Page 49 of The Perfect Secret
“I think I might be a little jealous.”
He chuckled. “Your grandmother is great. Tess doesn’t get this kind of extended family attention with me.”
“No, but she gets other things.”
“Like stubbornness.”
The sheepish look on his face was endearing. “There is a familial resemblance. Hold on.” Hannah ran into the kitchen and returned a moment later with her phone. “Here.”
His face widened into a grin. “How did you get Tess to let you take a photo of her?”
“I just took it. I thought you two might like it. If you keep scrolling, there are a few I took today while she picked fruit too.”
He swiped the screen a few times, swallowing and almost caressing the screen, before handing the phone to her. “Can you send them to me?” His voice was hoarse and Hannah saw a faint wetness in his eyes. He blinked and it was gone.
“Sure,” she said.
“Guess you’re able to work your magic with both of us.”
“I don’t know if I’d call it magic, but whatever it is, I hope it helps me when I check out my brother’s place of employment tomorrow.”
Dan turned her face toward him, his fingers gentle along her jaw. “So you’re really doing this?”
“I need to know if I can trust him, and this is the first step.”
“Do you want me to go with you?”
Every fiber of her being screamed,Yes!“No, I need to do this on my own.”
Chapter Fourteen
Sunday morning, Hannah stood on a sidewalk in New York City’s Hell’s Kitchen, across the street from Mike’s Restaurant, a dive of a coffee shop, from the looks of the place. As it got later in the day, sidewalks would be busier, but for now, only a few local residents populated the area.
Although she looked at the restaurant with the dull neon Open sign where her brother worked, she hadn’t seen him enter or leave the place during the ten minutes she’d watched. She wasn’t sure if she was relieved or disappointed. Hannah crossed the street and walked past the façade. The outside wasn’t impressive. A large, frosted window withMike’spainted in blue letters in an arc. She couldn’t see inside, but wondered if they could see out. The door was glass as well, and it wasn’t frosted, but the vestibule appeared dark and she didn’t want to stop and stare. So she paced a few times.
This was crazy. Decide. In or out.
The door opened and a man stuck his head out.
“I wondered if you were going to come inside, or wear out the sidewalk.”
She stepped back. “Excuse me?”
“You’re Jeff’s sister, right? You look just like him.”
“And you are?”
“Mike.” He came outside and held out his hand. Tall and wiry, his head was shaved, he wore an earring and his eyes were bright green. He smiled at her, displaying a gold-capped tooth. “I don’t bite.”
Despite her nerves, she took his outstretched hand. It dwarfed hers and her gaze trailed up his muscular arm, takingnote of the tattoos, which disappeared under the sleeves of his gray T-shirt. His grip was firm.
“Come on in. I’ll make you a cup of coffee and we can talk.”
“How do you know I want to talk?”
He pinned her with his gaze and turned around.
Biting her lip, she followed him in. It took a moment for her vision to adjust to the darkened room after the bright sunshine outside. She paused between the vestibule and the dining area of the coffee shop. It smelled of bacon, coffee and grease, and her stomach growled. There were metal tables and chairs, black and white photos on the wall, a TV perched high in the corner, and a counter running the length of the room.