Her lips curved upward. “You’re on.”
He laughed. “You realize I’ll be asking most of the questions.”
“Confident much?”
He smiled as he racked the balls, then he turned to her with a playful grin. “I’ll break this time.”
“All right.”
With another look her way, a look that almost made him set his cue down and go to her for another taste of those delectable lips, he promised himself he would get several more kisses from her before the night was through.
Anticipation surged through him as he hit the break shot. Balls scattered, and a striped ball rolled into a pocket. He faced her with a grin. “Okay. First question.” He would have lots of chances to ask questions, so he would make the first one simple.
Mari stood on the opposite side of the table from Hank, and when he sauntered toward her, she held her ground. Would he kiss her again? She desperately hoped so. All three of his kisses had been the most amazing kisses she’d ever experienced. If he didn’t kiss her again, she might just have to take the initiative and kiss him first.
Eagerness threaded through her, and when he stopped three feet in front of her, she nearly held her breath.
He smiled down at her. “I’ll start off easy. What’s your favorite color?”
Tilting her head as if to say, That’s easy, yet it’s not, she said, “Lavender. But not just a basic lavender. More of a lavender with pale grey undertones.”
Hank burst out laughing. “Leave it to an artist to turn such a simple question into a complicated one.”
Grinning, Mari said, “It’s still your turn.”
“Yes it is.” Hank went back to the pool table, lined up his shot, and the ball zipped right into the pocket. He turned to her with a smirk. “Maybe a harder question will actually be easy. Who knows?”
“Worth a try.”
“All right. What do you like to paint?”
“I like to paint both portraits and landscapes.” Her lips tilted upwards. “I hope I’ll get the chance to ask you some questions soon.”
His eyebrows rose. “Don’t hold your breath.” Then he turned back to the pool table.
Mari watched as he neatly put another ball into a pocket, not able to stop herself from admiring everything about him. Dang. She was falling for him hard. This had the potential to bring a lot of heartache. She knew it, but there was no way to stop it even if she wanted to.
“Third question,” he said as he faced her.
“Okay.” Staring at his handsome face, she wanted to fall into his arms, but she kept herself under control.
“What do you like to do in your free time? Besides painting?”
That was easy. “I like to read.”
He smiled an easy grin. “I think I need to come up with something more difficult.” He turned back to the pool table, then said over his shoulder, “Just give me a second.”
She laughed, and when he missed his next shot, she smirked. “That’s what overconfidence will get you.”
“Maybe I wanted to give you a chance.”
She shook her head. “No way. You would never miss on purpose.”
“That’s true.”
Mari managed to knock a ball into a pocket. Not wanting to waste her chance at asking a penetrating question, she went right for the jugular. “How do you feel about Simone? I mean, besides being mad at her for talking to London.”
Hank went still for a moment, and Mari knew it had been the right question to ask.
“Remember,” she said, “you have to tell the complete truth.”
His jaw clenched. “I can see I was being way too easy on you.”
One side of her mouth quirked up. “That’s not my fault.”
He softly chuckled as he shook his head. “Okay.” Then he walked to the window and looked outside for a minute before turning around and sauntering over to her, stopping several feet away, his gaze boring into hers. “What is it you really want to know, Marigold?”
Hearing him use her full name did interesting things to her heart, especially when he used his low and sexy voice to say it.
Not letting that distract her, she asked herself what it was she was asking.
“Well,” she began, “you’ve been dating her a while, right? So, are you going to keep dating her? Do you…do you love her?”
Hank sighed. “As with everything right now, it’s complicated.”
“Complicated.” That wasn’t a word she wanted to hear in relation to Simone. “How so?”
Hank could see it was important to Mari that he answer this as fully as possible.
“First off,” he said. “No. I don’t love her. I don’t think I ever did.” The more he thought about it, and the more he realized how much like London Simone was, the more he knew he could never love her. Not now that he’d met Mari, someone so different from both women.
He knew she wouldn’t like the other half of his answer.
“As far as dating her, I’m between a rock and a hard place, Mari.” He huffed out a breath. “Simone told London that she would…” He did air quotes. “Keep an eye on things. If I tell her I’m done with her, she’ll go straight to London. That could be a problem.” He frowned. “No, that would be a problem. A big one.”
Mari pursed her lips, then closed her eyes and shook her head.
He stepped forward and pulled her into his arms. This wasn’t right, the way things were out of their control, and he hated it. But he loved the feel of her as she sank against him, couldn’t get enough of that.
He lifted her chin, and when their eyes met, he lowered his lips until they were pressed against hers. When her arms went around his neck, he kissed her with a passion he hadn’t felt in a very, very long time. After several moments they separated and he took a step back. He wanted more, so much more, but things were too complicated for that.
“It’s still your turn,” he said as he forced his thoughts back to pool.
Mari had to catch her breath. Every time Hank kissed her it was as if he stole her breath right out of her body. But she loved it.
