“I can come back and do it.”
Riley shook her head. “Let me do this for you.”
“You’ve already done so much for me,” Hannah said, wiping at her eyes. She was being silly. She’d see Riley in a few weeks at Jo’s christening. She was godmother, after all. This wasn’t goodbye, and yet, it was.
“Likewise, Hannah Abbott-Thorne. Likewise.”
Chapter 56Hannah
Hannah stepped out of the subway to a sky streaked with red, orange, and pink. It was a gift at the end of the blustery day. She glanced down at her phone. Will had responded with a thumbs-up to her running-late text, not exactly a ringing endorsement for their reconciliation. She reminded herself not to overthink it. A thumbs-up was just a thumbs-up.
She clicked on Kate’s latest message. So, I was thinking for episode 50, we need to go big. What do you think of Bitching about Boyfriends #50 – The Marriage Pact?
Hannah stopped under the awning of Blue Jean’s to take in Kate’s message. Kate was half-kidding, Hannah was certain, but with a boyfriend as perfect as Patrick, she was running low on material.
Maybe, she typed. If everything goes well. And AFTER I tell my parents.
Kate’s response was quick. Everything will go fine, better than fine. Good luck! Love you! Send pictures!
Hannah pocketed her phone and continued down the street. A few blocks later, Will came into view. He stood outside Kate’s building, his hands in his pockets. Even from a distance, she could tell he was nervous. She picked up her pace.
“Hi,” she said, stepping in front of him.
Up close, the nervousness extended from his antsy feet up to his eyes. She’d told him about the job offer. He was the second person she’d called after Kate—Kate first because Kate would know who Jackson Mendez was without context, and she had a list of selfie requests for a situation just like that. She’d lived Hannah’s dreams with her. Will had been excited, but she knew he wondered what it meant for them given her new benefits package. But that had been the past. Will had asked her to choose her future. It was time she did.
“Hi, Mrs. Thorne,” he said lightly.
Hannah’s heart fluttered at the nickname. She had always loved it despite its teasing nature.
“Walk with me?” he asked, holding out his hand.
Hannah wrapped her scarf tighter around her neck. She didn’t want to walk—she wanted to talk to him and hold him and make him believe—but she took him by the hand anyway.
They walked a block in silence. She couldn’t help but notice the changes in him in the few weeks they’d been apart. He looked healthier, lighter. She imagined a weight had been lifted since he quit Wellington Thorne and started over. It hadn’t been easy on him. She knew he was nervous from their limited conversations since they dissolved the pact. But Will would be happier out of his father’s shadow. The boy she’d known in college had been free—anxious about the future but uninhibited. The man he’d become had been fighting to prove himself. But after stepping away from Wellington Thorne, he didn’t have to prove anything to anyone—to be anyone but himself.
They stopped at a busy intersection. Unease grew in Hannah as the silence between them extended. She’d made her decision, but maybe he’d made one too. Maybe they didn’t align.
“Are you still staying at Daniel’s?” Hannah asked.
Will shook his head as they crossed the street. The path was familiar. She and Kate had walked between their apartments countless times in the last few years.
“Right now, I’m in a hotel. But I was thinking, maybe we could stay here?” They stopped in front of her building. Ronny waved in greeting and held open the door. He mouthed a welcome before turning his attention to the next tenant. “I talked to your landlord, and we’re good to stay here until your lease ends if you want.”
We. He hadn’t given up hope. Hannah’s gaze shifted from Will to the apartment as he unlocked the door. Nothing seemed out of place, except perhaps Hannah herself. She wondered if it had always been this small and where Will would fit among her things.
“Thank you. You didn’t need to do this.”
“I did, though,” he said, walking through the small space. It was odd to think he’d been here so few times. That one of the biggest parts of her life had almost never been in her home. “Consider it my husbandly duty.”
She shook her head and leaned back against the couch. “Do I get to go now?”
Will narrowed his eyes at her. “What do you mean?”
“I have something to tell you, but you won’t stop talking.”
He waved his hand in front of himself, clearing the path. “By all means, Mrs. Thorne.”
She grinned and plugged her phone into her speaker system. She scrolled until she found Leonard’s musical wedding gift. The opening chords started. Hannah led Will around the back of the couch to the same spot where he’d proposed. She dimmed the lights. Leonard’s voice filled the small apartment.
“Is that...?” Will trailed off when Hannah got down on one knee, taking his hands in her own. “What are you doing?”
She smiled up at him. “Proposing, dummy.” Clearing her throat, she continued. “When you came back into my life almost five months ago, I didn’t expect this. I thought it would be like that semester of college where you crashed on our floor.” She shifted on her knee. “God, this is really uncomfortable.”
Will laughed. His eyes glistened with tears. “Five months ago, you wouldn’t even have been able to kneel like that.”
“I know,” she said. Her hands trembled where they held his. “The more time I spent with you, the closer to you I wanted to be. I grew to love you, slowly and then completely. There is no other choice for me. It has to be you. Not because of the pact or our history but because of the man you are and the man you are working to become.
“I love you, William Anderson Thorne. I promise to choose you every day for the rest of my life.” She stood up, looping her arms around his neck. “Marry me. Marry me again.”
He nodded, and his lips crashed with hers for the first time in weeks. Their tears mixed, leaving a salty taste to the kiss.
“It would be an honor to stay your husband, Hannah Grace Abbott-Thorne.” He held out his pinky.
Hannah kissed him again before linking her pinky with his.
Acknowledgements
Writing may be a solitary task, but the journey to publication is not traveled alone. Without the support and comradery of so many, this novel may never have found its home.
First, a very big thank you to Lynn McNamee at Red Adept for taking a chance on Will and Hannah and their crazy marriage pact story. And to all the staff at Red Adept—When We’re Thirty would not be where it is without you. A special thanks to my amazing RAP editors Angie and Marirose for loving Will and Hannah as much as I do.
To my RAP mentor and friend, Erica Lucke Dean—you have made my path to publication so amazing. Thank you for full-day conversations on grammar, for brainstorming whenever I needed you, for my amazing cover and graphics, and for so much laughter. I don’t think I’d have survived this journey without you.
A big thank-you to my early readers, who saw this book in its infancy and helped shape it: Alison, Tracey, Katherine, Natalia, Bradeigh, Robin, Lainey, and Kimberley.
For the last several years, I’ve had the absolute honor of being in a small, tight-knit online writing group. To all the ladies in the Ink Tank, my Fictionistas—I could not do any of this without you. Finding all of you has been a highlight of the last several years of my life. When this pandemic is over, I can’t wait to give each of you a giant hug.
To all my fellow writers who have been with me on this journey through one organization or another—thank you for the love and support. Knowing you all (virtually or otherwise) has made this journey worthwhile.
To the 2021 debuts—we did it!
To all the authors, readers, and bookstagrammers—you have made my publication journey so much fun. Thank you for all the support and for making sure more than my family knows about my book.
To Danielle Burby—thank you for encouraging me to write this book and for helping me get here.
To the ladies of the On the Same Page Book Club—thank you for making me feel like a celebrity long before I ever signed my publishing contract.
