Two Bar Mitzvahs (31 page)

I snorted. “Delinquents.”

Hannah sat on the bench, and I pulled my hands out of my pockets, lowering to sit beside her.

Her eyes narrowed as she examined my face. “You look too skinny. And very tan.”

“Yeah. No appetite.”

Her eyes softened. “Cade, I—”

“Hannah—”

We both laughed quietly out of nervousness.

I took a deep breath. “You first.”

She nodded and dropped her gaze down, staring at her folded hands in her lap for a moment. After a slow inhale and exhale, as if steeling herself, she raised her gaze to meet mine. “Cade, I was so wrong to do what I did. Cut you off like that. Running from the best things in my life had been an idiotic thing to do. I panicked and closed in on myself. But most of all, I hurt you in the process.”

I blinked. So not how I imagined our reunion going. “Hannah, I’m the one who was wrong, on multiple levels. I was an idiot to begin with, not putting you first above the business. Above everything. I should have removed you from harm’s way with the threat of an ex who we
knew
could cause problems. On that night, after your note—when I left—I didn’t feel worthy of you. You trusted me to keep you safe, and I failed you.”

Her clasped hands moved from her lap, the fingers of one hand reaching out to touch my knee. “But you came back.”

I glanced up. Her expression was unreadable. Open, but nothing more.

“I did. On the beach, a fight rose up from my gut and into my heart that hadn’t been there before. I left for you, because I didn’t think I could be what you needed me to be.”

“And now?”

“Sitting on that sand for days on end gave me clarity. The man who fell in love with you wants to fight for us, not for selfish reasons, but for you. If you’ll give me another chance, if you understand sometimes I’m an idiot and slap me upside the head, I will fight to be worthy of you.”

Tears welled in her eyes, threatening to spill over.

A cramp choked my throat at the sight of her barely held emotions. My vision began to blur from building tears.

“I’ll give you a second chance Kincade Joseph Michaelson. I’ll give you a second, and a third, and on and on. But only under one condition.”

A tiny flame of hope flared to life, and I exhaled in relief. “Name it. It’s yours.”

“The next time I run. And there
will
be a next time; I
am
going to run—this we’ve established.”

She paused, and the corners of my lips twitched as I fought a smile.

Her hand squeezed my knee. “You have to chase me. I’m so fucked up when I’m lost in the middle of a panic attack, I don’t think. I
can’t
think. You have to think for me. Chase after me. Always fight for us, even when I can’t.” Her voice fell to a pleading whisper, her tears spilling over onto her cheeks. “Promise me.”

My tears fell too, not manly, but I didn’t give a fuck. Hannah was here, pouring her heart out, asking me to love her.

I lifted a hand to cup her cheek, wiping away her falling tears with my thumb.

“I promise, Hannah. I promise to think for you when you can’t, I promise to chase after you when you run, and I promise to fight for us no matter what obstacles come our way.”

She inhaled a shaky breath. “We need to remove an obstacle now. Before I feel comfortable moving forward, we need to be on the same page about something.”

Warring emotions gripped my heart. Panic. Hope. I wanted to soothe her fears, and there was so much left to say, but I needed to listen first. I held her gaze and gave her a firm nod with my full attention.

“We have to talk more. I need you to
know
what we
need
to talk about. In fact, don’t decide what is and isn’t important to share with me, it all is—from the mundane to the shocking. If something upsets you? Tell me. Make me a part of your life in such a deep way that I don’t feel separate from it. I don’t ever want to feel like you’re keeping things from me again, even if it’s unintentional.”

A choking cramp locked up my throat again at the pain I’d caused her even as I exhaled a relieved breath at what she needed from me. “I agree. One hundred percent. On the island, I realized we could’ve avoided all the heartache if I’d made more time for us, not just hang-time or sex, but
real
time where we connect and share. Things got so busy, I let
us
fall through the cracks. The time we make for each other is where we solidify us, where we communicate. I’m going to fucking communicate like you wouldn’t believe.” I took a deep breath. “Can I ask you one favor?”

She nodded.

“Please be patient with me. Sharing every little thing is new for me. I want to be everything you need me to be, but they don’t make an instruction manual. I’m learning as I go. Just trust in me, no matter what.”

“I will. I do.” She gave me a hesitant smile, and it was all the invitation I needed. I leaned forward, capturing her lips with mine. Warm, salty, trembling, both a reunion and the seal of a promise, the kiss was the best of my life.

When I pulled away, she smiled brighter than I’d ever remembered. I grinned, the happiest man on the planet. “That’s why I came back.”

Laughing, she tilted her head. “My soaking wet kiss?”

I tapped her nose. “Nope.” I arched a brow. “Although I do like you wet…”

She shoved at my chest with little force. “Neanderthal.”

“You know it.” I grinned again. “I came back because I want to be the cause of your smile, every lucky day of my life.” Remembering I had a gift for her, I grabbed her hand and tugged her up off the bench. “C’mere. I’ve something to show you.”

Nervous and excited at the same time, I led her down the walkway to the opposite side of this section of the park. As we rounded the bend, her surprise edged into view.

She gasped the moment she caught sight of the spectacle. Her smile widened and she squealed. “Oh my God…Cade!”

A meadow of rainbow-colored snapdragons in small clay pots stood in rows, stretching across the grass. The hill rose up on the far side, and the flowered pattern on the grass canvas formed the irregular shape of a heart.

Children ran along the edges, playing among the flowers. Butterflies flew above the blooms. Even a few iridescent dragonflies glided by, finding perches on the peaks of the flowered stems.

Instead of running into the middle of the flowers like I’d expected her to do, she pressed against my side, lacing her fingers together with mine. I sighed, comforted by the gentle gesture, happy she wanted to be here with me.

