Turning, Logan saw the opened lips and bugged eyes of his best friend. “You like it?” he asked.
Jimmy glanced over to him. “I’m gonna have to get married more often if this is the kind of party you throw me.”
Logan punched his arm. “I only do this once,” he said. He did have to admit, he liked how much his friend seemed to appreciate what he’d done. Or at least, what Veronica had done with his money.
“This is insane,” Jimmy said as he limped over and took some food off of the tray that a waiter was carrying. After a few chews, his eyes closed. “Dude. This tastes like heaven.” He opened his eyes. “I can’t believe that you can afford this now.”
“Afford what?” Samson asked, walking up next to them.
Jimmy’s gaze swept over him. “Who are you?”
“Jimmy, this is Hannah’s fiancé, Samson. Samson, this is the guy that’s getting hitched tomorrow.”
The two men shook hands.
“Nice party,” Samson said, glancing around.
Jimmy clapped Logan on the back. “Thanks to my loaded buddy, we can really party in style now.”
Samson eyed him. “Loaded?”
Jimmy nodded and leaned toward Samson. “We’re talking north of millions.”
“Jimmy,” Logan said, glaring at him. This was getting awful. Was this his fate now? Walking around town and having people stare at him, seeing only dollar amounts?
Samson eyed him. “Family money?”
Logan just nodded. He didn’t want to talk about it and he really didn’t want to talk about it with Hannah’s fiancé.
Veronica clapped her hands, and Logan was thankful for the interruption. Turning away from Samson, he studied her as she stood in the middle of the room, surrounded by all of Jimmy’s friends.
“Welcome to the bachelor party for Jimmy. We have a fun night planned. So, find a seat so the food can be served.” She smiled as she glanced around the room. “Everything has been paid for. There’s a free bar.” She motioned to the bartender standing behind the counter, flipping bottles in the air.
Half the party goers hooted and hollered.
“After dinner, we have a high stakes poker game set up.” She waved to the green velvet-covered tables in the back room. “And for those who don’t wish to participate, we have the lounge area where there are games and TV.” She nodded toward the glass-enclosed lounge area.
“Cigars are free, so help yourself.” She smiled as she stepped away from the group.
“Well, let’s grab a table,” Jimmy said, limping over to the round table at the front of the room. He pulled out the chair that had a huge balloon tied to it. The word Congrats was scrawled across it. It shifted in the vent air above.
Logan went to follow him, hoping Samson would find a different table. But, when he pulled out his chair and Samson did the same, Logan tried to stifle a groan.
Once they were seated, men in tuxedos emerged and delivered dinner to all the guests. When they uncovered their plates, Jimmy let out a whoop. “Steak and potatoes. Ah, man, you shouldn’t have.”
Logan just smiled and dug in. But by the time his plate was cleaned, he was cheering inside. It was the best food he’d had in a while.
As they leaned back to stretch out their stomachs, the waiters returned and the dirty plates were whisked way. After the chocolate cake was delivered and devoured, they started to leave their seats to wander around the enormous restaurant.
It was strange to be here all alone. All the empty tables with no customers to fill them. As Logan eyed the far poker tables, he debated about grabbing a seat. A few guys had already settled in, and the dealer had started shuffling the cards.
“Come on, man,” Jimmy said, clapping his hand on Logan’s shoulder. “I wanna see if I can win some of that money of yours.” He shot him a smile.
“Will you stop doing that?” Logan asked, following behind Jimmy.
“Doing what?”
“Telling people I’m loaded. I don’t like it.” He pulled out the chair next to the one Jimmy was getting ready to sit down on.
“Why? You should be proud to have it.”
Logan’s stomach lurched. That wasn’t true. “It’s not mine. It was my dad’s, and he worked hard to earn it.” He swallowed as a lump grew in his throat. “I haven’t done anything to earn it.” Truth was, the money was just a reminder that the relationship he had wished for all those Christmases ago was no longer a reality.
He turned to see Jimmy staring at him.
