Charming Hannah (Big Sky #1)(7)

“I haven’t had a pedicure.”

“Does he have a foot fetish? Jesus, Han, he sounds really pervy.”

“This is the first date,” I remind her. “I don’t know if he has a foot fetish. But my toes are not polished.”

“Are you wearing flip flops?”

“No, it’s still chilly in the evening here. I think I’ll wear flats.”

“Awesome. We’ve solved the pedicure debacle. What are you wearing?”

“He didn’t say if it was fancy or not.”

“Do you have a pretty sun dress that can be either fancy or casual?”

“I have work clothes, Abby.”

“I gave you a red summer dress last year when I was there.”

“Your ass is smaller than mine,” I remind her, but shuffle through my closet, looking for the dress. “I found it.”

“Try it on.”

I pull it over my head and turn to look in the mirror. “Not bad. This will work. I’ll take a denim jacket, and that will dress it down a bit if need be.”

“Excellent,” Abby says. I can hear the smile in her voice. “Makeup?”

“I’m still wearing makeup from work.”

“Which means you applied it twelve hours ago. You need to freshen it up.”

“I didn’t have time to take a shower,” I inform her. “I hope there’s no blood in my hair.”

“Oh God. Ew. And you’re worried about your period panties? Honey, your priorities might be a little skewed.”

I chuckle and freshen up my eye makeup, then run a brush through my red hair and shrug one shoulder. “No blood.”

“Thank goodness. I’m sure you look great, and you’ll have so much fun, Hannah.”

“I think so,” I murmur. “Unless I choke or get food poisoning or something. Also, I’ve been having these palpitations today. Maybe I should make an appointment with the cardiologist.”

“It’s called nerves,” she says. “You’re not having a heart attack, Hannah, you’re nervous about a first date with a cool guy. It’s normal.”

“But you’re not a cardiologist. You don’t know.”

She takes a deep breath, and I picture her closing her eyes, trying to keep her irritation in check.

“I know,” I say at last. “I always do this, and I’m stupid.”

“You’re not stupid. Take a deep breath.”

I breathe in deeply through my nose and let it out through my mouth and feel a little better.

“When will he be there?”

I check the time on my phone.

“Ten minutes.”

“Okay, here’s what I want you to do. Take some more deep breaths, drink some water, and look at your schedule for tomorrow.”

I frown, thrown by that last one. “Why?”

“Because you’ll be thinking about tomorrow and not worrying about tonight.”

“You’re pretty smart.”

She snorts. “I know. Have fun and text me when you get home because I’ll want to hear how it went.”

“Okay.” I nod, even though she can’t see me. “You’re right, I’m just going to enjoy myself and not wish that I was at home watching Stranger Things.”

“Oh my gosh, have you started season two yet?”

“No, I’m only halfway into season one because instead of watching it I’m going on a date tonight.”

“Well, just wait until you get to season two. So good.”

“Season one is kind of freaking me out,” I admit. “I don’t like the scary things.”

“It’s not that scary. Stick with it. You won’t regret it. And look at that, you only have seven minutes now.”

“Okay, I’m ready. I’m going to go look at tomorrow’s schedule.”

“Awesome. Have fun, Han. I mean it.”

“I will. Talk to you later.”

I hang up the phone and blow out a breath. There’s no need to be nervous. He’s just a man. A human.

I mean, sure, this human is better looking than most others, and the chemistry I feel when I’m in the same room as him is like nothing I’ve ever felt before.

But he’s still just a man.

I throw the load of laundry I put in the washer this morning into the dryer, flip it on, then walk into the kitchen to rinse a few dishes and put them in the dishwasher.

I bring my schedule for tomorrow up on my phone just as the doorbell rings.

“Those were a quick seven minutes,” I mutter. I run my fingers through my hair before opening the door to Brad.

He’s leaning on the doorjamb, a crooked smile on his mouth and his green eyes are happy. I let myself take him in from head to toe, admiring the grey sweater and dark blue jeans, and the way they showcase his hard, lean body.

“Hi,” I say and step back so he can come inside, ignoring the knowing smile on his lips.

“Hello, beautiful,” he replies and passes me a bouquet of pink roses. “These are for you.”

“Oh, how nice.” I bury my nose in them and smile up at him. “Thank you. I’ll put them in water real quick before we go.”

He nods and follows me into the kitchen. “Your home is nice.”