“I’m sorry,” she whispered, her voice breaking. She tried to smile at her sister, at her sister’s coworkers that she had just met. “I have to go. I’ll see you at home.”
“Hope—” her sister exclaimed in shock, but Hope was already weaving her way out of the restaurant.
She managed to make it past the hostess and out the heavy wooden doors that led out onto the brick paved walkway before the tears started to fall. Her chest was so tight she couldn’t breathe. The neckline of her blouse suddenly felt suffocating, and she tugged at it to pull it away from her chest. Turning down the sidewalk, she didn’t even bother walking to Jade’s car, needing to escape. The tunnel that traveled beneath the small highway that dissected the downtown district and the Bay Front Park was only fifty feet away and she hurried toward it. She didn’t even notice the chill in the air, racing away from the restaurant in the darkness that was only alleviated by the evenly spaced wrought iron light posts along the way.
When she reached the tunnel, it was blessedly empty, though she knew even in the fall there would be plenty of pedestrian traffic through the underground tunnel and she couldn’t count on being undiscovered for long by a passerby. Shaking uncontrollably, she stopped walking, a sob breaking free of her throat. Leaning her back against the cool concrete that built the walls of the tunnel, she heaved a breath between sobs, burying her face in her hands.
Running footsteps echoed in the tunnel, and she sucked in a breath at an attempt to steady her breathing and quiet the sobs. Keeping her face averted, she swiped at the tears that tracked down her face. She prayed the pedestrian would just let her be, she didn’t want to have to explain her tears to a stranger. Even a kind and helpful one.
Strong, gentle hands gripped her shoulders and spun her around, making her gasp in shock a heartbeat before arms werebanded around her fiercely. Her face was pressed into a hard chest, one of those hands cradling the back of her head, fingers sliding through her hair.
“What are you doing here?” she heard the reverent whisper against the top of her head just as the scent of olive oil and lemons pricked her nose. Hiccupping a sob, the tears started all over again.
Van.
Her fingers fisted into the fabric of his chef jacket as she buried her face in his chest, her shoulders shaking with her tears. The fingers in her hair smoothed gently, soothingly, which did nothing but make her cry all the harder. He was here. He was here and she was in his arms.She’d found them.
“I can’t believe you’re here… I hated myself the second I closed that hotel door,” she tried to explain between hiccups, doing her best to take in a steadying breath. She didn’t care if she sounded clingy, or desperate, or simplycrazy. He was here and he was holding her. He shushed her gently, smoothing his hands over her hair again. The blatant anger she’d seen on Grant’s face made her lower lip wobble again uncontrollably. “He’s mad at me, isn’t he.”
She felt more than heard Van’s soft chuckle beneath her ear, then felt his lips press against her temple, right at her hairline. His fingers continued to smooth over her hair.God that felt so good. So familiar.“Yeah, he is. We were both pretty mad at you.”
She swallowed hard, taking a deep breath in. “I’m sorry.” Her lip wobbled again. There was so much to say…
“We have plenty of time to talk, little one. Right now, I need to get you somewhere quiet so I can get back to my kitchen staff.”
She let out a sad half laugh and drew away, averting her face and reaching to swipe away the remaining tears that streaked down her cheeks. She knew her face had to be a disaster. Thiswas not the way she had imagined seeing him again for the first time.
But Van was having none of it, circling her wrists with his long fingers and drawing them away from her face before tipping her chin up. Embarrassed, she tried to dodge his hand, but he was insistent. She watched as his eyes roved over her face, taking in every single detail, before dropping his forehead to hers. “I never thought I’d get to see you again. Please…don’t hide from me.”
The sound of tapping heels and a panicked, “Get away from her!” made Hope jump, moving to peer around Van’s shoulder. Jade rushed toward them, arm outstretched with what looked like a compact aerosol can of hairspray clutched in her hand, aimed at Van. “I’m warning you!”
Hope let out a strangled laugh that was half hiccup, stepping around Van. Holding her hands up, she said, “It’s okay. I’m okay. He’s not hurting me.”
Jade shook like a leaf as she stopped several feet away, arm still outstretched. Her eyes bounced from Hope’s to Van’s and back. “H-he wasn’t hurting you?”
“No,” Hope said softly and blushed, looking over at Van. “This is my sister. I kind of ran out on her at the restaurant.”
“Kind of?” Jade shrieked, finally dropping her arm to her side, eyes wide, strawberry blonde hair wild around her head. “You scared the shit out of me, dammit!” Then, glaring up at Van, she demanded, “And just who the hell are you?”
“Jade… this isVan,” Hope murmured quietly, staring at her sister intently, trying to communicate with her eyes. “We met in Chicago.”
“Chicago…” Jade mouthed the word as her eyes went wide. “Oh.Oh!”
“And the man that stopped at our table…” she prompted, praying that her sister understood what she was saying without having to say the words. “His business partner…”
Jade opened her mouth to say something, closed it, then opened it again, nothing but a squeak coming out. “Holy shit,” she breathed finally, still stunned nearly speechless.
Van stepped forward, offering his hand. Jade extended her own, placing it in his. Hope wanted to laugh at the incredulity on her sister’s face, but the entire situation was still blowing her own mind.They were here.
“I apologize for Grant upsetting Hope. I have to admit, it shocked us both to find her here, too,” Van said in that low, gentle voice of his. Hope blushed again when his gaze met hers and he smiled, before returning to her sister. “It’s nice to meet you. Hope talked about you in Chicago.”
“Right…” Jade murmured, drawing out the word, her eyes bouncing from Hope’s to Van’s again. She swallowed hard, as if trying to swallow her own tongue. “Chicago.”
Hope blushed a furious shade of red and wished for the ground beneath them to open up and swallow her. “Jade! Why don’t you go back into your dinner, I think I’m going to head home. I’ll take an Uber. Let Van get back to work…”
Jade laughed then, shaking her head. “You’re back in Kansas, Toto. Petoskey doesn’t have Ubers.”
“She’s right, at least no reliable ones,” Van said, sliding his hand along the curve of her back, just above her hips. The warmth of his hand through her top made her shiver. “You can come back to the restaurant. I’ll set you up in my office and bring in a cup of coffee, or a glass of wine, whatever you want.”
