Milkshakes and Mistletoe (The Hamiltons Book 5) Page 2

  She raised her eyebrows, and he shrugged. “I have a friend who loves these things and only drinks them sugar-free.” He realized that probably sounded like he was talking about his girlfriend, but he didn’t clarify. There was no point. He’d know Hannah for less than an hour. After that, they’d get on that plane and say goodbye. He’d seen her seat number when she showed him her boarding pass. She was up front in first class, and he was all the way in the cheap seats in the back. By the time he deplaned in San Francisco, she’d be long gone, no doubt whisked on her way by another limo while he rode the bus out to long-term parking, even though he’d only parked there yesterday.

  “What can I get you?” the girl behind the counter asked.

  “Two milkshakes, one strawberry, one …” He raised his eyebrows at Hannah.

  “Vanilla.”

  “Both sugar-free,” he added quickly. Hannah was pulling her wallet out, but he held his hand up and gave the girl his debit card.

  “Thanks.”

  Yeah. She might be a rich chick, but she was sweet and had nice manners. The girls Grady used to go out with expected everything and were grateful for nothing. That was another reason he’d had no issues with getting attached. He watched Hannah smile and thank the girl when she handed over her milkshake. She wasn’t like that. He wished again that he’d ignored Monty. He had no desire whatsoever to get a picture with Hannah, just to prove his friend wrong. He did, however, wish that he could get to know her better – and no way was that going to happen.

  They went and sat at a high-top table, and he watched her take a tentative sip through the straw. He laughed when her cautious expression turned to surprise. “Wow! That’s amazing. Forgive me for doubting.”

  “Consider yourself forgiven.” He took a sip of his own drink and nodded appreciatively. Ava loved the chocolate version, but the strawberry was his favorite. Not that he had them often. Just sometimes when they wanted to share a treat. He smiled, picturing the look on her little face when she took the first sip. She looked a lot like Hannah just had.

  Hannah, who was now watching him with raised eyebrows. Shit. He should be talking to her. He should at least entertain her now that they were here. This had been a bad move. He didn’t want her to feel like he’d hit on her and then immediately lost interest. Especially since he couldn’t actually hit on her for real – and he had a feeling that it’d be a long time before he forgot her.

  “So, you’re a vanilla girl?” Shit! He so should not have said the first that came into his head. The look on her face said she was reading a whole different meaning into his question than he’d intended. He gave her a rueful smile. “I’m talking about milkshakes. If your mind went somewhere else, that’s on you – not what I intended.”

  She laughed. “Good save. I’m not sure if I believe you, but still, you saved it well.”

  He held his hands out, palms up. “Milkshakes, that’s all. I promise.”

  “Okay. Well, in that case, yes. Plain vanilla.”

  Her playful smile made him want to ask if she was plain vanilla in the bedroom, too, but he couldn’t go there – it wouldn’t be fair to either of them when he had no intention of ever taking her to a bedroom. He shifted in his seat as the thought stirred his interest. Desire to take her to bed? Oh, yes. Desire was humming through his veins. But desire and intent were two very different things.

  She twirled her straw between her fingers. “But you’re not.”

  “Not, what?” He’d been so caught up in where his desires could take them that he wasn’t sure what she meant.

  She pointed at his drink. “You’re not plain vanilla.”

  He shifted in his seat again, his interest undeniably aroused now. He gave her a rueful smile and held up his milkshake. “I guess strawberry is just another version of vanilla. Straightforward, familiar, nothing unexpected.” He couldn’t help smiling and adding, “But still incredibly pleasurable.”

  She laughed. “Okay, so neither of us is very good at innuendo, then.”

  He laughed with her. “Apparently not. So, since we got that out of the way, tell me about Hannah. Where are you going? Are you off on a trip or heading home?” All of a sudden, he could feel his heart beating faster – which was dumb. He wanted to hear that she was on her way home – because San Francisco was a whole lot closer to Napa than LA was. But it didn’t make any difference either way. Even if she lived in San Francisco and wanted to see him again, he wouldn’t be able to. He had Ava, and Ava came first. That didn’t leave time for dating.

