Page 67 of Square Deal

She giggled. “Who said I’m pretending?”

I tucked her hair behind her ear and leaned in. Softly, I said, “I don’t know about you, but I’m pretending.”

Her eyes lowered to half-mast as she stared at my lips. “I think I might be pretending too.” She was scared. It was written all over her face. Damn near terrified.

“Don’t overthink things.”

“Pie,” she said on a sigh and then smiled. “And then New York.”

I motioned to the door. “After you.”

Hannah opened the door and walked into the man cave before stopping dead in her tracks. Melissa and Kristin were sitting on one of the couches with matching glasses of wine and wide eyes.

Melissa was the first to speak up. “I’m just going to pretend like I didn’t hear any of that.”

Kristin just giggled.

Hannah glared at them both. “I have contractor-sized garbage bags and a whole stash of OxiClean. They’ll never find your bodies.”

The two of them zipped their lips.

I put my hands on Hannah’s shoulders and felt the tension melt away. “Pie and then New York,” I reminded her. “I have plenty of money to bail you out, but let’s save murder for another day.”

17

HANNAH JANE

“You’re kidding me!” Mel squealed, bouncing on top of my bed while I sat on top of my bulging suitcase and zipped it up. “So, you’re serious? You two have been secretly hooking up since the wedding?”

“Secretlybeing the operative word,” I said with a glare.

“My lips are sealed. Kristin’s too,” Mel promised with a turn of an imaginary key. Her back flopped against my tufted comforter. “But why all the sneaking around? I mean, it’s not like any of us would have a problem with it. I was starting to worry about you—it’s been a while since you’ve been with anyone.”

I dipped into the bathroom, perched a bag on the edge of the vanity, and added every toiletry I owned with one fell swoop of my arm.

One of the perks that came with flying on a boujee private plane was the lack of weight restrictions on luggage. Which was a great thing for me because I wasn’t exactly what you would calllow maintenance.

“Thank you—again—for taking care of my car. You’re saving me a hell of a lot of lies.”

Melissa was letting me park my car at her apartment complex in Morehead City. I didn’t want to explain why I was flying to New York for a few days, so I just told the poker club I was going to visit my family.

“No worries. Your car’s nicer than mine,” Mel said. “I might drive it to work.”

“Be my guest. Just don’t let the boys catch you if they come by the hospital.”

Mel shrugged. “Steve still avoids me like the plague.”

I offered a sympathetic smile. “Are things still weird between y’all?”

“A little,” she sighed, twisting one of the ends of her braids around her finger. “I think we’re good at pretending like things aren’t awkward for the sake of everyone else, but they are. I should’ve just kept my mouth shut.”

Poor thing.She was still heartbroken after she admitted to Steve that she’d harbored a crush on him and he shot her down.

“You’ll find yours,” I promised.

“Have you found yours?” she asked.

“No,” I said matter-of-factly. “We’re just… I found the one person I can have sex with, with no feelings. Do you know how rare that is for me? I’m not asex on the third datekind of girl. You know me—the clothes don’t come off until there are labels and exclusive, long-term commitments. I still have needs. I just like not having to wait months to have them taken care of.”

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