“It’s amazing, Cade.” Her soft words held the tiniest tremble. She sniffed, and I looked down to find her crying.

“Hey, hey. No more tears. Only happiness, okay? I hoped this would make you smile and laugh.”

A choked laugh came out. “It does. I am happy. I’m just overwhelmed. What an incredible bouquet of flowers. It’s just…I’m the luckiest…” She buried her face against my chest when her words started to croak out.

I held her tight. “No, Maestro. I’m the lucky one.”

We stood there for an eternity, both of us holding each other tight. Even Ava respected our need for privacy by stretching out in the long shadows of the flowers for a late afternoon nap.

Finally, I rubbed a hand up Hannah’s back. “Might be hard to stick ‘em in a vase.”

She huffed out a soft laugh, turning toward her snapdragon meadow. “We can collect a few favorite pots. Maybe Chloe and Daniel can deliver the rest to friends and family.”

“I like that idea: share our celebration with others.”

I smoothed my thumb up her arm and tilted my head. “I could’ve done a meadow of cupcakes and run naked through them. But I bake for shit, and arrested for streaking seemed like the wrong message.”

She busted up laughing—music to my ears.

She gazed up at me, her sparkling eyes bright green in the sunlight. “Some fantasies are better left to our imagination.”

My face fell into a pout. “But I like the idea of the cupcake meadow. I’m looking forward to licking frosting off your body.”

Mischief danced in her eyes, and she bit the corner of her lower lip. “I’m looking forward to that too.”

Unable to believe Hannah was really here with me, I pulled her into my arms again, burying my face against her neck, inhaling the tropical scent I hadn’t realized I’d become dependent on until just now.

With soft tender kisses, her lips trailed a line up my neck. Teeth tugged at my earlobe. “What do you say we go back to my place?”

Exhaling, relieved to the point my knees nearly gave out, I squeezed her tighter.

“I say
yes
.”

My heart raced as we entered her dimly lit entry, and I closed the front door behind us. Without saying a word, she slipped her hand into mine and glanced over her shoulder. A gentle smile curved onto her face and lit up my world.

She squeezed my hand, and I couldn’t tell if she did it to make sure I was actually there with her, or because she felt me shake with nervous excitement. Fuck, probably both. The adrenaline of the last couple of hours still had me shaking.

We stood in the dark space for a few seconds, just breathing.

“I have a surprise for you too, Cade.” Her low voice held a sultry note.

She could’ve been talking about something mundane, like last month’s profit and loss statement from Sweet Dreams, and I still would’ve been mesmerized.

My mind guttered. “Does it have anything to do with us naked in a cupcake field?”

She pressed against my side. Her voice softened. “In a way.”

“You’re killing me, Maestro. If you keep me in suspense much longer, I
will
pass out.”

She leaned up and pressed a kiss to my cheek. “No passing out. I’ve got plans for you, Mr. Michaelson.” She reached behind me and flicked the light switch on.

I blinked at the sudden brightness and tried to focus.

Her small but well-appointed kitchen was immaculate, as always. On her marble-topped kitchen island, four condiment items stood, lined up in a row toward the back edge.

Exhaling hard, I moved forward and examined them: a glass pot of honey, gourmet jars of chocolate, and caramel sauce. I lifted a finger to touch a chilled a red-and-white can of whipped cream that peeked above the rim of a filled ice bucket. A lump formed in my throat, but I swallowed hard past it.

“How long have these been on your kitchen island?”

“When I realized I’d made a terrible mistake. When I gave up on us and let you leave.”

The corner of my mouth kicked up. “You’ve missed me.”

“Yeah, I did.”

Not willing to spend another second without touching her, needing her connected with me, I brushed a stray lock from her forehead and leaned down. Her darkened hazel-green eyes softened, then fluttered shut. My lips brushed over hers, and a soft sigh escaped her lips.

Savoring her taste and the feel of her warmth, I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her closer. With a slow suck, I tugged her lower lip into my mouth, then kissed her more deeply as I held the one woman in this world who made me whole.

“I’m blown away that you made a condiment shrine.”

Her lips twitched as she fought a smile.

I shook my head. “No, really, Maestro. All the fun and kidding aside, you have no idea what it means to know you missed me as much as I missed you. And the condiments aren’t about the physical. Nothing between us has ever been that simple.”

She gave a nod as her eyes glistened with tears, her smile finally showing. “I know.”

My gaze drifted over her shoulder, and I blinked. “Ummm, what is all that?”

She turned around and released her hold on me. “Well, that’s part of my surprise.”

Uncertain what that meant, I stepped closer to her table. Six glass bowls, some large and some medium, lined up across the tabletop with clear plastic wrap over their wide tops. The bowls held what looked like different colored frostings: pink, yellow, green, blue, dark brown, and white. A collection of small glass bottles stood beside the bowls, toppings: shiny metal balls, rainbow sprinkles, and some kind of snowflake dots.

“Frosting?” I still couldn’t believe it, and the word croaked out past a throat gone dry as I pictured Hannah whipping this together with her hair pulled up into a messy ponytail, a cute ruffled apron over a baby T-shirt and short cotton shorts.

I swallowed hard. When I turned back toward her, she looked up at me with an adoring expression, not the naughty I’d initially imagined. Caught in a mix of lust and love, torn between wanting to tear open those bowls and gathering her back into my arms to simply hold her, I blinked hard, attempting to reset my brain.

Lust won.

“Clothes off.”

She huffed out a breath, her eyes widening. “What?”

“Like that hadn’t been your plan all along.” I arched a brow, daring her to argue.