Chapter Twenty-Two
Hannah
I'd always thought that after I signed the divorce papers, I’d never care about what Gary was doing. But one sunny morning, as I was waiting for Chase at the coffee shop right around the corner, I was proven wrong.
At home, I’d uploaded all the information about the inn on the platform for the investors, and I was now checking to see how it looked when accessing the platform from a phone.
They’d done a decent job with the web page. I refreshed it a few times, hoping to see a message, but I knew I was being ridiculous. I’d literally finished uploading everything an hour ago.
I closed the browser and opened Instagram. I followed several home decor influencers and was curious to see what they’d posted lately.
Instead, I was faced with a wedding photo of my ex and a woman I didn't know.
How is this possible? I blocked him from all social media.
But then I realized a common friend had posted this. Well, he’d been Gary's friend more than mine, but still.
I wasn’t really sure why this bothered me. Clearly we weren’t meant to be, so maybe his new wife would fulfill all his dreams. But it stung that I wasn’t enough for him, and when we divorced, I was certain no one would be. Though with time, I realized he wasn’t everything for me either.
But Chase... he could be my everything.
"Good morning," Chase said, jolting me from my intense thoughts. I nearly dropped my phone. He was holding two coffee cups.
"Hey, you bought coffee already."
He kissed me long and deep, then pulled back and sat at the table next to me. "What's wrong?"
"You could feel it, huh?"
"You're tense. Something happened?"
I held the phone, showing him the picture. "That's my ex. It just came up on my feed that he got married."
"That's got to be tough," Chase said. He set the cups on the table, then put his hand on my right shoulder, brushing his thumb over it in a circle. The movement was soothing. "Do you want to talk about it?"
"I'm not sure. I mean, I don't know why I'm reacting to it at all."
"You were married. I don't think you can be completely neutral."
"I think it was just unexpected."
Chase stilled. "Do you still have feelings for him?"
"No. Honestly, what I felt for him died long before we signed the papers. He made sure to destroy my feelings for him."
He took my hand, turning it around and kissing my wrist.
"You're lost in thought," I said. "Why?"
"I'm just thinking how to lift your mood."
"What are the options?" I asked, infusing my voice with happiness. It was a bit artificial, but I firmly believed in faking it until you made it.
"I'm still thinking. By the way, what are you doing tomorrow morning?"
"Nothing, why?"
"My parents want my brothers and me at the store to clean up some things the previous owner left in the basement. Would you like to join us?"
"Yes," I said, and just like that, my happiness was real. He hadn't joked when he meant that he really planned to introduce me to his parents.
"I’d like you to see the place. It means a lot to me."
"Sure, I can't wait." I took a sip of my coffee as Chase slid closer to me. "Hey, you haven't touched your coffee."
"No, I want to taste you. Fuck, we need to meet somewhere that's not so close to the office."
"Nope. You just need to behave,” I teased.
"Never."
***
On Saturday morning, Chase picked me up from home. I had a surprise for him, and as I walked to the car with a huge grin, I dangled a small gift bag in front of me. I also had a light jacket on my arm. San Diego had amazing weather even in October, but evenings could get a bit chilly. I didn’t know how long we’d stay at the store.
"What's that?" he asked as he came to open the door.
"I told my neighbor yesterday that I’m seeing Jeremy today, and she said she still didn’t find Mario Kart , but she gave me a game that's apparently all the rage.”
"You got him a gift? You are magic."
"I can't wait to see his face when we give it to him," I said.
Chase kissed my temple and then feathered his mouth down to my ear. I shuddered as he stepped back, opening the car door.
As I climbed in, my dress rode up a few inches, earning a groan from my boyfriend.
I giggled. "Oh, that's how we're starting the day, huh?
"Yes," he agreed. “How about putting on pants?”
“Chase, there’s nothing wrong with my dress. It’s not revealing at all.”
“You look fucking sexy in it.”
“I’m not changing.”
“Hannah—”
“Chase!”
I stared him down until he closed the door. Then he walked around the car.
“By the way, do you have plans today or tomorrow?” he asked once inside.
“No. I figured your parents might need help both days, so I’ve left them free.”
Chase smiled smugly. “Excellent.”
"So, what's the plan for today?"
"My parents said the basement needs a bit of a cleanup, so today they want to sort through everything the previous owner left. My brothers are coming too."
