Chapter 26


    Tobias


    The former Mrs. Darling has surprised me yet again. I took her to a nice Italian restaurant, thinking she


    would be grateful. And while Hannah seems happy, she is studying the pizza menu.


    I chuckle in my seat, and Hannah snaps her head, looking at me like a deer caught in headlights. “What?


    Have I done something wrong?” She looks around as if she is nervous. I’ve done something wrong,


    haven’t I? This is an incredibly fancy ce, and I don’t fit in…” Oh… Hannah thinks she doesn’t fit in?


    My heart grows soft, and I offer her a smile. Hannah is precious. When I’m with her, I’m afraid the wind,


    the earth… life will take her away from me. And I don’t want that. I want to keep her safe from it all.


    “You’ve done nothing wrong,” I tell her, hoping to remove that worried look from her face.” Is any dish


    catching your eye?”


    “The pizzas, especially the one named Mno.”


    I bite back a smile and flip to the pizzas myself. Since Hannah is honest about what she wants, I should


    follow in her footsteps. This will be fun. She is a refreshing breath of air. Anyone else would order the


    expensive food, especially since I’m paying, but not this woman.


    “I might take the Mno myself…” I eye the minced meat pizza and my mouth waters. “Yeah, I think I will


    take the same as you.”


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    “That’s not how it works!”


    My lips curve into a confused smile. “Excuse me?”


    “You heard me!” Hannah’s eyes are vast, and she looks wild and crazy when she meets my gaze. Her


    sunsses are perched on her head, and her face is shiny with sunscreen. “You have to order a different


    pizza from me so we can trade slices with each other! Hasn’t anyone ever taught you that?! It’smon


    sense!”


    My amusement grows. “Is it?”


    “Yes! And you’re old-you should know this!”


    “Old?!” I snort. “Thank you for that.”


    “Fuck!” Hannah is panicking now. It’s hrious to watch her face go from crazy to pale and then bright red


    when she sees me smiling. “That’s not what I… shit… I didn’t mean it like that! Wait. Why are you


    laughing?!”


    Seriously? How can she not know? It’s impossible not to smile when she is such a weirdo.” Because


    you’re so silly.”


    Hannah’s face is back to being red, and she squirms in her chair. “I’m not silly…”


    “You are,” I say, gazing at her from the opposite side of our small circr table. My smile is wide and only


    growingrder. “But I like it.”


    If I thought she couldn’t get any redder, I was wrong. It looks like she has run a marathon by now, and I


    watch her exhale slowly and re her nostrils before picking up the menu.


    “Perhaps I order the smi pizza…” she mumbles.


    Hmm, changing the subject, is she? Alright then.


    “Sure, then I can take the Mno, and we trade slices,” I beam at her when she looks. you wanted.’


    To my surprise, Hannah beams back. “That would be great!”


    Such enthusiasm and such a bright smile over something so small. How is it possible for Hannah to be


    so lovely? I watch her with a fond feeling in my heart, and when she starts talking about the dessert, the


    warmth in my chest only grows.


    “Like


    Even though Hannah only talks about food, this is another moment when my heart thread with hers.


    Every time she smiles, it’s as if someone is reaching down with a sewing needle and putting another


    stitch on our souls. I’m falling for her.


    Truth?


    I want Hannah to be my real wife. But I need to figure out how to go around it. I don’t want to freak


    her out with what I want, and… I also want children, and I wonder if she is ready. for that. She is in


    college, and I don’t want to wait, but… do I have a choice?


    I don’t think I will ever fall this hard for another woman.


    Hannahughs and smiles so much that the cold, workaholic Tobias Ford is changing to someone less


    heartless. I’m adjusting to amodate her needs, but I realize it’s also for my own sake because I’m


    happier.


    Hannah makes me happy.


    I want her, but… shit. What if she doesn’t want me? Fuck. I haven’t thought that far yet. How can I be so


    fucking self-centered that I didn’t think of that yet?!


    What if Hannah hates me?


    What if she doesn’t like older men and just acts friendly because I’m a billionaire with a fat wallet?


    I’m so lost in my train of thought that I order my food on auto-pilot. When the pizzase out, Hannah


    chews on her bottom lip. Her eyes are studying my face, and I breathe augh.


