Page 67 of The Perfect Secret
Hannah hoped he’d say yes. If Stan came, would be more of a social activity, which she was more ready for than a date.
“Nah, I’ve got plans.”
Her hopes fizzled.
“Hannah?” Marc’s gaze reminded Hannah of a puppy. A cute one, but a puppy, nonetheless.
She couldn’t help but compare him to Dan, which made her sad. Clearly she wasn’t ready to start dating. But all she did at home was mope. Instead, she thrust back her shoulders. If she were ever to get over Dan, she needed to start somewhere. “Sure, that’d be great. Thanks for the invitation.”
“I can make sure you get home okay after, if you want.”
She blushed as Stan stifled some sort of noise. “Um, we’ll see what time it is, but thanks.”
He nodded. “Okay.”
Marc left and Stan covered his face, shoulders shaking.
“You’re awful, you know that?” Hannah said. “Marc seems like a nice guy. Going out will distract me and maybe fill me in on the workings of this place.”
“So you need a distraction?”
“I do.”
“Well, I’m running outside to grab something from one of the food trucks. Hungry?”
Her eyes filled as she remembered how she and Dan had met. Blinking to prevent tears from falling, she shook her head. “Thanks, though.”
After a full day of meetings with her project leaders, research and a little writing, Hannah was more than ready to leave the office when Marc picked her up. “Ready?”
As they walked to the bar, Hannah glanced sideways at him. He was average height with broad shoulders. In khakis and a button-down, his muscular arms filled out his shirt sleeves. He walked with ease, dominating the sidewalk. Was this the guy Stan called a klutz? At a different time in her life, she might have found him attractive.
“Here it is.” Marc held the door for her.
Walking past him into the bar, Hannah paused while her vision adjusted to the darker space. The room was long and narrow, with a bar on the left and tables against the wall on the right. She’d never been to a place like this with Dan—their dates were more subdued. Music played. People talked at the bar. It would be difficult to have a serious conversation here. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea…
Before she could change her mind, Marc put a hand on her arm. He introduced her to everyone and seated her next to him—it was pretty clear he’d staked his claim.
“What’ll you have?” he asked as he pushed through the crowd at the bar.
“Beer.” Dan knew what she drank.
“Any particular kind?”
“Surprise me,” she said.
A minute later he returned with two bottles of Yuengling. He tapped his bottle to hers and took a long pull. She watched him swallow, his Adam’s apple bobbing. Again, she thought of Dan. Blinking, she sipped her drink and looked around. She recognized faces, but the names were a blur.
She turned to the woman on her left. “Hi, you’re Jill, right? What department do you work in?”
“I work in healthcare. Do you live around here?”
“Hoboken. You?”
“Jersey City. We can go to the PATH station together if you want.”
“That would be great.” And it would relieve her of having to depend on Marc.
The waitress interrupted with plates of wings and skins, which she distributed along the table. Everyone paused their conversations to help themselves to plates, food, and pitchers of beer.