"Should we buy breakfast for everyone?"
"No, Griffin is in charge of breakfast. Wyatt is bringing coffee. Knox and Finn will be in charge of lunch.”
“So what are you bringing?" I asked.
"You."
"What do you mean?" I ran my hand through my hair, all the way down to the ends.
"Mom was delighted when I told her that you're joining us too. I haven't seen her this excited in a long time."
"Why?"
"I don't think I've introduced her to anyone I dated in years."
I wanted to stop the car, straddle him right there, and kiss him thoroughly.
We arrived at the store ten minutes later. It was close to La Jolla and surrounded by modern condo buildings. I was betting that Elijah had gotten tons of requests from real estate developers. No wonder he’d been so cagey. Chase must have paid a fortune for it.
I stepped out of the car, holding the gift bag in one hand. Chase took my free hand, leading me to the entrance.
The two-story building was made out of limestone. The windowsills were white and looked a bit worn, but I liked that. It gave the place a rustic charm. As did the old-fashioned, arched wooden door. It was cozy both on the outside and the inside, although it was in complete disarray.
There were boxes everywhere on the first floor. A small counter with shelves behind it spread around the entire floor. But there was no one here.
Chase led me through a small door that probably connected to a supply room. My jaw dropped when he opened the next door. This wasn’t a supply room. If anything, I’d call it the sunroom. It overlooked a cute and sizable backyard. But it was empty too.
"Holy shit, this room is amazing," I exclaimed.
“I know. My brothers and I spent a lot of time back here. My parents set up desks along two of the walls so we could do our homework after school. Mom liked us being here because they could check on us from time to time.” He smiled, pointing to where they all sat.
I wrapped my arms around his torso, placing my chin on his sternum and looking up at him. Chase was fairly tall, over six feet, and I tucked nicely under his chin, just shy of five feet seven. "I'm glad you could get it back."
He squeezed me against him. "I'm happy too."
"Jesus, give us a warning, will you?” Wyatt asked as he and Griffin entered the room.
“Or maybe you can announce yourself,” Chase retaliated.
Griffin nodded. “Yeah, we’re definitely gonna learn to do that. Do you need us to go and leave you two to jumping each other’s bones?”
I blushed violently.
“Dude, you need a bit more tact,” Wyatt said.
“Nah, Hannah’s used to us. Well, to me,” Griffin replied.
“Fuck off,” Chase said good-naturedly.
Griffin was holding various bags with breakfast. Wyatt had a dozen or so cups of coffee.
"We'll help you out." Chase took a few bags from Griffin to lighten the load.
"Where is everyone?" Griffin asked.
"We assumed they’d be in the back, but I think they're in the basement," Chase said.
Wyatt peeked into my gift bag. "You got Jeremy a video game?"
I nodded. "Yep."
"He's going to love you." Wyatt looked at me, flashing a charming smile. Then he chuckled.
"What?" Chase asked him sharply.
"Nothing. Just realizing I should give Knox and Finn credit more often for their ideas."
I grinned. “You definitely should.”
“But not too much credit,” Griffin countered, “or it’ll go to their heads.”
“Are you two just trying to buy time so you don’t have to work?” Chase asked.
Wyatt cocked a brow. “That’s rich considering we found you mauling poor Hannah.”
I blushed. Again. Wow, this morning was off to a stellar start. I’d forgotten how the Sterling brothers behaved once they were out of the office.
Chase shook his head, but instead of retaliating, he led us to the basement.
The air was humid as we went farther down the stairs.
“This place needs ventilation,” Griffin said.
“I agree,” Wyatt replied. “I’m gonna make some calls today and get them some dehumidifying machines.”
I loved that the boys wanted to make life easier for their parents in every way they could.
We stepped into the basement and saw that Knox, Finn, and the brothers' parents were already here. Duncan and Jeremy were still missing.
Susan and Bruce, who were each holding coffee cups, turned and saw us.
"Darlings, you're here." Susan came straight to me, passing Wyatt before hugging me. "I'm so glad to see you again."
I hugged her right back, putting my head on her shoulder, losing myself in her arms. "I’m happy to be here. This place is amazing. I can’t wait to see what you do with it.”
Susan and Bruce looked at each other, then said, “We’re sorting through all the options just yet. Once we get things cleared away, that might help us make our final decisions.”
