Carter got out of bed feeling like he’d been hit by a train. And maybe that was the fate he deserved.
He couldn’t forget the look on Hannah’s face before she’d left the night before. He knew she’d been doubly hurt by his coldness and that he’d gone out with Jenelle. He had hoped she’d never know, but his mom and Jenelle had arrived early. And then it was too late to tell her then he’d just been setting Jenelle up with one of his rich friends. If his mom had gotten a hint of his plan, she would have tried to throw a kink in it. Fortunately, Jenelle hadn’t given him another thought once she’d met Carlo. No longer having to worry about that complication, he’d been able to slip away early and face his mom. Maybe once he cleared up everything else, he could think more clearly about Hannah.
Back at his condo, he had made sure Addi was asleep, then told his mom, “You can give up on Jenelle. She’s perfectly happy with my friend Carlo downstairs. And now, you can go home and let me try to figure out my life.”
She had picked up her purse and walked to the door. “At least I won’t have to worry about Hannah now that you’ve come to your senses about her.”
“I hate to disappoint you, mom, but I have, at last, come to my senses about Hannah—with the exact opposite effect you’ve been hoping for. My driver will take you to meet my pilot in the morning. Please ask before coming back again.”
He shut the door before she could protest and walked through his condo, breaking the silence by sliding open the door to the balcony. The ever-constant crash of the surf and the heaviness of the humidity washed over him as he sat in a deck chair. He’d spent so many evenings hear with Hannah that the pain of her absence burned like an ember in his chest.
Somehow, there had to be a path through this maze of hurt feelings and heartache, but he couldn’t see it yet. He knew he needed to start with an apology, but he held out little hope of her accepting after the way he’d treated her. He’d at last gone to bed, but only managed a few hours of restless sleep.
With the bright morning light, came a new wave of regret and clearer perception of how inexcusable his behavior had been. Even if she had kept a big secret from him, she’d told him by her own choice and not because she’d been caught in a lie like with Mandy. It stung his pride, but she hadn’t been completely wrong about whether or not he would have done his best to talk her into selling the house. He had always been relentless about getting what he wanted.
Loving her had changed that of course, but when had that line been crossed? He didn’t even know. How could she have?
And that realization led him to another. She didn’t know he loved her.
He felt an overwhelming sense of urgency to tell her. Today. To let her know that even though he’d lost his temper and needed time to cool down, his feelings for her hadn’t gone away. If anything, they’d gotten stronger as he realized how desperately he wanted to make everything right so she could be happy again.
He rushed to get dressed, glancing at the clock every few minutes, knowing Hannah would be coming any minute to watch Addi for the day. But when he heard a knock on the door, he froze. Hannah wouldn’t have knocked.
With his heart pounding in dread, he walked to the door and opened it to find a short, older lady with a round face and a big smile. “Hello. I’m Trudi. I’m filling in for Hannah.”
Feeling as if his blood had turned to ash, Carter stepped aside and allowed her to come in. “Where’s Hannah?”
“She’s going to Boston with her sister. At least I think that’s where she said she was going when she gave me this.” The woman held up the gift bag she carried. “It’s a gift for Addi.”
A gift. That was not good. At all. “How long will she be gone?”
“I don’t know.”
Addi ran out of her room then, still in her pajamas. She stopped short when she saw Trudi and her eyes flew to his. “Where’s Miss Hannah?”
Trudi smiled. “She went to visit her sister. Isn’t that fun? But look, she left something for you.”
Addi smiled and dove for the gift bag. She sat on the floor and started throwing the tissue around to get to the present.
“It’s my painting. Look, Daddy. Hannah is so good at painting.”
Carter took the canvas and stared at it, amazed at how ethereal and lovely it was. She truly was talented. He longed to see all her work.
Addi rooted around in the bag and pulled out a stuffed mermaid doll. It was beautiful with shiny scales on her tail, and long, yarn hair. “Ooooh, she’s so beautiful!”
Carter’s throat tightened as he saw the thoughtful gift, but he couldn’t handle what it likely meant. He needed a clue, anything that might tell him this was something besides her saying goodbye. “Is there a note, honey?”
Digging down in the bag again, Addi pulled out a piece of paper. “Here it is.”
