AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I should have figured.” Will lets out a small laugh as I grab my pajamas and go to change in the bathroom.
When I’m finished changing, I walk back out, blushing at how Will’s eyes are fixed on my silk shorts and tank. Turning off the light, I crawl beneath the covers and sidle up to him until we are face to face in the dark. Will reaches out and brushes my hair out of my face.
“Goodnight, Hannah.” He presses a kiss to my forehead and I smile in the dark.
“Sweet dreams Will.” I say out loud, but is the three words I don’t say that consume my thoughts. Three words that are on the tip of my tongue every time I even think about Will Whitmore.
Chapter 31
I hear Will’s alarm go off and feel the kiss he presses to my cheek as he leaves in the morning, but I’m still disappointed when I wake up alone. I stumble to the shower and let the warm water wake me up and wash away the disappointment of my unrequited feelings. It is too easy to forget I’m in my feelings alone when he is there next to me.
I distract myself by getting ready. Since I’m going to be on national television, I need to look my best. I can’t have all of America teasing me about being a swamp girl, so I pull out all the stops. I spend way too long applying way too much makeup to achieve a ‘natural’ look and then spend the rest of the time curling and cursing at my hair. By the end, I look a bit like the bayou prom queen Will accused me of being with my big hair, bright eyes, and a little too wide of a smile.
I put on the outfit that had taken Lilli ten hours to pick out. A simple fitted black dress and ankle boots. Groundbreaking, I know. I can’t tease her too much about it because I look good.
I meet Dad in the hallway, and we catch a cab to the studio together. Security meets us at the entrance to the studio to guide us to the waiting area. Will is already there, snacking on a plate of fruit while sitting on the couch.
“You ready for your fifteen minutes of fame, STG.” Will asks as I sit down beside him.
“I’m pretty sure I’m the least important person in this interview.” I’m not the one at the center of the story and I’m not the one writing the story.
“But you started the story. Your dad wouldn’t have looked for Susan without you and I wouldn’t be writing about if I hadn’t seen a beautiful girl on the internet ask for help to find the woman her dad left at the altar.” Will wraps an arm around my shoulders and his words make my heart flutter. I hadn’t ever known he thought I was beautiful from the start.
“I guess I am pretty important when you frame it like that.”
“You are to me.” His words are quiet enough that only I hear them. I feel them burrow into my heart as I smile softly.
A couple of studio workers come to put on our microphones shortly after that and before I know it, they are leading us out onto the set, where the woman I have grown up watching every morning is sitting, famous news anchor, Sarah West. She stands up to greet us and I’m struck by how normal she seems when the camera is off, but as soon as they announce that we are rolling, she transforms into the woman I know from the TV.
“Joining us today is David George, his daughter Hannah, and author Will Worthington, to give us an exclusive look into their viral road trip across the nation to find the woman David left at the altar over 25 years ago.” Sarah announces as she looks into the camera, then turning to look at us, she asks her first question. “To begin, I have to know after the cliffhanger in the last vlog, did you find Susan?” she asks, and her curiosity seems so genuine I wonder if she truly has been following along.
“We did find Susan.” Dad says with a smile.
“How did Susan react to your apology after all these years?” Sarah asks.
“You will have to wait to hear about that in our final vlog, which will be posted tonight.” Will answers before my dad can spoil the ending.
“I cannot wait. Did you guys anticipate millions of people following this story when you set off in the beginning?” Sarah gestures to a screen that brings up Will’s YouTube page and the millions of subscribers.
“I certainly didn’t. I only hoped to find Susan, so I would credit the following we have now to Will. He saw a story here and chased it until it captured the attention of the nation.” I say, shooting a smile at Will.
“I did see something special in this story, but I couldn’t anticipate the amazing feedback we would receive. It has been so fun to see this story grow beyond what I set out to do.”
“I understand you are writing a book about this journey. How will the book differ from what we’ve seen in the vlogs?” Sarah asks.
“In the vlogs I tried to focus on the search for Susan and all the fun adventures that went into that, but in the book, I’m delving much deeper into the personal stories of everyone involved, obviously focusing on David and Susan, but also all the Susans along the way to show that everyone has a story.”
“Well, I can’t wait to read it.” Sarah gushes before continuing with several more questions. I’m basically just nodding and smiling as Will and Dad answer questions until one comes along that shocks me out of my forced smile.
“Now this is the question I most want to know after knowing about how meeting Susan went because as I followed along with the vlogs this summer, I and most of the followers were wondering if we weren’t watching a new love story begin. Hannah and Will, are you two dating?” she asks and while I’m sure I look stunned, Will just laughs and wraps an arm around my shoulder, which makes Sarah’s eyes spark with glee.
“Hannah and I have definitely grown close.” Will tells Sarah and when he throws her a wink, she basically swoons, all while I blush furiously.
“Well, there you have it, everyone at home. Watch for Will’s book, The Road to Susan Smith, next spring and thank you Will, Hannah, and David for coming on the show.” Sarah concludes as the cameras stop rolling. We say a quick goodbye to Sarah before being ushered off the set.
“You don’t mind that I said that, right? I was caught off guard.” Will asks as we are having our microphones removed.
“No, it’s the truth. I was just a bit embarrassed.”
