Page 69 of Sultry Nights

"I can help with that."

"No, you can't." She laughed. "You can help me out of it tonight, though."

"I'm all over that."

She stared at him a moment. "You look great in white pants and the tropical print shirt. That was clever of Grace and Sid to think of them."

He turned with his arms out so she could see the full effect. "It's cooler too."

"I'll bet."

He winked and left the room. She wrapped two more locks of hair around the hot iron, then swept her hair back and twisted it into a French twist, but let the long ends spring from the top. She pinned her twist into place, then let the long curls drape over it. Spraying her bangs in place, she swiped on her lip gloss and stepped back.

She slipped on a purple sundress that matched the purple in Quinn’s tropical print shirt. That was Grace's idea. She appreciated being accepted by Grace and Sid, and that Grace made sure she felt included. They'd become good friends to her.

She left the bathroom, flicking off the light on her way past the switch, and found Quinn sitting on the sofa, chatting on the phone. He didn't look relaxed. In fact, he was leaning forward and looked about ready to jump.

He turned his head and saw her watching him. Inhaling a deep breath, he pulled the phone away from his ear and handed it to her. "Tisha called to see if I minded that she speak with you. I told her I didn't mind, exactly like I told her before. However, here we are. Do you want to speak with her?"

Hanna took a deep breath and reached for the phone. Their fingers brushed when she took the phone, and she made sure to stay right where she was so he could hear.

Tapping the speaker icon, she stared at Quinn while she spoke to Tisha.

"Hi, Tisha. How are you?"

"I'm fine. Thank you for asking. I'm sorry I didn't call sooner, but I wanted to give you time to heal."

"I'm healed. Thank you for the time, though."

"I just wanted to tell you I'm sorry for following you from your parents’ home. It was wrong and I don't want you to feel like I'd ever cause you harm. And congratulations on your engagement. Quinn is a lucky man. I truly mean that."

She looked into Quinn's eyes as he listened to his ex-wife on the phone. Responding to Tisha, she smiled at Quinn. "Actually, I think I'm the lucky one. But thank you. From both of us."

"Okay. Well, I know you're getting ready for Sid and Grace's wedding, so I won't keep you."

"Thank you for understanding Tisha. Do you mind if I ask you a question?”

Tisha hesitated slightly. “No, not at all.”

“When you told me a few weeks ago that you felt like someone was following you, were you being honest with me?”

Tisha sighed heavily and cleared her throat. “No. I had followed you that day, and it was my feeble attempt to make you feel paranoid. I should never have done that. I guess I was jealous. I apologize for doing that. Please forgive me.”

Quinn’s brows shot up. Hanna swallowed and took a breath. She tamped down the irritation that rose up. Because what would it serve to snap at Tisha now? She’d called to apologize, and she’d admitted what she did. “I forgive you. But, as we move forward, I ask two things of you. One, you never do anything like that again. And two, the kids are never to be put in the middle of anything between the three of us. The three of us meaning, Quinn, yourself, and me.”

“I give my word that I’ll never do that again or anything similar to harm you in any way and I won’t put the kids in a situation where they are the go-betweens or in the middle of anything that pertains to us.”

“Thank you, Tisha. I’d like us to get along and be friends even. It makes things so much easier as our family grows. Once the kids marry and have babies, we’ll be seeing each other, and it should be comfortable for everyone.”

“I agree. Thank you for being so mature about all of this, Hanna. I do admire you and think of you as a friend. I’d also like to let you know that I started working for my father last week. It’s only an office position, but since I need a job, I’m happy for it.”

Quinn grinned and winked at her and Hanna’s tummy filled with flutters. “I think of you as a friend too, Tisha. Thank you. And congratulations on your job. I wish you all the best with it.”

“Thank you. It’s certainly a change and I know I should have done this a long time ago, but…”

Hanna grinned at Quinn. “At least you have it now. I hate to cut this short, but we do have to leave. I'll talk to you later."

"Yes. Have a great time today. Goodbye, Hanna."

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