After she stepped back, I put the bag with Jeremy’s gift on the makeshift table they’d made out of boxes. Then I set the bag with bagels I’d taken from Griffin on it too.
“What’s that?” Susan asked, pointing to the gift bag.
"Oh, just a little gift for Jeremy."
Her eyes glinted as she looked from me to Chase. “You’re such a darling to bring him something. He certainly loves gifts.”
We all laughed as Bruce approached and gave me a slight hug. "Hannah, good to see you."
“You too, sir.”
“Bruce. Please call me Bruce.”
I nodded, feeling like part of the family now.
"Damn, one of us shows up with a girl and they don’t even notice the rest of us anymore,” Griffin said.
Susan rolled her eyes. “Next time, you show up with a girl. Now, let’s eat all those goodies you brought, and then we can get to work.”
“What needs to be done?” Chase asked while we took out the bagels.
I immediately bit into mine, then grabbed one of the coffee cups and quickly took a swig.
“The boxes are things I brought. Cleanings supplies and tools,” Bruce said. “But we’re not going to open them until we slog through what Elijah left and toss out what we don’t need.”
“That’s a great plan. Otherwise, you’ll get overwhelmed,” I agreed.
"He took almost everything from upstairs, except he left a fully furnished bedroom and kitchen appliances,” Bruce went on. “He lived here too, above the store.”
“The kitchen will stay as it is,” Susan said. “In fact, I’ll treat you all to brownies later today.”
Chase turned to her. "The kitchen is usable?"
"Yes," Bruce said. "Because the sale finalized so quickly, we easily transferred the electric and gas billings. Your mom baked pies several times this week.”
“And we can attest that they were delicious,” Knox said, and Finn nodded in agreement.
“We liked them too.” Griffin pointed between him and Wyatt.
Chase looked at everyone. "You came here before? Why didn’t you tell me? I would’ve stopped by to help.”
"Nonsense," Susan said. "I told them not to disturb you two."
"She really did," Finn said. "Imagine how much self-restraint it took not to do the exact opposite. I was like a dog with a bone."
"Knox, Finn, what has gotten into you two?” Susan inquired.
“The same thing that's gotten to us," Griffin said.
Bruce shook his head. "Spread out through the room. Let’s start by looking through all the stuff lying around and sorting it into 'keep it' or 'throw it away' piles.”
“Hannah, darling, I need your help in that corner," Susan said.
I nodded. "Sure, put me to work."
We walked together to what seemed like a shelf full of books.
"I was so happy when Chase said you were coming too. I really wanted to apologize for the way I ambushed you the other day,” Susan told me once we were away from the others.
“It was unexpected, but I’m not mad,” I assured her. “I was happy to meet you two.”
“Oh good. That takes a weight off my chest.” She smiled. “Let’s look at every book and see if it's in good condition. If it is, then I might even take it upstairs to my floor and put it on an actual shelf.”
“You’ve decided what you want to do with the building?”
“Pretty much. The plan is that I'll offer pottery classes on the second floor. Bruce wants to open a fishing store. There's no need for a general store like the one we used to run. If I’m honest, it was outdated even back then, and we struggled a lot. It was one of the reasons for the tension between us. But now, he can do what he enjoys, and he loves fishing and all the equipment that goes with it.”
She spoke with a lot of affection about her ex-husband, which surprised me because Chase made it sound like his parents were at odds.
"We're so grateful for our boys looking out for us all the time," she went on.
"It’s a kid's privilege to be able to do that."
"Well, I think it should be the other way around. We always insist they don't have to do anything, but they've got minds of their own. And Chase... well, you know how he is. We'll never be able to repay him."
"He just wants you to be happy," I assured her.
"Even as a kid he was like that. Always making sure those around him were taken care of, even Duncan, although they were close in age.”
Chase truly had this desire to see everyone around him happy. It filled my heart with joy. The grumpy best man actually had a soft side—and I meant that in a very attractive and sexy way.
Susan continued, “Being here reminds me so much of when the boys were little. They were all such pranksters until Bruce and I divorced. It hit them hard. I couldn't protect them from it, as much as I wanted to."
"You did your best, but some things are hard. Having been divorced myself, it’s something you really don’t see coming until it happens.”
She nodded. “True.”
We started dusting off the books but ended up putting each of them in the “Keep” box because they were in good condition.