“Read it.” Keeping his voice light was taking too much effort to manage for long.
“It says: Addi, I wanted to make sure your wishes come true. Here is the mermaid you wanted to see. I hope she can be your best friend till school starts and you can make real ones. I love you, moonbeam. Hannah.”
Carter almost lost it. This wasn’t happening. He wouldn’t let it happen.
Addi looked up, looking confused. “Daddy, is Hannah coming back?”
He clenched his teeth until his emotions were under control. “Yes, baby. She’s coming back. I’m going to make sure she does.”
“Oh good,” Addi said, happy again. “Cuz if she doesn’t, my other wish can’t come true.”
“What is your other wish?”
“For Hannah to be my mommy.”
That was it. He couldn’t take anymore. He fell to his knees next to Addi and grabbed her to him. “You do?”
“Yeah. She’s my favorite person ever except for you. And she loves me. She tells me all the time.”
“Yes, she does. And we love her, don’t we?”
Addi nodded and pushed back. “Why do you look sad?”
Carter took a deep breath. “I just miss her. Okay, you stay here with Miss Trudi, okay? I’ve got a lot to do.”
Addi hugged him goodbye and Carter hurried to his office. There was no way he was letting Hannah slip out of their lives without a fight. As soon as he saw Brenda, he said, “Hannah has gone to Boston, and I need to get her back.”
“Does this have anything to do with the way you’ve looked like a thundercloud since yesterday?”
He crossed his arms. “Yes. Hannah confessed that she owns the beach house with her sister. She’s been keeping it a secret from the beginning. I didn’t take it well.”
“Ah. Well that explains this.” She handed him a manila envelope.
“What is it?”
“Your standing offer on the house was accepted this morning. The closing date is one week from today.”
Carter took the envelope, distantly noticing that his hand shook. He pulled out the documents and looked them over. Sure enough, there was Leah’s signature. What was Hannah thinking?
He dropped the papers back on Brenda’s desk and started pacing. No. He wasn’t going to let her do this and there was no way in blue blazes he was going to tear that blasted house down either. “Now that her sister has signed that, it’s binding. I’m going to own a house I don’t want and can’t tear down because I love the woman who loves it, but I won’t have her.”
Brenda’s eyebrows rose. “You need coffee. I’ll get some for you.”
“No, I don’t need coffee. I need ideas on how to fix this.”
“Just move it,” Brenda said dismissively from the Keurig. “Dark roast?”
“Move what, Brenda?” Carter’s voice was sharp with impatience.
Brenda looked over her shoulder, surprised. “The house of course. You already own the lot on the other side of it. Just move the house down. You get your view, the house survives, and you can give it to her for a wedding present.”
“A wedding present? I’ll be lucky if I can get her to talk to me again.” Carter resumed his pacing across the office. “You’re a genius, Brenda! Okay, so get me an architect in here. I don’t know who else you need to move a house. Get my team on it. Tell them to drop anything else they have going.”
“On it,” Brenda said, reaching for her phone.
Carter realized he need to make a phone call too. What if she didn’t answer?
Heading back to his private office and shutting the door, Carter took his phone out of his pocket. With his heart hammering at double speed, he called Hannah. It rang three times, making his heart sink with each one. Then her voice sent waves of relief through him. Until he realized he didn’t know where to start. “Hannah.”
“Yes?” Her voice was hesitant and quiet. So different than he was used to.
“I….Look, I want to fix this—apologize. But I want to do it in person. Where are you in Boston? I can be on a plane in an hour.”
There was a long silence before she answered, during which time, Carter nearly broke his teeth from clenching them so hard. Finally, she said, “Actually, I haven’t left yet.”
“You’re still here?” He didn’t stop to think. He just started walking.
“Yeah. My flight isn’t for another three hours.”
“Don’t move. I’m coming over.”
He called back to Brenda. “She hasn’t left yet. I don’t know when I’ll be back.”
“Good luck!” Brenda called after him.
He waved but didn’t stop to thank her. He was going to need more than luck. He needed a miracle.
As he made it outside, he started running. When he made it to the beach, he saw her coming toward him, her dress and hair blowing in the breeze. Never had he seen a more welcome sight.
When he’d first met Hannah, he’d been trying to kick her off his beach. Now he had to convince her to stay.