“So, Hannah. How’s it going out at Jake’s? He making you muck stalls?” Spence asked with a smile. Jake told her on the ride over that she’d met these guys several times at the coffee shop, but, of course, she didn’t remember them.
“No, he’s been a very gracious host. I did almost get eaten by chickens, but Jake saved me from that.” She smiled at the memory.
After chitchatting with what, to her, were strangers, for a few minutes, she excused herself to go to the restroom.
As she was washing her hands, a slutty vampire came up next to her. “So, you here with Jake?”
“Yeah,” said Hannah. “He’s a friend.”
“Oh, is that what we’re calling it now?” The woman laughed. “Jake’s every woman’s friend. He helped me through a real rough patch last year.”
“What do you mean?”
“My boyfriend left me for some skanky ho, and I was feeling like crap about it. You know, blaming myself, assuming I wasn’t pretty enough and wondering what was wrong with me? Jake gave me a much-needed boost of confidence. If you know what I mean.” She winked as she dried her hands. Hannah stared mutely, her mouth slightly agape.
“Have fun.” The scantily clad vampire gave a toodle-oo wave on her way out.
Hannah looked around, wondering if she’d heard all that correctly. What the hell was that about? Gave her confidence how?
Returning to the table, she interrupted a tall, thin brunette who was bent over the table, apparently trying to shove her barely covered breasts up Jake’s nose. She was beautiful, and her ample bosom was front and center and all in his face, but to his credit, he was stone-faced and averting his eyes, trying to put some distance between them. He caught sight of Hannah out of the corner of his eye and jumped up, nearly knocking the woman over in his effort to get to Hannah’s side.
“Jasmine, this is my girlfriend, Hannah. The one I was just telling you about.” Guilt rolled off in waves, and she heard Ben snicker and mutter what sounded like “busted.”
“Oh,” said the woman, standing slowly and giving Hannah a quick once-over before dismissing her, clearly not impressed or threatened in any way. Black, hooker-heels had her towering over Hannah, who felt like she was shrinking by the second. And that bright red lipstick. Part of the costume or just par for the course? Either way, a little garish.
“Nice to meet you,” said the woman, presumably talking to Hannah but staring openly at Jake. She turned to go, giving Jake an I’ll-be-around-when-that-gets-boring look.
Hannah fingered the top button on her shirt, feeling frumpy and awkward. This must be why pre-accident Hannah didn’t go to bars.
“Jake, I’m not feeling so great. I think I’m going to take a cab home,” she said.
“What? No. If you want to leave, I’ll drive you. Let’s go.”
“No. You stay here with your friends. I don’t want to ruin your evening.”
“I only suggested this because I thought you’d want to get out of the house. I couldn’t care less about these guys.” He waved his hand, brushing off his buddies.
“Hey!” said Spence and Ben at the same time, pretending to be offended.
Ignoring them, he pulled her aside and rubbed his warm hands up and down her arms. “Hannah, if you want to go, I’m taking you. I don’t want to stay without you.”
In the end, he talked her into letting him drive her home. She didn’t feel sick so much as confused, suspicious, and out of her element, but she kept up the tummy ache charade until she was in bed. She told him she’d sleep in the guest room, so she wouldn’t bother him if she had to get up in the middle of the night.
Jake fit in perfectly at the bar. Like the guys fromCheers—everyone knew his name. Especially the women. And what did the sexy vampire mean when she said Jake was every woman’s friend? Literal friend? Or “friend,”wink wink?And how had he helped her? The innuendo was clear enough. He’d slept with her to help her feel better about herself. How altruistic…Not.
Maybe Jake was right that they should have waited for her to regain her memories before getting together. They’d grown closer in the last couple of weeks, but there was still a lot she didn’t know about him. Like why she didn’t want to date him in the first place. Though, after the fifteen-minute bar visit, she now had an inkling. The red flags were hard to miss. It appeared his “issues” transcended just the commitment thing.
She’d told Jake that the accident had her rethinking some things, and that was true. From what she could tell about her life before the accident, she was a real analytical thinker. But since the near-death experience, she’d decided to pay attention more to her heart and feelings. That had seemed like a good idea when she was so eager to get Jake into bed, but now she was doubting the logic. Those old memories might be more important than she thought. What if her old self was right to rely on her mind more than her feelings?
Well, it was a little late for a change of heart. In just the few short weeks they’d been together, she was fairly certain she’d fallen in love. Well, as in love as she could be without the truth of what happened between them. She’d even begun to tell herself that it didn’t matter what had happened. That the past was the past, and regardless of what it held, she was ready to move forward with a relationship.
Well, thinking it to death wouldn’t get her anywhere. She liked—borderline loved—him, and he seemed to like her. As long as he was honest, they could solve the rest. Rolling onto her side, she tucked the pillow under her arm, cuddling it. It was softer than Jake, but not nearly as warm. She thought about going to his bed but drifted off before she could make up her mind.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Hannah had grown accustomed to her life without memories. She’d pieced together enough to get by, was keeping up with her classes, and moving forward with a relationship with Jake and her plans to buy the coffee shop. She’d become so used to not knowing anything about her past, it unsettled her when she woke the next morning with a head full of memories.
Alone in Jake’s guest room bed, she let information flood her mind, sifting and sorting through the throng. She remembered therealreason she’d left home, why she and Jake were just friends, and who had tried to kill her.
