Page 41 of Unravel Me

“Holy fuck, Han-nah? Hannah Haven?”

“There you go, baby. I knew you’d get it eventually. Took you a minute, but I’m proud of you.” He smiles at me and I smack him in the chest again with the back of my hand.

Hannah walks out with a white paper bag and places it on the counter. She’s yet to notice me. She has incredible violet-colored hair, styled in loose waves that hang right above her shoulders,and from what I can see, she’s a regular at the town’s tattoo parlor, as an intricate floral design crawls up her arm.

“Two apple cinnamon muffins! Let me make the coffee real quick.”

She turns her back to us and starts the coffee, clearly a bit distracted.

I look up at Sawyer to find him already looking down at me. My hands find each other as they start to wring together. He reaches out to pry them apart and takes one in his.

“Your usual?” I ask.

“Yep.”

“Since when do you like apple cinnamon muffins?”

“Since you left.”

He leaves it at that as if that’s an adequate explanation. I continue to look up at his eyes, trying to figure him out when he leans down to whisper in my ear again, something I’m realizing he likes to do.

“And no one said I like them.”

My eyes well with tears, but before they can fall, we’re interrupted by Hannah placing our coffees on the counter.

She pauses when her eyes finally meet mine and I straighten as I greet her.

“Hi, Hannah.” I give her a soft half-smile, still unsure how I’ll be welcomed back in this town. Aspen Ridge is small. Usually, if you hurt one person, you hurt the lot of them.

“Ivy?” Her mouth drops open a bit as she looks to Sawyer for confirmation.

“It’s really her, Han. Got here yesterday. She’s staying with me for a bit. We’re trying to keep it on the down-low, though.”

“Oh my god. It’s really you.”

“Mumma!” a little girl squeals as she patters out from the back room and reaches up for Hannah.

“Mumma? Oh my god, Hannah. You had a baby?”

“A lot has changed around here since you left.”

She bends down and scoops up her little girl. My heart melts. She’s young, her hair falls around her face in wild, kinky curls. She is the sweetest thing I’ve ever seen.

“This is Charlotte, but we call her Charlie. She just turned three.”

“Congratulations, Hannah. She is so beautiful. So is this place,” I say as I look around. “Was this all you?”

“It was. Well, me and Liam. He helped so much and did most of the work to save me money. I love it.”

“It’s gorgeous. I love the entire boho vibe you’ve got going.”

“Thanks.”

Feeling awkward, I look up at Sawyer and give his hand a tight squeeze while I shift on my feet. He gets my hint quickly.

“Alright, Han. Good seeing you and the little one. We’re gonna get going.”

“It was good to see you again, Hannah. Thank you for the muffins and coffee.”

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