  She took another sip of her milkshake before she answered, “Kind of both, kind of neither.”

  He raised his eyebrows. “Go on. I was never any good at solving riddles.”

  She blew out a sigh. “I’m going on a trip.”

  His heart sank.

  “But it’s a trip home to see my brother.”

  His hopes rose again, even though he knew there was no point.

  “How about you?” she asked before he could question her further.

  “I’m on my way home. I came down here for a quick visit with an old friend.” He smiled. “The guy who caught your attention.”

  She frowned. “Oh, you mean the one you were saying goodbye to? He didn’t catch my attention: it was his laugh. It just sounded so real, and so … free. It’s been a long time since I’ve heard anyone laugh like that.”

  “Yeah, that’s Monty. He’s real and he’s free. I came down here for a taste of that again.” He smiled. “He lives in that camper and bums his way up and down the coast, surfing.”

  “I guessed you were a surfer!”

  “You did, huh? How?”

  “I don’t know, you just have the look, you know?”

  He ran his hand through his hair. “You mean scruffy?”

  She laughed. “More like bronzed, beachy god.” Her eyes widened and her hand came up to cover her mouth. “Oh my God! Please tell me I didn’t say that out loud!”

  Grady had to laugh with her. “Err, I’m afraid you did. Don’t worry, though. I won’t let it go to my head.”

  She rolled her eyes at him. “Sorry. Sometimes I open my mouth and my thoughts spill out. It’s a terrible habit.”

  “You don’t hear me complaining, do you?”

  She shrugged. “No. This time I only embarrassed myself.”

  “That sounds like you’ve landed yourself in trouble by letting your thoughts spill out of your mouth in the past?”

  She met his gaze but then shrugged again and looked away. “You could say that. It’s part of the reason that I’m going home to see my brother. I’ve caused a few waves lately and I figure it’s best if I take myself home. My brother’s been bugging me to move back for a couple of years now and I think I’m going to.”

  That sounded like there was a whole lot of story behind it, but as much as Grady would like to hear it, he thought it best not to push her. She’d spill as much or as little as she wanted to if he kept his questions general. “And where is home?”

  “Napa.”

  All his breath caught in his chest. She was from Napa? What were the odds? He’d seriously felt like he was playing roulette with the boarding passes earlier. But it’d turned out that she was not only heading down the same concourse he was, but she was also on the same flight. Now, it turned out that she was going to – that she was from – the place he called home.

  Her smile had vanished, and she was searching his face. “Where are you from?”

  He swallowed. “I’m from SoCal.” It was the truth, but it wasn’t the whole truth, and he felt bad. “But I’m going home to Napa, too.”

  “Oh!”

  He chuckled. “What’s up? Is that a little too close for comfort?”

  She blew out a sigh. “Honestly? Yes. I mean, it’s one thing to flirt with the bronzed, beachy god in the airport, it’s another thing to think that we might see each other again.”

  The way she said it made him hesitate. Was she talking about seeing each other again? Par
t of him would love to. But that was the part of him who hadn’t fully wrapped his head around what being a single dad meant. That single word had always been one of his favorites. Now, it wasn’t an option – it was a required fact. But no, she wasn’t talking about them seeing each other again; she probably just meant that it’d be embarrassing if she ran into him again.

  “I wouldn’t worry about it. I doubt we run in the same circles.”

  She nodded slowly. “I …”

  Grady held his breath. If she did want to see him again, he’d rather not hear it. That’d be like torture. He reached across and put his finger over her lips. “There’s no need to say it. When we get on that plane, you’ll sit down in the big comfy seats, and I’ll keep going all the way to the back.”

  She nodded again. “But back in Napa …”

  It was so tempting to listen to what she had to say, to hope that she might suggest that they see each other again. But he couldn’t. If he knew that she was there and that she wanted to see him, he’d try to figure out a way. Even if he didn’t see her, thinking that she wanted to would still be a distraction, and he needed all his focus on Ava. So, instead of hearing her out, he interrupted.

