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Okay, new plan.
I’ll tell Hannah “I love you” after I’ve told her some critical truths about myself. The good news is I think this little trespassing jaunt has paved the way for that moment, quite nicely. In no time at all, I predict the time will come for me to reveal a whole lot more about myself to Hannah . . . and then, to me saying the magic words and hearing them back. Which, then, hopefully, will one day lead to Hannah and me committing to face the world, together, as a team, the same way my parents always did.
15
HENN
After a quick breakfast of cereal at Hannah’s kitchen table, we kiss and hug goodbye in her doorway.
“I wish I didn’t have to go to work,” Hannah murmurs, skimming her lips over mine.
“Now that I’m staying till Thursday, we can spend the whole weekend together doing anything you want.”
“I’m so glad you’re staying.”
I slap her ass. “Go on, Stockholm. The sooner you get into work, the sooner you can sneak away for dinner before karaoke.”
Hannah sighs. “It doesn’t work that way. My boss doesn’t care how early you came in, she wants to see people working late, no matter what.”
“Even on a Friday night?”
“Especially on a Friday night.”
I roll my eyes. “Babe, we’ve got to get you a new job.”
“For shizzles. But there are too many moving parts for me to start looking in earnest. Once I know Maddy’s fate at UCLA and also whether or not Kat is going to start her PR company, then I’ll be able to decide which city or cities should be the focus of my job search.”
My breathing halts. “Are you saying . . . if Maddy gets into UCLA, you’d seriously consider moving to LA?”
She nods. “I’ve always dreamed of living somewhere besides my hometown, but what’s stopped me is not wanting to be away from my sister. If Maddy were to move to LA, I’d see it as a golden opportunity.” She frowns. “Although . . . I guess if Kat ultimately decides she wants to start a company in Seattle with me as part of it, that’d be a wrinkle.” She shrugs. “But if we get that far, maybe Kat would let me work remotely. Who knows?”
My brain is whirring and clacking—instantly making plans and devising strategies. So much so, I suddenly realize Hannah’s mouth is moving, and I haven’t been listening. “What was that? Sorry.”
Hannah says, “I asked if six o’clock works for you to come to my office before karaoke. I want to introduce you to my friends at work, and then I thought we’d grab dinner at this cute little Thai place down the street.”
“Any time works for me. I’ll just be sitting here working all day.”
“Great. I’ll see you at six.”
I lean my shoulder against Hannah’s doorjamb. “How are you planning to introduce me to your work friends?”
“Whichever you’d prefer—Peter or Henn.”
My smile widens. “I don’t care which name you call me, as long as it’s preceded by the phrase ‘my boyfriend.’”
“Oooh.” A huge smile unfurls across Hannah’s face as she slides her arms around my neck. “You want to be my boyfriend, do you?”
“I do. Very much.”
She kisses my cheek. “Okay then. Poof. You are. I’ll see you at six, boyfriend.”
“See you then, girlfriend.”
“How exciting.”
After another kiss, Hannah slides away, raises her arm into the sky like a knight raising a sword in battle, and shouts, “To the salt mines I go!”
Chuckling at her silliness, I watch her march down the length of the hallway, looking adorable in her kitten-heels-purple-blouse-black-pants work outfit, until she disappears around a corner and presumably into an elevator. When she’s gone, I run my palm over my face and mumble, “Damn, I love my girlfriend.” With a lovesick sigh, I amble back into her apartment, and a moment later, I’m seated at Hannah’s kitchen table with two laptops.
First things first, I find a place that rents Sybians and give them a call. They’re all booked through the weekend, unfortunately, but that’s okay, since my new flight leaves Thursday morning. I book a machine for Wednesday, figuring I’ll go out with a bang. After that, I click into my bank account to see if the money Jonas negotiated as my share of our finder’s fee has finally come through. Holy fucking shit. It has. I’m a millionaire, baby, tax-free and legitimately earned. Holy fuck. I’ve never seen so many zeroes in my life—at least, not in my own bank account.
I stare at my screen for a moment, trying to decide what to do with all that dough, and finally decide to do precisely what I said to my mother the other day: buy myself a spiffy condo in LA. Or Seattle, I suppose, if Maddy doesn’t get into UCLA and/or Hannah decides to stay in Seattle to work with Kat.
