As Hannah listened in, she discovered more about Derek's life in L.A.
He and Ben, his business partner, had recently opened a store in West Hollywood. One of their clients, a TV producer of a lifestyle program imaginatively titled Better Homes, had suggested Derek do a short segment for one of his episodes. Derek had agreed to the one-off for the publicity, but then the producer had offered him a weekly segment, and his TV presence had caused sales at the store to skyrocket. Derek had a house and workshop in the hills not far from his store, and his life sounded perfect for him.
During a lull in the conversation, Derek turned to Hannah. "I stopped by your place earlier today but you weren't home."
"I was at work. I got called in to take someone's shift at the last minute."
"That's too bad."
"Actually, I don't mind. I only started a couple of weeks ago, so I still need to prove myself."
Derek shifted in his seat so he could face her directly. "You're working at a nursing home, aren't you?"
He seemed genuinely interested, so she told him about Avalon House, the upmarket nursing home just a few miles out of town, and Vera, the starchy nurse manager. Hannah needed to get into Vera's good graces, because she was only a part-timer filling in gaps in the roster, and she needed more shifts to save as much money as possible before college started in the fall.
"You're going to college?" Derek rested his elbows on the table, his attention fully focused on her.
"Uh-huh. I'm finally going for my nursing degree to become an RN."
"That's great." He looked genuinely impressed.
She shrugged, twirling her fingers around a strand of hair. "It's something I should have done years ago, only … "
Only when Hannah was still in high school, her mom had run off with a UPS driver ten years her junior and cleaned out the joint bank accounts, including the money set aside for Hannah's college fees. When Hannah and Rick married, she'd hoped she'd eventually get that nursing degree, but it wasn't possible while Rick was in medical school, as her wages covered their living expenses and reduced his college loans. It was only when Rick became a resident earning a decent salary that she'd finally begun to think about it.
"Only, I haven't had the chance, until now," she finished, reluctant to talk about Rick.
"I'm sure you'll do great." He smiled at her, his eyes warm with interest, and she found herself leaning into him, irresistibly drawn to his masculine charm.
"I hope so. I'm a bit old to be starting college."
"No you're not. Tons of people switch careers and go back to college. I know you-you'll worry about your grades and end up passing with honors."
Hannah couldn't help laughing. "This is weird, isn't it? I'm not used to you telling me to buck up."
"Yeah, it was always the other way around. Remember how you'd try to cheer me up with your lame jokes?"
"Lame jokes?" She bumped her shoulder against his and received a jolt of pleasure at the sturdy solidness of his body. "They were gems."
He bumped her shoulder back, giving her another flash of heat. God, he was built like Apollo. Something fizzed in her bloodstream, something she hadn't felt in a very long time. A heady buzz of sheer, physical arousal. "Uh-huh. Gems of lame-itude. Like, why did the scarecrow win an award?"
"Because he was outstanding in his field, of course." At least her mouth was still working, even if she was mentally drooling over him.
Derek lifted his glass. "I rest my case."
She chuckled again. "You're the only one who remembers my jokes."
Beneath the table his knee pressed against hers, the move deliberate, provocative. Maybe it was the mojito, but she didn't shift away, and his eyes sparkled even brighter. She shouldn't be acting so forward with him, but with her friends around her, she felt safe. This was just a bit of teasing.
"Because I needed them. And you'll do fine in college. As long as you stay away from those frat boys and don't do too many keg parties."
She rolled her eyes. "Keg parties? Give me a break. I'll be too busy for keg parties."
"Speaking of kegs, can I get you another drink?" Belatedly, he turned to the other two women. "Anyone up for another round?"
Only then did Hannah realize that she and Derek had edged closer together so their chairs were touching, that they'd been talking exclusively to each other for a while, and that her friends were exchanging amused looks.
"Thanks, but it's way past my curfew." Nicole gathered her purse and stood.
Amber also got to her feet. "Yeah, I'm dead tired. Think I'll make it an early night." She looked at Nicole. "Want to catch a ride with me?"
Alarmed, Hannah stood, too. "Hey, where are you two going?" It wasn't even nine thirty yet, and Nicole and Amber were clearly cooking up a scheme.
Amber put her hand on Hannah's shoulder and pushed her back down with surprising force. "Relax. Sit here and have another drink. I'll call you in the morning."
And before Hannah had time to protest, her two best friends had deserted her and left her alone in a bar with a handsome young man.
Derek couldn't believe his luck. He'd planned on spending his last night in Pine Falls with his grandpa, but Otto had had enough of him and grumpily told him to get out of his hair. So Derek had cruised past Hannah's house, hoping she'd be in, but the house was dark, so he'd gone to Jimmy's. As soon as he'd spotted Hannah at a table with her friends, his mood had instantly flipped.
It was even better now that her friends-as nice as they were-had left and he was alone with Hannah.
"My friends are a little weird sometimes," she said, twirling a coaster on the table.
"I like them."
She glanced uneasily around the bar. "Maybe I should call it a night too."
"No, don't go yet," he said quickly. "It's my last night here. I'm heading back to L.A. tomorrow."
"Oh." He wasn't sure if she sounded disappointed or relieved.
"Just stay for one more drink."
She bit her lip, then nodded, and he beckoned to their server for another round of mojitos. After a few moments, Hannah began to talk about her immediate plans for the future.
"I want to find my own place to live," she said. "My dad and Rosalind say I can stay with them as long as I want, but I don't think it's a good idea. Bad enough starting college at my age without staying home with the folks."
He didn't like it when she harped on about her age. So what if she was twenty-nine? That wasn't old. In fact, she was the best-looking woman he'd ever laid eyes on.
Tonight she'd dressed up in black skinny jeans and a silky sea-green top with a scooped neckline that skimmed over the tops of her breasts. She'd put on mascara and lipstick, and her rich honey-blonde hair was loose and thick on her shoulders. All evening he couldn't stop looking at her-her eyes, her lips, her breasts. Yeah, now that he was free to fantasize about her, it was a struggle not to check out her breasts every second minute, a battle not to speculate how they would feel cupped snugly in his hands …
"People start over again all the time," he said.
"Yeah. I guess I'm still adjusting to all this." She gestured around the bar. "Being single," she explained.
"Oh." He wiped condensation from his glass. "I doubt you'll have any problems in that department. You're very … attractive."
Hell, why had he hesitated? Because every adjective that came to mind-sexy, hot, beautiful-seemed inappropriate. But now it sounded like he was damning her with faint praise.
Her cheeks turned pink. "Derek, I wasn't fishing for a compliment."
"I didn't think you were. I was only stating the truth."
"I'm not looking for a man."
"Maybe not, but you ought to know men are still going to hit on you." Now that he'd started blurting out the truth, he couldn't stop.
She gave a stifled laugh. "Okay."
A strand of hair clung to her cheek, and he had to stop himself from sliding his fingers around the curve of her face. Heat rolled in his veins, sent a rush of blood to his head. He'd had a crush on her since he was fourteen, and finally he could do something about it. This was his chance, here in this anonymous bar, with the alcohol smoothing out the edges, and Hannah flirting with him for the first time ever.
"In case you didn't know, I'm hitting on you right now."
She sat bolt upright like a startled cat, but the emotion flashing across her face told him she wasn't completely shocked. She was aware of the undercurrent of attraction tugging between them, though she might have tried to ignore it.
"I-I … " she stuttered before she grabbed her glass and downed it in one long gulp. "I wasn't expecting that!"
"Are you mad?"
"Of course not. How could I be mad at you?" Flipping her hair, she slanted him a sideways glance. "In fact, I admit I'm kinda flattered."