  “Back in Napa, I don’t socialize much.”

  She frowned. “So, what do you do?”

  “I work and I spend time with my family.”

  Her frown deepened. “Do you mean … are you saying that you’re …?”

  He nodded. He felt like a shit. He’d made it sound like he was married – and she felt bad. That was the worst part. He’d made her feel bad. That hadn’t been his intention, but it was too late to take it back now.

  She set her half empty glass down and got to her feet. “I should go.”

  He watched sadly as she hooked her purse back onto her little wheeled carry-on. Just watching her should make him feel better. Everything about her – the purse, the case, the way she was dressed, the way she carried herself, all of it said that she came from money – that he’d been right when he said they didn’t run in the same circles. He knew it was better to just watch her walk away because he shouldn’t be feeling as attracted to her, as genuinely interested in her, as he was. But he didn’t feel good – about any of it.

  She took a step and he wanted to go after her, but he forced himself to remain seated. It was better that she left thinking he was a jerk. Better that whatever might have happened between them just didn’t.

  His mind couldn’t help but rerun the same thought it had earlier. If she doesn’t turn around, she’s not interested. And just as she had earlier, she turned and looked back at him over her shoulder. This time, though, there was no smile. She shook her head sadly and hurried away.

  Chapter Three

  As soon as she was off the plane, Hannah hurried as fast as she could to the baggage claim. It was a big airport, and hopefully there’d be no chance of her running into Grady again. She shouldn’t care – she didn’t care, dammit! He was a jerk. A good-looking, charming, seemingly sweet jerk – and all of that just made him more of a jerk. She should know better. Any guy who hit on her always turned out to have some major flaw. In the grand scheme of things, Grady wasn’t the worst of them – not by a long shot. But he was married. Ugh! And there she’d been ready to go all the way out on a limb and ask if he wanted to see her again.

  She tapped her fingers impatiently as she rode the escalator. And she’d gone and told him he was a bronzed, beachy god! Boy did she feel stupid. And she pitied his poor wife. Ugh. He probably had children, too. He must. He’d said he didn’t socialize much because he spent his time at work and with his family. Just … ugh!

  She should probably swear off men. They were all no-good, lying, cheating … Well, to be fair not all of them were that way. It was just her. It had to be. She attracted them. Nathan was even worse. But Nathan was her own fault. She’d had her doubts about him from the beginning. He’d been too charming, too sweet … hmm, perhaps there was a common theme there that she should have picked up on before. She’d thought Grady was sweet and charming, too. And of course, good-looking. Perhaps that was it? Perhaps she didn’t need to swear off men, just the good-looking seemingly sweet and charming ones? They were the ones she went for, and they were the ones who broke her heart. At least Grady hadn’t broken her heart. She’d known the man for less than hour, but she’d already started thinking that something might happen between them. She’d been about to suggest that they might see each other again. If it had been up to her, he would have broken her heart because she would have gone all in – after some stupid, supposedly romantic, pick-up line in an airport.

  She stormed her way through the baggage claim and tapped her foot as she waited by the carousel. She should have done as Jacob had said and let him come to LA to pick her up. In the future, she should just listen to him. If she’d done as he said, she’d be sitting in the company jet right now, sipping champagne with her brother – and she never would have even crossed paths with Grady Whatever-his-name-was.

  “What’s rattled your cage?”

  She turned when a very familiar voice spoke just behind her. There he was. Her beloved, if occasionally infuriating, big brother. She flung her arms around his neck. “Jacob!”

  He pecked her cheek and then carefully extricated himself from her embrace. “Hannah.” He gave her a puzzled smile. “It’s good to see you, too, sis. But what’s going on? You’re standing here tapping your foot like you’re in a big hurry – which you never are. And as much as I appreciate the enthusiasm of your greeting, I don’t believe that you’re just that pleased to see me.”

