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Hannah shook her head when Dylan grinned at her.
Connor had a meltdown when it was time to leave. It seemed as though Lukus's loft was a kid's heaven; with a gym full of balls, a movie theater with popcorn, and all kinds of video games. Tiffany had luckily thought to pick up some age-appropriate movies and games the day before.
Mama Rosa stepped in. "I'm going to stay here, anyway. Why don't you leave Connor with me? It's too hard to get around with my wheelchair. You all go have fun."
Hannah was uneasy. She'd basically slept one whole day away already, and didn't want to be away from Connor again. Dylan stepped up behind her, whispering in her ear. "Don't feel guilty."
"How did you know?"
"Lucky guess. Come on, let's go."
Hannah and Dylan squished themselves into the small back seat of Lukus's BMW. Memories of the harrowing drive from the airport to the loft just days before returned. This time, Lukus managed to drive the speed limit—mostly. And Dylan was determined to distract Hannah by inching his wandering hand up her inner thigh until she had to swat him away, afraid they'd be caught by the occupants of the front seat.
Ten minutes later they pulled up in front of a modest two-story home in a quiet neighborhood. Having met Derek, Hannah had expected the hulking man to live in the city. In fact, he'd surprised her in many ways. She'd watched with fascination as he'd cared for his wife the night Jake was killed. She had to have been in shock at the time because it seemed like he had been treating her more like a child than as an adult.
That thought was still fresh when they arrived at the front door only to have it swing open and be greeted by a child-like Rachel. She was dressed in an adorable pair of bibbed jean shorts. Her hair was pulled up in high pigtails with pink ribbons.
"Yippee! You're all here! Come on in. We can start the party," she welcomed.
Rachel took the time to hug each of them as they entered before ushering them through the small dining room into the large kitchen, which was full of people. Hannah hung back, feeling like a fifth wheel as a woman who had to be Dylan and Derek's mother rushed to hug her son, lecturing him on how much weight he'd lost and how worried she'd been about him. Her balding husband rolled his eyes behind her good-naturedly.
"Mom, Dad, I want to introduce you to someone important." Dylan had extracted himself from his mother's hug long enough to return to Hannah's side. "I want you to meet Hannah Martine. Hannah, these are my parents, David and Diana."
Hannah reached out to shake Diana's hand, only to be pulled into a great big bear hug. "It's so nice to meet you, Hannah. Derek told us how much danger you were in out in California. I'm so happy you're okay."
Dylan's mom released her just enough to pull back, apparently so she could inspect the woman who'd arrived with her youngest son. Hannah felt like she was under a microscope, and in that moment, she realized just how little she and Dylan really knew about each other. She panicked that she'd gotten ahead of herself in hoping for a future with the man who stepped up to wrap his arm around her waist.
She stumbled through her answer. "I'm fine, thanks to your sons. They saved me."
Pride filled Mrs. Parker's eyes. "Of course they did. They're such good boys."
"Ma. We're not boys." Derek had returned, carrying what looked like bags of Chinese carryout.
The portly woman glanced at her oldest son with love. "I keep telling you; you'll always be boys to me. Maybe you'll understand better after Rachel has the baby."
Rachel's jovial smile dimmed. The soon-to-be-mother turned somber. Hannah watched her closely as Rachel self-consciously stroked her belly, where her unborn child was growing inside her. Hannah recognized the look on her face as the one she'd seen on Holly's while she'd been pregnant with Connor. It was the look of uncertainty of her readiness to be a mother.
Derek crossed to his wife, picking her up into his arms as if she weighed nothing. She hugged him around his neck and wrapped her legs around his waist, clinging to him like a monkey. It reminded Hannah of the way she carried Connor.
When no one in the room seemed to remark on the grown couple acting more like father and daughter than husband and wife, Hannah let it go.
She spent the next hour sneaking glances their way, watching the dynamics of their marriage with growing interest.
"Excuse me. Can someone point me in the direction of the bathroom?" she asked. More than needing to pee, Hannah needed a few minutes alone to assimilate all she'd learned about Dylan and his family since they had arrived.
"Our guest bath on this floor is being remodeled. I hope you don't mind going up to the bathroom on the second floor. It's the second door on the right."
"Great. Thanks," Hannah said. Dylan rose as if to accompany her, but she laid her hand on his shoulder. "It's okay. I'm sure I'll find it. You stay here with your family."
She wasn't sure why, but he looked concerned—yet he let her go.
Hannah easily found the bathroom, but as she flicked on the light, she was surprised by the child-like décor that greeted her. She knew Rachel was pregnant, but was surprised to find the bathroom already decorated in aDisneymotif.
The shower curtain was pulled back to reveal shelves full of bath toys and bubbles. As she arrived at the toilet, she had to first lift off the portable child's seat. It was the exact brand she had at home for Connor.
As she washed her hands with theDisneysoap and dried them on the hand towel, Hannah glanced through the open door into the adjoining bedroom to see a full nursery. She knew it was rude, but she pushed the door open wider to get a better look, and jumped when she saw Dylan standing next to the large baby crib. He was watching her carefully.
"I was wondering if you'd notice Rachel's nursery," he said.
