Page 52 of Take the Bait

She pulled her head back, resting it on his chest. “I love you, too.”

EPILOGUE

Hanna would never get over the fact that her house always smelled like comfort food.

Partly because she couldn’t believe her oven was finally getting some use—that she’d folded and moved her clothes and shoes out of what she considered storage space so Tucker could start testing recipes.

But mostly because it meant that he washere—that he stayed. That she stayed. They lived together, in this house she’d rented when she first moved to Orange Beach. Where she once had an assortment of locally made candles now sat framed photos of Hanna and Tucker out on Shawn’s boat, Bingo Night at the local church with Grams, and one of Tucker kissing Hanna on the cheek on New Year’s day—almost a year and a half ago. Where her toothbrush and hair straightener used to sit, the bathroom counter was now cluttered with Tucker’s brush, cologne, and contact solution. Where her kitchen cabinets used to be empty, there were now an assortment of pots, pans, spices, and cooking utensils Hanna still barely knew how to use.

Though she had gotten better. She’d learned how to make mac and cheese—out of a box, but it still counted, as far asshe was concerned, even though it’d never be as good as when Tucker made it from scratch.

Mostly, her time spent in the kitchen was taste-testing whatever Tucker had come up with, often in the middle of the night. Now that Fish Food had grown even more, he’d brought Sheila on full-time as the restaurant’s manager and a few others who worked underneath her to run the place. Most important to Tucker, he’d hired an accountant.

With all the fresh blood running his restaurant, it freed him up to be creative and visionary about the future of Fish Food. Though he had dreams of expanding across Orange Beach, his first love would always be cooking. And Hanna loved nothing more than waking up in the morning to find him working furiously in the kitchen as the sun rose, his nose powdered with flour as he rushed to try a new recipe that came to him.

Well, she might love one thing more—trying out all those recipes, before dragging him back to bed so he could taste other things.

Therapy had helped her overcome a lot of the commitment issues and fear of awkwardness that had plagued most of her adulthood, and though she knew she’d always carry parts of that with her, she felt more self-assured and confident than ever.

Especially when it came to her relationship with Tucker. Those first few months of their relationship, she still doubted that he’d really want to put up with her—that he’d love her through the awkwardness. Therapy had helped her realize that it was part of who she was, and that giving power to those who might judge her was a her problem, not a them problem.

She’d been journaling, too. Which is exactly what she’d woken up this morning to do. She’d slept in—a blessed occurrence during the summers, when she didn’t have to get to school before rambunctious kindergarteners competed for her attention—and gone to the coffee shop where she’d met Tuckerfor the second time, journal in hand. Sipping on an iced latte, she reflected on the past couple of years and the growth she’d made, wondering what the future might have in store for her.

Her phone buzzed a few times in rapid succession, and she picked it up and smiled upon seeing the group chat with Madi and Bella. After they moved there last summer, Madi had named itconcrete jungle bitches and a beach babe.They hadn’t changed it.

Madi:T-minus 3 days! Can’t wait to see you Han. Please have plenty of wine and popcorn on hand. I’m on the Olivia Pope diet

Bella:I keep telling her she needs actual protein but she never listens to me

Madi:Only in the bedroom.

Hanna:Gross

Madi:Don’t be homophobic

Hanna:You think I want to hear about my sister’s sex life? Two can play at that game. Wanna hear how Tucker licked melted chocolate off my tits last night? Because I can play this game all. day. long.

Bella:uncle

Hanna laughed, setting her phone down. She hadn’t seen her sister and best friend since the holidays, and she was counting down the seconds until they arrived for what promised to be a soul-filling girl’s weekend.

The door to the coffee shop dinged and Tucker walked in.

“Hey, shortcake,” Tucker said, dropping a kiss to her lips before walking over to the barista to order a drink.

This had become their summer rhythm—he was either working at the restaurant or testing recipes at their place while she came to the coffee shop for some relaxing “me time.” Most days, he stopped in to see her for a minute before heading back to work.

He sat down next to her with a grin. “How’s it going, baby?”

She flushed. She’d never get used to the way he doted on her—how loudly he loved her. “I’m good. Just journaling about how much has changed over the past couple of years. How much I’ve grown. How much I love you.”

Tucker’s grin stretched to a beam. “Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“You gonna let me marry you one day?” Tucker asked, his thumbs twiddling nervously over the table contradicting his nonchalant tone.

Hanna felt her lips stretch into a smile. She loved this man. Wanted to be with him forever. Starting… yesterday.

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