“Oh, that’s too bad. She must be so excited about the baby.”
Veronica grinned. “She is. Her first, Jacob, is four, and this one’s a girl. She’s been decorating the nursery for weeks.”
“Aww. How sweet. I need to go see her. I’ll text her tomorrow.”
Hannah dug into her food, which was fairly decent for a catered buffet. The squash salad was delicious, and the pasta was good, too. She was full by the time she’d eaten half of it.
Kal, on the other hand, devoured all the food on his plate, then went back for more. The dude could eat. But it sure didn’t show on his body.
After they ate, they refilled drinks, chatted some more and then went out and danced until Hannah’s feet were sore and she needed to sit down. It was nice to see her girls hadn’t lost a step in ten years. She couldn’t remember enjoying herself so much in . . . well, years.
She went to the table to take a breather. Kal was there talking with Eddie and the other guys. They’d been joined by Jorge Rocha, one of their crowd from high school. Jorge lived in Austin now, so she was happy to see he’d made the reunion, along with his wife.
While everyone chatted, Hannah took the opportunity to grab the glass of ice water sitting in front of her, long ago having given up on wine, since she was driving.
Kal leaned over. “Having fun?”
“A great time. How about you?”
“More fun than I thought I’d have. It’s good to catch up with people we haven’t seen in a long time.”
“Yes, it is.”
“Speaking of catching up, I need your number so we can get together for lunch.”
“Oh, right.” She grabbed her phone out of her bag, got his number and gave him hers.
“I’ll text you in the morning to let you know when I’m available, and where we should meet,” Hannah said.
“I can come pick you up.”
“Oh, uh, if you don’t mind, I’d rather meet you.”
He gave her a curious look but nodded. “Sure. Just text me tomorrow.”
“I will.”
She was being wary, which was stupid since she knew Kal. But she was also protective of Oliver and didn’t want Kal to meet him. Not yet. Or maybe ever. They were only having lunch to catch up, and meeting a guy her son would likely see just one time would only confuse him. So it was best she meet Kal at the restaurant.
The party started to wind down around midnight, which suited Hannah just fine. She’d been on her feet the entire day. Add in dancing in heels, and she was more than ready to go home and fall into bed. Oliver was an early riser, and while she knew her mom was more than happy to get up with him, he was her responsibility.
She hugged her friends, then gathered up her bag and the heels she couldn’t stand to wear for one more second.
Kal looked down at her feet. “Walking out to the parking lot barefoot?”
“I guess I’ll have to put those evil things on to walk outside.”
“I could carry you to your car.”
She laughed. “I don’t think so. I weigh a little bit more now than I did in high school.”
“Oh, come on. You’re like a feather.”
She shot him a look as they made their way to the door. “A steel feather.”
“That’s you. Soft on the outside, strong on the inside.”
And again, that flutter. What was it with this man?
She was just about to slip the offending heels back on when she was scooped up in his arms.
“Kal. Seriously.”
Eddie held the door for them, and Veronica slanted a sly grin in her direction. “Good night, you two,” Veronica said.
“Which way?”
“You could put me down.”
“Where’s your car?”
“All the way in the back of the parking lot. Now put me down.”
“There’s gravel.” He walked toward the end of the lot. Most everyone had left, but she felt ridiculous being carried. It also felt nice. Kal wasn’t struggling in the least, which proved to her that all that muscle she felt was genuine.
“The black Acura over there,” she said.
He set her down at the driver’s door. He wasn’t even breathing heavily.
She lifted her gaze to his while simultaneously digging through her bag for her keys. “Thank you.”
“My pleasure.”
The way he looked at her, the heat in his eyes, made her want to lean into him, to press her lips to his.
Instead, she pressed the button on her remote and unlocked her car. Kal took a step back, and she slid inside. He leaned in and smiled.
“See you tomorrow, Hannah.”
“Good night, Kal.”
He shut the door and stepped away. She started her car and drove off, watching him in her rearview mirror.
She didn’t know whether to look forward to or dread lunch with him tomorrow.
Was it a good or bad idea to reopen the past?
As she turned onto the highway, she didn’t have an answer.
She supposed she’d figure that out tomorrow.
CHAPTER 4
“DUDE,” JACKSON SAID THE NEXT DAY AS HE CAME DOWNSTAIRS. “You always have an epic grooming routine. But how long did you take getting ready today? Like, an hour?”
Becks elbowed him. “Knock it off. He has a date.”
“Not a date,” Kal said as he made his way into the kitchen where Becks and Jackson were sitting at the table together. “Just lunch with an old friend.”
Jackson leaned back in the chair. “Someone from high school?”
“Hannah McKenzie.”
“No shit.”
“Who’s Hannah McKenzie?” Becks asked.
“His high school girlfriend.”
“Oh, really?” Becks said. “You reconnected with her at the reunion last night?”
“Yeah. But nothing happened. We broke up after high school because I was going away to college and we both knew it wasn’t going to last. And then she got married and moved out of state, so I haven’t seen her in ten years. She’s divorced now and back in Ft. Lauderdale.”
“Ooh, how interesting. So you reconnected last night and, then what?” Becks asked. “Sparks flew?”
He wasn’t going to admit to that, even if it was true. “Nah. We’re just going to have lunch and catch up.”
“Tell her I said hey,” Jackson said, returning to scrolling through his phone.
Becks, on the other hand, continued to stare at him as if she expected more.
He laughed. “There’s nothing going on. We just hung out with our group of friends. We had fun. But there was no time to talk, so we decided to have lunch together and catch up. That’s all. Really.”
“Okay,” she said. “Have fun.”
“Thanks.”
He drove to the restaurant and parked, then waited out front for Hannah to arrive. She’d texted him this morning to tell him she could meet him around twelve thirty, and they discussed where. Since he didn’t know where she currently lived, he asked her to name a location that was convenient for her, or some restaurants that she liked. She suggested a place she’d wanted to try called American Social Bar, which was known for its brunch menu. He was all for it since he liked the food there.