Chapter Two
Hannah
“Come on, Chase. We’ve got a lot of catching up to do,” Josh said, whisking Chase away as soon as he finished checking in. I got my keys only seconds later. A bellboy was taking my suitcase and dress to the room.
Blair hugged me again, and I soaked in her embrace, breathing in deeply. She smelled like roses. It was her signature scent from the hair oil she'd used since we were kids.
"Where's Mom?" I asked.
"She's in my room. Come on. Let's get you to relax a bit. You seem so tense. Everything okay?"
"Yes," I replied quickly.
"I totally forgot to tell you that Chase was going to be on the flight too. I was actually going to ask you to get some intel on him. I'm a bit intimidated."
"Why?" I asked as she led me through the hotel. The pink-and-white colors from the lobby were mirrored inside too—mostly on the ceiling and the walls.
I knew Josh was wealthy, and I loved him to the moon and back for giving my sister the wedding of her dreams.
"Josh mentioned that he's a bit of a marriage skeptic, so I was wondering if he’d try to, I don't know, change Josh's mind or something."
I pressed my lips together. What could I say? Based on his attitude so far, I wouldn't put it past him. But I couldn't form an opinion on the man just because I'd sparred with him. Maybe I caught him on a bad day.
When we arrived in front of the room, Blair reached in her bag—probably searching for the key card—but I simply knocked at the door.
"Mom, we’re here," I announced.
Blair grinned as the door flew open. Mom was smiling from ear to ear. I looked more like her than Blair. I was petite, and my hair was blonde. Blair was a head taller, and her hair was light brown with blonde strands that really lightened up when she was in the sun for too long. She looked more like Dad, though we both had his brown eyes.
"Come here, girl," Mom said, hugging me.
"Okay, so what are we doing tonight? I'm really sorry that I got here so late. Is there still time for me to do my chores? Otherwise, I can just wake up early and do them tomorrow morning."
"No need for that. Chase has like a million brothers, and he asked them to take care of things,” Blair said.
Interesting .
"So tonight is just for us girls," she continued. "Sort of like a bachelorette party."
"I wanted to throw you one, but you said no." I tried not to sound accusatory, but I would've loved to do that for my sister.
"I don't need one. Josh isn't having one either. We decided that neither of us needs that nonsense. Spending time with the two of you is all I want. We've got Skinny Pop and a ton of other snacks."
"Come on, let's sit on the bed. Is Josh going to join us?" I double-checked.
"No, he's hanging out with Chase and his brothers at the bar. He’s actually spending the night in a separate room."
"How come?" Mom asked.
"We were going to do that for the wedding day anyway, so we can get dressed without seeing each other. So we decided to do it tonight too. That way I get to spend as much time as possible with my two favorite ladies before I'll be Mrs. Josh Hanson my whole life."
Mom smiled at her. "Darling, I can't believe you're getting married. You girls grew up fast."
Blair opened the mini fridge, grabbing a lot of packages.
We climbed on the bed and spread the snacks around us.
"Who's going to give you away?" Mom asked.
I sucked in a breath, and Blair went completely still. I was surprised this hadn’t come up sooner. We lost Dad in a car crash when I was eight years old and Blair was six. Of course, I'd figured my sister worked something out. At my own wedding, I just eliminated that part of the ceremony.
"Duncan. He’s one of Chase's brothers."
"Oh good. I’m so excited for you, dear." Mom smiled, but it was a bit wobbly; no doubt this whole event was bringing back tons of memories.
I got up off the bed. "You know what? I know this isn't a bachelorette party, but I still think we need some drinks."
"You’re right," Blair said. "There are two bars. The boys are in the big one, which is near the entrance where we came in, and the other one's at the beach. Actually, I think the one at the beach is closer."
“All right, I’ll head to that one, get our drinks, and bring them back here. Room service might take too long, and I can be really quick.” I was curious to explore that area anyway, and I didn't feel like running into Chase again this evening; I wanted to get a chance to gather my wits before that. I wasn't sure if Josh and Blair picked up on the strange interaction between us. I was going to search for him tomorrow morning and maybe clear the air before we went on with our duties. Since he was the best man, I was sure we’d spend some time together.
My heart raced with the prospect, but then I chastised myself. Don't be silly, Hannah . He’s a grump, and he's Josh's best man. All you have to do is get along with him until the wedding's over .
After we all decided on what bottle of champagne we wanted, I hustled down the hotel corridors, noticing how quiet they were. But the second I stepped outside, I heard voices and music. I followed the sound of clinking glasses. I almost wanted to call Mom and Blair and tell them to come out here. It was amazing, even though the breeze was chilly and the air salty. I even liked the faint odor of seaweed. My sister was right—August was a great month for a wedding. I instantly felt more relaxed.
But all that disappeared when I noticed Chase. What's he doing out here? The guys are supposed to be in the lobby bar.
He was standing in front of the counter, eyes trained on me. He’d changed since we arrived. Now he was wearing a black T-shirt with short sleeves, and it looked great on him—even better than the dress shirt he wore earlier.
“Hannah,” he said in a low voice, and I shuddered.
Was it the wind? The way he said my name? I wasn’t sure I wanted to know.
“What are you doing here?" I asked. "I thought you and the guys were at the bar up front.”
