Page 22 of The Perfect Secret

“Oh, that’s good, I hope. I wanted to thank you again for yesterday. I needed to talk and it meant a lot to me you were willing to listen.”

He heard the smile in her voice and his stomach tightened. “How are things with you and your grandmother now?”

“They’re okay. Since I was able to get my frustration out with you, I was calm at home. For now at least.”

“That’s good.”

“Mind if I ask you a question?”

He sat up straight. “I don’t mind.”

“You sound a little off. Is there anythingIcan do foryou?”

He reached for a pen and gripped it hard. “Tess called.”

“Oh, that’s nice,” she said. “Or is Tess the problem?”

“A little of both, in fact. She wants to get to know you.” He froze, waiting for her answer.

“Oh.”

That didn’t sound good. Hannah was more verbose and didn’t often answer with single words. “I don’t want to rush things,” he said. “I want to find the right time.”

“Of course you do. And when you think it’s right, I’d love to meet her.”

Now would be the perfect time to invite her for dinner. He should. He missed her. But he couldn’t. Because if she knew the truth, it would ruin everything.

As they hung up the phone, he cursed himself for his cowardice. She’d given him the perfect opening and he hadn’t taken it. But he wasn’t a spontaneous guy. He couldn’t afford to be. If that made him a coward, so be it.

Chapter Seven

Hannah turned to her computer and ran a search: How to get a guy to open up to you. She reared back at the number of results—503,000,000 of them. Apparently, she wasn’t the only one dating someone who didn’t talk about his feelings. She needed a plan to help her get to know Dan better and to make him talk. At the top of the page was a simple list:

1. Pay attention to body language

2. Show appreciation

3. Do something fun together

4. Talk about things he cares about

5. Don’t make assumptions

6. Be direct

Chewing on her lip, she evaluated the suggestions. Body language. He was the master at showing her he didn’t want to discuss something. He turned into a glacier every time she asked if he was okay. Therefore, maybe it was time to ask a different question. Appreciation. Had she shown enough? Probably not. Okay, she could work with appreciation. Do something fun together. They had. The planetarium was lots of fun. But she hadn’t gotten anywhere. Should she invite him to her apartment? Her grandmother was there, but she went out with her friends often enough. She flipped through her calendar. This weekend, in fact, her grandmother planned to visit Hannah’sbrother and their kids. She’d have the place to herself. She and Dan could hang out, watch a movie and maybe she’d try to cook for him. She wasn’t the best in front of a stove, but she could put something together. Talk about things he cares about, don’t make assumptions and be direct.

Okay, tonight, she’d make sure her grandmother’s travel plans were set for the weekend and put her own plan into motion.

Tuesday during lunch, Dan paced in his office. Ignoring the painful flames his leg shot, pushing all thoughts of meds aside no matter how he craved them, he walked between his door and window and back, thinking of the ramifications, the possibilities, the complications involved in inviting Hannah to go out with him and Tess.

They’d just started seeing each other. If Tess got attached and things didn’t work out, it would hurt his daughter, something he’d sworn after that fateful day seven years ago to never do again. But, she was fourteen, and she understood that not everything was guaranteed to work out. However, if Tess ended up disliking Hannah once she got to know her better, he’d have to break things off with her, and he didn’t relish that idea either.

How much longer could he postpone Hannah finding out about his past drug addiction? He was overthinking. But he couldn’t help it. Tess was right. He liked Hannah. A lot. He went to sleep with visions of her in his mind. He dreamt about her. He conducted imaginary conversations with her during the day. It was time for her to get to know his daughter. But could he risk it?

His jaw ached from clenching his teeth and as he opened his mouth to loosen his muscles, it dissolved into a yawn. He triedto stifle it when Lisa popped into his office. She winked. “Caught you.”

Shaking his head, he stopped pacing and leaned against the heater under the window. “You did.”