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I shook my head. “I don’t. Well, not really. I met her once a few weeks ago when I was working on a case,” I explained.
A look of understanding washed over her. “Ah, I see. Well, she’s one of the sweetest people I’ve ever met.”
I should have let it go, but I couldn’t. Since I hadn’t taken it upon myself to do something about Hanna while she was standing there, I figured I would take whatever information I could get about her.
“She seems incredibly shy,” I noted.
Tarryn looked at me like I was crazy. “Really? I don’t think so. In fact, there’s this homeless guy that occasionally sits outside the shop. Whenever he’s here and Hanna stops in, she always buys an extra coffee and a doughnut to give to him on her way out.”
That must have been why she was carrying two cups of coffee.
I took a minute to think about that and realized that Ellery also seemed to have a good relationship with Hanna. Maybe it was me. Maybe I was the problem and the reason for her being so bashful. I couldn’t quite work out whether that was a good or bad thing, though.
When I took too long considering this, Tarryn spoke again. “I think it’s a convenient coincidence that you two ran into each other here today. Maybe you should do something about that,” she suggested.
I already wanted to kick my own ass for not doing something about it. I didn’t need anyone else realizing how big of a fool I’d been, something I now knew was the case, considering Tarryn had shared just how good of a woman Hanna was.
“Yeah, well, maybe if I run into her again,” I replied on a laugh.
I figured my best bet was to be lighthearted about it, even if I wanted nothing more than to run out into the road, so that I could stop Hanna from leaving.
“She usually comes in once or twice a week, so if you want to become a regular here, you might catch her,” Tarryn informed me.
Feeling my lips twitch with amusement, I promised, “I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Here you go.”
Presley’s voice made me turn my attention away from Tarryn. She was holding out the two dozen boxes of doughnuts I’d ordered.
I took them from her. “Thanks, Presley.”
“You’re welcome. Have a great day, Leo,” she said.
“You, too.” My eyes shifted to Tarryn, who was still standing there, looking pensive. “Later.”
“See you!” Tarryn bubbled.
I stepped off to the side, and another thought moved through me. Presley was a great girl. There was no question about it. She was sweet and pretty, and I thought she’d be a great catch for someone someday.
But hearing her say my name didn’t do the same thing to me that hearing Hanna say it did.
Gut instinct told me that I’d made a mistake by letting Hanna walk out without even trying to get her number. And now I had to face the fact that I’d likely ruined my chances, because there wasn’t any way I could just show up where she worked for no reason at all.
I shook my head, feeling disappointed with myself, and moved toward the exit, accepting what was.
Maybe if I was lucky, I’d run into her again. If that happened, I made a promise to myself that I wouldn’t make the same mistake twice.
I left The Early Bird, hopped in my car, and drove to work. After stopping at the front desk, where I not only said hello to both Avalon and Damon but also dropped off the boxes of doughnuts, I took a single treat with me back to my office.
On my way there, I was stopped by Jax. He and I both worked as part of the private investigation unit.
“Hey, I was just coming to see if you’d arrived yet,” he said. Jerking his head toward the doughnut in my hand, he asked, “Where’d that come from?”
“I stopped at Tarryn’s shop this morning. There are two dozen of them on Avalon’s desk,” I told him. “What’s going on?”
Moving past me, he said, “I’ll meet you in your office in a minute. I didn’t eat this morning, so I’m grabbing food first.”
I rolled my eyes as I shook my head and walked the remaining distance to my office. Jax was one of the best guys to work with, and he had a brilliant mind, but he wasn’t anything like me when it came to taking care of himself.
