Page 26 of Savage

“One of these days,” I assured her with a wink, as the waiter came by to take our orders.

“So, speaking of jobs,” she said once we’d placed our pastrami on rye orders, “what’s the sitch with yours? You find one yet?”

I shook my head. “Can’t say I’ve been successful in that department.”

Hannah rested her chin on her hands, and as she looked at me with those doe eyes, it took me back to our college days, when we’d gossip over lunch or between classes. Sometimes it felt like a lifetime since then—others like no time had passed at all.

Today was definitely more the latter.

“If you get desperate, I heard boss lady say they’re looking for someone to take over the social media content. I can put in a good word for you.” She wrinkled her nose when she glanced down at the Colorado Rockies sweater I wore. “Not that I think you’d enjoy posting about clothes all day.”

“No? You trying to say I’m not a great choice for some fashion job?”

“Like I said, call me when you’re desperate.”

I chuckled and took a long sip of my soda. It felt nice to actually be face to face with someone familiar, especially considering I didn’t know anyone else in the city. Hannah had moved here years ago, but we’d kept in touch, and she helped me find a place.

She’d also introduced me to the coffee shop I frequented, since it was near her job, and I wondered if that meant Lachlan worked nearby too.

Though it felt wrong for me to even think about him right now, not when I’d been entertaining someone altogether different in my thoughts.

But I wasn’t going to think about either of them. The last thing I needed to do was have a hard-on for lunch.

“I’ll find something,” I said, picking at the lint on my sleeve. “I’m not worried.”

“Oh? Fall into some money I don’t know about?”

“Nah, just…” I wasn’t sure how much she needed to know, but fuck, I had to tell someone. Otherwise I might damn well lose my mind. “There’s been a lot going on.”

“How’s that? You don’t know enough people in the city for a lot to be going on. No offense.”

“No, you’re right. I…” I ran a hand over my jaw as I blew out a breath. “I need to tell you something, but I swear to God if you judge me or tell anyone else?—”

“Won’t say a word,” she said, crossing her heart. “Tell me all the things, mister. Is it juicy? It sounds juicy.”

“You might say that.”

She squealed and clapped her hands as our sandwiches were delivered, but gestured for me to go on.

Shit, was I really going to do this? Spill my guts about what I’d been up to? I trusted Hannah with my life, and she’d always kept my secrets. But I didn’t want to put her in danger. Maybe I could just skirt around the part where I’d had a gun pointed at my face—since we were eating and all.

I dug into the pocket of my coat and pulled out a certain masked stranger’s glove—the only evidence I had that he existed outside of the fantasies I’d had of him in the past few days. I tossed it on the table between us.

Hannah looked down at the black leather glove then back up to me. “Uh, what exactly am I looking at here?”

I picked up my sandwich. “A version of Cinderella’s slipper.”

“Cinderella’s— Wait, you met someone? Where?” She let out a huff and slumped back in her seat. “You’ve only been here a few weeks.”

Not about to tell her I’d met him in a grungy alley where he’d saved me from having my head blown off, I instead went with a half-truth.

“Well, that’s the thing—we haven’t technically ‘met.’”

“I’m confused. If you haven’t met, how do you have his glove? Oh myGod, were you watching some hot guy who happened to drop his glove? That’s so…Serendipityof you.”

“Actually, it’s more like a superhero film.”

She snorted. “Oh, I’m sorry, was that a little too romcom for you?”

---