Her heart went out to him. “I’m so sorry, Drew.”
He nodded tightly. “How are things with you?”
“Good. My grandparents are still the managers, and I’m head of maid services now.”
“I know,” he said.
She swallowed. When she would allow herself to envision reuniting with Drew, this was so not how it went. Put the poor man out of his misery, she ordered herself.
“Well… now that I stuck my foot in my mouth, why don’t you tell me what you’ve been up to before this staff meeting that was supposed to take place actually takes place?”
He indicated that she should sit in the chair directly to his right. Though she wasn’t expecting him to ask her to spend more time with him, she sat down and let hope bubble up in her chest.
“Buying companies, securing websites, stock trading. Dealing with international hackers.”
“Sounds exciting.”
The barest hint of a smile lifted his mouth at the corners. “It can be.”
“Are you staying very long? Because we’re closing for winter.” She leaned forward a bit in her chair. “In fact, the new owner is coming…” Her eyes rounded. “You’re the new owner.”
“I am.”
Shaking her head, her mouth twisted slightly. “I can’t believe it. I should have known. Why else would you be here?”
“To see you,” he said, and her heart stuttered, making her feel lightheaded.
“You came to see me?”
His dark gaze never left her face. “Yes.”
The craziest, most unimaginable thought entered her head and exited her mouth. “Did you buy this resort just so you could see me?”
“Actually, I did.”
“You’re kidding,” Hannah said, breaking into a peal of laughter. “Oh, gosh. Of course you are. No one buys a hotel just to—” Drew wasn’t laughing, she realized. His face was totally serious. Her stomach flipped. “You could have just called me,” she finally managed to say in a whisper-thin voice. “It’s a lot cheaper.”
He tilted his head to one side. “I have something important to discuss with you, and I didn’t think it would be appropriate to do so over the phone.”
“But you thought it was super okay to buy an entire resort in order to call a staff meeting of one to talk to me?”
That dimple of his appeared again. “Touché.”
“That’s just a little over the top, Drew.”
He shrugged. “It’s a good investment, and I have fond memories of this place. You.”
She blushed. “Stop joking around.”
“I didn’t lie to you when we were kids, and I’m not about to start now.”
Okay, she’d bite. Curiosity was killing her anyway. “What was so darn important that you couldn’t talk to me over the phone? You need investment advice?” she teased.
“I need to get married.”
A sharp pain slashed at her chest. It was stupid, really. She hadn’t seen him in years, yet obviously, she still had feelings for him. Or at least, they lingered.
“Shouldn’t you discuss that with the woman you want to marry?”
He leveled her with a look. “I am.”
Chapter Five
“You want to marry me?” Hannah asked, her pretty, gray eyes wide. She didn’t laugh this time. Instead, she grew silent and sat back in her chair.
Drew hadn’t been sure what to expect when Hannah walked into the room, and he sure as hell hadn’t expected to react to her so viscerally.
She was… stunning. The girl he knew had grown into a woman he wanted to know, wanted to discover, and wanted to take to his bed. She was still tiny, but her body had filled out with gentle curves and full breasts that were made for his hands. Her lips were still wide, still lush and laughing. Pink in color, they made him think of all the naughty things he could do with them.
He’d gotten painfully hard because of those thoughts and her nearness.
Which was why he had to sit, even when she’d run over to him and given him a patented Hannah hug.
She’d always hugged him at the beginning and the end of summer. It was just her way, and something he’d always treasured. She’d always been an affectionate little thing, and it seemed that hadn’t changed about her either.
Except for that erotic little sigh she’d made when her arms had wrapped around him. Yeah, that hadn’t helped, and it had taken every ounce of his self-control not to pull her down into his lap.
God, she probably would have run out of the room screaming.
“Drew?” she said, and he refocused on her.
“Here’s the deal. My father is retiring, and I need to take over Montgomery Industry. However, he’s insisting that I can’t until I get married.”