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“Thanks,” he said, taking it and digging into it right away. “I still could use a few bucks.” She opened her mouth to tell him she wasn’t giving him money to spend on alcohol, but she saw Grant coming back, strawberries and whipped cream in hand.
Hannah quickly dug ten bucks out of her pocket and handed it to him. She wasn’t ready for Grant to meet her father, and she definitely wasn’t ready for a scene. Deep down, she knew that her father had no shame and even less pride. If he figured out Hannah was with Grant, he’d hit him up for money, too. And Grant, being the man he was, would give it in a heartbeat.
Nope, none of that was going to happen on her watch. There was no reason Grant needed to meet her dad ever. Hannah only saw him when he needed help or money or bail. And that was how it’d stay.
Silas put the piece of chicken in his mouth and grabbed the money Hannah offered. He didn’t say a word. Just continued to chew on another chicken strip and walked away. Toward the exit of the store.
Grant came up to her and put the items in the cart. “Starting to wonder where you were. Who was that?”
“No one,” Hannah said, and she honestly felt that way. Every time her father walked away, he left her feeling hollow. Which was strange, because there wasn’t much more space to void in her chest. It wasn’t that she didn’t have a heart—it had just been so beaten up and finally surrounded by steel that she barely felt it beat anymore. Until she was around Grant, that was.
“You okay?” Grant asked, searching her face.
“Yep, excited to get home and eat.” She started pushing her cart, and Grant was right there, his warm hand on the small of her back. And for the first time, she didn’t feel as ditched as she usually did whenever her father blew in and out of her life.
Something had shifted in Hannah at the store. But she wasn’t talking about it, which meant Grant would have to try to get some sort of information out of her without coming out and asking.
“Thank you for dinner,” he said.
She frowned. “We went to the grocery store only to order pizza.”
“Yeah, and it’s awesome. Grocery shopping is exhausting. I can’t imagine anyone preparing a meal after the effort it takes to acquire the food in the first place.”
She smiled and took another bite of pizza. The open box was in the middle of the living room coffee table, and Hannah sat next to Grant on the couch, her legs crossed.
“Now look who’s staring,” she said.
Grant just shrugged and took a bite of his pizza. “You’re nice to look at. I especially like these.” He tugged her pajama pants. The thin, soft material had pink cartoon moose on them.
Her white tank top was sexy, especially since she wasn’t wearing a bra.
“These are my comfy hang-out clothes.”
“Well, I’m in full support of them.”
She laughed. “How do you do that?”
“Do what?”
She put her pizza down and looked at him. “Make me feel pretty even in this.” She motioned to her outfit.
Wait, was she serious? Because the woman was gorgeous all the time. In any clothing. Though he preferred her in none. And she really didn’t feel pretty before?
Part of him wanted to feel good that he made her feel that way; the other part wanted to grill her on why the hell she didn’t feel beautiful all the time. It was so clear to him how incredible she was.
He ran his finger along her cheekbone and leaned in to kiss her softly.
Her eyelashes fluttered against his cheek, and he’d never loved the feeling of anything so much in his life.
She felt delicate. But he knew she was strong willed. In this moment, she was his.
She kissed him back, her sweet lips parting, and she slowly grabbed the hem of his T-shirt and lifted it up over his head. Her hands came down and ran the length of him. He loved the feel of her touch against his skin. Wanting him. Learning him.
He wanted to be everything she wanted.
Her lips grazed down his jaw to his neck, then down to his chest.
He wanted to tunnel his hands in her silky hair, but he didn’t want to dictate this moment. He wanted her to do whatever she wanted. And he was interested to see where she’d take this.
