Runaway Heart (A Game of Hearts #2) (3 page)

“YOU HAVE TO BE ABOUT the cutest, little person I think I’ve ever seen,” I said as I rubbed my nose against the soft down of Autumn’s hair, my heart warming when the corner of her lip curled into a smile. I looked up at Maggie. “How many months is she now?”

“Four,” she cooed, playing with Autumn’s finger.

“Wow… has it really been that long?” I stared down at the precious baby sleeping in my arms.

“Yeah… it has,” Maggie said on a sigh. “But, you’re here now, and that’s all that matters.”

I looked between them, feeling almost crippled by how much love I felt toward them. The overwhelming emotions felt like a wad of cotton had been crammed down my throat. I hadn’t realized just how much I actually missed my best friend until the plane touched down on the tarmac and I saw her small form holding Autumn, engulfed in Phillip’s arms, waving furiously at me.

I sprinted over to her as soon as my feet touched solid ground and, ever since, we’d holed ourselves up in the office of her small dive shop, spilling secrets and sharing all the stories we had stored up since we last saw each other.

“Well,” I said, “it’s clear she gets her good looks by osmosis from her Auntie Hannah. Lord knows we were all worried she’d come out with orange hair.”

I laughed when Maggie glared at me in her usual way. The kind that made puppies roll over and ask for belly scratches.

“And you, as the maid of honor, should only be showering me with encouraging words,” she retorted, crossing her arms in faux anger.

Playing the part of bridezilla fit who she was about as much as me playing a lovesick schoolgirl.

I looked at her sideways. Felt her forehead for signs of fever. “You are Maggie Fairchild, right? The same straight-talking, don’t-give-a-shit chick I knew growing up? Don’t tell me parenthood has made you all
sensitive
.”

She let out a heavy sigh. “Sorry… it’s just… I’m starting to wonder if maybe I should have planned this wedding rather than winging it. I’m about to marry the man I’m madly in love with, and I’m not even sure if his parents will show. Not that their opinion matters… I just… they haven’t even met Autumn yet.”

My shoulders buckled as I looked down at Autumn. “Yeah, well, they’d be fucktards not to come. And, if they don’t, then they don’t deserve the chance to get to know this amazingly beautiful little girl,” I said, grabbing Maggie’s hand.

Maggie hadn’t heard a word through her apocalyptic, internal meltdown.

“Do you think I’m insane for doing this?” she asked, picking at the doughnut on the napkin on her desk while I nursed a Red Bull.

“For doing what?”

“Getting married last minute, and then taking Autumn on a family trip rather than a honeymoon.”

“What’s the definition of insane anyway?” I asked with a small shrug as I set Autumn in her travel crib. She stirred, stretching her tiny arms, and then smacked her lips once before succumbing back to the land of slumber.

“Let me think… not of sound mind. Mentally deranged,” Maggie listed off, looking like her world could fall apart at any moment.

I laughed, smirking at her. “Oh, yeah. You’re definitely insane.” When panic flashed in her eyes, I added, “You found your one, Maggs. And, in all honesty, from everything I’ve ever read in those overrated chick magazines, being in love is supposedly the equivalent of being insane, so it’s safe to say being insane, at least in your case, is a good thing.”

She shook her head at me, smiling. “You and your way with spinning words. You always did that. Always had some weird way of telling me what I needed to hear.”

I pretended to brush my shoulders off. “Can’t help my awesomeness.”

She snort-laughed. “Have you picked a major yet?”

I inhaled quickly. “Nope.”

Her head fell to the side. “Hannah…”

“What?” I deflected with a shrug.

“You have to settle on something at some point in your life. Why don’t you look into psychology or something? You’re so good with helping people. Everyone always comes to you with their problems.”

I snorted. “That’s because they’re mental. Look, I just… I’m figuring it out. I’ll know when I know.”

“Which can’t happen if you’re always scared of commitment.”

I narrowed my eyes on her, not wanting another lecture about how I always ran from commitment of any kind. I had a past. An ugly one I was tethered to like a ball and chain. The day I broke the chain would be the day I finally settled, which was about as likely as catching a shooting star.

A soft knock sounded at the door before Phillip cracked it open, his eyes instantly finding Maggie’s.

Maggie stood up at once. “Is he here?”

“Is who here?” I asked, looking between the two of them.

Phillip beamed as he entered the office, clearing the doorway.

In walked a tall drink of water I definitely wanted to take a sip of.

Or two.

Or three.

Hell… just give me the whole damn glass.

“Ladies, I’d like you to meet—” Phillip started to say, but tall, dark, and handsome decided to skip the formalities.

All six-foot-plus inches of him.

“Out the way, Phil. I need to give our girl a hug, yeah?” Ed barreled past Phillip and scooped Maggie into his arms, giving her a smacking kiss on the lips.

A kiss that had all of our eyes bulging.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Phillip hissed, screwing his face up as he tried to pry Ed’s hands from around Maggie, who lightheartedly laughed.

He was ballsy. I’d give him that.

Ed put her down, totally downplaying Phillip’s warranted anger. “Don’t be stingy, Phil. I’ve loved her from afar all this time while ye kept her all to yourself,” Ed answered, giving Maggie a wink before he set her down on her feet.

My body was in the middle of some kind of internal war over him. My knees fought to stay upright from the power of that wink, while my fists fought to stay by my side for his so blatant and intrusive arrogance.

