There wouldn’t be hurt feelings.
I’d make sure things with Hannah were entirely on the up and up.
And just maybe we could both find something we were looking for.
“Wish me luck, Tig,” I said to the traitorous animal currently making a bed in the middle of my pillow. He didn’t bother to look at me.
—
“Here with a minute to spare. I’m impressed,” Hannah commented, opening her front door. I handed her the bouquet of flowers that I had picked up over lunch and had left in my car.
They were a little on the wilted side and one of the roses had lost its head. I felt like groaning. I really was a shitty date.
I smiled anyway. “I think I broke a few traffic laws to get here on time.”
“Tsk, tsk, Agent Kohler. Shouldn’t you know better?” She raised her eyebrows.
“Sorry about the flowers. They were much prettier when I picked them up earlier.” I let out a noisy breath. “I’m not really doing a lot to win brownie points with you, am I?”
Hannah beckoned for me to follow her inside. “I can’t remember the last time someone gave me flowers. So battered or not, I love them,” she said with obvious sincerity. “Come on in. Let me find a vase quickly and then we can leave.”
I followed her down a narrow hallway into an open-plan living room. I looked around, taking in everything quickly. You could read a lot about a person by the things they surrounded themselves with.
But Hannah’s weren’t saying a whole lot about her. My eyes flitted around, taking in the lack of personal touches. There were no photographs. Nondescript artwork hung on the walls. Bland throw pillows. No rugs or anything to give the room color.
It felt like a hotel room, not a house. Without character.
I glanced at the woman I was taking out and tried to connect her to this space with such a lack of personality.
She was dressed rather conservatively in a knee-length black skirt and a pale pink top that didn’t dip too low. Just low enough. Her dark brown hair was held back in a clip and she wore very little makeup, if any. A silver chain hung around her neck, with a small locket resting in the hollow of her throat.
She was attractive. There was no doubt about that. But far from my normal type. Not someone I would have noticed if she hadn’t dropped her bag in front of me yesterday morning.
In the past I had tended to find myself drawn to the conventionally beautiful. The big-breasted, curvy-hipped women who gave me exactly what I was looking for. No strings, easy sex. Madison had broken that mold with her demands and expectations, and that hadn’t gone well at all.
Hannah seemed different. She was unassuming. Low-key. I hoped my initial impression wasn’t wrong.
Another failed hookup might send me into hiding.
“You seem a little flustered. Rough day at the office?” she asked as she pulled a glass vase from the cabinet above the sink and filled it with water. There was a clear view of the kitchen from the living room. Nowhere to hide.
“Aren’t they all?” I replied, running my hand along the back of the beige couch.
There was a TV in the corner. Small. Not even a flat screen. There were a few DVDs piled beside it and I found myself wandering over to have a closer look. I was conditioned to be nosy.
Nothing too telling.Batman Returns. Jurassic Park.And a random rom-com starring Ryan Gosling that I had never seen.
“See anything you like?” she asked, and I quickly put down the movie I was holding.
“Interesting collection of flicks you have here. So are you an action buff or a die-hard romantic?” Nothing too probing. I moved toward her and she circled away from me, carrying the vase of flowers to the coffee table.
“Maybe a little of both. People can be lots of different things, don’t you think?” She continued to inch away. I continued to follow. Like a dance.
“Absolutely. I’ve learned in my life that we are never just one thing,” I countered. Hannah nodded, liking my answer. She carefully placed the vase in the exact center of the table.
“So tell me about your day. You are definitely frazzled,” Hannah coaxed.
Here we go….
