Chapter 9 - Hana
HANA
“Well, I’m glad you’re still alive,” I declared, refilling Amber’s mug with fresh coffee as she inhaled the waffles Chef had made her.
“Sorry. I’m a shit friend. But in my defence, I was busy.”
I leaned forward so no one else could hear our conversation. “Doing what?”
She lifted her eyes from her plate, a smile curling her lips as a blush flooded her cheeks. “Jarrid.”
“When did he leave?”
She glanced at the clock on the wall. “About an hour ago.”
Spluttering, I put the coffeepot down. “He stayed until this morning. You do know it’s Monday, right?”
She wiggled her brows. “I really like him. He’s… God, I’ve never met anyone like him.”
“Do you know anything about him?”
“I know he knows what he’s doing in the bedroom. What else do I need to know?”
I placed my hand over hers. “Be careful, yeah?” I knew I hardly knew Amber, but I’d not had many friends in my life, and I liked that she was an added bonus to me moving here.
“Promise. And what happened with you when you left?”
I rolled my eyes, trying not to think about the giant man who stepped out of the shadows like he’d been following me the entire time.
My brain screamed to be wary around him, but my intuition told me he was a good guy, and my pussy, well, she couldn’t be trusted at this point because she really liked how Roman Black looked and how he made her feel.
“Roman appeared and insisted on giving me a lift home.”
She coughed as she choked on her food. “Roman Black gave you a lift home?”
“Is that so weird?”
“Roman Black. I mean, he’s only been in town five minutes, but the consensus is he’s a walking red flag. He picked you up and took you home?”
“Yep.”
“And did you invite him in?”
I shook my head. “No. Why would I?”
“Well, I’ve met my giant, muscly man who can fling me over his shoulder, but if I hadn’t, Roman Black… oof. He’s so hot and unobtainable, which makes him even hotter.”
“Unobtainable? He seems to be everywhere, so I’m not sure that’s true.”
She tapped her index finger on her lips. “I think the giant stranger has a crush on the new girl.”
I picked up a towel from the side and flicked it at her, deliberately missing. “I mean, he is hot, but men never want me.”
She paused with a forkful of waffle halfway to her mouth. “You’re stunning. What do you mean, men never want you?”
I shrugged, noticing a group of what looked like tourists entering and taking a seat at one of the larger tables. “I never get a second date. It’s been like that for years.”
“Never?” She said the question so slowly, it felt like someone scraping their nails down a chalkboard.
“Never.”
Her lips curled into a soft smile. “Well then, they’re dickheads, but don’t discount Roman. I’m sure that man’s made differently.”
I hummed out a reply as I grabbed a pile of menus to hand to the new customers while I tried not to let myself think about Roman Black again.
I finished work in the early evening, leaving the other staff to do the rest of the shift. Exhausted, I stumbled into my house, bracing myself for the chill in the air that usually greeted me, but something was different… warmth washed over me.
What the hell?
Dashing to my bedroom, I pressed my hand against the radiator, swearing when the heat burnt my fingers.
Then, just to check I wasn’t dreaming, I moved from one room to another, discovering the unfamiliar heat in every one.
Confused, I shook my head, but the warmth of the place seemed to dull the questions I had about how the hell my ancient boiler suddenly seemed to have started working.
Deciding I’d make the most of it before it inevitably broke again, I stripped off my clothes and walked naked from the bedroom to the bathroom, turning on the water, noticing the pressure had improved, and the water quickly reached the perfect temperature.
“What the hell is going on? Have I got a secret fairy godmother who is fixing my shit?”
Just as I was about to step into the shower, a thought hit me: “Fucking Roman Black.”