Phillip pulled Maggie against him. “Yeah, well, get your hands off my girl and find your own to grope.”

Ed’s gaze landed on me. “And who do we have here then?”

My heart did a weird sort of flippy thing as his eyes raked over me in a way that made my skin feel like it had been dipped in a vat of liquid gold.

“Hannah, this is Ed. Ed, this is my best friend Hannah,” Maggie said, her conspiring eyes darting between the two of us.

“Ed?” I shot Maggie a questioning look. “
The
Ed you mentioned on the phone before?”

It was Maggie’s turn to smirk at me.

“The one and only, love,” he said as he extended his hand to me.

Caramels. Soft and delicious. That was what his eyes reminded me of. They were golden and somewhat guarded… a dangerous mix I wouldn’t mind playing with.

Fevers. The kind your skin felt when seasoned lips moved across your body in a way that made you scream in ways you didn’t think you were capable of. That was what his full, sensuous smile reminded me of.

One of his eyebrows dropped as he waited for my hand to meet his.

Shit. I’m supposed to shake his hand, but I think my palms are sweating. Like for real sweating.

WTF.

I tried to play off rubbing them against my shirt, and then took his extended hand, my stomach whirling when my skin tingled from the slight contact.

What the hell, Hannah?

Ed let go as soon as his eyes settled on something behind me. “I think I’ve found my girl, Phil,” Ed said, bending over Autumn’s crib. “Hello there, lovie,” he said, running his finger over the silken roundness of her cheek.

Her eyes fluttered open, staring intently at the new face above her before her lips turned into a smile matching Ed’s.

“See, she loves me already,” Ed crooned when Autumn caught his finger up in her chubby fist.

I think my sanity just left the building.

“She usually doesn’t do well with strangers,” Maggie said, sounding a little dumbstruck as she watched her daughter coo and try to pull Ed’s finger closer to her rosebud lips.

“Must be my English charm.” He reached out with his other hand to run his thumb over Autumn’s cheek. “Isn’t that right, lovie? Ye know your favorite uncle when ye see him.” He turned to Maggie. “Ye did a good job, Maggie. Lucky for us, she took after you, and not this arsehole.” His hand shot to his mouth. “Oooh… sorry. Have to work on the language around the little one.”

“It’s okay,” Maggie said, laughing as Phillip’s ears went red. “I slip a few times here and there.”

I was stuck on the fact that he literally just pranced right in, fitting in as if he already belonged. He was even able to coax a heartwarming smile from Autumn. What planet was he from?

Mars. Definitely Mars. All kinds of Mars.

He looked up at me, and my mind went blank.

“So…” I said, scrambling to think of something to say. Anything to get him to stop staring at me so intently. “I’m assuming you’re the best man, then?” I asked, trying to downplay my complete and utter failure at being the levelheaded, man-eater I usually was.

He straightened back up to his full height and stepped back from Autumn’s crib. “Haven’t had any complaints to refute the claim, love.”

My mouth hung open at his witty attempt at humor. The kind of humor I enjoyed the most.

“So, Ed,” Maggie said, making her way between us. “Are you single?”

“Ready to ditch Phil already then? I have to say, Maggie, I thought it’d take more work to convince ye to run away with me,” Ed replied with what could only be called a roguish laugh that did something to my lust-filled hormones.

Phillip’s face turned a healthy shade of red. “Knock it off, jackass, before I put you back on the plane and send you home.”

Ed slapped Phillip on the back. “I’m just messing with you, mate. Don’t get your knickers in a twist.”

“I wanted to thank you in person for saving Phillip from making a huge mistake,” Maggie cut in, moving to take Phillip’s hand in hers. “Without your persistent interference, we probably wouldn’t be standing here together today.”

“Phillip’s a smart lad. He would have gotten ‘round to figuring it out. I just nudged him to move it along faster,” Ed said. “But don’t think anything of it. That’s what best mates do for each other, yeah?”

Not only was he good looking with a panty-melting accent… but he was also good friend material?

Boy, I was in trouble.

Maggie turned back as she wiped her tear-glazed eyes. “I bet you’re hungry after such a long flight. Why don’t we take you both to dinner, and then we can show you the venue for tomorrow’s ceremony? Maybe even have a small rehearsal. Nothing too formal.”

“Sounds good,” I said, trying to keep myself from looking over at Ed. I felt his eyes on me. Felt them taking me in. For some damn reason, I actually wished I had taken two seconds in a mirror after getting off the plane. I was still in my travel-worn clothes with my hair in a ratted bun, while Ed looked as if he’d just finished up a photo shoot with GQ, or whatever sort of hunky men magazines they had over in the UK.

How could someone who looked like they just rolled out of bed make you want to take them right back to that very same bed and do all sorts of naughty things with them?

It was then my eyes decided to betray me and wandered over to him, catching his eyes roaming my face as if picking apart my lackluster appearance.

What a first impression.

Wait a minute… what the hell do I care? That’s right. I don’t.

“Is that okay with you, Hannah?” Maggie asked.

All three of them were staring at me, waiting for me to answer a question I never heard.

Mortification forced my lips to part. “Sure,” I said, hoping I didn’t just agree to something I’d regret. But, judging by the weighted smirk on Ed’s face, I had a feeling I just signed myself up for a march straight into Just-shoot-me-now Ville.