I hold my breath as I hit the commands on my phone to delete the entire thread. Then I delete my entire call history, and just like that, my phone’s memory of my relationship with Nate is gone.
Present Day
“HEY, HANNA.” Sam stands to greet me at the bank and shifts uncomfortably as I stare him down. “Is this about Liz?” He’s really adorable in that clean-cut playboy-banker kind of way. His light brown hair is clipped short, and his strong jaw is shaved clean. Broad shoulders fill out his suit and tie.
“Not about Liz,” I say, and he relaxes visibly.
New Hope Bank and Trust is where Max does all his banking—unsurprisingly, since one of his best friends will inherit the whole thing someday.
Sam motions to his desk, and I shake my head. He works out in the open, and I’d rather keep our conversation between us.
“Somewhere private?”
He nods and leads me into a little office where they talk to clients about loans and such.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” I ask the moment he closes the door.
He cocks his head. “Tell you what?”
“When Max got the loan for the bakery, why didn’t you tell me he was doing that?”
His smile is so fake that it wouldn’t fool a blind person. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Cut the shit, Sam. Why’d you let him do it? He sold his grandmother’s house for a down payment, didn’t he? Do you realize what kind of a position that’s put him in financially?”
His jaw tightens. “Max is a grown f**king man, Hanna. He makes his own decisions. He didn’t exactly consult me before throwing the whole damn world at your feet.”
“And you don’t approve?” The question comes out too snippy. The fact is, if I’d been in Sam’s position, I wouldn’t have approved of Max’s decisions to fund my bakery.
He shakes his head. “I didn’t say that.”
“He’s in debt up to his eyeballs, and I came to you, didn’t I? I see it in my planner. Before the accident, I came here and talked to you about what I’d found in his apartment. He was thinking of letting someone buy the club.”
Avoiding my eyes, he nods. “You wanted to know how much he owed on your bakery.”
“How much?”
“I wasn’t at liberty to tell you then, and I’m not at liberty to tell you now. But I promised you I wouldn’t let him sell the club. Will and I had offered to be partners before. I made sure he knew our offers stood.”
“Is that all I wanted to know?”
He studies me for a minute before finally admitting, “You wanted to know if you had enough in your trust fund to buy out your silent partner.”
Bile rises in my throat. “And what was the answer?”
“More than enough.”
“That’s why I decided to marry him,” I whisper, though I’ve suspected it for a while now. Ever since I remembered finding that letter in his kitchen. “I was counting on a decision I made for all the wrong reasons and you didn’t even warn me.”
“I didn’t know for sure, and you were in love with him.” He rubs the back of his neck. When I don’t reply, he says, “Max misses you, you know. He’s just waiting around like some love-sick puppy, and if you decided you still wanted him, he’d be yours.”
“I can’t,” I whisper.
“He would take good care of you. He loves you so much.”
“I know that.” My throat grows thick and I swallow back tears. “Is there anything else from before my accident that you think I might want to know?”
“Meredith,” he says. “The day you fell, I was jogging on the trail behind the bakery and I saw you two arguing.”
All eyes are on me when I walk through Meredith’s salon and back to her office, but I don’t care. For the first time, I’m taking Nix’s concerns about my “fall” seriously.
Meredith’s sitting at her desk, but her head snaps up at the sound of the door closing. “What are you doing here?” she asks.
If I expected her to act like the snotty Meredith who’s tormented me most of her life, I was wrong. Instead of sharp, her voice is distant, resigned. Maybe months of rejection are starting to get to her after all.
“I want you to give Max custody of Claire.”
She raises a brow. “The choices I make for my daughter’s life aren’t your business.”
“If you don’t, I’ll tell everyone that you were at my apartment the day of my accident.”
Meredith’s face goes white. “I thought you couldn’t remember that day.”
“I don’t have to remember to know what happened.”
She drops her pen. “How’s that even possible? No one else was there.”
“Sam saw you there. He saw you push me against the wall and yell at me. Why would you do it? I know you hate me, but I never would have thought you’d try to physically hurt me.”
She sits back in her chair. “Clearly you underestimate how serious I am about Max.”
I gasp. Because even though I’m here, I didn’t really believe Meredith was guilty. “So you pushed me down the stairs?”
She pushes out of her chair. “I didn’t do any such thing. I came to your apartment and f**king begged you to get out of the way so I could have Max back. And, sure, I punched you in that chubby face of yours, but you had on his ring and…” She clenches her hands. She’s sneering now, her hatred and disgust toward me evident on her face. “Whatever. You gave as good as you got. You gave me a f**king black eye, and then you ended up in the hospital and I had to leave town so no one would think I tried to kill you. And after all that, you didn’t even want him.” Her face crumples and she points to the door. “Get out of here. I’m sorry your fat ass couldn’t navigate a simple set of stairs, but I won’t listen to you blaming me for that.”