  She blew out a sigh. “Sorry. It just … I’m pissed, okay?”

  His eyebrows drew together. “No. Not okay. What’s rattled your cage? It’s not like you to get upset.” His expression softened. “Tell me all about it and I’ll go kick their asses for you.”

  She had to smile. She loved Jacob more than anyone else in the world. Well, except their middle brother, Xander, but she rarely got to see him, so Jacob bore the brunt of her affection. “It’s okay. If you need to kick anyone’s ass, it’s probably mine.”

  “Why? What happened?”

  She pursed her lips. She probably shouldn’t tell him; he’d be mad at her, but what the hell. “A guy tried to pick me up in the airport, and I kind of let him.”

  Jacob scowled, and Hannah knew too late that she shouldn’t have said anything. “Hannah!”

  She shrugged. “He was cute, and he seemed really nice.”

  “Until?”

  “Until we realized that we both live in Napa.”

  “And?”

  “And he started backpedaling – turns out he’s married.”

  “And?”

  “And what? You don’t think that’s bad enough?”

  “I think that’s nothing compared to the scenarios that were running through my mind. If he hit on you in the airport, you only knew him for what an hour? Two at the most.” His eyebrows drew together again. “I’m assuming that you didn’t do anything crazy in that time?”

  “Like what?”

  “Like … like you didn’t do anything with him?”

  “Oh my God, Jacob! You think I might have had sex with him? In the airport? How? Where? Actually, don’t bother to answer that.” She chuckled. “I know you think that I’m the creative one in the family, but I’m not that creative.”

  “I’m glad to hear it. And my point was that you only chatted with the guy for a short while. Nothing more than flirting happened between you. And when he realized that you might be a little close for comfort, he backed off.”

  “I suppose worse things could have happened.”

  “They could. Especially if you insist on flying commercial.”

  They both stood back when the carousel started up. Hannah was relieved to see her bag come out first. She pointed and Jacob grabbed it.

  “It wouldn’t have taken long for me to come down to LA to get you, you know. And when you go back, you’re taki
ng the jet.”

  “Okay. Are you trying to get rid of me already?”

  He stopped walking and scowled at her. “Don’t even joke about it. You know I’d prefer it if you didn’t go back at all. You should stay home now, Hannah. Have the cottage if you don’t want to share the house with me, but stay?”

  She blew out a sigh. “I might.”

  “What’s the latest on Nathan?”

  “I just said that I might stay – doesn’t that tell you all you need to know?”

  “It does. For now. But come on. There’s a car waiting to take us back to Signature.”

  Hannah followed him. Jacob only endured commercial airports for her sake. She knew he’d be in a hurry to get back to the quieter, more refined fixed base operator where the jet waited to take them home.

  When they reached the doors, she looked back over her shoulder. But this time there was no sign of Grady – and that was a good thing, even if a part of her had been hoping for one more glimpse of her surfer guy. She scowled and hurried out after Jacob – not her surfer guy! The married surfer guy, who she should hope she never saw again.

  ~ ~ ~

  Grady finally relaxed when he pulled into Molly’s driveway. He got out of the car and stretched his arms and legs. Flying wasn’t easy for a guy his size. The two-hour drive back from the airport hadn’t helped either. He’d downsized to this little Honda when he found out that Ava was going to be coming to live with him. He’d loved his truck, but he couldn’t justify spending the money on the payment anymore. Not when there was always something Ava needed.

  There were still lights on in the house. He felt a stab of guilt. Molly had said that Ava could spend the night with them again and he could pick her up in the morning to get her to school. But he hadn’t wanted to spend a second night away from her. He’d felt guilty at first about even going down to LA to see Monty, but everyone including Ava, had insisted that he should go. He’d enjoyed it. He could even say that he was glad that he’d gone. But he was even more glad that he was back now and that in half an hour or so he and Ava would both be asleep in their own little home. Home wasn’t much; it was a townhouse in a subdivision just outside of town, but it was theirs.