"Why does he do that?" It wasn't her business, but she couldn't stop the question from sliding through her lips.
"He never told you?" Davis asked.
"No."
His jaw tightened. "Well, it's between Jake and me. Excuse me, Hannah, I need to speak to Alan."
She had a feeling he had less of a need to speak to the head of orthopedics than to get away from the conversation they were having, but she simply nodded.
As Davis headed across the room, her gaze reconnected with Jake's. He'd left her mother and was walking straight toward her, and the look in his eyes made her heart jump into her throat. The instantaneous reaction reminded her of high school, of how fast her pulse had raced when Jake gave her his trademark smile—boyish charm mixed with smoking-hot sexuality.
She drew in a breath, wishing she could make a run for it, but he was already too close.
"Hi," he said, exchanging a look with her that was filled with intimate memories from the night before. "You look beautiful."
"Thank you," she said, swiping her lips with her tongue as her mouth went dry. "I didn't think you'd be here. It's your father's turf."
"It's yours, too. And I wanted to see you."
"I should find my mom and Brett," she said, eager to get away from all the unsettled feelings running through her.
"They're getting ready to hear the Christmas story," he said, tipping his head toward the far end of the room. The kids were settling into a circle, getting ready to hear Dr. McKenna's traditional reading of A Christmas Story.
"Maybe I'll join them."
"Or," he said, moving in front of her. "We could have some fun."
"I don't think so. I have Brett."
"Your mom offered to babysit."
Her gaze narrowed. "Is that what you were speaking to her about?"
"Among other things."
"Well, the two of you don't get to decide who is going to watch Brett. That's my decision."
"Hannah," he said. "We weren't planning anything nefarious. I told her that I'd like to take you ice-skating after this. She said you haven't been skating in years."
"I don't know how she would know that."
"Is she wrong?"
She frowned. "It doesn't matter."
"Well, your mom said she'd be happy to take Brett home and watch him for the rest of the evening so that you could go skating."
"You should have asked me first."
"I ran into her before I ran into you."
She frowned. "I don't think that's exactly the way it happened."
"Well, I might have wanted to check with her first," he conceded. "She wants to babysit."
"Why would she want to babysit so you and I can go out? She doesn't like you."
"I think she's warming up to the new and improved me. I thought you were, too. Last night was good, Hannah, and I'm just asking for an hour of your time. You used to love to skate. Why don't you do it anymore?"
She had loved to skate, but she hadn't done it since high school. Sometimes, she got a wave of nostalgia when she saw the skaters, because there had been a time when she was a kid when she'd dreamed of being an Olympic skater. "I just got busy."
"You never take time for yourself, Hannah."
"Sure I do."
"Well, not much time," he said. "You've been with Brett all day, and you spend half your life in this hospital. Are you sure you can't sneak out for a little fun?"
"You always make everything sound so tempting."
"Is that a yes?" he asked with a sexy smile that made it really hard to say no.
She was torn. She needed to stop spending time with him. On the other hand, she wouldn't mind cutting out on the party and doing something fun. It had been a stressful few days, and she wouldn't mind a little break. "I need to speak to my mother first," she said, knowing she had to make sure that her mom was up to babysitting.
"Of course."
She made her way across the cafeteria. Her mother looked up as she approached.
"Do you really want to watch Brett tonight?" she asked her.
"Yes, I do. We'll have a great time. If you give me your keys, I'll drive him home in your car, since you have the car seat, and you can go with Jake."
"Are you sure?" She hated the doubt that crept into her voice. Her mom heard it, too, and annoyance entered her gaze.
"I am completely capable of doing this, Hannah. Why don't you stop worrying about everyone else for a change and have some fun? You always say I never help you, so accept my help."
"All right. Call me if you need me."
"I won't need you. Stay out as long as you want. I can always sleep over, too."
"I will not be out that late," she said pointedly.
"Whatever you want," her mom said with an airy wave.
As she left her mom, Jake came over, questioning gleam in his gaze.
"Are we going skating?" he asked.
"Yes," she said, telling herself it was just ice-skating.
Nothing else had to happen.
Chapter Nineteen
The ice rink was next to Jake's store, and they stopped in there to get skates rather than wait in line at the rental counter. She hadn't been in his store before. Everything connected to Jake had been off-limits for the past two years, but now she was impressed. He didn't have a lot of retail space, but it was well laid out, and there was a clear focus on the adventure experiences, which seemed to take up one side of the space. There were lots of posters on the walls, showing off the various adventures and their happy participants. There were also monitors hung around a large circular counter.
"What are the TV monitors for?" she asked.
"I have videos showing our tour offerings. I find that when people can actually see what we're offering, they're more eager to sign up."
"How do you get video of the more extreme adventures?"
"I've hired photographers, and I've also used drones."
She shook her head. "If you need to use a drone
