“The game room.” He shook his head. “Whatever.”
Looking thoughtful, she stood and went to the window that looked toward the game room. After staring outside for several moments, she came back to the couch. “How are things with the nanny?”
This was dangerous ground. Hoping she’d drop it, he shrugged. “Fine.”
“No more playing in the pool?”
Hank’s mind went straight to Saturday when he had played with Mari in the pool, and to the way he’d pinned her against the edge and kissed her with passion. Heat rolled through him at the memory. Schooling his expression, he shook his head. “You know, Simone, I’m not feeling all that great. I’m really not in the mood to hang out today.” That was certainly true.
Her lips pursed as she looked at him.
“In fact,” he added. “I’m gonna head upstairs and take a nap.” That wasn’t true, but she didn’t have to know that.
“That’s fine, Hank. You go on upstairs and nap and I’ll start working on dinner.”
Well, crap. He was going to have to lay it on the line.
He couldn’t pretend a moment longer. “Look,” he began, his heart rate accelerating. “You need to go.” Her eyebrows shot up, but he continued. “It’s over between us, Simone.” When she didn’t say anything, he added, “I don’t want to see you anymore.”
With her jaw set in a firm line, she never took her eyes off of him as she stood. “That’s how it is?”
He nodded. He didn’t even feel bad. In fact, he felt great. “Yeah.”
“All right. If that’s the way you want to play it.”
“I’m not playing at anything, Simone.” Though it was uncomfortable, he pushed himself to his feet. He didn’t want to be looking up at her as he spoke. “You went behind my back to talk to my ex-wife, then you basically threatened me.” He shook his head, his frown deep. “You and me?” He motioned between the two of them. “We’re done.”
Dang, that felt good.
Her lips flattened and her nostrils flared, then she strode toward the front door. Stopping in the entry, she turned to face him, her eyes narrowed. “It wasn’t a threat, Hank.” Without another word, she walked out the door, slamming it behind her.
Swearing under his breath, Hank locked the front door, then went back to the couch to gather his thoughts.
Would Simone go straight to London? Or would her pride keep her from admitting he’d dumped her? Then again, perhaps the idea of punishing him would be enough for her to overlook her pride.
Shaking his head with a deep sigh, Hank could feel his whole body tense. He needed to tell Mari that he’d just ruined everything.
Chapter Thirty-Three
“Do you like my tree, Mari?” Harper asked as she added a few more red leaves with her fingertip.
“I love it,” Mari said. Though she was looking at Harper’s work, her mind was on Hank and what was happening in the house. He’d been gone for nearly half an hour. Should she go in and see what was happening? Or would that only complicate things?
Softly exhaling, she told herself to be patient and to trust Hank. But not knowing was excruciating.
“I’m hungry,” Harper said a few minutes later.
Worried about facing Simone, Mari knew she didn’t have a choice. “Okay. Let’s wash up and then we’ll have a snack.”
Five minutes later, Mari and Harper walked into the family room. To her surprise, Hank was sitting on the couch. Alone.
Glancing around in confusion, Mari asked, “Is Simone here?”
Hank shook his head, his eyes downcast. “Nope.”
Something was wrong, but before she could question him, she needed to take care of Harper. After slicing celery, she put it, along with a large dollop of peanut butter, on a plate, then she poured a glass of milk. She got Harper settled at the table with her snack, purposely putting her in a chair whose back was to the family room so she and Hank could have a bit of privacy while they spoke, then she joined him on the couch.
“What happened?” She kept her voice low.
“I may have made a mistake,” Hank said, and then he told her what had happened.
Forehead furrowing, Mari was quiet as she considered the possible ramifications. But deep inside—okay, maybe not that deep—she was elated that Hank had broken things off with Simone. “There’s nothing we can do now,” she said. “Maybe…maybe she won’t follow through. Maybe she’ll think she can…I don’t know…win you back somehow.”
He huffed out a laugh. “There’s no way she can win me back.”
That thrilled her to no end, but she held back her smile. “But if she thinks she can…”
“Yeah. I guess so.”
“All we can do is wait. When London FaceTimes with Harper tonight, I’ll see if I can…you know…gauge if she suspects anything.”
Hank took her hand, stroking her palm with his thumb. “I want you to know something, Mari.”
At the earnest look on his face, Mari’s hopes soared. Was this it? Was he going to tell her he loved her?
“Before meeting you, I never realized there was a hole in my life, that something was missing. But now that I’ve gotten to know you…” He smiled. “Now I know.”
Nearly holding her breath, Mari kept her eyes on his, completely drawn in by his magnetism.
He reached up and ran a finger down her jaw. “I’m falling in love with you, Marigold.”
The power of her own love swept over her, making it hard to breathe. He loved her! Staring into his eyes, she smiled. “I love you. So much.” Just saying the words made her feelings explode within her.
He stroked her face before pulling her to him, his mouth crushing hers.
Happiness streamed through her, filling her up, crowding out all other emotions.
“Mari,” Harper cried out. “I spilled.”
