Page 30 of My Little Secret

“Hey, beautiful.” His smooth tenor made the tension from my conversation with Brute dissolve on the spot. “Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas, Hawk.” I sighed, sitting on the bed. Everything in this room was a complementary shade of blue. I swiped my fingers over the sky blue comforter as we chit-chatted for a few moments about our family traditions, how the day had gone, and then I got down to business.

“Hawk, did you know who I was when you ran into me at the bar?”

He paused. I could almost imagine the look of confusion on his face. Or maybe I just wanted it to be that way. Truth was, we’d only been able to video chat and send pictures since I came back to NYC. We’d only known each other for four weeks. Maybe I didn’t know him at all.

“Of course not,” he said. “Why do you ask?”

“Why did you pause?”

“I was seriously not expecting a question like that,” he said with a small laugh. “Why do you ask?”

I nibbled on my bottom lip, considering how much I should reveal. It felt like a big deal. But also, maybe this was going to fizzle out soon. He lived in LA—how could it even work? Doubt slithered through me, making me woozy.

“I told Brute that we’ve been talking.” I poked at the navy blue throw pillow at the head of the bed. “He thinks you sought me out intentionally as an attack against him.”

Hawk’s throaty noise was so incredulous it could have echoed around the world twice. “What? Are you kidding me?”

“No.”

“Sadie, I can’t reiterate this enough: fighting your brother is work for me, but for him it seems way more personal. I can’t explain it. Ever since our first fight he’s had something against me. I always thought it was because I beat him. But I did not know who you were when I saw you at the bar.”

My doubts disintegrated under Hawk’s firm voice. “He thinks you’re the reason his ex-girlfriend left him.”

There was a heavy pause. “What? Who the fuck is his ex-girlfriend?”

“Mandy Leffler.”

Another pause. And then, “Shit.”

“What?”

He heaved a sigh. “Yeah, I remember her. I didn’t know she was Brute’s ex, though.”

“Well, he’s not over it. And because of it, he’s got a Grade A grudge against you.” I plopped back onto the bed.

“Mandy came onto me,” Hawk said. “I found out later she was dating someone, but never knew who. We messed around a few times. She fell hard, though.”

I smirked. “Easy to do with you, I guess.”

Hawk laughed low and throaty. “Are you trying to tell me something?”

“Maybe. Maybe not.”

He sighed. “Sadie, I miss you.”

Hearing those words from him never got old. It was so early, but so true. I missed him, down to my core. “I miss you too, Hawk. When can we see each other?”

“Soon. What are you doing for New Year’s?”

My heart pounded as I thought about my calendar. Some girlfriends and I were going to a private party. “Just a little bash with friends. What about you?”

“You got any time for visitors?”

The grin nearly split my face in two. “Shut up. Are you serious?”

“I’m not telling you the day or time. But there’s a very good chance I will be seeing you this week—”

The excitement burbled over, and I squealed into the phone.

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