‘Never mind me. You sure you’re OK?’ he pressed. ‘You seem … tense.’
She tsked him and waved a hand at the suggestion, but again, her eyes darted off to the right.
‘I’m fine. You know me.’
‘That’s exactly it. I do,’ he said softly, privately. ‘And you’renotfine.’
But before he could press any further, one of the organisers beckoned to Hannah. Their turn to walk the carpet.
‘OK, here we go. Now both of you … smile. Relax. Ward, help her out, take her hand and put her at ease. You really do both look amazing. Justperfecttogether.’
Her gaze met his then for just a beat too long and he saw something in her eyes, which made his pulse quicken, but for a different reason this time.
Fear.
But then Hannah shushed them away. ‘What are you waiting for? Now … go.’
Chapter 61
HANNAH
Her phone was being bombarded. It was buzzing incessantly while she dealt with Ward and Shelley and as they took to the carpet. She stood back out of sight, sweating with anxiety as she scrolled through them.
Beads of moisture started to form on her brow line, and she felt herself grow hot in her clothes. She had the urge to find the nearest bottle of cold water and pour it over her head.
You look great tonight.
You know we should be together.
Why are you ignoring me?
You know I miss you.
You know I do everything out of love.
I don’t like how we left things.
Why do you have to overreact about everything?
I came here tonight especially because of you.
I made time in my schedule.
You have never built me up. Ever.
You’re totally ungrateful, you know that?
All persistent and demanding, even the ones where he professed his so-called ‘love’.
Hannah knew well Rob didn’t love her. Not even a little. Never had. He wanted to control her. She was a shiny object that he thought he could have any time. But had since figured out he couldn’t anymore – and that’s why he continued to pursue her like this. Even when she thought he’d got the message in no uncertain terms at the apartment.
No one said no to Rob Kendrick, after all.
And now it seemed he’d finagled his way into this event tonight, no doubt using his ‘athlete star power’ to bag an invite. But did he do it to get to her, or was he just having fun toying with her because he knew she’d be here working with Ward?
If you don’t talk to me, you’re going to regret it.
Hannah waited by the press line doing her job to the best of her ability while her client and his date stood in front of the cameras, smiling and posing up a storm. Shelley had very quickly shaken off her nerves and they were doing a great job together – but admittedly Hannah was having a hard time being fully present.