“Okay,” she said as she picked up her cue, chalking it while she got her breathing under control. She lined up her next shot, and to her surprise, the ball rolled into the pocket.
“Nice,” Hank said.
She turned to him with a grin. “Another question.”
“Go easy on me.”
She laughed. “You wish.” Then she considered what to ask. There was one thing she really wanted to know, something he may not even have an answer to, but she still had to ask. “How far are you willing to go for me?”
He tilted his head. “What do you mean?”
“If London finds out that we’re…you know…becoming involved…what would you do? Would you deny everything? Would you dump me?” Her voice softened. “Or would you…would you fight for me?”
The truth was, Hank didn’t know. And he wasn’t sure it was fair of her to ask him. It was so early in their relationship, and he didn’t know what hammer London would hold over him. Would she threaten to reduce his visitations with Harper? That wasn’t a risk he was willing to take.
But he didn’t want to tell Mari she wasn’t worth fighting for.
In moments he was in front of her. Placing his hands on her upper arms, he stared straight into her eyes. “I care about you, Mari. I’ve grown to care about you more every day.”
“That doesn’t answer my question.” Her voice was just above a whisper.
He didn’t know what to say.
“You don’t know,” she said. “Do you?”
He felt like a complete jerk. Why couldn’t he declare that he would go to the ends of the earth for her? Because he didn’t know that for sure. Straightening, he dropped his hands to his sides. “You want me to be honest?”
“Yes.”
“I don’t know what I would do. That’s my honest answer.”
She nodded, but he could read the disappointment in her eyes.
&nbs
p; “Good-night, Hank.”
Before he could think of something to say, she walked past him and out the door.
Was he losing her already? The very idea brought a sharp pain to his chest.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
“The monkeys are my favorite,” Harper said as she and Mari wandered around the Sacramento Zoo.
“Why are they your favorite?”
“Because they climb the trees. Can I have some bugglegum?”
Mari laughed. “You mean bubblegum?”
“I said bugglegum.”
Smiling, Mari knelt in front of Harper and gave her a hug. “Do you know how adorable you are?”
Harper laughed. “I know.”
That only made Mari laugh harder. “Of course you do. And yes, you can have some bubblegum.” She took a piece out of her purse and handed it to Harper. “Now, how about we go see the giraffes?”
“Giraffes! Yay!”
That afternoon as she and Harper played in the pool, Mari’s thoughts went to Hank. His answer the night before hadn’t been what she’d been hoping for, but she was grateful he’d been honest. She would give him credit for that.
What about her? How far was she willing to go for him? What if London confronted her about Hank? Would she deny it? Come to think of it, she’d already told London that there was nothing between them. But what if London knew for sure, what if she gave Mari one last chance to choose between her job and Hank? Would she dump him, or would she fight for him?
Her gaze went to Harper, who was happily splashing around in the pool. Mari truly loved her, couldn’t imagine spending her days without her. Was she willing to lose her job, lose Harper, for a chance with Hank? What if she took that chance and it didn’t work out? She would lose both Harper and Hank. Was the risk worth it?
When she realized her own answer was ambiguous, her disappointment in Hank vanished. She couldn’t hold his honest answer against him, not when she didn’t know what she would do.
She would apologize for running out on him. Tonight.
“Are you up for a game of pool?” Hank asked when he knocked on Mari’s door after tucking Harper in. He’d been home for less than an hour, but the idea of spending time with Mari had given him a burst of energy.
The night before, after she’d left the game room, he’d thought a lot about her question. His answer hadn’t changed, but he didn’t want to end things with her. Instead, he wanted to convince her not to give up on him.
“Sure,” she said with more enthusiasm than he’d expected.
He’d kind of presumed she would turn him down and tell him there was no point in spending time together if he wasn’t willing to fight for her. “All right.”
He led the way down the stairs and into the game room—the room he was almost beginning to think of as their room.
“Do you want to play ping-pong tonight?” Mari asked.
He grinned. “Have you been practicing?”
She laughed. “No. Harper and I were busy doing other things today. We didn’t even come in here.”
The reminder of why she was at his house was like a bucket of ice being dumped on him. “Right.”
She must have sensed his change of mood. “What’s wrong?”
Glancing toward the couch, he said, “Let’s sit.”
Without a word, she glided over to the couch and settled onto its cushions. He sat beside her, and when the floral scent that was uniquely Marigold swept over him, his entire body calmed. How did she manage to do that?
“I’m sorry I…” she began.
While at the same time, he said, “I need to explain…”
Then they both laughed.
“Ladies first,” Hank said.
With a brief nod, she said, “I’m sorry I walked out last night. I should have…I don’t know…talked it over with you.”
He completely agreed, although he didn’t know what he would have said in that moment. “It’s okay, Mari. I understand. We can talk now.”
