Madison rolled her eyes. “Please. This is just another way for Jonathan to force the boys to spend time with him. He calls up some golf buddy and acts like he wants to invest, blah, blah, blah. He hasn’t invited Will to one in ages.”
Hannah tried to keep her expression neutral, but inside, fireworks were going off. The pact was working.
“Drama, drama, drama.” Kate took another sip of her wine. “I don’t know how you two deal with it.”
“Wine, a poker face, and The Real Housewives,” Madison said.
“The Real Housewives?” Hannah and Kate asked at the same time, causing another round of giggles.
“Trust me, it will make you feel so much better about yourself and your life choices.”
“Hannah prefers streaming Jersey Shore for that.”
If she’d had something to throw at Kate, she would’ve. Hannah settled for giving her the finger. Kate stuck her tongue out.
“They’re from New York,” Hannah said. “Do you think we Jerseyans like the New Yorker descent every summer?”
“We talked about this.” Madison pointed her finger precariously close to Hannah’s nose. “You are a New Yorker—say it!”
“What?”
“Scream it from this balcony.”
Hannah looked to Kate for support, but her best friend motioned toward the railing. “You heard her.”
There was no way out of this. Both Madison and Kate stared at her expectantly. The longer she waited, the more likely one of them would make her yell something worse. Soon, they would be playing the Penis Game or yelling “tampon” at the top of their lungs. That wouldn’t endear her to the neighbors—not in this neighborhood. She put her wine glass down and stood up, setting her shoulders.
Hannah gripped the railing and shouted, “I AM A NEW YORKER!”
Hoots and hollers sounded behind her. Triumphant, she whirled around and found herself staring into the tired and confused eyes of her husband.
“Hi,” she said. God, he looked hot in that suit. A part of her wanted to skip across the small space and wrap her arms around him, pulling him down into a much-too-public display of affection. The rest of her—the part not muddled by wine and warmth—knew that tonight was not the time for that, not when he had that completely drained look in his eyes. “Everything okay?”
He scanned the small party on the deck, his eyes hovering on the empty bottles of wine, on Kate and Madison, and finally making his way back to her. The night had been planned. He knew girls’ night was happening since both he and Jon would be MIA all night, and yet he still looked surprised—concerned?—at Madison’s presence.
“What are you doing?” he asked, his tone not angry but not sounding happy either.
“I...” She blushed. “Madison—”
“She was owning her New Yorker status,” Madison said. “And it’s about time.”
“I didn’t realize shouting from the rooftops was a way to own your New Yorker status.” Okay, that definitely held more than a hint of anger.
Madison shrugged. “It was the best I could come up with on short notice.”
After a too-long moment, Will’s eyes left Madison and landed on Hannah. They softened as he took her in—messy bun, Wilderness Weekend tee, skinny jeans—and then finally, he smiled. “And are you a New Yorker now?”
Had she owned her status and shed her New Jersey? Could she be both? “I’m a New Yorker.”
“Shall we show her the secret handshake?” Kate asked dryly.
Hannah rolled her eyes but otherwise ignored her friends. She walked the length of the balcony and pulled Will into a hug. “How was dinner?”
“Long,” he said. “Madison, Jon is waiting for you downstairs.”
Madison downed the rest of her wine. “Guess that’s my cue. Ladies, this has been wonderful. I’ll see you Tuesday, Hannah. Can’t wait to hear how your parents take the news.” She turned to Will. “William.”
He didn’t respond, not even a nod of acknowledgment. Hannah eyed him. Tensions between her and Will had eased in the last few days—near-constant making out would do that. Had something happened at dinner?
“Well, I better catch an Uber,” Kate said, peeking over the rail at the traffic below. “Hannah, William.”
“Don’t call me that,” Will said.
“Can’t I even try it out?”
He shook his head. “Trust me, Will is a much better person than William.”
Hannah shot him a look, but he wouldn’t meet her gaze. What was going on with him tonight?
“Are you sure everything is okay?” she asked after Kate had secured her ride.
Will shrugged out of his coat and pulled her into a lingering kiss. There was an intimation of longing in the slow movements of his lips against hers. His hands tangled in strands of hair that had escaped her bun. She wondered if this was the moment he would slip her shirt over her head and let them move beyond kissing, but it wasn’t.
He stepped back and wrapped an arm around her waist. “Just a long night, and I wasn’t prepared to see you shouting into the abyss.”
She blushed. “Well, wine, a challenge, and—”
“—Madison.” They said it at the same time, Hannah with amusement and Will with mild weariness.
