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I know this should bring me comfort, but it stings as it secures the truth that Hannah for sure isn’t coming.
“Have you talked to her?” I ask.
Gen nods softly, but isn’t forthcoming.
“How is she?”
Something in my eyes causes her shoulders to relax as she lets out another sigh. “She’s okay. Misses you.”
“She said that?” My brows shoot up, hopeful.
“No, but it’s pretty obvious.”
Nodding to myself, I wash down the rest of my champagne in one big gulp. The sparkling liquid tickles my throat as it goes down, but the alcohol doesn’t have the desired effect of mellowing me out. I’m half tempted to hop on a flight to New York, but I know that would only push Hannah away more.
There is nothing I have to say that is going to change her mind. She’s decided.
“Can I give you a bit of advice?”
“Why do I feel like you’re going to whether or not I say yes?”
“Because you’re smart,” Gen says with a grin before clearing her throat. “As you know, Hannah can be difficult to figure out. She might exude confidence most of the time, but it’s an act.”
I hate how well-acquainted I am with that fact. How, even now, Hannah doesn’t see how incredible she is is a mystery to me.
Gen continues, “If there is one thing that is a non-negotiable for Hannah, it’s being chosen. Like, truly chosen above all else. Her family isn’t perfect.”
My brows shoot up again as my eyes meet hers. I would have expected her to coast through life with the same rose-tinted glasses that Jackson sports, but as she nods, I know that’s not the case.
“She’s spent most of her life feeling like she plays second fiddle to her brother. It’s a big reason we didn’t talk for a long time.” I knew Hannah and Gen had a rocky past—I mean, they didn’t talk for a long time after Gen and Jackson initially broke up—but the reason never crossed my mind. “And don’t even get me started on Linda. If Hannah had even an inkling, justified or not, that you were ashamed to be with her, I could see her reacting emotionally to that.”
With everything that went down, I never thought about it that way. While in my mind it seemed clear why I wanted us to be private, it suddenly makes sense why Hannah was so upset about it.
At no point have I ever wanted to make her feel like she doesn’t matter or like I’m embarrassed to be with her. Suddenly, though, I’m seeing that’s exactly how I made her feel, and my stomach churns at the realization.
“Gen?”
“Hm?” she responds as she pulls her glass from her lips.
“Can you help me with something?”
FIFTY
LIAM
I clench my fists, my knuckles whitening against my slack-clad legs. With shaking hands, I rap lightly at my dad’s office door. My heart thuds in my chest and sweat trickles down my spine as I wait for a response. While I’ve been wanting to talk to him for a while, it’s never been the right time. With everything with Hannah recently consuming my mind, it’s fallen to the wayside, but with the new year starting, I know I have to prioritize this conversation.
No matter how uncomfortable it may be.
“Come in.” His voice radiates from behind the door as he ushers me in.
Stephen Park’s office is one of two extremely large offices, and I’ll bet you can think of who the other one belongs to. Baker & Park tries to maintain a modern approach to layout and interaction among employees, but this is one of the areas where they stick to a traditional setup.
“Hey, Dad.” I grimace as I step into the space, standing in front of his desk.
He looks up at me. “Liam,” he says with a smile, waving his arm to instruct me to sit.
I sit in the chair, taking in the large mahogany desk that is almost three times larger than my own. There isn’t a single scribble of paper marring its polished surface or a dusty file folder tucked away in a corner. Every pen and pencil is placed meticulously in its place, a habit of my father’s for as long as I can remember.
