Chapter 65
HANNAH
Maya leaves before I wake, leaving a note telling me she loves me and she hopes to see me back at the resort for the event.
Because she is Maya Gomez, she took the liberty of charging my phone while I slept.
She won’t push me to go, but I know she’s secretly hoping I will.
I’m not even sure if my presence is enough.
Days go on, and Christmas arrives. I bought a new charger only to stare at my phone, waiting for a text that will never come. And it won’t because I pushed him to go. All my other belongings sit untouched back at Snowy Peak, so I had very little to wear for Christmas Day with Mom.
She makes a wonderful small dinner for us, her classic decor of colored Christmas lights and a Christmas tree reminds me of my early childhood days. Buttery rolls, and later, her famous apple pie, fill my stomach, warming my body and making me sleepy.
I’m sitting on her black, leather couch, reclined and under my newly knitted blanket she made me for Christmas, when she decides now is the perfect time to ask about my love life.
“Anything new?” She eyes me over her coffee mug.
“About?” But I know damn well what she’s asking.
“Hannah.”
I play dumb. “Maya’s good, so are Anthony and Jill.”
“And Noah?” My heart nearly stops because there’s a good chance she’s seen the article.
“Fine.”
“He’s very handsome.”
“Mom.”
“What? I can’t ask why my daughter is seen with an Olympian? What’s he doing for Christmas?”
Where the hell is she going with this? “How would I know?”
“May or may not have spoken to Maya before your arrival.”
I am going to kill her. “There’s nothing to tell. I helped him get back on the slopes for the event, that’s it.”
Mom puts her mug down on the coffee table. Her dark brown hair falls over her shoulders when she leans forward, her blue eyes are twins to my own. “Hannah, if you like him, what’s holding you back?”
I swallow hard, knowing my own mother has no idea of what my past relationship with Liam is like. Therapy, yes, but not the reason. But she’s my mom, and her judgment is far from hurtful. “I’m afraid it’s going to end up the same way it did with Liam. He wasn’t the best, Mom.”
She waves her hand at me like it’s old news. “Oh, he was a clown. I spotted that from a mile away.”
I blink a few times, realizing what came out of my mom's mouth, then snort a laugh. “That much is true.”
“But Noah…?”
“Noah is…” Dangerously addictive, arrogant, and intoxicating. He’s a complicated mess, like me. Maybe we are perfect for each other. “He’s leaving after the event; nothing can come of it.”
“Do you want to be with him?”
Her question is so jarring that it takes me a few minutes to answer. Mom has never been so blunt before. I wonder where it’s coming from. “Yes, but…”
“No buts, Hannah, do you want to be with him?”
“Yes! Okay, yes, I want to be with him.”
“Then what are you waiting for?”