Hank released her and she twisted around to look at Harper, who was watching them. With a glance at Hank, whose eyes reflected the panic she felt, Mari stood and walked into the kitchen to grab the roll of paper towels.
As she sopped up the milk, her mind raced with what to do.
“Why are you kissing my daddy?” Harper asked, her tone puzzled.
“Uh…” Baffled at what to say, Mari finished wiping up the milk, then she put the remaining paper towels on the counter, her gaze going to Hank.
Scrambling to come up with a reasonable excuse, Hank walked into the room. He said the first thing that jumped into his head. “Mari was telling me a secret.”
“Mari telled you a secret on your mouth,” Harper said with a giggle.
Desperate to turn her mind in another direction, he said, “Are you done with your snack?”
She nodded.
“Okay. Let me help you down.”
“I don’t need help,” she said, then she climbed down from the chair and ran into the family room where some of her favorite books were still sitting on the coffee table.
Hank turned to Mari. Even with this new possible disaster, he couldn’t hold back a smile. Now that he’d told her how he felt—and she’d told him—he couldn’t be happier, wasn’t even all that worried about London finding out.
Mari bit her lip, her forehead creased. “Should we…I don’t know…say something else to Harper about that kiss?”
“If we make a big deal about it, that will only make her think about it more. Maybe if we….” He shook his head. “Maybe if we let it drop, she’ll forget about it.”
Mari wasn’t sure that was true, but she didn’t have a better solution. And maybe he was right. Still, she was worried.
She frowned.
“What?” he asked.
“It’s just… I love Harper. I love taking care of her. I don’t want to get fired.”
“Stop assuming the worst will happen.”
Mari’s frown deepened. Did he really not get it? Or did he just not care? Could he be that selfish, just as London had warned?
Amazed that she could go from the heights of
happiness to the depths of despair in sixty seconds flat, Mari waited for him to say something, to tell her he would fix this, that she could have it both ways, that he would convince London to keep her as Harper’s nanny even though she was in love with him.
When he didn’t say anything, she took another step back. “Can you watch Harper?”
“Of course.”
With a small nod, Mari turned to leave.
“Wait,” he said.
She stopped and faced him.
“Where are you going?”
“I just…” She pointed toward the upstairs. “I need some time.”
“We’ll figure this out. Trust me.”
She thought she did, but her confidence in the situation had deteriorated. First with him breaking things off with Simone without talking to her beforehand, without figuring out a strategy, then with him making light of Harper seeing their kiss. Why was he being so reckless? Was this all a game to him?
“I’ll be in my room,” she said before turning and walking away.
Frustrated that Mari couldn’t see the good in what was happening, the possibilities, Hank shook his head as he watched her go. She was making all kinds of assumptions about the bad things that could happen without stopping to consider that there might be a silver lining. Yeah, he was concerned about what London would do if Harper told her she’d seen him kissing Mari, but he thought Mari was going a little overboard on her reaction.
Maybe freeing himself from Simone had made him ready to take chances he wouldn’t have taken before. All he knew was he was in love with Mari. Didn’t want to lose her. Was tired of hiding the way he felt about her.
Maybe that was part of it too. Now that he’d told her how he felt, he wanted to show her, wanted the world to know. Maybe this sabotaging of their secret was a subconscious act. Playing football all these years, he’d learned to trust his instincts, and his instincts told him to stop hiding the truth.
He just hoped Mari would come around to his point of view.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Mari stood on her small balcony, her thoughts whirling.
Hank loved her and she loved him. She didn’t want to keep it a secret either, but she wasn’t ready to face London, to tell her the truth. And she didn’t want to lose her job. It wasn’t just a job to her—she loved Harper and hated the idea of someone else taking care of her.
What if the new nanny didn’t love her like Mari did, or thought painting was too messy and refused to let Harper express her creative side? What if she wouldn’t read to her whenever Harper wanted, or didn’t feed her the right kinds of foods?
On the other hand, Mari loved Hank. So much. Was she willing to give him up? Give up the love that was blossoming between them?
Why couldn’t she have everything she wanted? Why did life have to be so complicated?
Her phone notified her that someone was initiating a FaceTime session. Mari pulled her phone from her pocket. It was London. Why was she calling in the middle of the day?
Simone must have talked to her.
Heart racing, Mari took a deep breath to calm herself, then she answered.
London had a big smile on her face, not the expression Mari expected to see if she’d just found out Mari and Hank were involved.
“Hello!” London said.
“Hi.”
“I have some wonderful news.”
So, this had nothing to do with her and Hank. Mari’s heart slowed to a normal rate. “What’s up?”
Her smile grew. “I’m done filming, so I’m flying home tonight!”
A million thoughts bounded through Mari’s head, but she managed to keep her face neutral. At least she hoped it was neutral. “That’s great.”
“I’ve arranged for you and Harper to fly home tomorrow. First thing in the morning. I’m so excited to see her.”
First thing tomorrow? Already?
Mari wasn’t ready to tell Hank good-bye. Not yet.
“Oh.” Struggling to maintain her composure, Mari could feel tears pushing into her eyes.
