And it was like all the oxygen had been sucked from the room.
“Seventeen-year-old Luke Halston was an idiot. I wanted a five-year plan and what I didn’t realize wasyoushould have been that plan. You’re the girl that got away, and if you let me back into your heart, I’ll never take your love for granted again.”
Whoa.
He took another step closer and pulled a bundle of flowers from behind his back. I hadn’t even realized he’d been holding them there.
“Hannah, I’ve grown up. I’ve matured and dated a few other women. None of them hold a candle to you. To us. I want you back, and I’ll do whatever it takes to earn your heart again.”
I was having an out-of-body experience. It was every single word I’d ever wanted him to say. I’d literally dreamed of this conversation for years. And yet…in that moment, I thought of Jack.
Jack telling me that being a billionaire was lonely. Jack asking me to pray for his soul. Jack designing an entire app to keep me distracted from my mom’s tests.
Jack. Jack. Jack.
My heart practically thumped with his name.
“Have coffee with me?” Luke asked sweetly. “That’s all I’m asking.”
Coffee after all this time might be nice. I had no idea what twenty-three-year-old Luke was like, and it was time I stopped avoiding him. Especially if he was moving back to town.
“I’d like that.” I smiled, but it was almost as if the Lord Himself was pushing Jack into my mind because he weighed on my heart again in that moment.
I wished he had come and not Luke, but I didn’t have time to dwell on it. The concert was about to begin.
Chapter Fourteen
JACK
I’d worn my favorite suit. It was gray silk, and the inside of the jacket was lined with red. My palms sweat as I clutched the yellow roses in them. I’d agonized for ten minutes over what color to get Hannah. Obviously, red was out—that meant love. But I thought maybe pink would work. Then I called Chloe, and she said pink would mean I wanted a relationship with her. That freaked me out, so I went with white, but then I got off the phone and asked myself if I did want a relationship with Hannah Phillips.
She was gorgeous, sweet as sugar, and funny as hell. And the way she took care of her mom made me think that one day she might take care of me like that. Those thoughts scared me, and the white flowers suddenly felt like funeral flowers, so I grabbed the yellow roses and left the store as fast as I could.
Friends. We were friends. That’s all I could offer her, right?
But when I parked my rental car and looked at the front of the church, just in time to see Hannah walk across the pavement in the most beautiful red dress I’d ever seen, my heart seized in my chest. Suddenly, I was staring at the traitorous yellow flowers and wondering if I should have gotten red. I at least should have gotten pink.
Was she even interested in me in that way? I’d bought her a restaurant, so of course she was nice to me. But no, there was something between us, a spark. That spark I felt quite sure would turn into a forest fire if I just gave it a little fuel. Something had started between us in India, and I wanted to see where it went.
I contemplated turning back to get pink flowers when Chloe called.
“What color did you go with?” she asked. She was as invested in this as I was.
“Yellow, but now I’m second-guessing that. I should have gone with the pink. Should I go back to the store? I might be late, though.” I fumbled over my words, something I never did.
Hannah jumbled my thoughts. I cared about this girl. More than I had cared about a woman in a long time. There was an innocence to her I wanted to protect, and she made me want to be a better man.
“You like her.” I could hear the smile in Chloe’s voice. Chloe was like the sister I never had, and she’d been asking me to get a girlfriend since I got out of prison.
I just hadn’t felt ready. Having a relationship meant I’d have to open up to someone about that night. It meant I’d have to tell Hannah that I was a monster. Then I’d have to see the look on her face when she pitied me—or worse, was scared of me.
“I do,” I admitted.
“Yes!” Chloe screamed into the phone. “Forget the color of the flowers, Jack. Go in there and tell her you like her.”
“She lives in Willow Harbor. I live in Seattle.” I was trying to reason out how this could work.
“I’ve thought about this. If we have business in Willow Harbor, then you have reason to go there every weekend or however often you want. Cedric will approve it.”
