Page 24 of Claim to Fame

"Like what?” Ethan asked.

She opened her mouth but nothing came out. He was right. She didn’t have anything to do. She’d left her entire life behind in New York. She could hide from the paparazzi at a painting class as easily as she could in Ethan’s guest room. It’s not like they were around every corner in Rhode Island like they’d been in New York.

“I should probably make some phone calls,” she said lamely.

Tessa would hear no argument. “Whoever it is, call them after. I promise to get you back to Dad’s after lunch. Jo is watching Julie until two o’clock and I intend to enjoy every last minute of my morning off.”

“Besides, the park has surprisingly good cell reception,” Sabrina added.

“That settles it. We’ll pick you up at seven-thirty,” Kyla said.

Hannah hesitated. These women were so kind, so welcoming. It wouldn’t be the worst thing to have some friends while she was in town, especially with Ethan so on edge around her.

“I don’t know how to paint,” Hannah protested half-heartedly.

“That’s why you take a class,” Sabrina said.

At the front of the room, someone rang a bell and announced a three-minute warning until the start of the trivia competition.

“That’s our cue,” Tessa said, scooping up the platter from the middle of the table despite the men’s protests. “Come on, ladies. Let’s show them how it’s done.”

Tessa, Kyla, and Sabrina moved to an adjacent table, each digging into the platter with renewed interest.

Ethan leaned closer and dropped his voice so only she could hear. “You can play on our team if you’d rather, but Tessa will never let you live it down if you don’t join them.”

“Hannah!” Kyla called as if on cue, waving to Hannah with a mozzarella stick in her hand.

Ethan hung his head and laughed as Hannah’s cheeks heated. “I guess I better...” She indicated the other table as she got to her feet.

“Get your cute butt over here!” Tessa added.

Hannah huffed out an embarrassed laugh, heat rushing to her cheeks. “Why is everyone obsessed with talking about my butt today?” she muttered, recalling the unflattering photo that had run on Encores.com earlier in the day.

“It’s a good butt,” Ethan said. Her eyes darted up to his, the embarrassed flush of her skin turning into something else entirely. His eyes scanned over her. “Great actually.”

The words were flattering, but there was something beneath them, an acerbic edge undercutting the compliment.

“You might be the only one who thinks so,” she said. “Well, you and your daughter, apparently.”

Ethan’s eyes traced her face, lingering on her lips for a fraction of a second too long, before the corner of his mouth quirked up, barely even a smile, but the edges of his eyes crinkled at the corner and she had to ball her hands into fists to keep from smoothing them with her fingers. She knew that smirk, and the deliciously filthy things that usually followed it. A tingle of anticipation danced across her skin.

In her bag, her phone rang, the obnoxious factory ringtone too loud in the overcrowded bar. She dug for the sound, finally retrieving the phone just in time to see Jackson’s name flash across her screen before the ringing stopped. Ethan’s eyes, glued to the screen in her hand, had gone cold again, his expression blank.

“I should—” She held up the phone lamely and ducked away from the table, slipping out the door and into the parking lot as she hit the button to call Jackson back.

“Hannah Banana!” His warm laughter filled her ears. “Have you seen this insanity?”

She leaned against the brick façade of the bar, resting her head back and tracing the path of an airplane as it streaked across the night sky. “Jackson, what did you do?”

“I know I fucked up,” he said, his tone suddenly conciliatory despite the lingering laughter. “It was supposed to be a private beach. No photogs allowed. I didn’t even know they’d gotten the shots until they showed up on the internet.”

Something shattered in the background on the other end of the phone, a chorus of laughter and teasing, Jackson’s chuckle making it clear he was only half paying attention to their conversation.

“Where are you?”

“Crashing with a buddy in Mykonos. You’d love it here, Banana. The clubs are open all night. Best DJs in the world.”

Hannah closed her eyes, sighing. “Should you really be clubbing right now?”

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