Chapter 35 – Hannah
Laying on the beach wrapped up in each other is nice. The weather is beautiful for this kind of thing. The breeze lightly blows through the cabana, causing the curtains to flutter. His hand sinks back into my hair, cupping the back of my head, opening and closing his hand, giving me the most delicious scalp massage. “There’s never a shortage of surprises with you, is there? You ran away and quit your job in a two-week timeframe.” I chuckle at the ridiculousness of the situation. It was random from one angle, but from another, it was a long time coming.
“I think, just like you, there was a lot coming at me from every direction over a short amount of time. It kind of blew up all at once. But I don’t regret the job change. I still get to write when it comes to press releases, but I get to make a difference, and I love that.”
“If you could do anything in the world, what would it be?” He asks. I don’t even have to think about my answer.
“I’d get paid to have a never-ending supply of books and coffee, then never leave my bed.” His eyes crinkle as he chuckles. I never had a fairy tale romance, a big group of friends, or a big loving family, so I lived vicariously through the characters in my books. And to be honest, they’ve provided me comfort that I haven’t found anywhere else. I get to experience things in their life without having the heartbreak on my own. I get to experience love in their happily ever after. A good book has never let me down.
“Speaking of books, have you started the one I got you yet?” A blush creeps over my face as I grab my bag, pulling out my book. He sees where my bookmark is, and his mouth falls open . A smile pulls at the corners, making him look like the Hamburgler. “You’ve read that much since this morning, or is that where you randomly put the bookmark?”
I tuck a loose piece of hair behind my ear and look down at the book, my teeth finding my bottom lip. “I may have read half of it already...”
His head falls back, and he laughs, “Okay, well, I wanted to read it together, but apparently, you’re a little speed reader.” LE GASP! My hand flies to my chest. Did I just hear that right?! He wanted to read a book together. Not just any book, a book I told him about in July.
“Greyson Wilder, are you trying to get me to propose to you right now?!” My eyes widen as a smile slowly stretches across his face, my cheeks heating as the words I just said settle in.
Awkward. “Uhh... I mean.”
“Hannah, if you think you’ll be the one proposing, let go of that idea right now. Because I will straight up say no just so that I can propose to you.” Are we really talking about this right now? I am so uncomfortable but so happy at the same time.
“Okay, okay, no proposing, but do you really want to read this together? Because that would be a dream.”
He smiles that big, beautiful smile that makes my heart so happy. “Yeah, I bought myself one too.” He pulls a copy of the exact same book out from behind one of the pillows.
“Want me to read it to you?” I ask softly.
He looks at me and nods, “Or I can catch up to where you are, and we can read it together next week.”
I take the book from his hand and open it to the beginning, “No, it’s okay. I’ll start at the beginning. We can go on this journey together.” A man who wants to do something I like for the sole purpose of spending time together, where has he been all my life?
We spend the next hour reading; when the sun goes down, he pulls out his phone and turns the flashlight on, holding it so I can see the words on the page. If my heart weren’t already galloping like the beautiful Appaloosas in this book, it would have taken off the second that light turned on. I’ve been leaning against him this whole time; I can’t ignore how right it feels to be near him. To be touching him, it’s like my body comes alive the second we're close. I’m not mad about it.
“Okay, so let me get this straight... They were neighbors when they were younger; they decide they have feelings for each other, kiss a little, then her mom ups and moves them away from her abusive dad in the middle of the night, and they don’t speak to each other again for over a decade?”
“Yeah, but isn't that sweet? I bet their love story is going to be epic. I mean, they have to end up together, right?! Oh, holy cannoli, I need to read the last page of the book, or I’m going to die of anticipation.” I start to flip to the back of the book, but he stops me by placing his hands over mine to stop me.
“No, we’re going on the journey together, remember? Let’s watch how the story unfolds. Please, it’ll be our thing.” I pull my cheek in between my teeth and give it a small bite; this man is so adorable it hurts. “Do I need to keep your book with me so you don’t spoil it for yourself?”
“NO!” His eyes widen at my outburst before he smiles, his arms wrap around my shoulders and pull me into him. My shoulder rests on his chest, my legs thrown sideways over his.
“I had fun tonight, Kitten. Thanks for hea ring me out.” His hands are running up and down my arm; a shiver rolls through my body at the movement. “Are you cold?” I shake my head, wrapping my arms around his waist.
“No, I’m happy. Really happy.” He pulls his head back to look at me, those light blue eyes looking infinitely brighter in the moonlight. They search my face. I'm not sure what they’re looking for. Eventually, they land on my lips and off takes my heart again.
His hand moves from my arm to the back of my head, fingers threaded through my hair as his lips find mine. This time, his kiss is full of confidence, full of longing. Full of unspoken promises. He’s just happy to be here with me. And that’s enough for the happy tears to well up behind my closed eyes. He’s here, and he's choosing me.
It's been two weeks since Greyson and I sat at the beach; we’ve kept up our mini book club. Abby insisted on joining, so we restarted Hell or Highwater two days after we read the first few chapters on the beach. I gave Abby my copy, and Greyson and I shared his. He comes over every Wednesday night, armed with dinner. The three of us sit on the couch, eat and read, then talk about what we’ve read. Tonight is week three, and we’re finally at the point where I was on the first night.
