“What the hell are you doing?” I asked again and a second later I saw it. The keychain.
“You little thief,” I grinned. I didn’t mind her taking it. That thing meant nothing to me. Apparently that wasn’t the case with little miss Spencer.
She pushed me away and stormed out of my room. I followed her to the hallway.
“I will need my keys back.”
She stopped mid-step, turned around to face me and started taking off my keys with shaky hands. Her whole body was trembling with barely controlled rage. She threw the keys at me, and they scattered on the floor around us.
She reached to open the door of the room she was sharing with Clem, but I grabbed her by the elbow, spun her around and dragged her closer to me. Her face was inches away from mine.
“I gave you something for it, remember?” I asked and her full pink lips parted. “Don’t you think you should give me something now that you are taking it back?”
My mouth hovered over hers. I waited for a sign, any indication she was a willing participant in this. She was too young and angry. I was drunk and attracted to her despite my better judgment. Not a good combination.
She lifted her head up just an inch closer to me and that was all I needed. I slammed my mouth down on hers. A voice inside my head was screaming to me that this might be the most stupid thing I had ever done, but I just couldn’t stop.
I dug my fingers in her back and pressed her against me. Her stiff and tense body started melting into mine. She slid her fingers in my hair and a soft moan escaped her lips.
That sound made me stop pretending I had any control over myself. I took a step back towards my room with her in my arms, and the hell with the consequences. She followed, not allowing an inch of empty space to appear between us. We were so consumed by each other that my back hit the wall instead of passing through the open door. Hannah pushed herself off me and without breaking our kiss tried to stir me in the right direction. I tilted her head back and exposed her neck. I scraped it with my teeth and I felt the goosebumps appearing everywhere on her naked skin.
A sound of someone clearing his throat made us both freeze. A second later light blinded us. I forced my eyes open and took a look at Hannah’s beautiful face. She didn’t look worried or embarrassed. Just startled. Her lips were puffy from our kiss. Her eyes filled with emotion I didn’t dare to name.
I turned my gaze to find my father standing in the middle of the hallway with arms crossed over his chest. At least it wasn’t Clementine. I didn’t know how she would react if she found me messing around with her best friend, but knowing my sister I knew she wouldn’t just let it slide.
I ran a reassuring hand on Hannah’s back and pushed her towards her bedroom.
“Go.”
“No…” she tried to protest, but I just shook my head not taking the risk of looking at her, and she stopped.
My fingertips were still brushing her back through her tank top and I knew it only would take one step for her to slip away from my touch.
“Go,” I repeated.
She didn’t move, so I removed my hand from her body and pushed my hands in my front pockets. I focused on my father and fought every cell in body that screamed for me to concentrate on Hannah. To concentrate on the young, impressionable girl who I was just about to sneak into my room.
I already knew how the next morning would go for the both of us, so I decided to distance myself now instead of confusing her even more.
I saw with my periphery how Hannah turned away from me and Dad. When she finally left us alone, we spent a few beats just staring at each other.
“Are you out of your mind? She’s seventeen.”
“I know.”
“She’s your sister’s best friend. Her only friend.” I remained silent. “Fix it. Tomorrow. Sit her down and fix it.”
Dad turned his back on me and went back to his bedroom. I squatted down to collect my keys and went back to mine. I took a shower and half an hour later I left the house without saying a word to anyone.
Chapter Twelve
Hannah
The present
I stepped out of the car and looked around. The pictures I saw on that vineyard’s website looked amazing, but it was breathtaking in person. Tyler’s idea to visit the venues turned out not bad at all. I should have probably told him that, but he didn’t like it when people praised him on anything.
“I can’t believe this place is available,” I said.
He didn’t answer. I turned my head to see what he was doing, and I caught him staring at me over the car’s ceiling with a tortured look on his face.
“What now?” I growled. “Visiting venues is no longer fun? Even your attention span can’t be that short.”
I didn’t receive the snarky comment I was expecting. Only silence as he stared at me some more. I felt uncomfortable, exposed.
“What?” I asked again with a shaky voice, not sure if I wanted to hear the answer to that question.
“Nothing,” he finally tore his gaze away from mine. “Let’s go find someone.”
He rounded the car. I thought he was going to continue ahead, leaving me behind, but he stopped and waited with his hands in his pockets. He looked…strange to say the least. Confused. I opened my mouth to ask him if he was okay, this time in a normal, polite way, but an old lady opened the door of the small cottage we were standing in front of.
“Can I help you?” she asked.
“Hello,” I extended my hand in her direction. “I’m Hannah Spencer. I called about half an hour ago.”
“Oh, yes, dear. That was me on the phone. Come on in.” It was so beautiful outside that I kind of wanted to stay there, but I couldn’t torment the poor woman and make her stay up on her feet. She looked way too old to walk us around the property. “And who is this handsome man?” she asked Tyler even though the question sounded like she was asking me.
“Tyler Hartley,” he said and offered his elbow to her. “Nice to meet you.”
She slid her small, wrinkled hand around his arm and let him escort her to a chair.
“Are you alone in here?” he asked.
“Why, dear? Do you plan on taking advantage of me?”
I could swear she batted her lashes at him, and I choked on my own saliva. Tyler released his signature grin, the one that could charm a dead woman, and sat right next to her.
“Depends on your husband’s whereabouts,” he pointed at her wedding band and played along.
“He’s six feet under,” she said with a huge smile on her face. That woman was crazy. No wonder the two of them clicked.
“I’m so sorry,” he said, and she waved her hand in the air as if it was no big deal.
“He died of a heart attack twenty years ago. What do you kids need?”
“We are organizing a wedding. We need a venue.” I had already told her that over the phone, but I wasn’t sure she remembered. Tyler shot me an exasperated look. He wasn’t happy I was making statements like that. I could already hear his voice in my head mansplaining to me that no one asked us to do anything. I also suspected the word we made him cringe internally. “I can already imagine the wedding tent outside.”
“Oh, yes, dear. I can show you some pictures. Honey,” she patted Tyler on the forearm. “Give me that album over there.”