Hannah was still REELING from Joe ‘s kiss when
she woke the next day. she lay in bed and
stared at the.patterns the morning sun made
on her ceiling and relieved the feeling of his big
shoulders beneath her hands and the slide of
his tongue inside her mouth.
Hannah threw back the covers.. Lying in
bed fantasizing about Joe was the biggest
waste of time under the sun. What had
happened had been a freak occurance, never to
be repeated, brought about by too much make
up, a dimly lit hallway and a pair of well cut
trouser. And even if it hadn’t been, there was
no future in it. He was a widower with two kids.
(she overhead the other neighbours discussing
about it).
“Hannah? ”
Hannah glanced up and saw her mother was
frowning at her. She ‘d zoned out again
thinking about Joe. What on earth was wrong
with her? It wasn’t as though she ‘d never been
kissed before, for Pete ‘s sake.
“Sorry, did you say something? ”
“I did ” Her mother hesitated a moment
studying Hannah ‘s face. “Lucas called earlier .
He ‘d like to speak to you. ”
(Lucas jilted Hannah a day to their wedding to
marry her friend Kelly)
“What does he want? ”
“I ‘m not sure. To talk to you, I suppose.”
Hannah could feel her.mother watching her ..
What on earth could Lucas have to say? He ‘d
already apologized. She ‘d refused to take his
money more times than she could count. What
more was left?
An insidious, dark thought wormed its way into
her mind. What if he and Kelley had had a
falling out? What if he ‘d decided that he ‘d
made a big mistake? What if he wanted Hannah
back?
Without giving herself a chance to think, she
walked to the phone and picked it up
“Whats his number? ” she asked
Her mothers eyebrows rose towards her
hairline, but she reeled off the number without
comment. Lucas picked up on the third ring.
“Lucas speaking ”
“Its me Hannah ”
“Hi.” There was a short pause. “Thanks for
calling.
As always he sounded uncomfortable.
Awkward.. Regretful. One of the many reasons
why she ‘d gone out of her way to avoid any
contact with him or Kelly her friend. She didn’t
want Lucas pity. Apparently she didn’t want his
anything anymore.
“Mom said you wanted to speak to me ”
“I did. I mean, I do. Would it be okay to meet
for coffee? .
“Cant you just say what you need to say over
the phone? ”
“I ‘d rather do it in person “. Lucas said
“Okay ” I will meet you at the coffee shop near
the workshop in twenty minutes. ……
Lucas was waiting at an outside table when she
pulled up, his sunglasses resting on the table
before him. He was looking the other way, his
foot tapping restlessly, but his gaze swung
around when he heard the rumble of her bike.
He stood when she approached the table.
“Hannah ”
“Lucas ”
They both sat at the same time.
“Thanks for coming at a short notice.
“What ‘s up? ” she said, meeting his eyes
squarely.
He laughed self consciously. “You never did
beat around the bush, did you? ”
“Nope. Life ‘s too short ”
“Yep.” He rubbed his hands down the front of
his jeans and for a moment she worried that
she ‘d guessed right, that he really was trying
to find some way to reconnect with her.
“I wanted you to be the first to hear. No one
know yet . Only me and Kelly.. She ‘s pregnant.
We are having a baby ”
Hannah blinked. Kelly was having Lucas child,
something Hannah had once dreamed of
doing herself. She ‘d had it all planned — two
children, eighteen months apart. She hadn’t
cared what s*x they were, as long as they were
healthy and had Lucas deep green eyes.
“Congratulations, ” she said after a short,
intense silence.
“When is she due.? ”
“The end of March ”
Hannah did some mental arithmetic
“So she ‘s only eight weeks? ”
“That’s right. We found out yesterday.. Like I
said, I wanted you to be the first to know ”
She looked at him, really looked at him, for the
first time in six months.
“Are you happy? ” she asked suddenly.
“About the baby? ” of course. You know I’ve
really wanted kids.”
“I meant in general. Are you happy with life,
with Kelly, with everything? ”
He met her eyes.. “Yes. I ‘m happy. I wish it
hadn’t been at your expense, but I. love Kelly.
His declaration stung a little, but that was more
pride than anything else.
Lucas focused on her again. “There ‘s no excuse
for what we did to you, Hannah. It was. the last
thing you deserved. If I could change it, I
would.
She smiled faintly. “No you wouldn’t. Not if it
meant giving up kelly. She turned away from
him trying to think and unable to do it properly
while he was watching her with those familiar
green eyes.
A dark navy SUV pulled up at the curb. Joe
swung out of the drivers seat. She told herself
to look away, but she couldn’t take her.eyes off
Joe. There was so much arrogant masculinity in
the way he walked . As though he owned the
world. It made her remember the way he ‘d
pushed her against the wall yesterday , the
utter solidness of his body pressed against hers.
Just before he entered the store, Joe turned his
head. He was wearing sunglasses, but she knew
he ‘d caught her watching him.. She jerked her
gaze away, but not before he ‘d nodded his
head in acknowledgement.
“Hannah ” are you day dreaming Lucas asked
“huh…Meeeeee?? Am here with you ” . I have to
go.
She took a mouthful of her coffee. I am really
happy for you and Kelly. With that said, she
stood and walked out.
She searched her heart and realized she was
relieved. But she was sick of living in the past.