Present Day
“HEY, HANNA.” Sam stands to greet me at the bank and shifts uncomfortably as I stare him down. “Is this about Liz?” He’s really adorable in that clean-cut playboy-banker kind of way. His light brown hair is clipped short, and his strong jaw is shaved clean. Broad shoulders fill out his suit and tie.
“Not about Liz,” I say, and he relaxes visibly.
New Hope Bank and Trust is where Max does all his banking—unsurprisingly, since one of his best friends will inherit the whole thing someday.
Sam motions to his desk, and I shake my head. He works out in the open, and I’d rather keep our conversation between us.
“Somewhere private?”
He nods and leads me into a little office where they talk to clients about loans and such.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” I ask the moment he closes the door.
He cocks his head. “Tell you what?”
“When Max got the loan for the bakery, why didn’t you tell me he was doing that?”
His smile is so fake that it wouldn’t fool a blind person. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Cut the shit, Sam. Why’d you let him do it? He sold his grandmother’s house for a down payment, didn’t he? Do you realize what kind of a position that’s put him in financially?”
His jaw tightens. “Max is a grown f**king man, Hanna. He makes his own decisions. He didn’t exactly consult me before throwing the whole damn world at your feet.”
“And you don’t approve?” The question comes out too snippy. The fact is, if I’d been in Sam’s position, I wouldn’t have approved of Max’s decisions to fund my bakery.
He shakes his head. “I didn’t say that.”
“He’s in debt up to his eyeballs, and I came to you, didn’t I? I see it in my planner. Before the accident, I came here and talked to you about what I’d found in his apartment. He was thinking of letting someone buy the club.”
Avoiding my eyes, he nods. “You wanted to know how much he owed on your bakery.”
“How much?”
“I wasn’t at liberty to tell you then, and I’m not at liberty to tell you now. But I promised you I wouldn’t let him sell the club. Will and I had offered to be partners before. I made sure he knew our offers stood.”
“Is that all I wanted to know?”
He studies me for a minute before finally admitting, “You wanted to know if you had enough in your trust fund to buy out your silent partner.”
Bile rises in my throat. “And what was the answer?”
“More than enough.”
“That’s why I decided to marry him,” I whisper, though I’ve suspected it for a while now. Ever since I remembered finding that letter in his kitchen. “I was counting on a decision I made for all the wrong reasons and you didn’t even warn me.”
“I didn’t know for sure, and you were in love with him.” He rubs the back of his neck. When I don’t reply, he says, “Max misses you, you know. He’s just waiting around like some love-sick puppy, and if you decided you still wanted him, he’d be yours.”
“I can’t,” I whisper.
“He would take good care of you. He loves you so much.”
“I know that.” My throat grows thick and I swallow back tears. “Is there anything else from before my accident that you think I might want to know?”
“Meredith,” he says. “The day you fell, I was jogging on the trail behind the bakery and I saw you two arguing.”
All eyes are on me when I walk through Meredith’s salon and back to her office, but I don’t care. For the first time, I’m taking Nix’s concerns about my “fall” seriously.
Meredith’s sitting at her desk, but her head snaps up at the sound of the door closing. “What are you doing here?” she asks.
If I expected her to act like the snotty Meredith who’s tormented me most of her life, I was wrong. Instead of sharp, her voice is distant, resigned. Maybe months of rejection are starting to get to her after all.
“I want you to give Max custody of Claire.”
She raises a brow. “The choices I make for my daughter’s life aren’t your business.”
“If you don’t, I’ll tell everyone that you were at my apartment the day of my accident.”
Meredith’s face goes white. “I thought you couldn’t remember that day.”
“I don’t have to remember to know what happened.”
She drops her pen. “How’s that even possible? No one else was there.”
“Sam saw you there. He saw you push me against the wall and yell at me. Why would you do it? I know you hate me, but I never would have thought you’d try to physically hurt me.”
She sits back in her chair. “Clearly you underestimate how serious I am about Max.”
I gasp. Because even though I’m here, I didn’t really believe Meredith was guilty. “So you pushed me down the stairs?”
She pushes out of her chair. “I didn’t do any such thing. I came to your apartment and f**king begged you to get out of the way so I could have Max back. And, sure, I punched you in that chubby face of yours, but you had on his ring and…” She clenches her hands. She’s sneering now, her hatred and disgust toward me evident on her face. “Whatever. You gave as good as you got. You gave me a f**king black eye, and then you ended up in the hospital and I had to leave town so no one would think I tried to kill you. And after all that, you didn’t even want him.” Her face crumples and she points to the door. “Get out of here. I’m sorry your fat ass couldn’t navigate a simple set of stairs, but I won’t listen to you blaming me for that.”