I’m basically vibrating with anticipation, I’m an absolute sucker for romance, but something about this story makes me feel a mix of emotions. It makes me feel like I could be strong like Addison, or maybe it’s the way she’s let herself trust Hunt and break free of her past and all the hurt it brought. Maybe my subconscious is asking me to do the same.
It's one of the things I love about reading; I’m never the same person I was when I started. While the book takes you on a journey through the character's point of view, I feel like it also takes me on a journey. One of self-discovery, little pieces of characters in every book I read call to me; they heal parts of me I sometimes don’t even realize need to be healed. There’s a knock on the door; my smile grows as my body heats with anticipation. Walking over, I unlock the door and gasp before breaking into a fit of giggles.
“Ummmm... what the heck?” Standing outside my door is a smiling Greyson and a frowning Tatum. And it’s not his normal frown, no. This frown looks like he was dragged out of bed with no warning and thrown into a cage fight. Not only that, but he’s also holding a huge bouquet of Daisies. One of the flowers they talk about in the book. He grunts and steps into the apartment without a word. Greyson looks like a cat who just caught a mouse.
“What did you do, Grey?” He wiggles his eyebrows, a smirk playing on his lips. Those damn kissable lips.
“Did I hear the door?! Thank God because I’m dying to find out what happens now that Addison...” Abby turns the corner, almost running into Tate and his vase full of flowers. She squeals, her face turning bright red.
“Oh, hell no.” Her shock turns into a gl are as she crosses her arms. In true Tate fashion, he mumbles a “terrifying pixie” before thrusting the flowers in her face. I look at Greyson, who is still standing by the door with that big, goofy smile on his face. He gives me a wink; I can’t help but shake my head.
“We brought tacos. Are you okay with that?” Greyson asks, holding up the bag I didn’t notice until now.
I rub my hands together, “tacos and hot cowboys?! I don’t think there’s a better combination.” Tate whips his head around, narrowing his eyes at me.
“Hot cowboys? What are you talking about?” I gotta give it to Grey; he kept Tate in the dark to get him here and held himself together as best he could. But at that question, he breaks. Keeling over, he braces his hand on the side table by the door, shoulders shaking as he tries to get a hold of himself.
“Welcome to book club, Tate.” I squeak out trying to curb my own laughter as a murderous look takes over his face.
“You’re dead to me.” He points at Greyson, who’s still laughing. Abby looks like she’s seen a ghost but is smiling at the interaction. In seconds, Tate has his brother in a headlock. “You think this is funny? You told me we're bringing Hannah dinner because I needed to apologize.”
It doesn’t take long for Tatum to get Greyson on the floor. Greyson isn’t even fighting back while his brother is throwing punches, albeit light ones, to his ribs. “Hey! Watch it, don’t ruin all the hard work I’ve put in to get him back on the ice.” Abby warns, apparently finding her voice for the first time in like eight minutes. Her arms are crossed over her chest, eyes sharp and focused on where Tate has his hand on Greyson’s injured shoulder.
Both men follow her line of sight; he pulls it back like he’s been burned and jumps off his brother, offering him his hand to get him up off the floor.
Greyson pulls him into a hug. “Sorry, bro, I was tired of being the only dude at book club. And you do need to apologize.” Both Abby and I gasp, my hand flying to my chest
“Greyson Wilder! Are Abby and I not good enough company for you? We could have finished this book the week we started, but we were trying to be nice and include you.”
“No! No, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it; don’t kick me out of the trust tree.” Pure amusement fills me to the brim. Would you look at that? A big, tough hockey player secretly likes book club with his girlfriend and her roommate, not only book club, but romance book club. I hit the jackpot. “Tacos and catch Tate up, then we’ll jump into today’s Sable Ridge shenanigans.”
We do just that. The four of us sit at the table and eat what I assume are all of our favorite tacos. Carne asada, street corn, and cheese. It’s the most amazing combo. The saltiness of the steak and the sweetness of the corn, chef's kiss.
When we’re done eating, I announce I’m going to walk Harley before we start reading. It’ll be too dark when we’re done. To my surprise, Tate offers to come with me. He holds the door open when we get downstairs, and as soon as we get outside, he’s at my side. “I’m sorry for judging you before I really knew you. That wasn’t fair of me.” He says quietly.
His hands are shoved in his front pockets as we walk down the sidewalk. “I understand, Tate. My brother is protective in the same way. I’m glad he has someone like you in his life.” And I mean that I couldn’t imagine going through my life without my brother, let alone someone like Greyson, who needs to have someone in his corner. Someone he can trust with the dark an d heavy stuff.
“You really are good for him.” He huffs. I’ll take that as the Tatum seal of approval. I smile, and we walk the rest of the way around the block in comfortable silence.
Once we get back inside, we take turns catching Tate up on the book so far. He looks like he’d rather be anywhere else. But I’ll give it to him; he doesn’t complain once.
“Okay, wait. They knew each other, got separated, she got married. Then, by some twist of fate, she’s divorced and running from her ex, and somehow, she ends up broken down where Hunt is.”
The three of us nod with way more gusto than necessary; he runs his hand down his face, cupping his chin when he gets there. “Alrighty then.” His head is slightly tilted to the side, finger tapping on the side of his face, but his eyes are focused on a glaring Abby. Huh, interesting.