“Sort of. My brothers and I have been living in my grandparents’ house that we renovated. Though Rafe moved out several months ago after he bought a house with his fiancée. Now it’s just me and Jackson and his fiancée.”
“Ooh, cozy.”
He cocked his head to the side. “It’s a four-bedroom house. They get plenty of privacy.”
“But they’re getting married, right?”
“They just got engaged so they’re wedding planning.”
“And what’s the plan, if you don’t mind me being nosy? Are they going to stay at the house after they get married? Do you have to move out?”
“I . . . haven’t given that much thought. I doubt they have, either.” But now he was thinking about it.
“I’m sure it will all work out. Like you said, it’s a big house.”
He took a swig of his coffee, then set it down. “Well, you know, it’s something I hadn’t considered before now. Newlyweds will want privacy. Jackson and Becks and I just haven’t talked about who’s going to keep living at the house, who’s going to move out.”
She frowned. “I didn’t mean to interject an opinion there. It’s really not my business. That’s your family’s home.”
“No, but you bring up a valid point. The home passed to my mom after my grandmother died. My brothers and I renovated it, so none of us own it. It makes sense for Becks and Jackson to live there after they get married. Then again, they might want to get their own place. With Rafe and Carmen in their own house . . .”
Now that Hannah had brought it up, he wasn’t sure what to do about the living arrangement. He was going to have to talk to Jackson.
“Look, I’m sorry I said anything.”
He popped his head up. “Why?”
“Because I feel bad. I wasn’t suggesting you should move out.”
He smiled at her. “I know you weren’t. But it’s not a bad idea. It’s something Jackson and I need to talk about.”
“Which is none of my business. I don’t even know—”
“Me? You don’t even know me? Come on, Hannah. It’s not like that. We know each other.”
“But really, we don’t. We’re not high school kids anymore. You’re not the boy who left for college, and I’m not the girl who cried over losing you. We both moved on a long time ago. We’re adults, with jobs and responsibilities. We’ve lived ten years of our lives without each other. We’ve had experiences and losses and triumphs.”
He leaned back in his chair. “Uh-huh. That’s true. But did your entire personality change in those ten years?”
She frowned. “Well, no.”
“Neither did mine. I might be older, and maybe I bulked up a little in muscle, but I’m still that same funny guy who used to lean against your locker in between classes.”
She studied him for a few seconds before answering. “Maybe. Maybe not. I just think life experiences change us. That we get a chance to mature, make choices that we might not have made ten years earlier.”
“You’re probably right.” Now it was his turn to study her while he finished his coffee. Physically, she’d definitely matured. Her body had filled out. She’d gotten curves, her face was fuller and she bore the look of maturity in her eyes that only painful life experience could give someone. That part he understood. But the underlying characteristics of who she was as a person? That part he didn’t think had changed. She was still Hannah, the girl he’d known since she was fourteen years old, the one he’d met because their lockers had been next to each other. They’d shared English, history and math classes freshman year. They’d connected right away because they’d both been smart and athletic and they’d both liked to laugh. He didn’t think those parts of her had changed.
“How about we find out if we’re still the same people?” he asked.
“What?”
“Go out with me, Hannah.”
She tucked her bottom lip between her teeth, considering before she answered. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“Why not?”
“Because you can’t ever go back.”
“I’m not talking about going back. I’m talking about going forward. You’re single, I’m single, we already know we liked each other in high school. So let’s see if we still have the same things in common, if that chemistry is still there.” He already knew the chemistry was still there. He’d felt it last night.
“I don’t know, Kal. We’re different people now.”
“So you keep saying. I say we’re the same.”
“And I have a child.”
He grinned. “I like kids.”
She sighed. “You’re making this difficult.”
“When it should be easy. You want to have fun, right?”
“I guess. Though I don’t really have a lot of time for fun things. I work a lot, sometimes late. And then I have Oliver to take care of.”
“Okay. So when you can carve out a little time, let me take you out. I’ll bet your mom wouldn’t mind watching Oliver while we go to dinner or a movie. Or we’ll bring him along.”
“On our dates.”
“Sure. I like doing kid things.”
She squinted, as if she didn’t quite believe him. “You make me really want to test this theory, see if even you believe what you’re saying. Having a child around isn’t always fun and games.”
He laughed. “I realize that. And if you don’t want me to meet Oliver right away, I’ll respect that.”
“Let me think about it.”
“Okay. You let me know what you decide.”
“I’ll do that.”
“In the meantime, it’s a beautiful day. What would you like to do?”
“What would I like to do? I’d like to spend the day at the beach. What do I have to do? Laundry. And cleaning. And grocery shopping. And Oliver’s friend is having a birthday party this afternoon, so we have to shop for a present, then I have to drop him off. I have responsibilities, and I don’t have time to play with you today.”
He could tell Hannah’s plate was full and she was stressed. “I understand. We’ll do it some other time.”
“Sure.”
He paid the bill and they walked outside. She turned to face him.
“Hey, thanks for lunch. It was fun to catch up.”
This felt a lot like a permanent goodbye. He wasn’t about to let that happen.
“How about we go out Friday night?”
“I work Saturday and it’s my longest day.”
“Then let me take you out Saturday night.”
She sighed. “Kal, I’d like to but—”
“We’ll do something simple and easy. Nothing fancy.”
It took her a few seconds to answer, and he thought during those seconds she was going to say no. If she did, that would be it. He wouldn’t press her.
“Fine. We’ll go out Saturday night.”
He couldn’t hold back his smile. “Great. I’ll text you.”
“Okay.” She started to turn away, then stopped. “Thanks for asking me.”