Chapter 37
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
Hannah regarded the two women seated across from her. “I completely blew it out of proportion, didn’t I?”
“Yes.”
“No.”
Audrey and Fiona spoke at the same time, then traded a glance.
“I was trying to be nice.” Fiona huffed before turning her attention back to Hannah. “You did what you felt was right at the time, dear.”
Hannah’s heart fell. “I messed up.”
“Yes.”
“No.”
Again, the two women spoke in unison and contradicted one another. Audrey shot Fiona a quelling look before turning her gaze back to Hannah.
“I think you may have overreacted a bit.” Audrey held up a hand, halting Hannah's protest. “Don’t get me wrong—it might be a little too soon to be talking about moving in together, but tell me this: were you happy with Luke?”
“Yes, but—”
“Hold on. Just hear me out,” Audrey cut her off. “You were happy with him. Happier than I’ve ever seen you. Right?”
She directed the last part of her question to Fiona, who reluctantly nodded. “It’s true.”
Audrey turned back to Hannah. “So what changed your mind?”
“Well… Andrew brought up a couple good points.” Hannah looked up in time to see both women roll their eyes. “What?”
Her gaze jumped back and forth between the two, and she sighed. “Go ahead, just tell me.”
Audrey settled back in her chair, arms crossed, allowing Fiona to take the lead. “Andrew has been a good friend to you, Hannah, I know he has. But he’s a little… condescending.”
“Maybe,” Hannah admitted, “but he is a doctor, and he’s very good at what he does. He assessed the situation pretty accurately,” she felt compelled to point out.
“Did he really?” Audrey pressed. “Or did he tell you what he wants you to believe?”
“I don’t—”
“Do you see a future with Luke?”
“Maybe, but—”
“Yes or no?”
Hannah huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. She shot a look at Fiona, hoping for support, but Fiona studiously avoided her. Apparently, she was getting no help from that corner. She flicked an irritated glare at Audrey. “Fine, yes.”
“Andrew’s jealous,” Audrey clarified. “He doesn’t want to be your friend—he wants to be your lover.”
Audrey had a point, even if Hannah didn’t like it.
“I think you let Andrew sway your opinion more than you should have. If there’s anything I’ve learned from my marriage, it’s that your first instinct is always right. I think you should take some time to figure out what your heart wants—not what someone else tells you that you should feel.”
Hannah's heart felt as if it was breaking all over again, and it was all her fault. Luke had sat there with her just weeks ago, talking about Rachel and comforting her though he’d barely known her at the time.
It was more heartfelt than anything Andrew had ever done.
Luke truly cared for her; she knew that.
Shame settled heavily in her stomach and hot tears burned the backs of her eyes.
“Look, Hannah, I’ve seen the way he looks at you.
That man”—Audrey pointed in the general vicinity of the lobby—“would do anything for you. Hell, he didn’t even know me, and he saved my life.
Would Andrew ever do something like that?
Would he sacrifice himself for you? Andrew has been your friend for a long time, but…
sometimes the idea of a person is better than the reality. ”
Hannah turned away, unable to meet Audrey’s gaze as the moisture in her eyes spilled over. She was vaguely aware of the door opening and closing as Fiona quietly exited the room. Seconds later, a weight settled onto the couch cushion next to her, and Audrey pulled her into a hug.
“I… I think I could fall for him.” Another tear slipped free, and she swiped it away.
“I know.” Audrey leaned back against the couch. “Don’t worry. Everything will work out, you’ll see.”
“What if he won’t take me back?”
“Of course he will.”
Hannah searched Audrey’s gaze. “But—”
She shook her head. “He loves you. And I promise he’s just waiting for you to come to your senses.”
Was she right? Hannah had hurt him by pushing him away. She hadn’t trusted him, hadn’t trusted herself, and he deserved better than that. She should have talked about it instead of shutting down—but maybe they could still make this work.
She wiped the remainder of her tears away and looked at Audrey. “Thank you.”
Audrey studied her for a second. “You okay?”
“I think so, yeah. I’ll try to talk to him before I leave tonight.”
“Good.”
“I’m sorry to drag you into this. You’ve got enough going on already.”
Audrey waved away Hannah's apology. “I’ll always be here for you if you need me. Besides, Scott doesn’t warrant any more tears than I’ve already given him.”
Hannah studied Audrey for the first time since she’d shown up and dragged her back here for an intervention with Fiona.
Audrey’s eyes were rimmed with red as if she’d been on a week-long crying jag.
Stitches cut across her forehead, and her flesh was bruised a deep purple around the wound.
Her normally put-together appearance was disheveled almost to the point of sloppiness, and Hannah knew the impending divorce was weighing more heavily on Audrey than she’d ever admit.
“How are you holding up? For real?”
Audrey’s lips pressed together in a firm line before relaxing and letting out a soft exhalation.
“You know what? I’m actually okay. I know I look like a mess”—Audrey grinned, and Hannah couldn’t help but return it—“but I’ve realized something over the last couple months.
I’m not really mad at Scott. I’m not even mad at myself anymore.
“We shouldn’t have gotten married, but I learned an important lesson. I need to do something for me. So much of my time has been spent catering to others. I’m selling my portion of the practice.”
“But… Are you sure?” Hannah asked. Audrey loved it there. “I thought—”
She shook her head. “It was my decision. I want to do something that really matters, something that makes a difference. I’m applying to work for the VA.”
“I think that’s a fantastic idea. Tell me all about your plans.”
They spent the next hour catching up, talking about the past, about the future, and Hannah realized how much she’d missed these moments.
“I really haven’t gotten to see much of you since…” She waved one hand in the air, not wanting to dampen the mood by mentioning Audrey’s attack from two weeks prior. “It’s been so crazy recently.”
“I know.” Audrey nodded. “I promise once all this is over, we’ll get back to our normal routine.”
“Deal.” Hannah glanced out the window at the setting sun. “We better get out of here. I want to talk to Luke on the way out.”
“Good.” Audrey straightened and hitched her purse over her shoulder. “Keep me posted, okay?”
“I will.”
With one last hug, Audrey let herself out, and Hannah closed up, making sure everything was locked up tight. She made her way to the lobby, but Luke was nowhere to be found. With a sigh, she trudged to her car and slid inside, then dug her phone out of her purse.
Should she text him or wait? Taking a deep breath, she quickly tapped out a message and hit the send button before she could rethink her decision.
She tossed her phone back into her bag and headed for home, her heart practically beating out of her chest. She’d finally found the man she loved—she just hoped she wasn’t too late.