Chris slammed his glass down hard enough to make Matt jump and turn his way. “Fine. Stay here and be a pissy jackass. Megan and I are going dancing. Let us know if you’re going to bail so we know to call a cab.”
With a stiff nod, he turned back to the table. Hannah’s eyes were on him again. And she was alone. Should he go talk to her? Probably not. But the thought of Coop coming back to flirt with her, maybe take her home tonight, made him want to hurl. He had a chance to talk to her, see if she was still as sweet as he remembered, try to figure out if she remembered him at all and what that might mean.
Fuck it. This was his chance.
Chapter Five
Hannah held Matt’s gaze for what felt like an eternity, or maybe just a second. When he stepped back from the table, she looked down at the empty glass in her hands, then out over the moving crowd, anywhere but at the space he’d occupied. A pang of disappointment reverberated below her ribs, fighting with the music for space in her body.
Lifting her head, she sucked in a deep breath. It shouldn’t matter that he’d taken one look at her and vanished. She came here with Elena to meet a guy, and look, she’d bumped into Evan. He was funny, attractive, and interested. She had no claim to Matt, not anymore. Not in years. She had no right to feel disappointed that he’d left. And besides, Evan would be back in a minute. She needed to focus on him.
“I wouldn’t have expected to bump into you in a place like this.” A gasp of shock escaped Hannah at the low voice in her ear. When she turned, her nose almost bumped into the center of Matt’s chest.
She raised her eyes, looking into his face. His expression gave nothing away. He’d gotten better at that face since she’d known him last. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
He tilted his head, examining her face. “From the way you dress in the office you look all prim and proper.” A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. “Or do you have an inner naughty librarian thing going on?”
Hannah’s nostrils flared, and she didn’t know how to respond. When they’d locked eyes, she thought for sure he’d recognized her. Not from work. From then. That summer in Westport. But with this question …?
She wasn’t so sure after all.
But she couldn’t ignore that question. “Maybe I do,” she retorted. “And I’m not sure seeing me at work a few times gives you enough information to judge my character.”
He opened his mouth and closed it again, shaking his head a little, the playful smirk now gone. “You’re right. Seeing you a few times wouldn’t give me that kind of information.” He leaned in closer. “But my window overlooks the front doors. I’ve seen you every day.”
The low rumble of his voice sent shivers down Hannah’s spine, but she didn’t want to let him know that he affected her. Still. After all this time, his presence and his voice in her ear had arousal zinging down her spine and wetness soaking her thong. Instead she gave him a cheeky grin. “Stalking me now? That seems inappropriate for an HR manager.”
His eyes flew wide, and he shook his head frantically. “No. What? I’m not—”
Hannah laughed, both at his stammering response and that her flippant comment had reduced him to this. When she’d known him before, he’d been smooth and unflappable. The only time she’d been able to get him flustered or losing control was in the bedroom. Or the back of the car, or covered by a blanket under the stars on the beach, or … Yeah, she needed to stop thinking about that. She laid a hand on his arm, the memories making her feel closer to him than she should. “I’m kidding, Matt.”
His eyes zeroed in on where she touched him. Realizing what she was doing, she jerked her hand away. A look passed over his face, almost like disappointment, but then he put his neutral mask back in place.
Before she could say or do anything else, a new Lemon Drop appeared in front of her on the table. Her gaze followed the hand that slid it in front of her up to Evan’s face. “Oh, hi. You’re back.”
“Yup. I am.” He looked past her to where Matt stood on her other side and lifted his chin. “Schwartz.”
“Coop.” Matt returned the gesture. The two of them stood eyeing each other over the top of her head.
Feeling uncomfortable with the tension now crackling in the air around her, Hannah shifted, looking from one to the other before settling on Evan. “I’m interning at the company where Matt works now. He came over to say hi. I didn’t know you two knew each other.”
Evan grunted.
“Yeah, we’ve played the last few seasons together,” Matt supplied, his voice stiff. “Evan’s on offense, though, and I was on D, so we didn’t spend much time together on the field.”
Hannah nodded, wanting to keep some kind of conversation going, hoping one or both of them would relax or just leave. If they didn’t stand down soon, she would be the one to leave.
She knew she shouldn’t get involved with Matt again. If she had any sense, she’d be hoping he’d step back, let her go. But she clearly didn’t have any sense, because the thought of him leaving sent fresh shards of longing spiraling through her chest. No, she really hoped Evan would decide she wasn’t worth fighting over.
She opened her mouth to spew out some other inanity, but before she could, Matt spoke. “Hannah, do you want to dance?”
Her mouth now hung open in surprise. She hadn’t figured on that happening. A quick glance at Evan showed his lips in a firm line and his jaw bulging. He wouldn’t meet her eyes. Huh. He was
