Mrs. Hart looked from Hannah to Will, confusion clouding her expression before her smile softened. “I’m glad to hear that. William”—she pulled Will into a hug—“we’re so happy for you.”
Will backed away from Mrs. Hart as soon as was polite. “Thank you. Have a safe trip.”
With the Harts out of sight, Hannah followed Will further into the party.
Will let out a heavy breath as they broke into the main hallway. She squeezed his hand. “Madison’s parents seem nice. I didn’t realize you knew them.”
“They’re around often enough,” Will said, his eyes on the guests. “I was just surprised to see them. They weren’t on Jonathan’s guest list.”
“You saw the guest list?”
Will stopped walking and turned to her. He ran a hand through his hair, and worry lines creased his forehead. “Yeah.” He glanced to his right and stealthily pointed at an older gentleman in a well-fitted suit. “I wanted to know who to warn you about. Like Mr. Johnson over there. He’s touchy-feely, so stand at least an arm’s length away.”
Will cast another look around the room. “And this guy here”—he pointed to a well-dressed man who looked so much like Daniel he must’ve been a Thorne—“is bad news.”
“Ah, my free-spirited nephew.” The man pulled Will into a bear hug. “Didn’t think I’d see you in one of these penguin suits so soon.”
Will grinned. “Hannah, this is my uncle, Grayson, CEO of Wellington Thorne and perpetual thorn in my father’s side. Pun fully intended.”
“I bet Jon says the same about you,” Grayson said, giving Will what could only be called a meaningful look.
Will returned it with a wan smile. “I’m sure he does.” Hannah knew she was missing something, but there wasn’t time to consider it before Will held out his hands, putting her on display. “This is Hannah.”
Hannah extended her hand, but Grayson hugged her. “Welcome to the Thorne circus.”
She laughed and continued to watch Grayson and Will interact. Will and Jonathan, and to some extent Jon and Daniel, were so cold with each other. But Grayson was loud and boisterous and happy. He reminded Hannah of Will when his family wasn’t around. This was the man who had fought to save Will’s career and who had clearly had an influence on Will over the years. The thought that someone was in Will’s corner calmed a worry Hannah hadn’t even consciously known she’d had. With everything going on with her parents, she’d still had Kate and Stephanie and Riley, and even Madison. But Will seemed alone so much of the time.
She scanned the room again. Their friends and family—Kate and Patrick, Eddie, Stephanie and Charlotte, Madison and Jon, and Daniel—stood in a cluster in the den. Her parents weren’t there. They’d RSVP’d no—Hannah had seen the card herself—but she’d expected them to change their minds. Maybe they had. It was still early, and traffic getting into New York was probably a bitch right then. They would come. They couldn’t miss the closest thing she would have to a wedding reception.
“Our guests of honor, there you are.” Hannah turned at the sound of Jonathan’s voice, so formal compared to Grayson’s. What had caused these men to go in such different directions?
Will straightened at his father’s approach and linked his hand with Hannah’s. “Hi, Dad.”
“Can I steal you two away? I’d like to introduce you to a few people from the board.”
Will nodded like it was a death sentence. But it couldn’t be that bad. She didn’t believe for a second that Jonathan was sanctioning their marriage. She hadn’t come close to forgiving him, but for Will’s sake, and for the sake of his future at Wellington Thorne, she would spend a few minutes schmoozing with Jonathan’s peers.
“COME WITH ME.” WILL tugged at her hand, and after excusing herself from the most boring conversation she’d ever had with the touchy-feely Mr. Johnson, Hannah let Will lead her through the party. He took her past the den and into a hallway with a series of rooms. She knew the first one on the left was Jon and Madison’s. The sounds of the party were muffled there, even so close to the den. Will pulled her into one of the rooms, flipping on the light as he did so.
“Sorry, I just needed to do this.” He kissed her hard, his arms drawing her to him. They fell back against the closed door, Will’s lips never breaking from hers.
She pushed his jacket off and untucked his shirt. Slipping out of her shoes, she wrapped a leg around him, feeling the intensity of this moment through her whole body.
Will trailed kisses down her neck and into her cleavage, sending waves of excitement rushing through her body. She undid his belt and then the button on his pants, weaving her hand into the waistband of his boxers. He gasped as her hand slid down his perfectly sculpted hip bones.
“Knock, knock, lovebirds. I know you’re in there.”
Hannah and Will broke apart at the sound of Kate’s voice and the repeated knocking on the door. Kate jiggled the handle, but Hannah knew she wouldn’t come in. Kate and Hannah had been roommates for long enough to know exactly what was going on behind the door. Hannah giggled as Will straightened his clothing, giving the door the evil eye.
“Come back later?” Hannah asked, stepping back into her shoes.
“If you don’t come with me now, Randy will be the next person to knock on this door,” Kate said. Hannah could hear her tapping her foot impatiently. “Your guests are waiting for cake.”
“One second,” Will said, his voice resigned.
“Do I look okay?” Hannah asked, smoothing out her dress. Will’s clothing suffered most of the damage. Her dress was pretty unflappable, but she had a hard-enough time getting her hair to stay in an updo when she wasn’t making out against doors.
Will tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, his fingers lingering on her cheek. “You look beautiful, Hannah.”
Her insides stirred at the soft inflection on her name. She inclined her head into his hand for the briefest of moments before linking their hands. “Let’s go cut our cake, husband.”
Chapter 30Hannah
“Can you straighten it a bit?” Madison asked.
They sat next to each other on one of the lounge ottomans in the former study. There was a lot of dancing after the cake cutting, but the energy keeping Hannah from noticing the ache in every part of her body, especially in her knee, had dissipated.
Hannah extended her leg and felt Madison’s hands come up under her dress and settle on her knee. That was all Jonathan and his guests needed to see—Jon’s fiancée feeling up Will’s wife.
“It’s not swollen,” Madison said. “We’ll work it out in the morning if it still hurts, okay?”
She nodded and leaned her head against Madison’s shoulder. “Thanks.”
The number of guests had dwindled exceedingly, but more than enough socialites were mixed among their family and friends. Eddie stood near the fireplace with a small crowd, most likely telling the story of Will and Hannah’s wedding day by the way Kate kept interjecting. Stephanie and Charlotte were in the dining room, tangled in each other’s arms, swaying to the ballad that played lightly over an unseen speaker system. No one else danced, but Charlanie didn’t seem to care.