"After that, Chase was even more protective of his brothers, and so was Duncan. Knox and Finn seemed to take it the easiest. They were younger, and I don't think they understood half of what was happening. They were just happy that they were getting two Christmases, two birthday parties, things like that. Wyatt and Griffin drew the short stick because they weren't old enough to understand, but they knew things weren’t good. I'm not proud to admit it, but Bruce and I could barely be in the same room and not fight after the divorce.”
“Situations like these are tough for everyone involved.”
She nodded. “True. For a while there, I thought none of my babies would ever bring home women.”
“But Duncan's got Jeremy. Having a grandchild has to be fun.”
“Yes, and he’s such a gift. But the relationship with Jeremy’s mother didn’t work out at all. It left him with scars. I swear, when Jeremy told us about you, I figured there would be something between you and Duncan. But the second I saw you and Chase, I knew you were meant for each other.”
"Really?" I asked with a smile. That sounded like something Gran would say. Whenever she talked about Mom and Dad, I’d hang on to every word.
"Yes. You two give off such a good energy when you're together. I've never seen my son so fulfilled." She looked up and winced. "Oops. I think he knows we're talking about him because he's coming over here.”
Chase stepped right next to me. "Mom, stop monopolizing Hannah."
"I was helping her with the books," I said.
"Yeah, and she was talking your ear off. I heard my name a few times." He put an arm around my waist.
Susan winked at me as if to say, "See? That's exactly what I mean."
“What's up with the books?" Chase asked. We’d filled two boxes.
“They go to my floor," Susan replied. "I’m keeping them.”
"All right, we'll take them up." Finn took one of the boxes. Chase took the other.
"Damn, these are heavy,” Finn said.
I glanced around the basement. There were three piles that were clearly junk. Wyatt and Griffin had filled another box with what looked like tools.
“I’m gonna put the brownies in the oven,” Susan said. “It’s time for a break.”
“We’ve only worked for an hour,” Griffin said. “But that’s fine by me.”
Susan turned toward him. “The brownies need to bake about forty minutes, so there's still time for you to finish sorting your corner.”
He grimaced. “I walked into that all by myself.”
“All right, boys, let’s give it our all for forty minutes and then claim our prize,” Bruce said.
I moved over to Griffin and Knox, who were looking through a stack of magazines.
It didn't seem like much was worth keeping. We combed through a stack of toys next, then old silverware.
Forty minutes later on the dot, Susan came down.
“Brownies are ready,” she announced, glancing around.
There were only three more boxes labeled “Keep”; the rest were going to the junkyard.
Bruce rubbed his hands. “Can’t wait. You always made a mean brownie.”
“Haven’t done it in a while, though. I’ve gotten rusty.”
“Nah, you’re like red wine. You just get finer,” Bruce said with a wink.
The two of them led the way upstairs.
"Is it just me, or are Mom and Dad flirting with each other?" Wyatt asked once they were out of earshot.
"Yeah," Chase said, stunned. "It looks that way to me."
"Fucking hell, what's going on?" Griffin exclaimed.
It wasn't my place to say anything, but I did see a future in which those two might find a way back to each other. Especially if they were in close proximity every day.
“Chill, you two,” Knox said. “We should be glad they’re on good terms.”
“Nah, I’m with our older brothers,” Finn replied. “Something fishy’s going on.”
I took the bag with Jeremy’s gift and headed up the stairs. Chase walked right behind me, keeping a hand up at my lower back as if he wanted to protect me constantly. And I loved that.
"Anyone notice that they went really soft on Chase?" Finn asked.
"Next time we should all come with dates. Mom's going to be all over that and make us work less," Knox replied, and I couldn't help but laugh.
Chase shook his head. “I dare you to actually date someone seriously enough to bring them to meet Mom and Dad.”
Knox smiled at me. "Hannah, just so you know, this is all because of you. Now that he's managed to catch you, he feels even fuller of himself than before."
"I never thought that was possible," Finn added.
I looked at them over my shoulder. "Really? Is that why you've been giving him a hard time ever since the wedding?"
"Someone's got to bust his balls," Knox replied.
"That is true," I said, and then Chase pinched my ass.
"Hey!" I pushed back lightly, straight into his crotch.
He growled. "You can't be on anyone's side but mine."
I grinned. "Duly noted."