Page 74 of Playboy

He huffs, but before he can disagree, I shoot him a glare to shut him up. “What do you mean Hannah is sad?”

“She doesn’t know you,” she says in that tipsy voice. “She should know you, Danny. Although, I wouldn’t have slept with you”—the room erupts in a chorus of groans, but that doesn’t deter her—“but she seems to like you, so you need to fix this.”

“Fix what?” Chest tight, I look at Noah.

He only shrugs. “I have no idea what she’s talking about. Hannah seemed fine when I saw her a couple of hours ago.”

“Mills, baby. Why don’t you go take a shower?” Gavin passes Vivi to Brooks and grasps his wife by the upper arms.

I step in front of them. Hell no. I’m not done with this conversation. “What exactly did she say?”

Millie tilts her head, her face scrunched in concentration. “It was her eyes. They looked sad. She said you’re a good guy, but she doesn’t really know you.” Millie’s dark eyes—the same color as mine—bore into me, and that twin sense kicks in. That look is all it takes for me to understand exactly what she sensed when she saw Hannah.

“But how do I get her to give me the time to get to know me?”

I step back and scan the group. I need all the help I can get. I’m fucking trying, but between Hannah’s busy schedule, my reputation as nothing but a playboy, and her obvious distrust of men in general, what I’m facing is the definition of an uphill battle.

One guy after another rattles off generic advice.

Noah, on the other hand, purses his lips in concentration. “Ya know,” he says when the other guys have quieted down.

I lean forward. If he’s got an idea, then I’m all ears.

“You should take her on ahave a daytrip.”

Millie nods, her expression lighting up. “Oh yeah!”

My mind spins as I try to decode what they’re saying. “A what?”

“A have a day trip. It’s a thing Hannah talks about all the time. She has a fund for it,” Millie explains, like her words make perfect sense.

Noah grins. “She made me go on one when Jen got pregnant.”

Beside me, War crosses his arms. “Oliver’s mom?”

Noah nods.

“But you’re not with Oliver’s mom. So the trip obviously didn’t help.” Shoulders sagging, I drop into my chair.

“Oh, I didn’t go with Jen.” He joins me at the table. “Hannah came up with the idea when her mom got divorced the first time. She wanted to cheer her up, so she took all the money from her piggy bank, and they spent the night in a hotel. Hannah’s convinced there’s something magical about hotels.” He laughs as if hit with a memory the two of them probably share.

Dammit. I hate that I’m hearing this from him and not her.

“Anyway,” he shrugs. “She saves money, and when someone she’s close to has a breakup or a big life change, she makes sure theyhave a day.It doesn’t have to be fancy, but the point is to take a step back from real life and splurge a little. She sent me on one when I found out about Oliver.”

His expression turns wistful then, like he’s lost in thought.

“Alone?” Brooks asks.

Noah shakes his head like he’s forcing himself back to the present and sighs. “Yeah, I went alone.”

“Why do I get the feeling there’s more to this story?” Millie leans forward so far that if it weren’t for Gavin holding her up, she’d probably fall over.

“Okay, you sound like Beckett now,” Gavin grumbles.

“There was a girl. It was a good week.” Noah wipes the smile from his face and looks back at me. “Hannah’s got a few days off next week.”

“Oh, yes! The all-star break,” Millie squeals.

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