    “What is it?” I ask.


    “It’s just… you looked so… angry…”


    “I’m not angry.” I’m not, but my head is spinning with thoughts of the future, making it hard to pay


    attention.


    “I see…” Hannah stares down at her pizza, and I notice her hand clutches her fork so hard her fingers


    are turning white. “Tobias, can I tell you something without you getting mad?”


    Immediately my walls rise-nothing goodes from a woman saying those words to you. Nothing. Sarah


    was thest person to speak those words; the rest is history.


    Still, this is Hannah, so I decide to hear her out. “Of course, you can.” I try my hardest to


    sound kind. Hannah is not Sarah. She will not hurt me-I must repeat that over and over. “Is something


    bothering you?”


    “Yes, something is actually bothering me,” Hannah ces down her cutlery. There is tomato sauce


    around her mouth, but I say nothing about it and remain silent in my seat. “I’m…” her beautiful eyes are


    filled with despair for some reason. “I’m… I’m not sure how to say this.”


    The little pained breath of augh at the end makes me realize that whatever is on Hannah’s mind is


    hard for her to be open about. So even if she will hurt me, it isn’t easy for her-that tells me exactly what I


    need to know: she is unlike any other woman I’ve ever met.


    Hannah is precious.


    “Just say it,” my tone is calm. “It’s easier that way, and I promise I won’t get mad at you, whatever it is.


    You have my word.”


    Her tongue darts out, wetting her dry lips. “I’m scared…”


    Hannah is refusing to look at me, so I hunt her doe-eyes down, forcing her to see me.


    “Don’t be scared,” I reach out my hand, and my fingers briefly touch hers. Hannah jerks in fright, but I


    grip her hand, willing her to calm down.


    Her eyes liquefy, but she doesn’t withdraw from my hand. Still, there is some shaking that bothers me.


    It’s almost as if she is afraid of me? But that is silly. Why would she fear me?


    “I’m in love with you, Tobias.”


    I swear my breathing seizes. I know that I should be talking, but I can’t. I’m shocked and slowly ce my


    hand over Hannah’s chest. I can feel her heart… pounding for me.


    My eyes meet hers. Hannah is awfully quiet, probably waiting for me to stop acting like a lunatic and say


    something-she confessed to being in love with me! The problem is just that I don’t know what to say! Part


    of me is convinced I’m hallucinating at this moment.


    I continue to stare, and Hannah’s bottom lip trembles. She looks close to tears again, and some of my


    sanity returns.


    “Do you mean those words?” I ask in a barely audible voice. It isn’t fair to ask her this, but I’m just not


    convinced that such a nice girl is in love with someone who could be the Grinch.


    “Of course I do,” Hannah speaks softly. Her eyes are shining, and the smile curling her lips is insecure.


    “Does your silence mean that you do not feel the same?” Sheughs, but the sound is pained. “I mean,


    of course, you don’t feel the same… you want Sarah.”


    She thinks I want Sarah back?


    The truth is that part of me will always belong to Sarah, and I’m unsure whether or not I want Sarah or


    Hannah. I’m falling for Hannah, but I’ve already fallen for Sarah.


    But Hannah’s vulnerability and how she can turn any asion into something exciting? How she always


    seems close toughter and isn’t afraid of being herself-it’s all hitting me on a deeper level. I can see


    myself falling so deeply in love with her that I won’t ever recover from


    away for


    Women like Hannah? They are rare, and I would be a fool to throw a chance with her a woman like


    Sarah, who uses mind games to get what she wants. Hannah is not like that.


    Hannah is–


    The memory of her smile ys in my mind, and I smile.


    “I think I’m in love with you too…”


    When Hannah looks at me with her big, shocked eyes, I breathe augh. Not because she looks silly but


    because I’m filled with so much yearning that it’s insane. I’ve never wanted a woman as much as I want


    Hannah.


    I should give her a clue about that.


    This is the moment of truth, and I wet my lips. “In fact, I’m probably deeper in love with you than I’m


    willing to admit because you’re pretty much the only thing on my mind,” I smile wider. “I can’t stop


    thinking about you, Mrs. Ford. You’re on my brain all the time. So, I ask you: what have you done to me?”