“And your point?”
“Ha-ha.” He put in the last dish and closed the dishwasher. “Leave it alone, Liz. Please.”
She looked at him a beat, sighed like he’d totally exasperated her instead of the other way around. “Okay. If you promise me you’ll give yourself a chance.”
He thought about that a second, but before he was forced to agree, the other women descended on the kitchen in a buzz of baby names and guessing sexes.
Lizzy gave him a look, annoyed he was getting off without answering.
Things quickly morphed into rearranging and redecorating every child’s bedroom, and he escaped outside to the deck. The men’s safety zone.
They talked sports a bit as the sun sank behind the tall pines, throwing his parents’ yard into shadow.
“Do you think she’s going to lose the property?” his dad asked.
“Not if I can help it. This awareness thing actually has a chance of working, more than I’d first thought.” Stephen laid it out for them, or as much as he had at this point. “All I’ve gotten is a damn runaround. I can’t even get the names of anyone looking to buy it so I can head them off. It’s like I’m being blocked.”
“Bureaucratic red tape,” his dad said.
“Maybe.” But it felt like more than that.
“So,” Matt said, looking over. “You’re going to take on the entire state of Virginia?”
“If that’s what it takes. She’s not trying to make any money at it, not looking for riches or power or even acknowledgment.” Wouldn’t matter if she was. He’d take on the world for her.
“Abby sure thinks Hannah’s something special. And I’m pretty sure Gracie would trade a brother for her.”
The back door opened and a piercing wail poured out. Matt straightened. “Sounds like my cue.”
“Me too,” Paul said.
Matt slapped Stephen on the back as he passed. “Let me know if there’s anything I can do.”
“You mean besides your list?”
“Yeah, besides that.”
“Will do. Thanks, man.” The door closed and Stephen rested his arms on the railing next to his dad.
He wasted no time. “Sounds like you like her.”
So much for safety zone, and he more than liked her.
“I didn’t spend much time with her at Gracie’s party, but I got the sense she was very sweet. And very innocent.”
“Too innocent for me, you mean.”
“I mean you’ve been playing the field quite a while, exorcising your demons, I imagine.”
It never failed to amaze him how much his father knew without ever asking. Been that way since they were kids. The great observer, they called him.
“Do you love her?”
“I don’t know.”
His dad made a sound under his breath. “I think you do.”
Maybe he did. But he’d loved once, with every ounce of his soul, holding nothing back, and it had cost him. Not just the loss, but what he’d learned about himself. That part of himself he’d discovered and feared and hated. And more, it had cost everyone around him.
“You might want to figure it out before she falls in love with you.”
Yeah. Stephen inhaled deeply and let it out as his father’s words sank in. Because the only thing worse than his falling in love with her would be for her to fall in love with him.
Chapter 34
The evening before the big day, a low rumbling drew Hannah from the sink to the window overlooking the porch. A giant black truck pulled up and stopped. Surprised to see it was Stephen, she stepped outside.
He got out, big-kid smile on his face, and she got a jolt just watching him as she always did. Hot in jeans and casual dark green. Though Stephen wasn’t a casual man and neither were her feelings for him.
“What do you think?”
“It’s…big.” It was massive, really, like an enormous testosterone machine, with a grille across the front that read FORD in bold black metal.
“Well, thank you.” He winked, then in three strides leaped onto the porch and pressed a quick kiss to her lips. “I have a surprise for you.”
Hannah raised both eyebrows.
“Not that kind of surprise. At least not now. Close your eyes.”
Her eyes narrowed suspiciously.
“Close,” he said again and laughed as he jumped off the porch and went back to the truck.
“What about the Porsche? I thought you loved it?”
“Nah. Not really me.”
Eyes closed, she heard him open the back, then a sliding sound against the truck bed. His footsteps shuffled on the pine needles, his boots clunked up all three steps. “Follow me,” he said, passing her and going inside.
“My eyes are closed.”
“Right. Don’t move.” He came back out and slipped his muscled arms around her from behind, nuzzled her throat. “Mmm. You smell good.”
“So do you.” He always smelled good, a subtle manly aftershave kind of smell that made her picture him naked. This man who was bringing her body to life in a way she’d never experienced before. Or maybe that was more his clever hands sliding up to cup her breasts. He kept going, his fingers hot and slightly rough on her neck when he angled her back for a kiss. Hot and familiar, a comforting, I know you kiss.
“Keep your eyes closed,” he said against her lips.
“I thought this wasn’t the surprise.”