Fuck.
When Hannah sat back down she gave him a tight smile. “Don’t worry. She won’t say anything.”
“Good.” He was so thrown off by the whole thing that he couldn’t manage more than one word replies.
The waitress came and cleared their dinner plates. “Ready for your dessert?”
He gave a nod and a tight smile. “Sure.” If they hadn’t already ordered dessert at the beginning, he’d suggest leaving now.
They both picked at their desserts in silence. He was still reeling from Sandra’s appearance despite Hannah’s reassurance that everything would be okay. He didn’t know Sandra well, so he wasn’t sure how much he could trust her to keep her mouth shut.
Glancing up, he noticed that Hannah had set her spoon down, her creme brûlée only about half eaten. She stared at him, her face blank, and he looked down at the mess he’d made of his own dessert, smashing into it repeatedly with his fork, only managing a few bites, his stomach still churning.
Dammit, and now he was ruining what was supposed to be a romantic evening where he told his girlfriend he loved her. With his current attitude, he didn’t trust himself not to fuck that up, too, and decided he wouldn’t do it tonight after all. He’d save the necklace and those three words for another time.
He set his fork down, meeting Hannah’s eyes. “Are you ready to go?”
She nodded, not speaking. As soon as their waitress came close enough, he caught her eye and asked for the check.
She looked concerned as she took in the state of their desserts. “Was everything okay?”
Hannah offered her a wan smile. “It was delicious. I think we’re both just full from dinner.”
The waitress nodded and smiled back, setting the little black folder on their table and gathering their plates. Matt slid his card into the folder before she left, and she came back a couple of minutes later with the slip for him to sign.
Scrawling his signature, he replaced the paper in the folder and stood. Hannah stood too, grabbing her coat and scarf and following him to the door.
He drove her back to her apartment. With her fingers wrapped around the handle, she paused and looked at him. He tensed, bracing for the worst, his hands gripping the steering wheel, waiting for whatever she had to say. Was she going to break up with him? Is that the deal she struck with Sandra? That she would keep quiet if Hannah dumped him immediately?
“Do—” She licked her lips. “Do you want to come in?”
Blowing out a breath, he shook his head, cursing himself. He wanted to go in. But he shouldn’t. If she wasn’t going to break up with him, then he should probably be the one to do it. Even if Sandra didn’t say anything, how much longer could they keep this up? His head was spinning, and he didn’t know what to say, what to think, what to feel. He wanted to follow her in and lose himself inside her, but … “Not tonight. I’m sorry, I just … I’m all tense and edgy, and I don’t want to take that out on you.”
She nodded, looking down so her hair swung forward, and he couldn’t see her expression. “Okay.” Her voice came out just above a whisper, and without leaning in for a kiss like she normally did, she climbed out of the car and slammed the door before he could do or say anything else.
He stared after her as she walked toward the stairs to her apartment, wondering if he should go after her. But before he could make up his mind, she was up the stairs and hidden from sight.
Cursing himself for being a jackass, he drove away.
Chapter Nineteen
Hannah fought back tears as she climbed the stairs to her apartment. What was supposed to be the perfect romantic Valentine’s Day had turned into a disaster. Thankfully Elena had gone out after all. Hannah really didn’t feel like rehashing everything right now. She needed to process. Figure out her own feelings before she could share them with anyone else.
The orange flower on the table mocked her. Closing her eyes and turning away, she went into her room, took a hot shower, and lay down in bed. She’d planned on doing the walk of shame tomorrow, spending the night with Matt, but instead lay in her bed and cried about how fast he’d changed just from the appearance of Sandra at their table.
What would this mean for their relationship? He’d barely spoken after she’d gotten back from talking to Sandra, convincing her that her relationship with Matt had started before she’d gotten the internship. Since internships were decided before he’d even started working there full time, he couldn’t have influenced the decision committee, so Sandra had agreed that since she wasn’t a real employee and they knew each other outside of work, that she wouldn’t rat them out.
“Be careful,” she’d warned. “If anyone else finds out, you’ll both be in trouble.” She glanced toward where Matt still sat at their table. “Him more than you.”
Hannah nodded. “I know. Thanks.”
On Monday, Hannah was nervous about how Sandra would act, but she treated her the same as always, checking up on her work, showing her new things, being her usual great self. She didn’t see Matt, but that was normal. They avoided each other at work, unless he checked in with all the interns, and they kept their conversations brief and professional.
At the end of the day, she finally got a text from him. The first communication since he’d dropped her off the night before. Dinner tonight?
The angry, spiteful part of her thought about telling him no, but she wanted to see him. If for no other reason than to figure out where they would go from here. Did he want to