“What’s wrong?”
“I just…it’s so sudden.” Scrambling for something to say, Mari said the first thing that came into her mind. “Harper’s having such a wonderful time. I…I don’t know if she’s ready to leave.”
London’s eyebrows bunched, then they smoothed out. “She’ll be fine. Besides, I’m sure she’ll be thrilled to see me.” London waved her hand. “Anyway, it’s all arranged. The limo will pick you up at nine o’clock tomorrow morning.”
There was nothing she could do. This was completely out of her control. “All right. We’ll be ready.”
The sound of a door opening could be heard in the background and London turned her head. Someone said something and she nodded in their direction, then she turned back to the camera. “Looks like it’s time for me to head to the airport. I’ll see you tomorrow!”
“Okay. Have a good flight.”
“You too.”
Then the session ended.
She would have to tell Hank good-bye. How was she going to do that? She wasn’t ready. Not in the least.
Why was she wasting her time stewing in her sadness when she could be with him? What an idiot she was. She ran out of her bedroom and down the stairs, pausing for a moment when she reached the archway that led to the family room. Hank was sitting on the couch with Harper, reading her a story, and doing a fantastic job of changing his voice as he read. Harper was enthralled.
Heart wrenching at the scene, Mari waited until he finished the book, then she walked into the room.
Her feelings must have been written all over her face, because when Hank saw her, his face fell. He turned to Harper. “Princess Pink Rose, would you like to watch The Little Mermaid?”
Harper’s head bobbed up and down, and minutes later she was sprawled out on the couch, happily watching the movie.
Hank took Mari by the hand and led her into the cozy sitting room where they sat beside each other on the couch.
“What’s wrong?” he asked without preamble.
“London called.”
His eyes widened, and Mari shook her head. “It’s not what you think. She said she’s done filming and it’s time for us to come home.” She swallowed over the huge knot in her throat. “We leave in the morning.”
In the morning? Hank had known all along that this was only a visit, but he’d put off thinking about the day Mari and Harper would actually leave. But now it was here.
Mari was waiting for him to say something, but he just needed a moment to think. He stared at his hands balled in his lap, his thoughts firing in all directions.
“What should we do?” Mari asked after he’d been silent for nearly a minute.
He lifted his head and met her gaze. “There’s nothing we can do. London has primary custody, so tomorrow you…you leave.” He didn’t like saying it out loud. It made it real.
She grabbed his hands and implored him with her eyes. “But I love you, Hank. I don’t want to leave.” Tears flooded her eyes. “But I love Harper too. I can’t leave her either.”
Seeing her deep devotion to Harper meant everything to him. “I don’t want you to leave either. Neither one of you. But there’s nothing we can do about it. Not today.”
“Not today? What do you mean?”
Would he be willing to fight for primary custody? Is that what he wanted? Would he even have a chance at winning? That would be a major challenge. And in all reality, it wasn’t something he could take on until the season was over.
He knew Mari wanted him to fix this, and he wished he could, but he shook his head. He didn’t want to give her false hope. “I didn’t mean anything.”
A gentle sigh slipped from Mari’s lips. All hope was lost. Unless she was willing to give up being Harper’s nanny—something she wasn’t willing to consider—she would have to say good-bye to Hank. At least she would see him again. Harper was scheduled to come back for a visit at the end of October. She could wa
it that long to see him, couldn’t she?
Looking at him now, her body tingling with the memory of being in his arms, of having his mouth on hers, she wasn’t sure she could.
“Come here,” he said.
She went into his arms eagerly, laying her head against his shoulder, feeling safe and secure in his powerful embrace.
Holding back the sobs that wanted to erupt from her throat, she savored this moment, drawing on the warmth from his body and the strength from his arms to buoy her up. They would enjoy these last hours together, and then they would say good-bye. She could do this. She could do hard things.
For the rest of the afternoon and into the evening, the three of them played together, ate dinner together, and just spent time together. Mari told Harper that in the morning they were going to her other house, that her mother would be there, and she seemed excited about that. It was only Mari who was struggling. At least, she thought it was only her. Hank seemed to be handling everything just fine.
Maybe she was more wrapped up in him than he was in her.
Chapter Thirty-Five
The next morning Mari was up early—she’d hardly slept the night before. She’d already packed for both herself and Harper. The limo would arrive in a few hours, and she was determined to spend as much of that time with Hank as she could.
After getting ready she went downstairs, prepared to make a big breakfast for the three of them, but as she descended the stairs she could smell something wonderful cooking. Had Mrs. Stillman returned early?
Curious, she went into the kitchen and found Hank standing in front of the stove flipping a batch of French toast. And he was wearing an apron.
The surprise of seeing him in a completely unexpected role made her smile—something she desperately needed.
“Look at you,” she said as she approached him, stopping on the opposite side of the island.
He lifted his head, and when he saw her, he smiled. “Thought I’d send you and Harper off with a good breakfast.” He grinned. “Your flight’s too short for anything besides a couple of peanuts.”
Blindsided (Fair Catch Series, Book Three) Page 15
