it.”
“It wouldn’t have something to do with the pretty brunette staying in your guest room, would it?”
Gavin asked as he and Jamie joined them.
“What are you two doing here?”
Ethan asked.
Jamie shrugged. “I’m here for moral support.”
“How’s Hannah?”
Gavin sing-songed.
“You call this moral support?”
Jamie took a seat next to Baz. “You two seemed friendly enough last night.”
Ethan scowled and flipped through the folders Baz had deposited in front of him.
“More than friendly,”
Baz added.
“Flirtatious even,”
Gavin said, grinning.
“She doesn’t know anyone in the area. I didn’t like the idea of her spending her first night in town alone. That’s all,”
Ethan said.
“Oh, is that all?”
Gavin’s grin grew larger. “It didn’t have anything to do with the fact you kept staring at her ass?”
“Did not.”
“Yeah, you did.”
Baz took the folder from Ethan and flipped to the current year’s income statement before handing it back. “But you weren’t so grumpy about it last night.”
“I’m not grumpy,”
he snapped.
“Definitely grumpy,”
Jamie said. “Something must have happened between last night and now.”
Ethan looked away and tried to focus on the balance sheet in front of him, but the numbers blurred and dissolved on the page. He dropped the folder back on his desk and dug the heels of his hands into his eyes with a groan.
“The numbers are right,”
Baz said. “Double checked them myself this morning.”
“It was nice to see you so relaxed last night. We haven’t seen you like that in weeks.”
Jamie exchanged a glance with Gavin. “And we thought if the reason for that change was Hannah—”
“It’s not.”
“But if it was—”
“Nothing else can happen with me and Hannah.”
Shit.
His friends’ eyes widened and they exchanged another one of those glances that made Ethan want to put his fist through a wall.
“But something did happen?”
Jamie asked.
Ethan sighed. He didn’t suppose there was any point in denying it. “Hannah is the woman I spent time with in Boston.”
Gavin leaned forward. “And by ‘spent time,’ you mean—”
“They fucked,” Baz said.
“For Christ’s sake,”
Ethan muttered. “We’ve known each other for years.”
“Years? You’ve been seeing someone for years and didn’t tell us?”
Gavin asked, wounded.
“Not exactly.”
Ethan sighed. “We see each other a few times a year when we’re both in Boston. That’s it. Until she showed up here yesterday.”
“Well, fuck,” Baz said.
“Wait, I thought Hannah was in Aster Bay because her famous boyfriend cheated on her,”
Gavin said.
“I think we figured out why he’s so grumpy,”
Jamie said, motioning to Ethan.
“I’m not grumpy!”
Ethan forced himself to take a slow breath, but it didn’t keep him from shooting daggers at his friends with his eyes.
“But they’re not together now, right?”
Gavin asked carefully. “I mean, she wouldn’t have met with you in Boston if they were still together.”
Ethan shook his head. He wasn’t sure how much Hannah wanted everyone else to know about the terms of her relationship with Jackson Hayes, but he didn’t want his friends to think she was a cheater, either. “No, they’re not together.”
“Okay!”
Gavin leaned back in his chair as if that solved everything.
“Not okay. Hannah’s made it very clear she has no interest in anything more than our previous arrangement.”
“I’m pretty sure moving into your guest room is more,”
Gavin said, looking to his friends for agreement.
“That’s just logistics,”
Ethan said.
Jamie leaned forward, bracing his elbows on his knees and clasping his hands. “Do you want more?”
Did he want more than a handful of nights a year of feeling like he hadn’t missed his chance at love? Of course, he did. But dating was exhausting. Maybe that was why he’d asked Hannah to see him outside of their arrangement in the first place. He was tired—of trying to find his person, yes, but also of being alone.
It didn’t matter. Anything with Hannah was out of the question. She had lied to him, even if she hadn’t really been dating that slick boy band asshole. She still should have told him.
Like you told her about your life?
It was different. Her life was complicated in ways he couldn’t even begin to imagine, and the last thing he wanted was a paparazzi spotlight shining in his direction.
“It might not be the worst thing she’s here now,”
Gavin said. “It gives you both some time to figure out what you want from each other.”
Ethan swallowed the bitter taste at the back of her throat. “I don’t want anything from her. Did you miss the part about her being caught up in a media scandal?”
Baz shrugged and pointed at Gavin. “He married his son’s ex.”