“Your old man gave you this money. He trusted you. Plus, he was probably trying to make up for all those years he wasn’t in your life.” Jimmy nodded toward the dealer who had handed him some cards. “It’s time you started doing stuff for yourself and Piper. After all the things you’ve gone through these last few years, you deserve to treat yourself.”
Logan grabbed the cards that the dealer put in front of him. Jimmy’s words echoed in his mind. He knew that he was right. It was pretty much what his dad had said weeks before his death as they sat across from the lawyer. Problem was, he knew it was the right thing to do in his mind, but his heart just wasn’t having it.
“Mind if I join you?” Samson asked from beside Logan.
Turning, Logan nodded. “Be my guest.”
Samson pulled out the chair. “Thanks.”
Grateful for something other than his dad’s money to talk about, Logan diverted all of his energy to the guy sitting next to him. He’d just ignore the fact that this guy was the fiancé to the girl he loved.
22
HANNAH
Bert pulled up in front of the Admiral Arms. Hannah sighed. She was ready to get this evening over with. Turning to Charity, she smiled. “Ready?”
Charity nodded, opened the door, and stepped out onto the sidewalk. When she shut the door, Hannah turned back to Bert, who was eyeing her.
“Who’s your new friend?” He tipped his head toward Charity.
Hannah dug around in her purse for some money. All she had was a twenty. “Here. Can you stick around? I have a feeling a lot of these ladies are going to get hammered.”
Bert nodded as he slipped the twenty into his front pocket. “Are you one of those ladies?”
Hannah shook her head. She hated drinking. Well, she hated the feeling that drinking caused the next day. “Nope. Someone has to be the sober one.”
Bert nodded. “You didn’t tell me who that was.”
Hannah’s stomach flipped. “She’s Logan’s ex-wife.”
Bert leaned down as if to get a good look at her. “Logan? The boy next door?”
“Yes.”
“She’s back?”
Hannah nodded and fought the urge to say that was pretty obvious.
Bert settled back on the chair. “Eh. Won’t last. I wouldn’t put my money on that relationship.”
Hannah stared at him. “You’ve seen this before?”
“Honey, in my experience, issues don’t just disappear with time. If they had problems before—they’ll still have them. Beside, women like her”—he nodded toward Charity who was pulling out a tube of lipstick from her purse—“don’t change.”
Hannah swallowed. As much as she wanted to believe Bert, she wasn’t sure if she could let her heart hope. Besides, Piper was involved, and she wouldn’t do anything to hurt that little girl. She pulled on the handle and allowed the cool, salty air to waft into the car. “Let’s hope you’re right,” she said.
The music blared from the speakers as they pulled open the door to the bar and walked in. It was a twangy pop song. The air smelled like alcohol and desperation. It almost made Hannah shiver.
“I’m going to go powder my nose,” Charity said as she veered off to the bathroom.
“Okay,” Hannah said as she glanced around.
“Hannah Banana!” Sandy screamed as she danced up to Hannah. She was already a bit tipsy.
“I see you’ve started without me,” she said, returning the hug that Sandy had flung on her.
“You made it.”
“Yes. Is everyone here?”
Sandy pulled off of Hannah and glanced around. “I think so.” She sauntered over to the bar and grabbed a bag. “Tricia wanted me to give this to you. It’s the garb for the party.”
Hannah eyed Sandy. This wasn’t good. When she opened the bag, and took in all of the male-shaped goodies, she clamped it shut and set it down next to her. “Maybe later,” she said.
Sandy just laughed. “The night is young. I’ll have you eating those gummies in no time.”
Hannah just smiled. “You can try.” But from the way Sandy was swaying side to side, someone needed to be responsible tonight.
“Hannah,” a tight voice said from behind her.
She turned. Her mom’s lips were drawn taught as she stood there in a white blouse tucked into a dark blue pencil skirt.
“Hey, Mom. You look great.” Definitely a difference from her mom’s standard dark blue scrubs.
Her mom gave her a small smile. “Thanks. Drew picked it out.” Her mom’s shoulders loosened. “I wasn’t going to come, but he convinced me it would be good to get out.”
