Page 15 of Her Possessive Valentine

She goes for another double-handed push, but this time, I grab her wrists and stop her. Violence doesn’t solve anything, and even if it might make her feel better, I like my ribs intact and in place.

It’s only when she lifts her head and I see the tears streaming down her cheeks that I realize I must’ve fucked up. Big time.

“Hana?” An ice-cold chill runs up my spine. Fear tightens a knot in my chest, and I find myself short of breath for different reasons than Hana knocking it straight out of me.

“Who is she, Vance?” Her voice is soft. Weak. Not the same high-spirited fury she met me with.

“Hana, you have to?—“

“Who is the other woman?” She pulls her hands free from my grip and turns away from me.

“What other woman?”

Does she mean Jane? She couldn’t. Apart from not knowing her in person, they’ve spoken on the phone. I’m pretty sure Hana wouldn’t suspect me of being the biggest cliché in the book. But then who? I rack my brain trying to figure it out for her to walk out of the Hanging Gardens with a great big sign on her back sayingIt’s Me!

“You mean Mary-Beth?” I’m dumbfounded that it took me this long to realize. But more so that Mary-Beth McAllister is the reason Hana and I are having our first fight.

“How am I supposed to know what her name is?” Hana sighs.

“Short blonde?” And as if that was another siren of war, Hana twists on the balls of her feet to face me. The burning anger on her face is almost hot enough to burn away her tears.

“So, you are screwing around with me?” She points a well-manicured finger in my face as her voice booms across the parking lot. “Is that why you’re in such a hurry to get out of here? Two weeks away so there’s no chance of your girlfriend, wife, whatever the fuck to catch us?”

Try as I might to fight it off, a smile cracks the corners of my lips regardless.

“No. I’m eager to get out of here because I want to take you on a trip around the world,” I say. Sure, it might be ruining the surprise I had in store, but I’d rather convince her that I’m not some two-timing scumbag in any way I can.

“Then who is she?” Another bout of tears forms in her eyes, but this time, I wrap a hand around her neck and pull her into me before they can fall. “And why the hell would she kiss you if you weren’t something more?”

“She’s a dear old family friend,” I answer honestly. “I didn’t even realize she kissed me at all. My thoughts have never crossed that line with her because I see her as a sister more than anything else.”

“How am I supposed to believe you?” Hana sniffles against my jacket.

“Because she’s married with children. And before you say you can’t believe me again, why don’t you look over there?” I release her neck and point in Mary-Beth’s direction. Hana’s gaze follows my hand to find Mary-Beth standing with her husband and children outside their car. “If you need more, I have pictures of their wedding and more from Victor’s.”

“Oh God, I’m such an idiot,” Hana murmurs to herself.

“Ditzy, maybe, but I’d never call you an idiot.” My best attempt at lightening the mood without making her feel bad.

“You probably think I’m crazy now, don’t you?” She tries to pull away from me, but I grab her by the arms and pull her right back. “Y’know, I’m not usually like this. You just did something to me. Something I can’t explain. You’re too kind, too perfect … I don’t even know what you see in me.”

She buries her face into my chest, hiding away from whatever she thinks she did wrong. I hold her tightly, rubbing her back with my hand while I look at Mary-Beth and Dex getting back in the car and driving off.

“Well, that one’s easy to answer,” I say, and it manages to pull Hana out of the shell she was rapidly trying to build. Her eyes turn upward, still glistening from the tears. Hopefully, once I’m done here, they’ll be replaced by tears of joy. “I see a future. You and me hand in hand against the storm. I’m in the exact same boat, Hana. You blew into my life from out of nowhere, and you spun it around in your tailwind.”

I pause to take a breath. As much as I wanted to do it back at the office, talking from the heart is much harder than expected.

“You’ve given me everything I’ve ever dreamed of. Happiness in spades. Life beyond work, hell, I’m starting to hate that placebecause of you.” I move a hand to her cheek and cup it in my palm. Using my thumb, I wipe away the remnants of her fury-filled tears. “You’ve shown me what it means to be alive. And I can’t picture another second of my life without you by my side.”

Hana takes a second to process everything. I expect her to speak when her lips start moving, but instead, she leaps into my arms and kisses me. I catch her and hold her tight, lost to another intense embrace.

She breaks our kiss and rests her head on my chest once more. Not to hide away this time, but rather in the warm endearment I want the rest of our lives together to hold.

“So, a trip around the world, you say,” she whispers, making no effort to get out of my arms.

“I was thinking Japan first. Partly to celebrate the big deal I’m closing tomorrow but also because I hear the sushi there’s pretty good. Then Switzerland to do some snowboarding on the Alps.” I tighten my grip in a hug and press a gentle kiss on the top of her head. “And we’ll finish off in France to meet the family.”

“France? To meet your family?” She looks at me in astonishment.

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