“They ran out of ice, and they were moving so slowly that I decided to go get it myself.”
I barely bit back laughter. “Of course you did.”
“You didn’t tell me you were coming to a wedding,” he said.
“What would've been different?” I asked. Wiggling my eyebrows, I smiled.
“I certainly would've made an effort to be... civil. Thank you for not mentioning our encounter to Josh and Blair.”
Aha, meaning deep down even he knew he’d been acting out.
“Did they find your luggage?”
“Yes. I’m getting it tomorrow afternoon. My gift is in there. That’s why I was so...”
“Uptight?” I teased.
He pinned me with his gaze. I shimmied in my spot.
“Yes, Hannah.”
Actually, that made sense. If the airlines had misplaced my wedding gift, I would’ve gone off the rails. I could give him a pass on that.
“Were your clothes in there too?”
“No, just the gift.”
“What can I get you, miss?” the bartender asked.
“A bottle of champagne and three glasses. I’m going to take it to the room.” I glanced at Chase, looking for his reaction.
He held up his hands. “You won’t hear a comment from me.”
We both laughed, and I had to ask, “So you only police my alcohol intake at the airport?”
“Yes, because then I had skin in the game. I was sitting next to you.” His eyes glinted. God, he seemed even more handsome than in the airport. Maybe because he was more relaxed and didn’t have a stick up his ass anymore.
“Hey, what’s taking so long, man?” Two guys came up next to us.
“And you must be the famous Hannah,” one of them said.
“Oh, I’m famous? That’s news to me,” I replied. “Who are you two?”
“I’m Griffin.”
“I’m Duncan,” the other one said.
“They’re my brothers,” Chase clarified.
Now that he mentioned it, I could see the resemblance between them. They had dark hair and green eyes and looked like they spent all their free time at the gym—either that or they had amazing genes.
“Duncan, I heard you’re going to walk my sister down the aisle tomorrow,” I said. “Thank you.”
“It’s my pleasure.”
“It was a tough call between me and this one.” He put a hand on Chase’s shoulder. “But since he’s the best man, she’s stuck with me. Between the two of us, I’m the best choice.”
I laughed. “Hm, well, based on our meeting in the airport, I tend to agree with you.”
Duncan frowned, and Griffin stared at me.
“What do you mean?” he asked.
I grimaced. “You didn’t tell them, huh?”
“No,” Chase replied in a low voice.
“Oh... when they said famous, I assumed that—” Chase had said he appreciated me not outing him to Blair and Josh, but when Duncan knew me, I thought Chase must have said something to his brothers.
“They know who you are because you’re Blair’s sister,” Chase responded.
“Tell us what?” Duncan asked.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to rat you out," I apologized. "I didn’t tell my sister or Josh.”
“We’re still waiting to hear what happened,” Griffin said.
Chase shrugged, pointing between us. “We met in the airport.”
“Let me guess,” Griffin said. “He made you wish you were getting on another plane?”
I jerked my head back. “Yeah, that. Exactly.”
Griffin chuckled. “To his defense, he’s had a shit week.”
“I don’t need any of you coming to my defense,” Chase said.
“I disagree,” I replied, batting my eyelashes. “You need all the help you can get. You did not make a good first impression.”
“That’s not his forte,” Griffin said. “Truly, I don’t know one person who’s met him and liked him from the get-go.”
Chase took the three ice bags the bartender handed him and shoved one in each of his brothers' arms. “Stop talking. Go back with the ice.”
“To his defense,” I jumped in, “I was also egging him on.”
“He has that effect on people,” Griffin informed me.
“See you around, Hannah. It was nice meeting you.” Duncan tipped his chin at me.
“Yeah, you too,” I said.
The second they left, I looked back at Chase. The man needed some teasing, and I was up to the task.
“Are you sure you’re related to them?” I asked.
He cocked a brow. “Why?”
“Because I like them so much more than you.”
Something glinted in his eyes. It was a different look than before, but I couldn’t pinpoint it.
“You came here only to insult me?”
“No, I came for the champagne. But I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to tease you. How is Josh? Happy?”
“Why wouldn’t he be?” he asked, probably picking up on the trepidation in my voice.
I frowned. “No reason.”
Suddenly, Chase went into a defense pose. “If Blair thinks about dumping my best friend—”
“No, of course she’s not thinking that. Why would you jump to that conclusion?” I snapped.
“I don’t know your sister.”
“That doesn’t give you the right to assume the worst.”
He cleared his throat. “I know. But Josh went through a bad experience. He nearly got married once before. She... wasn’t who he thought she was.”
That could explain why he was overprotective, but still.
Then I remembered what my sister said and pointed at him. “I hope you’re not putting any ideas in Josh’s mind.”
He shook his head, looking even more annoyed. “Despite all appearances, Hannah, I’m not a jackass. Why would I do that?”
“Word is you might not be a big fan of weddings.”
“I’m not, but that doesn’t mean I can’t be happy and supportive of my best friend.” I’d clearly pissed him off, because he suddenly dismissed himself. “Have a great evening. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
He moved quickly past me, holding the bag of ice over his shoulder. He had impressive muscles in his arms. In fact, I was willing to bet all his muscles were fabulous.
Now you’ve done it, Hannah . You were supposed to clear the air, remember?