Hannah eyed her mom. She needed to meet this Drew character. He was getting her mom to do more things in the last few days than Hannah had ever been able to get her mom to do in her whole life. Wrapping her arm around her mom’s shoulders, Hannah pulled her into a hug.
“I’m just glad you came, Mom.”
Her mom tensed, then relaxed. “Me too, sweetie.”
“Miss Bell,” Sandy screamed as she rushed over and enveloped her mom in a hug. “I’m so glad you came to party with us.”
“Well, that was disgusting,” Charity said as she walked up to them.
Sandy pulled back. “Charity Monson? What are you doing here?”
Charity quirked an eyebrow. “I’m here to spend time with Logan and Piper. Hannah invited me along while Logan took her fiancé to Jimmy’s party.”
Sandy’s gaze fell to Hannah. “Wow. Hannah didn’t say anything about that.”
Charity winced as a particularly tipsy guy walked past her, bumping his shoulder into hers. “Well, it was decided only about an hour ago.” Then she paused. “It’s okay that I’m here. Right?”
Sandy glanced back to her. “Sure. I guess.” She gave Charity a small smile, but the disdain in Sandy’s voice could be heard above the chatter of all the customers at the bar.
Charity gave a sweet smile. “Wonderful. I’m going to get a drink.” She turned and headed toward the counter.
“You invited her?” Sandy asked, whipping around.
“Yeah. Why?” Sandy was acting strange. Why was this a bad thing?
“Didn’t Logan tell you?” Sandy asked. Hannah’s mom was shaking her head.
“No. What?”
“Oh, honey. It was bad. Charity apparently cheated on him with one of his coworkers and then she emptied their bank account and took off. It took him a year to track her down so he could get her to sign the divorce papers. By then, she’d already spent everything she’d taken and would only sign the papers if he paid her more,” Sandy said.
Hannah’s stomach churned. “What about Piper?” That poor little girl. How could a mom do something like that?
Hannah’s mom shook her head. “She didn’t care about Piper. Never asked for custody. Gave it all to Logan. Ginger said she’s always promising to come get Piper, but then never showing up.”
Hannah eyed Charity, who was flirting with the bartender behind the counter. He nodded his head as she reached across and grazed his arm. Frustration and anger boiled up. Who would do that to Logan? He was the best guy she’d ever known. The fact that he faced his responsibility was one quality she loved about him.
Charity wasn’t going to find a better guy anywhere. And he was a great dad. Hannah fisted her hands. There was a feeling in her stomach that was growing stronger with every thought of Logan. It was one she could no longer ignore. Charity needed to go.
Then she inwardly groaned. But she’d all but pushed them together. Why had she been so insistent that they make things work? If she’d only known what Charity had done, Hannah would have been more reserved. Now, Logan and Charity were together. Because of her. Maybe she did need that drink after all.
Sandy pulled away once she saw some more guests arrive. She promised to be right back. Standing next to her mom, Hannah wrapped her arms around her stomach.
“What’s wrong?” her mom asked, peering down at her.
Hannah shook her head. She wasn’t sure she was ready to talk about her giant mistake right now. “Nothing. Just thirsty, I think.”
Her mom nodded and headed over to the bar. “I’ll grab you a Coke.”
“Thanks,” Hannah said as she took a few steps over to the wall and leaned against it. Why did she feel so sick? It had to be because of what Charity might do to Piper. What else could it be?
LOGAN
Logan held up his cards and looked at them. Three queens and two kings. He was trying to hide the excitement that was coursing through his veins. This was his first good hand. He didn’t want to give it away.
“I see your bet, and I raise you fifty,” Jimmy said, throwing a few poker chips onto the already heaping pile. It was down to Jimmy, Samson, and Logan.
Logan glanced back down to his cards—just to make sure they hadn’t changed—then fiddled with his chips. “I’ll see your bet and raise it another hundred.”
All eyes turned to Samson. He glanced at his cards, then over to the pile on the table. “I see your bets and call.”
