Page 133 of Square Deal

Hannah looked at me conspiratorially and grinned. “I’ll see what I can do.”

She led me by the hand down the marble-clad hallway toward a set of mahogany and glass French doors. She pushed the gold filigree handle down and poked her head in.

“Excuse me, gentlemen,” she said. Her southern accent sounded sweet as honey. “Mind if I interrupt?”

“Why—I’ll be!” a silver-haired man said, rising to his feet from a leather wingback chair. “Hannah Jane, darling, you look lovely as ever.”

Hannah stepped into the library. She eased up on her tiptoes and wrapped her arms around him. He kissed the top of her head.

When they broke away, Hannah took my hand. “Daddy, I’d like to introduce you to Isaac, my boyfriend.” She turned to me. “Isaac, this is my father, Robert Hayes.”

I shook his hand the same way I had Jake’s and looked him in the eye. “Isaac Lawson. Pleasure to meet you.”

I didn’t have the same beef with Hannah’s dad as I did with her mother. From the looks of it, Hannah was forever his little girl. Itwas unfortunate he married such a poor excuse for a woman and didn’t have the balls to stand up to her.

“Isaac Lawson,” he said, drawing out each syllable as slow as molasses. “Now, I’ve heard that name a time or two. Tell me, son, how’d you find my Hannah Jane?”

“Mutual friends,” I clipped and then looked down at Hannah. “Love at first sight.”

His belly rumbled with resounding laughter. “Well, isn’t that something? Do see to it that you and I get to know each other before you leave today.”

I nodded. “Absolutely.”

Hannah gave the other men in the room a delicate three-fingered wave and closed the door behind her. “That went well.”

“You seem surprised, Princess.”

She snickered. “Do you moonlight as a snake charmer? He hasneverliked the men I’ve dated.”

I didn’t want to tell her it probably had more to do with my last name than her father thinking we were a good match. As much as he loved his daughter, there were dollar signs in his eyes.

We walked through the Hayes estate, hand in hand. Hannah doled out polite hellos and facilitated introductions. It struck me as odd that no one seemed interested in a conversation with her further than “nice to see you”and, “well, look at you—all grown up.”

“Oh my God! You made it!” A girl in a white cocktail dress with swooping bottle-blonde hair hurried over as soon as we made it outside. She grabbed two glasses of champagne and shoved them toward us. “Drink, and then spill.”

Hannah knocked her champagne back in one long gulp. She passed the empty glass off to a waiter and grabbed another. “Marissa, Isaac. Isaac, my sister-in-law-to-be, Marissa.”

I lifted my still-full champagne flute, silently thanking her for the alcohol, and toasted Marissa. “Hello, new best friend.”

“This party is the worst. I’m bored out of my mind, my feet aredying, and if I have to recount Jake’s proposal one more time, I’m literally going to scream.”

Hannah smiled wickedly—the same smile she had dancing with Maddie on top of the bar at Jokers. Something stewed behind those mischievous brown eyes. “Pool house. Two minutes. Bring my brother.”

Marissa saluted. “Aye, aye, captain.”

I smirked as Hannah’s demeanor changed from southern belle to Hell Yes Ma’am. It was like watching a quick-change performer in Vegas. You don’t know how it happens, but it does. And you know shit is about to go down.

“Oh sweetheart,” she said to a passing waiter, eyeing the tray of finger foods he carried. “Mrs. Hayes will have a conniption if she sees the canapés served without cocktail napkins. Be a dear and see to it that the rest of the trays have them. I’ll take care of this one.”

It was terrifying how quickly she shape-shifted into her snake of a mother. Then again, she had eighteen years of learning from the best.

There was something to say about irrational confidence. Fake it ‘til you make it.

The petrified waiter handed the tray to Hannah and scurried off to the kitchen without question. The threat of a public haranguing by Marlene Hayes must have overwhelmed him.

“Step one, complete.” Hannah smirked.

With the newly acquired snacks in hand, we bobbed and weaved through curt greetings and polite nods until we made it to the pool house. Hannah twisted the knob and bumped the glass-paned doors open with her hip.

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