“Oh, shut up!” she said, sticking out her tongue. “I’m giving you a desk in the basement.”
“Fine by me.” He flashed a huge smile her way, and for a second the space between them felt charged. She shook it off. Move on, Breaux.
“How did your sister’s wedding go?” he asked, changing the subject.
“Terrible,” she said. “Storm ruined everything.”
“Oh jeez, that sucks.” He scratched his chin. “Take note for your own—no outdoor weddings.”
She nodded her head and sighed to herself, not even wanting to think about having to plan a wedding of her own. After everything that Lexi had gone through, the idea of an elopement sounded pretty enticing now—if she ever got married, that was.
Garrett got quiet for a second. “I still can’t believe you got engaged on TV,” he said with a chuckle.
She clenched her jaw and could feel her face getting red-hot. She didn’t want to be reminded of Wynn right now, and she definitely didn’t want to talk about him. “Ha, yeah,” she said, waving it away.
“Honestly, I was pretty surprised you said ‘yes.’ ” Garrett leaned against the desk and folded his arms casually. “You don’t strike me as the public engagement type.”
Oh god, why are we still talking about this? she thought.
He paused, as if he was waiting for a response.
“You’re right,” she finally said, shifting her body back and forth on her feet.
Garrett pushed his glasses up on his nose. “You know, I have to admit I kind of had a crush on you before you got engaged.”
Callie paused. Did she hear that right? He had a crush on her? Her knees felt weak all of a sudden.
“I never got up the courage to ask you out,” he continued. “But I’m glad someone finally did.”
Her mouth dropped. All this time she had been secretly in love with him, and he had feelings for her, too? Was this some kind of joke?
Garrett smiled at her sheepishly and went for another wad of paper towels.
She thought back to all the years they had worked together. He had never shown signs he was interested in her romantically.
Her mind flashed back to all those freshly brewed cups of coffee he’d bring her, and the way he’d walk her to her car when they both left the office at the same time. Was that his idea of flirting?
He’s terrible at flirting, she thought with a giggle.
But then, maybe she had herself to blame. Maybe she had been so convinced of all the reasons he shouldn’t like her, she didn’t see that he actually did. Callie was speechless at his confession.
He cocked his head to the side. “I’m really happy that you’re finally getting everything you ever wanted. You deserve it.”
“You know…” Her heart felt like it was beating out of its chest as she looked up at him. “I’m not engaged anymore.”
Garrett’s eyes grew wide as he glanced at her and exhaled. His cheeks flushed beet red.
“What happened?” he asked.
“I don’t wanna talk about it,” she said, shaking her head slowly.
“I’m sorry.” He stood up and straightened his body.
“I’m not.”
The two of them stared at each other in silence for a moment. One of the nearby fans oscillated in their direction, and a strand of her brown hair blew into her face. As she went to push it away, Garrett reached for it, too. His warm hand touched hers, sending a spark down her body. He gently tucked the piece behind her ear and stared at her for a moment longer.
She began to feel self-conscious.
Just before she looked away, Garrett leaned in and kissed her. And she kissed him right back.
CHAPTER 31 Hanna
You know I hate surprises,” Hanna protested as she tugged on the red cowboy bandanna Tom had wrapped around her eyes. “Where are you taking me?” The car was making left turns and right turns all around town, and she had no idea what he possibly had up his sleeve. They had left the kids at her parents’ house, so she wondered if he was whisking her off on a romantic getaway. But after all the mean things she said to him this weekend, she felt like she didn’t deserve it.
“Just relax,” he said soothingly. “We’re almost there.”
The SUV came to a slow halt. Tom got out and walked over to her door, opening it and taking her by the hand to help her out. “Walk with me.” His voice guided her onto what felt like concrete under her feet. The air smelled clean, like fresh-cut grass and a sweet hint of honeysuckle. The birds and cicadas were singing a merry duet. Tom pressed his hands gently on her shoulders and stopped her from walking. “You ready?”
She nodded her head and pulled down the scarf from her eyes.
What she saw took her breath away. They were standing in front of their old home. Except, it didn’t look like their old home anymore. Hanna noticed the exterior of the house had been painted, and there was new landscaping in the front yard. “What’s going on?” She squinted to get a better look.
Tom squeezed her shoulder. “Well, you know that project I’ve been working on nonstop for the past few weeks? This is it.” He swung his hands toward the house.
Hanna gasped. All those days and nights where she secretly cursed him for working too much on that solo project, and it turned out she was the mystery client he was trying to impress.
“I made a promise to you I’d clean up this mess a long time ago, and it’s time I kept my promise. You were right… what you said on Saturday.”
She lowered her head, feeling ashamed. She hadn’t slept that night, tossing and turning with regret over their conversation about the house. It made her feel even more guilty that he was agreeing with her, especially now, seeing that he’d been working on it this entire time. “I wasn’t thinking straight,” she said. “I’m sorry.”
He lifted her chin with his hand. “You were right,” he emphasized.
She looked back at the house, and then back at him. “The place looks beautiful.”
He grabbed her hand and led her up the steps of the pristine porch. “You ain’t seen nothing yet.”
She looked over at Tom, still confused.
“Welcome to your dream house,” he said, opening the door.
Hanna stepped in and immediately gasped. Was this actually her old house? It felt so different. It was so much bigger and brighter.
The wall separating the foyer and living room was now gone, and the dark walls had been covered in a fresh coat of white paint. “Oh my god,” she said, putting her hand to her mouth. “Tom… you did this?”
He puffed out his chest with pride. “Well, I had a lot of help, but yeah.” He smiled, and then put his hand on the small of her back, leading her to the back of the house. As they walked, she noticed the hardwood floors beneath their feet had been restained and polished. And the windows seemed extra sparkly.
They entered the kitchen, and her jaw dropped.
“It’s not completely finished, but you’ll get the idea,” he said. The ugly brown cabinets she hated had been replaced with crisp white ones, the dull laminate countertop was now a sleek white quartz, and the old crappy appliances that were always breaking had been replaced with shiny stainless-steel ones. Hanna ran over to the island with a butcher block top that stood where the breakfast table used to be. The kitchen was exactly what she had been describing to Tom all these years. And all this time, she thought he wasn’t listening.