“Excellent,” the dealer said. “Let’s see the cards.”
Logan laid his hand down on the table. Samson and Jimmy did the same. Whooping, Logan pumped his fist into the air. He’d won.
Jimmy groaned. “Ah, man,” he said as he folded his arms. “It’s my party. You couldn’t just let me win?”
Logan smiled as he pulled the pile of chips toward him. “Here, go buy something pretty,” he said, pulling one from the pile and setting it in front of Jimmy.
A phone chimed next to him. Glancing over, Logan’s stomach sank as Samson pulled his phone out of his pocket. Was it Hannah calling? His mouth went dry as he adjusted his chips. He needed to stop thinking about Hannah right now. She’d moved on. He needed to remember that.
“Party going well?” he asked, hoping he sounded normal.
Samson looked up from the screen. “Huh?”
“Sandy’s party. Is it going well?” He nodded toward Samson’s phone.
“How would I know that?”
Logan nodded to the dealer who’d set a stack of cards in front of him. “You mean, that’s not Hannah?”
Samson shook his head. “No. It’s not Hannah. It’s my travel agent.”
For the first time in a long time, Logan felt optimistic. Did he dare hope that Samson was leaving? “You’re going somewhere?”
Samson nodded. “Yes. As soon as I can, I’m whisking Hannah away to New York.”
Logan paused. Hannah was leaving? “The day before Christmas Eve? She’s not going to the wedding?”
Samson turned his attention back to his phone and his fingers flew against the screen as he typed. Then he turned off his phone and stuck it back into his pocket. “She’ll be okay. Once I get her there, she’ll come around. Besides, this is the socialite party of the year. It’s really important to my family.”
Logan shuffled his cards around in his hand. “But she wants to be here with her family.”
From the corner of his eye, he saw Samson tense. “Hannah doesn’t know what she wants. Once we’re married, she’ll start seeing things my way.”
Logan took the seven and five from his hand, laid it down in front of him, and nodded toward the dealer. When two new cards were deposited in front of him, he picked them up and almost sighed. The two and jack were not what he needed.
“What sort of things is she not seeing your way?” He tried to keep his voice calm even though he desper
ately wanted to know.
Samson picked up his new cards and shuffled them around. “Kids. She wants kids.”
Logan threw a poker chip into the pile. “You don’t?”
“No. Kids are messy and complicate life,” Samson said, shaking his head like even thinking about kids was disgusting. “But yet again, I’ll get her to see my way once we’re married.”
Logan eyed him. “You seem to think that marriage is the solution to issues.”
Samson laughed. “It’s not what works for everyone, but it will work for us.”
Logan tapped his cards against the table and glanced around. Since when was Hannah such a pushover? Did she act different around Samson? She’d always struck him as a strong, independent person. Why would she change now?
“Fold,” he said when the bet got to him. He no longer felt like playing. His stomach was in knots when he thought about Samson and Hannah and the waiting travel agent. It ate at his heart. He didn’t want her to go, but what else could he do? She didn’t want him, that was clear.
As he watched Samson raise the bet, he clenched his jaw. She wanted the guy sitting next to him. The one who wanted to manipulate her into doing what he wanted. Logan folded his arms. He needed say some things to Hannah before she left. As he glanced up to the clock, he wished time would speed up before he lost his nerve.
23
HANNAH
Sandy had convinced the DJ to play all the nineties songs they’d grown up loving. Soon, a group of women raced up to the microphone and began screaming into it. Hannah sighed and settled down on a barstool that was a few spots down from Charity who, after a few drinks, became very chatty.
Poor Melissa, Sandy’s younger sister, was on the receiving end of that chattiness. She forced a smile at Charity, who was leaning in.
“You remind me of my roommate,” Charity slurred as she pointed her finger at Melissa.
“Oh, that’s nice.”
Charity slapped her hand down on the counter. “No, it’s not. She was awful.” Charity reached out and touched Melissa’s hair. “Your hair even looks like hers.”
Forgiving the Billionaire (A Clean Billionaire Romance Book 2) Page 16
