“No,” he says immediately.
I stop and put my hands on my hips. He stops too and cracks up laughing. “Okay, fine. I am. I was.”
I smile triumphantly. “I knew it. You’re too easy to read, Mr. Court.”
His arm snaking around my waist surprises the shit out of me, and I have to bite down on a gasp so I won’t give myself away.
“I don’t come from money,” I tell him as we continue our walk down the street.
Like this is normal for us to be strolling down the street as if we’re a freakingcouple.
“Neither do I,” he says. “Understatement of the day, right there.”
I smile. “Well, pizza and beer were affordable for me in college. Plus, I like them. But I started my love of them due to my wallet.”
I can practically feel the unspoken question on the tip of his tongue.
“Just ask me, Maverick.” I poke him. “You know you want to.”
His hand disappears off my hip, and I swallow down my disappointment.
“It’s none of my business,” he says quickly. He nods across the street. “Look—a pizza place. You want to go?”
“I’d love to.”
But the way he abruptly distanced himself from me a moment ago didn’t go unnoticed. And I don’t want to dissect the ache of disappointment in my chest. However, I also don’t want to push the feeling away like it’s irrelevant.
I did that too much with Craig—ignored the way his behavior hurt me until I was simply numb to it. And look where that got me.
So after Maverick and I order at the counter and then take seats at a Formica table inside the dated pizza parlor to wait for our food, I take a small leap of courage.
Every little step I take outside of my comfort zone feels strange, almost like I’m peeling off the old layers of myself and learning what the hell has been underneath all of these years.
“Your confusion about my money issues was on point,” I begin.
Maverick puts up a hand. “I wasn’t saying…”
“Craig was my boyfriend throughout college,” I continue. “And like you probably guessed from your brief meeting, he never hurt for money. He’s older than me by several years, and his family provided him a comfortable lifestyle while he got his degree. I always felt lesser than him. From the very beginning.”
“I wish you wouldn’t.’ Maverick’s jaw tightens. “You’re worth so much more than that bastard.”
I look at him. “We met when he was already halfway toward his doctorate, so I was always looking up to him and trying to play catch up. He was my mentor. In everything.”
“Doesn’t matter. You’re still a million times better.”
“Thank you for saying that.” Our eyes catch and hold until Maverick averts his gaze.
He fiddles with the drink coaster in front of him. “Hannah. Look…”
And he’s pulling back from me again.
But I’m not ready to shut down whatever’s happening between us tonight.
“I was only twenty when I got my undergrad degree,” I continue. “I had my master’s by twenty-two. That’s how I ended up working for Craig so young.”
“How old are you?” Maverick finally looks up from the table.
“Twenty-three this week.”
