Page 44 of Love on the Run
“Some of them can be a bit demanding.”
Hannah got up from her seat. “More tea?”
“Actually, I’m good thanks.”
Gabe surprised Hannah when he too rose to his feet. “I should probably get going.”
CHAPTER29
Hannah groaned as she got out of bed. After the previous evening’s group training session, her body was stiffer than she’d anticipated. She wondered why she was putting herself through the agony. A better idea would have been to get everyone she knew to sponsor Mel and Liv. That way, the charity would still get their money and she wouldn’t feel a hundred years old.
Putting on her dressing gown and making her way downstairs, Hannah heard voices in the kitchen. Recognising her mum’s dulcet tones, Hannah strained to hear what she and Aunt Dorothy were talking about but she couldn’t decipher the conversation. Wondering what her mum could possibly want at that time of the morning, Hannah sighed, supposing she was about to find out.
“Morning,” Hannah said as she entered the kitchen.
Janice and Dorothy sat at the table enjoying a cup of tea.
“How are you feeling today?” Dorothy asked, rising to her feet to make Hannah a cuppa.
Hannah gently lowered herself into a chair. “Sore.”
“Aunt Dorothy was just telling me about your running antics,” Janice said. “I must say I’m surprised you’ve stuck with it.”
“I wish I hadn’t.”
Janice laughed. “Well, you were warned.”
Recalling her mum’s less-than-encouraging response when Hannah had first mentioned the race, the last thing she needed was anI told you so.
“Janice, I’m surprised at you,” Dorothy said, clearly offended. “She might not look up to much this morning, but Hannah’s doing really well.” Dorothy expression relaxed. “Here you go.” She placed Hannah’s mug on the table and took a seat.
“Ha!” Hannah couldn’t help herself. “You think?”
“I most certainly do.”
Hannah appreciated the vote of confidence, even if her aunt’s definition ofreally welldidn’t reflect reality.
“Aunt Dorothy also tells me that gorgeous cyclist of a man is helping you train,” Janice said. Her eager eyes belied her nonchalant tone.
“He is.”
Her mum was so transparent. Before Janice next opened her mouth Hannah knew where their conversation was going.
“So it’s not all doom and gloom then.” Janice paused, her eyebrow raised. “And how are you both getting on?”
Hannah pictured Dorothy on the phone to her mum the previous evening, easily imagining their frantic discussion about flower deliveries, coffee dates, and Dorothy’s not-so-creative manoeuvre to ensure Hannah and Gabe had some alone time. Hannah was surprised their excitement hadn’t caused an electric storm in the airwaves. “That’s why you’re here, is it? To get the gossip?”
Ignoring Hannah’s quip, Janice sipped on her tea. “And I believe he sent you flowers?”
Looking from Janice to Dorothy and back again, Hannah thought the two women were as bad as each other. She didn’t have the heart to explain that the flowers hadn’t come from Gabe at all, but rather his dad. She glanced over at the dresser. Once a profusion of pinks and purple, the blooms had faded, wilted, and dried. Their stems appeared as brittle as Hannah’s over-exercised joints felt. “If you already know, why are you asking?”
“Is there anything else you’d like to share?” Janice asked.
As Dorothy and Janice stared at Hannah, their eyes wide in eager anticipation, she recalled Gabe’s phone ringing, the name Kate flashing up on the screen, and how he’d quickly declined the call rather than answer. She fixed a smile on her face. “Nope.”
Dorothy and Janice slumped in their seats.
“Well, youwillask,” Hannah said, laughing.
