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Chelsea grinned. “I’d be happy to.”
Hannah braced herself as Nathan approached, but he stopped before he reached her. He stopped to say hello to Grady! That was the last thing she’d expected. Grady got to his feet and shook Nathan’s hand. Her only consolation was that he was using his restaurant smile. Most of the time his smile was genuine, it was one of the things she loved most about him. But there’d been a few times when he was tired, and customers were being a pain, that she’d seen him put on what he called hiscustomer service smile. And that was the way he looked with Nathan.
Chelsea stopped and looked over her shoulder at her with awhat do I do?look on her face. Hannah shrugged. She might as well go and join them and get this over with.
By the time she reached them, Grady was looking uncomfortable. Xander and Slade were on their feet, too. Neither of them was bothering with even a fake smile. Of course, they both knew Nathan – and his history with her.
Xander scowled at her, but Grady turned and greeted her with a smile. “Hannah. This is a guy I used to work with, Nathan.”
She was relieved that he didn’t call him a friend.
“Remember when I said that I did some modeling years ago? I worked with Nathan a few times. Of course, he went on to the big leagues while I dropped out.”
She nodded. “I’ve worked with Nathan in the past too.”
Grady’s smile faded, but Nathan laughed. “Oh, shit! You two are together? Damn, Hannah. What are you doing, slumming it for Christmas?” He turned to Grady. “If you’re looking for a meal ticket, I’d look elsewhere. Her brothers watch over her like hawks.”
It took Hannah a moment to process what he meant. Grady just stared at him, obviously just as taken by surprise as she was.
Xander was the one who reacted instantly. Hannah could only watch as if it was happening in slow motion. He stepped forward and his arm swung back. Then his fist landed in the middle of Nathan’s face, and he went down, clutching at his nose.
“Too damned right, her brothers watch over her.” Xander stood over him, his fists balled at his sides, ready to go again by the looks of him. But Nathan made no attempt to get up. They all seemed to stand there, frozen for a few moments until one of the doormen arrived, with Antonio following close behind him.
Antonio’s worried look evaporated when he saw Nathan sitting on the floor. He shot Hannah a wry smile before he spoke to the doorman.
“It would seem that it’s time to take the trash out.”
The guy hauled Nathan up and escorted him out. Hannah went to Grady, hoping that he wasn’t mad – at her, or at Xander. She’d hated thinking that he might have a history with Willow. Now, there was no avoiding the fact that she had a history with someone he knew.
She slid her arm around his waist and looked up into his eyes, but before she could speak, Xander beat her to it.
He grasped Grady’s shoulder. “Sorry about that, dude. I know she’s your woman, but she’s my little sister and … well, I’ve wanted to do that for a long time.”
To Hannah’s relief, Grady chuckled. “No problem. I was still trying to figure out what he meant.” He looked down at Hannah and then back at her brother. “I’m more of a lover than a fighter anyway.”
Xander laughed. “That’s a good thing. She hates fighting.”
“Shehas a name.” Hannah made a face at him. But he was right. She was glad that Grady’s first instinct hadn’t been to react with his fists. Having one man in the family who thought that was the way to solve things was plenty for her.
Grady tightened his arm around her shoulders. “Do you want a drink?”
She nodded. She was going to have to explain how she knew Nathan. She just hoped that Grady would be okay with it.
When they had their drinks, he led her out onto the terrace. It was so cold that there was no one out here. He set their glasses down and opened his arms to her. She stepped inside them and rested her cheek against his shoulder.
“I’m sorry about that.”
He tucked his finger under her chin and made her look up at him. “There’s nothing to be sorry for. I take it you used to go out with him?”
She nodded.
He sucked in a deep breath and blew it out slowly. Then his smile was back, and he kissed the tip of her nose. “I’m glad you got rid of him.”
“Me, too.”
He smiled. “I mean, even apart from the fact that I wouldn’t have met you. He’s an asshole. He was one of the reasons I got out of modeling. He was a conniving son-of-a-bitch. He was always out for himself and didn’t care who he stood on to climb the ladder. The thing that bothered me the most was that it worked. I knew I didn’t want to be a part of a world where that was what it took to succeed.”
She reached up and pressed a kiss to his lips. “I can’t see you in that world. It took me a lot longer, but I left it for the same reasons you did.”
