Page 36 of Hannah and the Hitman

She was fragile. Precious. I had to be careful from now on.

I quirked my lips. “Sounds like you were a superhero fighting a villain.”

She quirked hers right back. “I spent the night in thehospital and went home. My friend Brittany, she lives across the hall, stayed with me a few nights, but other than a few headaches, that was pretty much it.”

“What about your family?” I had a feeling I wasn’t going to like what I heard.

“My sister was away at a trampolining training camp in Texas. My brother lives in the Springs but had a prayer chain going.”

I had no idea what the fuck that was, but it didn’t sound like it helped Hannah in any way whatsoever. It seemed like she had scientific breakthroughs on her side more than divine intervention.

“The night I was in the hospital, my parents came to visit. Since the radiation wasn’t that big of a deal and I was back to work after a few days, they pretty much moved on.”

I was picking up on a theme. Her parents were dicks. They didn’t seem to even remember Hannah because she came across as uneventful, unlike her crazy siblings. Even her very serious ailment had an uneventful fix.Not a big dealwas a lie. Maybe she used those words to devalue what happened to her. Maybe because she hadn’t been cut open or had to stay in the hospital more than a night or that her recovery was fast that it really wasn’t abig deal.

But itwasa big fucking deal. Itwaseventful. It was just… quiet. Maybe if she’d had an alien burst out of her stomach, then her parents might care more.

I craved uneventful. Wished it for myself. Not a fucking brain tumor, but a quiet life.

“And now? Is it gone?” My voice was a whisper, almost afraid of asking the question because I was petrified of the answer. I didn’t want her todie.

Totally fucking ironic.

I held my breath.

Her slim shoulders shrugged. “I’m fine. The tumor shrinks over time to nothing.”

That was it? She wasfine?

She set her free hand on top of mine. “You look panicked. Don’t be. The panicking part of it is over.”

I didn’t like that answer. Not one fucking bit. Especially since that meant there was a stretch of time when she’d been freaking the fuck out. Probably alone.

I stood, not releasing my hold on her hand and went around the table to kneel beside her. Fuck the sticky floor. Cupping her cheeks, my eyes raked over her face. Her confused eyes, her pert nose, those kissable lips.

“I’m allowed to fucking panic when my girl says she had a fucking brain tumor.” My thumbs caressed her soft cheeks.

She swallowed. Those dark eyes flickered with emotion. Interest even. Maybe, hope. “Your girl?”

Over pizza and 80s music, I started to fall for the one woman I needed to stay the fuck away from. But I wouldn’t. Not a chance. Big Mike had been correct. The right woman was worth it. Except his wife had been killed. Hannah had been sick and almost died. I didn’t even want to think about losing her. All I knew was that she was worth it.

“Damn straight. I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you when you were going through all of it. But I’m here now.”

21

HANNAH

Holy shit. HOLY SHIT.

“You don’t know me,” I whispered, looking at him through my lashes. It was almost as if he was too bright, too potent to look at straight on.

His palms were warm, his touch gentle. So different than his dominant touch earlier in the stacks. No static zap this time, but there was still something here, something extra potent between us. I hadn’t felt it when I first met Kevin… or ever. I hadn’t felt this way about anyone.

“I want to,” he murmured. Someone came in to pick up a to-go order, but Jack didn’t even look that way. “Do you want to know me?”

I felt really, really shy. Maybe cautious. My heart had been hurt this year in so many ways. I lost my health. I lost the business I dreamed of. I lost a boyfriend. I was getting all those things back, but in a different way than I expected.The change was scary, but all of a sudden it became hopeful and exciting. I nodded, because it was exactly what I wanted. So much. I did want to know him. It wasn’t because he gave me my first man-given orgasm either. And he’d done it like on my list! In the stacks at work! I’d settle into how naughty and amazing that was later.

“That’s my good girl.” His gaze was warm. A smile teased at his full lips.Good girl?I should yank off my panties and give them to him now. Oh yeah, I already had. “Then it’s settled.”