Page 10 of Just One Kiss

He gave her a wry smile. "That sounded painful."

"I still said it," she retorted.

"Even though it made you want to throw up. You can't stand it when I'm nice to you."

"It's not like it happens all that often."

"It might if you didn't run out of the room every time you saw me."

"I don't do that."

"Yes, you do. Can't you be honest about that?"

"Do you really want to talk about honesty?" she challenged.

He had to admit he'd taken a wrong turn with that question.

Without waiting for his answer, she added, "I don't actually want to talk about anything that has to do with our past."

"You never do."

"And I still don't. There's no point. I need to deal with this situation."

"You always have an excuse."

"Do you really have anything new to say?" she challenged, as she put her hands on her hips. "What happened with us was a lifetime ago. I've moved on, and I'm sure you have, too."

"If you'd moved on, you wouldn't try to avoid me every chance you get."

She shook her head. "I can't do this right now." She turned and walked out of the bedroom.

He wasn't surprised by her quick exit; he was used to seeing her back. When he returned to the living room, Hannah was sitting on the couch next to where Brett was playing on the floor. Her entire demeanor changed when she looked at her nephew. Gone was the anger and the stress. There was nothing but warmth, kindness and love.

He really missed the days when she'd looked at him like that, but their very recent exchange reminded him that that would not be happening again any time soon.

As he watched Brett and Hannah together, he could see a family resemblance, even though Brett had green eyes and blond hair, no trace of Hannah's temperamental red. But there was something about Brett's expressions that reminded him of Hannah.

Hannah gave Brett a smile and said, "I was thinking you might want to come to my house and have a sleepover. What do you think?"

"Is Mommy going to be there?"

"I'm not sure when she'll be back. But I'll take really good care of you."

"Mommy said you would."

Hannah's jaw dropped at that comment. "She did? Did she mention my name? Did she say Hannah?"

"She said you'd be really nice to me and that we both like dogs. You had one named Tiger."

"I—I did," Hannah said, a tremor in her voice now. "What else did your mom say about me?"

"I don't know—stuff. Do you want to play?"

"Maybe for a minute. Then we need to get your things."

"You can be the vet. My puppy is sick," Brett said, handing her his small dog.

As Hannah and Brett began their imaginary game, Jake grabbed his coat and headed out the door. When he stepped onto the porch, he blew out a breath. Hannah got under his skin like no one else. She had so many sides to her personality. She was definitely a rough diamond, beautiful on the outside, but that beauty had been hardened through fire. She'd been through a lot in her life, and she'd come out stronger, but her toughness wasn't the whole story. She also had a tender, soft core and this situation with her sister was probably bringing her a great deal of pain.

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