He flicked his hand towards Jamie next. “He got together with your daughter behind your back. My wife was supposed to be my sister-in-law. ‘Famous ex-boyfriend’ isn’t so bad.”
“Knock, knock!”
Mrs. White’s voice reverberated off the hardwood in the office as she and her friends pushed into his office. The four octogenarians had been Ethan, Baz, and Gavin’s elementary school teachers. Now they settled for beating them at bar trivia every week.
“Nice jackets, Mrs. B,”
Gavin said to Mrs. Blumenthal, who had struck a pose to show off the hot pink bomber jackets they all wore, the words “Grandma Gang”
embroidered across the back.
“Aren’t you sweet,”
Mrs. Blumenthal said, grinning.
“Rumor has it your ladies wiped the floor with you at trivia last night,”
Mrs. Kemp said.
“I don’t know that I’d say that,”
Jamie protested.
“What was it Mikey said?”
Mrs. Greene asked Mrs. White. “That these boys didn’t stand a chance?”
“It was only twelve points,”
Ethan said.
“That’s a whole category,”
Mrs. Blumenthal said, barely containing her laughter.
“Did you all come down here to mock us?”
Gavin asked.
“No, dear. As much fun as that does sound, we have some pressing business with Ethan,”
Mrs. White said.
“You do?”
Ethan asked.
“We most certainly do! Who is the charming young lady staying with you?”
Mrs. Blumenthal said. “Your mother didn’t know anything about it.”
“You told my mom?”
Ethan groaned.
“I didn’t realize I was telling her anything she didn’t already know,”
Mrs. Blumenthal said.
“Wait, how do you even know about Hannah?”
Jamie asked. “She only got in yesterday and you weren’t at trivia last night.”
Mrs. White scoffed. “One of these days you’re going to learn, we know everything that happens in this town.”
“Wait, do you know Midnight Storm?”
Gavin asked, turning in his seat to better face the women. “They had that big hit about driving through a hurricane to take a girl on a date.”
“That is definitely not advisable behavior,”
Mrs. Greene said. “But, yes, I remember the song. The children in my class couldn’t stop singing it all year,”
she said, shaking her head.
“Ha! I told you! Everyone knows Midnight Storm,”
Gavin said, turning back to his friends with a satisfied smirk.
“Don’t change the subject,”
Mrs. Kemp said. “Who is the young woman in your guest room?”
“Her name is Hannah and she’s just visiting. She needed a nice, quiet getaway,”
Ethan said pointedly.
“We should invite her to join us for book club,”
Mrs. Blumenthal said. “I bet she’d have lots of interesting things to say about this week’s selection.”
“You have a book club?”
Baz asked.
“Of course, we do. Strictly romance novels,”
Mrs. Greene said.
“The filthier the better,”
Mrs. Kemp added with a wink.
“I bet you’d like this week’s book, Ethan,”
Mrs. White said.
“I’m not sure I would,”
he said, the hair on the back of his neck prickling.
He should have known better. He should have sensed the old woman knew something. Hadn’t she already said she knew everything that happened in Aster Bay? Not that he really believed it, except…well, maybe he believed it a little.
“It’s a lovely medieval romance,”
Mrs. Kemp offered. “The Lady’s Knights. That’s ‘knights’ with a ‘k,’ you see—and there’s more than one of them.”
She bobbed her white eyebrows suggestively and Ethan felt all the blood drain from his face.
“Not sure why you’d think I’d be interested in something like that,”
Ethan said carefully.
Mrs. White ran an assessing eye over him, like she could see right through him but was choosing to let him keep his secret for now. “My mistake,”
she said at last.
“We should host a book club meeting at this year’s Reader Fest,”
Mrs. Blumenthal said.
“It’s the least they could do to give us a space for a meeting since we’re practically planning the whole thing,”
Mrs. Greene said.
“You’re planning Reader Fest?”
Gavin asked. “I thought the library was in charge of that event.”
“Time to shake it up, don’t you think?”
Mrs. Kemp said.
“Tell your lady friend she has a standing invitation to join us,”
Mrs. White said.
He definitely wouldn’t be doing that. “I definitely will.”
“What was that about?”
Jamie asked after the grandma gang had finally left.
Ethan shuffled the papers on his desk, avoiding his friend’s eye. “I have no idea.”