What he said wasn’t technically a compliment, but that was exactly how my heart and hormones were interpreting it. They were doing a happy dance. I felt downright giddy.
“What do you want to know?” I asked, my words coming out a little breathier than they’d been just a moment before.
“Everything.” His voice was so deep his words were practically a growl.
His darkened gaze remained trained on me for another few moments before he turned it back to the road and began driving again.
It was only then that I let out a breath I hadn’t even noticed I’d been holding.
Oh my. I was glad that I was seated because if I wasn’t, I’d most definitely need a swoon couch. Hank had a way of taking me to Swoon City with just a word, a look, a touch.
I placed my hand over my stomach and then remembered what Luna had told him about me eating butterflies. She’d casually mentioned their conversation when I was cleaning up her room and picked up a Dr. Seuss book. I’d been mortified.
Someday, when she was a teenager most likely, I was going to remind her of what she’d done and tell her that turn-about was fair play. I’d never follow through on my threat, of course, but it would be fun to tease her.
As I looked down at my baby girl, sleeping snuggled up between Hank and me, I wondered if there was any possibility that Hank might still be around when that time came. Would he be there for her first date? For braces? For the first time she snuck out or teaching her how to drive a car? I hoped so. So much. Too much.
It hit me then that I’d never wondered those things about Richie. And I certainly never wished that he would be. By the time I gave birth to Luna, he’d proven himself as unreliable and I’d switched to a single mom mindset. I’d always felt like it was just me and Luna taking on the world. And Ashley of course. But Ashley was going to have her own family someday, in the distant, distant future hopefully.
I wanted my sister to live her life to the fullest, travel the world, and start a career with no one to answer to but herself. Something that I hadn’t been able to do.
My eyes drifted from Luna up to Hank. His profile was highlighted by the moonlight and my heart ached thinking about thirteen-year-old Hank stepping in to not only raise his brothers but also care for his dad and run the bar.
Mrs. Birch had filled me in on a little bit of what it had been like for him. Every time she talked about Hank, pride, respect, and love poured out of her. And I could see why.
He was truly an inspiration.
As we pulled onto our drive, I started to tell him just how amazing he was and what he meant to people, especially me, “Hank, you are—”
My words fell flat when I saw the tense expression on his face as he flexed his hands on the steering wheel.
“What’s wrong?” I asked as I followed his gaze directed at his house and saw a gorgeous brunette sitting on the top steps of his porch.
“My ex.” It was just two words, but they had my heart plummeting to the ground.
“Melody?” I asked. I’d heard about Hank and Melody. His first love. His only real relationship. She’d broken his heart, left town, and he’d never gotten over her.
He didn’t respond, but I knew the answer.
“You can just let us out.” I reached down to grab my purse. “We can walk from here.”
“I’m going to take you home,” he stated firmly. “And then I’ll deal with her.”
We both remained quiet the rest of the short drive. When we got to the house, Hank carried Luna in and before he left, he hugged me and kissed me on the forehead. The forehead, not the lips. As I watched his taillights drive back toward his house all I could do was hope that a forehead kiss was not Hank Comfort’s way of saying goodbye.
CHAPTER 40
Hank
I knew that I needed to deal with my unexpected visitor, but leaving Skylar and Luna felt wrong. Especially when I’d seen the look on Skylar’s face when I walked out the door.
“I saw you drive by.” Melody stood up as I stepped out of the truck. She put her hands in her back pockets and looked down. “I thought maybe you were avoiding me.”
She was nervous. That was clear to see.
“I wouldn’t do that.”
I couldn’t count the number of hours I’d spent wondering what it would be like to see Melody again, after all this time. It was different than I’d thought. It was like no time had passed at all, and at the same time it felt like I hadn’t seen her in a lifetime.
She was both a stranger and a close friend.
I stepped beside her to unlock the door and when I did I smelled the floral scent of her favorite perfume. I’d forgotten it, but as soon as it hit my olfactory nerve, memories rushed back to me.
Her lying in my arms under a blanket of stars in the back of my pickup and hair tickling beneath my nose.
Her sneaking into and out of my window in the middle of the night and strands of her hair brushing against my face.
Her resting her head on my chest as we slow danced at formals during high school and me kissing her on the top of her head.
I couldn’t remember the last time I’d thought about those moments. I’d avoided them at all costs. For years, they were too painful to remember. Every time one of them would surface, my chest would ache with hollow misery.
But now, instead of feeling any sort of discomfort, all I felt was nostalgia.
I had no idea when that shift had happened or if Skylar had played a part in the healing process, but I was grateful that the reunion with Melody was happening now when my response to seeing her wasn’t painful at all.
When we got inside I shut the door. “Do you want something to drink?”
“No. I’m good.” She looked around the house and I wondered if memories were coming back to her like they had for me.
“Do you want to sit down?”
“Sure.” She lowered down onto the couch and I sat in the recliner.
“I saw the Netflix special,” she began. “And I just want you to know I didn’t leave because of the curse.”
I stared at her, not sure what she was talking about. I hadn’t mentioned her at all in the interview I’d done.
Her head tilted to the side as she explained, “You know because everyone said I did.”
I still had no idea what she was talking about.
“You haven’t seen it, have you?”
“No.” And I had no plans to.
“Oh, well, they did a bunch of interviews with people. Miss Shaw, Nadia, Clyde, and…well a bunch of people. And they all said that I left because of the curse.”
I wasn’t sure why she was here, or what record she was trying to set straight, but I wondered if she forgot that I was there when she broke up with me. She’d told me that she didn’t want to ‘tempt fate.’
She must’ve seen from my expression where my mind was going. “I know that’s what I told you. But I just used it as an excuse. I never believed in it. Your mom and dad were married for over a decade and had four kids.”
Technically, they had three. But I wasn’t going to mention that.
“And I know it wasn’t perfect, but what relationship is. Your dad loved your mom, and I know that your mom loved him, too, despite his issues. That’s a lot more of a happily ever after than most people get.” She took a deep breath and placed her hands on her thighs. “I left because of how you reacted when I told you I was pregnant.”