She glanced at her lap before meeting his gaze with a nod. “Okay.”
“Like I said last night, I really care for you. I might even be…” Did he want to say it? “I might be falling for you.”
Mari’s heart nearly burst with joy.
Did he mean it? He was falling for her?
Then he went on.
“But…”
Why did there always have to be a but?
“But,” he said again, his voice softer. “We can’t broadcast our feelings. Not yet.” He scraped his hands through his hair. “Let me talk to London when she gets back to LA.”
“What would you tell her?”
“I don’t know yet.”
Though thrilled he was willing to go to bat for her—for them!—she was still worried about what London would do. She remembered reading about an incident that had happened years ago, before London was famous. London had been up for the same part as another actress, a woman who was an acquaintance of hers. The rumor was that London had known that the other actress was having personal problems, problems that could end up being an issue on set. London had secretly recorded the other actress talking about those problems and had then anonymously sent the recording to the producer of the movie. The other actress had been passed over and London had been hired. It was the movie that had launched her into stardom.
Did Hank know about that incident? Mari wasn’t sure how many people had heard about it. She’d only found out through her entertainment attorney father. He’d told her about it when she’d announced she was going to nanny for London.
“I don’t want to get fired,” she said now. “I’d miss Harper so much. And what would it do to Harper?”
Hank stroked her cheek, sending tingles cascading through her. “See? That’s something I love about you. Harper is very important to you.” He smiled. “That’s priceless.”
“Maybe this isn’t worth it. Not if it will affect Harper.”
Hank straightened and scrubbed his hands over his face, then he faced her. “You’re right.”
She didn’t want to be right. She wanted to be completely and utterly wrong. Why couldn’t he tell her it was totally worth it, that everything would be fine? Because she was falling in love with him. Totally and without question.
A shard of ice slid into her heart, one that would inevitably break her heart in two.
Hank didn’t like admitting that there was little hope of Mari keeping her job if she got involved with him. Hated it, truth be told. But he wasn’t going to pretend. Not when it came to Harper.
“I’m not ready,” Mari said, her voice just above a whisper, her eyes pointed to her hands twisting in her lap.
“Not ready for what?”
She lifted her gaze, and the sadness in her eyes gutted him. “To give you up.”
His breath came out in a rush. He wasn’t ready either.
Damn London and her controlling ways.
Without thinking twice, he tugged Mari against him, his arms enveloping her in a powerful embrace, his cheek pressed against her hair.
“I’ve got this,” he said, determined to make that true.
Mari pulled away enough to look at him. “How?”
Before he had a chance to answer, his phone rang. Frowning, he pulled his phone out of his pocket, read the name on the screen, then looked at Mari with a scowl. “It’s Simone.”
Panic swept over Mari. What if Simone knew she and Hank were snuggling on the couch? Was there some way she could see?
Frantically looking in the direction of the window and toward the empty house, Mari said, “You’d better talk to her.”
Grimacing, Hank nodded, then he swiped to answer.
Mari barely listened to his side of the conversation, her mind racing with what he’d meant when he said I’ve got this. Did he really, or was he placating her?
A few minutes later he put his phone away.
“What did she say?” Mari asked.
A muscle worked in Hank’s jaw. “I’m
going out with her tomorrow night.”
Wishing more than anything that he could tell Simone it was over, Mari only nodded.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “But until I meet with London, this is how it will have to be.”
As much as she hated it, Mari understood. “I know.”
“You don’t deserve this,” he said.
She wasn’t the only one affected. “Neither do you.”
With his gaze focused on her, he smiled. “Are you really this perfect?”
Grinning, she said, “Yes. And don’t you forget it.”
Laughter burst from his mouth. “That’s what I thought. Which is why I can’t wait another second to do this.” Then he pulled her onto his lap, cupped her face with his hands, and pulled her down so that her mouth crushed his.
Mari slid her hands behind his head, her fingers curling into his hair, holding on to him like he was the only thing keeping her alive, the only thing worth living for. His arms moved to her waist and his grip was so tight that she couldn’t move. But that was fine with her. She didn’t want to move from that spot for the rest of her life.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Early Friday afternoon, Mari heard the front door open. She and Harper were playing Go Fish Alphabet in the family room, practicing Harper’s letters.
“I think your daddy’s home,” she said to Harper, wanting to leap up and run to him herself.
“Yay!” Harper said, dropping her cards on the table and racing to the front door.
Oh, what would it be like if the three of them were a family? That fantasy had crept into her mind more than once. It wasn’t good for her to think that way. Not when they couldn’t even admit they had feelings for each other. Not when he was going out with another woman that very night.
Holding back a frown, when she heard his voice as he greeted Harper, she couldn’t restrain herself any longer. She jumped to her feet, then forced herself to calmly walk into the entryway.
“Hello,” she said with eyes only for him.
Blindsided (Fair Catch Series, Book Three) Page 12
