Page 75 of Novel Problems

“Mom, why don’t you go upstairs. I’ll just finish up down here,” I said, unable to take my eyes off Hannah.

Hannah looked up, her face breaking into a contagious smile.Damn, it is good to have her back.

“Here, let me.” I held my hand out for the mop.

“I can do it,” Hannah protested, but I shook my head,.

“I know you can,” I said, “but I want to.”

Our hands brushed as she gave me the handle, and even though it was brief, a thrill shot through my spine.Time for that later.The floor wouldn’t mop itself.

I took over the last section of the floor, making quick work of it, and then we headed upstairs together. I was itching to have a proper conversation with Hannah, but with Mom staying, our privacy was seriously lacking. Thankfully, as soon as we entered the apartment, Mom excused herself to take a shower.

As soon as she was out of sight, I wrapped my arms around Hannah again, enveloping her in a bear hug. “I missed you,” I murmured into her hair.

“Me too. I know it was only two days, but it felt like an eternity.”

“It really did.” I pulled back so I could see her face, my arms still around her, and regaled her with a few highlights from the past few days of working with my mother.

“I’m so sorry,” she managed to say, trying to bite back laughter. “I would never have left if I’d realized you were so understaffed.”

“Well, I’m glad you did. Not only did Mom discover her new calling of working in a café, but it sounds like you managed to sort out a lot of things.” I could have stayed like this, face to face with Hannah, for hours, but I wasconscious that we’d be eating late if we didn’t put the marinara sauce on to simmer soon. “Are you okay if I start making dinner?”

“Of course.” Hannah nodded and walked with me to the kitchen. “What can I do to help?”

I passed Hannah garlic and onion to chop while I got out the saucepan and searched for the cans of tomatoes.

“I guess you didn’t get a chance to speak to Tania or your parents today?” I asked as I opened the can. Hannah had arrived back at the café before noon, which meant she’d have had very little time in New York this morning.

Hannah’s face broke into a broad grin. “Actually, I did both!”

I did a double-take. “You did?”

“I was very efficient—spoke to my parents at seven-thirty this morning and Tania at eight-thirty,” Hannah said.

“Wow! That must have been an intense couple of hours.” My face softened. “How did it all go?”

As Hannah chopped the alliums, she filled me in on the conversation with her parents. My heart ached hearing their reaction. They sounded awful.

“I’m so sorry it didn’t go well.”

Hannah gave a small smile. “Well, in some ways it did. My side of the conversation went well. I kept my cool and told them how I felt. Even though their response was disappointing, it felt good to finally be open and honest with them. As your therapist said, you can’t control how people react.”

My chest swelled with pride. “I’m so glad to hear that, babe. And how did things go with Tania?”

“That went better. We worked out the asset split, and while the conversation was definitely awkward, we got through it without thingsgetting nasty.”

Hannah tipped the garlic and onion into the saucepan. They sizzled as they made contact with the hot oil.

She turned around to me, her smile broadening. “It’s such a relief to have both of those conversations behind me. And while I can’t control how my parents react, I can control who I surround myself with.” She stepped toward me, holding my gaze. “And there’s one person in particular I want to surround myself with as much as they’ll let me.”

“Oh, really?” I grinned. “And who might that be?”

Hannah wrapped her arms around my neck and kissed me gently before pulling back.

“Who do you think?” She smiled, her eyes crinkling, sending warmth rushing from my chest to my extremities.

“Well, I don’t think you’ll be hearing any objections from that person.” I leaned in and kissed her again. “I would quite happily spend twenty-four seven with you.”

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