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Hanna leaned forward. “How long have you had the cat?”
“Three years,” Ashley bit out. “He has no excuse for this shit.”
“Wow.” Hanna chuckled and shook her head. “I adore Tucker but … wow.”
“I know.”
“Well, at least you have a guy of your own. I’m still painfully single.” Hanna looked at me. “It wasn’t so bad when you were single, too, but now … Damn, I’m still processing that you’re married to Dane. No, I haven’t finished processing that you’re even a couple.”
I was still processing it all myself.
“Of course, I suspected he was into you,” Hanna went on. “You’re one of the only employees at o-Verve whose ass he hasn’t chewed a verbal chunk out of, even though you’re in his company almost every day. And when that guy from marketing came onto you a little too strong—complete with groping—Dane was furious.”
Ashley’s brows arched. “Yeah? I didn’t hear about that.”
“Ooh, he reamed the sleazy fucker so hard I was pretty sure the guy would cry,” said Hanna. “Dane doesn’t yell or blow a fuse when he’s mad at you. He talks quiet and stays in complete control, but he turns ice freaking cold and systemically rips your character apart like a twisted psychiatrist. That’s why quite a few people have quit their jobs in tears.”
Dane had been super harsh with him. Really, though, he would have been furious no matter which employee was groped.
Hanna drank more of her wine. “He’s been a lot less eager to jump down people’s throats since you became his PA. You do seem to have a way of … I don’t know … soothing him, I guess you could say.”
“I know what you mean,” said Ashley. “I noticed at the barbecue that he’s at ease no matter who he’s talking to, but he relaxed a fraction more when Vienna was by his side. Like, yeah, she soothed him in some way.”
No, he was just that good an actor.
“I’m not even sure if he’s conscious of it,” Ashley added.
“Oh, he’ll be conscious of it,” said Hanna. “Dane knows himself inside and out. Knows every strength and every fault. And he can live just fine with those faults, because his psychopathy—”
“No, we’re not doing this,” I cut in, slashing my hand through the air.
Ashley rolled her eyes. “Fine. He’s a very well-adjusted, emotionally stable man.” She paused. “Are you sure you made the right decision in marrying him so soon?”
I lifted my shoulders. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
“He might be a person who moves fast, but you aren’t. I’ve never known you to throw caution to the wind. Yet here you are, moving in with a guy you married after only a month or so of dating him.”
“Yeah, well, I love him.”
“Do you? Because sometimes I worry that you don’t really see him. And I don’t get why you two had to rush into anything. That usually doesn’t end well for couples.”
Hanna let out a dreamy sigh. “I think it’s romantic the way he decided that, hey, he was done fighting what he felt for her and then he just set out to make her his in every way.” She gave me the stink eye. “I also think it’s unfair that you won’t give us details about what he’s like in bed.”
“You’ll just have to use your imagination,” I said.
“Oh, I do. Lots. I’ll try to stop it now that you’re married to him, but it won’t be easy. Not gonna lie, I’m jealous.”
“Speaking of jealousy … How’s Heather taking all this?” Ashley asked me.
I shrugged. “I haven’t seen anything of her since the barbecue.” I still hadn’t dealt with her shitty email, but I figured it could wait. Compared to everything else that was happening, it wasn’t important.
“She’s going to shit a brick when she sees that iceberg on your finger,” said Ashley. “You know how much she likes her bling.”
Hanna swirled her glass. “It’s a shame she has to be that way.”
It was. Mostly because the situation hurt my foster parents so much. “The people who matter are happy for me. That’s what’s important to me.”
When I’d visited my father to assure him that I was okay after the burglary, I’d also been careful to monitor how he reacted to my being married. I wanted to be sure he was truly good with it. It appeared that I’d been worrying for nothing. He seemed incredibly content about the whole thing. He loved the copy of the wedding photo we’d brought him, and he’d almost died with laughter on watching the recording of the ceremony.
I’d also visited Melinda and Wyatt, who eventually settled when they saw I wasn’t an anxious mess about the break-in. Like Simon, they were thrilled to have a copy of the wedding photo, claiming they loved how “happy” I looked. They’d also laughed their asses off watching the recording of the ceremony.
