Page 93 of Erik's Salvation
When she stepped inside the pizza place, her eyes widened at the sight of Andi by the counter. A woman who looked to be the same age stood beside her. She had straight brown hair just past her shoulders and big brown eyes to match.
When their gazes collided, Andi beamed and pushed off the counter.
“Hey!” She stepped forward and wrapped Hannah in a hug.
God, these Hunter hugs…they really wrapped her up in warmth and love, two things she could really use right now. “Hi, Andi.”
Andi pulled back and turned to the other woman. “This is my childhood best friend, Finley. She’s basically part of the family. She would have been with us at dinner last week if she’d been in town. Finley, this is Erik’s partner, Hannah.”
Her insides knotted at the label, but she used all her strength to keep it off her face. “It’s nice to meet you, Finley.”
“You too, Hannah.”
She cleared her throat. “Pizza for dinner?”
Andi laughed. “Yeah. Finley’s out of town a lot, so when she’s here, we make the most of it. She’s leaving again soon for some big Christmas fair in Canada. She’s a bigwig social media marketer slash influencer.”
Finley rolled her eyes, but there was a hint of a smile on her face. “I am not a bigwig. I just have a big following.”
“She’s lying,” Andi whispered. “Every event organizer wants her.”
Almost on cue, Finley’s phone rang.
“See,” Andi said. “People call her left, right, and center to market their events.”
Finley shook her head. “Not true, but Iamgoing to take this call. It was a pleasure to meet you, Hannah.”
When the other woman stepped away, Andi turned back to her. “You here to pick up dinner for you and Erik?”
Hannah tried not to cringe. “Actually, I’m staying at Henry’s place tonight.”
“Oh.” It took less than two seconds for suspicion to widen Andi’s eyes. “Is everything okay?”
“Um…” She considered lying, but she was a terrible liar. Plus, she didn’t want to lie to Andi. “Not really. But I’m hoping it will be.”
Andi nibbled her bottom lip. “I’m sorry. I really hope you work things out. Since Erik’s met you, I almost feel like I have my brother back.”
“Back?”
There was a sad tilt to her eyes. “After Vicky and their baby were killed, Erik became less than a shadow of the man he used to be.”
Her heart jolted painfully. “Baby?”
A frown transformed Andi’s face. “God. He didn’t tell you? She was six months pregnant when she was killed.”
A chill swept over Hannah’s skin and nausea bubbled in her stomach. “That’s…”
There weren’t any words.
“It was a devastation I thought he’d never come back from, honestly,” Andi said softly. “Since then, he’s barely been surviving. Never returned home. Butyou…you’ve healed some of that hurt. Slotted him back together. I really hope you two can work things out, Hannah.”
Andi’s pizzas were set on the counter just as Finley returned. Andi squeezed her arm gently before both women said goodbye.
Every word Andi had said flickered through her head on repeat on the way to Henry’s house. No wonder the man didn’t want children. He’d lost a child before he’d had a chance to hold them. That would ruin the strongest person.
She scrubbed a tear from her cheek as she pulled onto Henry’s street and parked outside his town house. It was a balancing act to get out of the car without dropping her bag or the pizzas. When she reached his door, she set the bag on the ground to unlock it.
“Henry? Brigid? I’ve got pizza,” she called as she walked inside.
