your uncle about some new security measures for the resort. They’ve asked me to do a full analysis and make some suggestions.”
Hannah nodded. “That sounds like a good plan. I hope you’re charging them your standard consultation rates.”
He merely gave her a look.
She sighed. “Andrew, you don’t owe my family any favors. It’s the other way around actually.”
“We’re not talking about money right now, though you and I need to make some arrangements soon.”
She looked around quickly to make sure no one had overheard, but while she heard voices from the diner and the store, the reception area was deserted for now. “Andrew—”
“Well, hello, there.” Mimi bustled up with a bright smile at finding Andrew talking with Hannah. “What are you two chatting about?”
Andrew turned easily to greet Hannah’s grandmother. “I was just about to have lunch in the grill. Thought I’d stop in to say hello to Hannah first.”
“Hannah can join you for lunch,” Mimi said, beaming. “I just came to relieve her at the desk for a while. I’ve already eaten. I think I saw some of the other family in the diner, so you two run along and join them.”
“I was going to have lunch a little later, Mimi,” Hannah protested weakly.
“You need a break, sweetheart. No need to rush back, I’ll be fine here if you young folks want to take a walk through the resort after lunch. There’s a nice breeze down by the water today.”
So either her mom hadn’t yet spoken to Mimi about her matchmaking scheme for Hannah, or the talk hadn’t been successful. Hannah sighed, but knew there was no use arguing with Mimi now, especially in front of Andrew. She stood and smoothed the loose pink summer top she wore with thin khaki slacks. “Okay, fine. I’ll take my lunch break now.”
Nodding in satisfaction, Mimi took her place behind the desk, pulling a thick paperback out of her bag to occupy her until she was needed. Hannah knew her grandmother would be quite content to spend the rest of the day sitting in that comfortable chair with her book, especially if she believed her granddaughter was being courted by a respectable man in the meantime. She didn’t even want to think of the pressure Mimi—and probably the rest of the family—would put on them once they learned Andrew was her baby’s father.
“Listen, maybe we could cut out of here and eat lunch somewhere else?” Andrew asked in a low voice as soon as they were out of her grandmother’s sight and hearing. “We really need to—”
“Oh, hi, guys.” Shelby slid in between them, looping her hands beneath their arms. “Heading in for lunch? So am I. I’ve been working on the books all morning without a break and now I’m starving. Aaron’s supposed to meet me in the grill. Why don’t you two join us?”
Andrew gave Hannah a look over her cousin’s curly blond head, and she might have been amused under any other circumstances. It was rare to see Andrew looking totally flummoxed, but she thought that word was a good description for the expression in his narrowed eyes. He was probably beginning to wonder if they would ever have a chance to talk in private. She supposed she should be working harder to make arrangements for that discussion, rather than putting it off. But to be fair, he’d shown up only the day before. There hadn’t been a lot of time for her to come to terms with all of this yet.
“Sure,” Andrew said to Shelby, his tone completely bland. “We’d love to join you, wouldn’t we, Hannah?”
She gave him a weak smile. “Why not?”
Andrew had not been this frustrated in a long time. He sat in his room Wednesday night at almost ten, uninterested in watching television. His computer screen displayed work-related data he should be looking over but wasn’t. More than twenty-four hours after Shelby dragged Hannah and him into the diner for Hannah’s lunch break, Andrew had yet to speak with Hannah alone again. Every time they’d been even close to a private conversation, one of her family members or a resort guest had interrupted them. Had he not been close to tearing his hair out with exasperation, the comedy of errors might have been wryly amusing. Or was Hannah deliberately using those seemingly random interruptions as an excuse to continue delaying their talk?
Too restless to stay put any longer, he let himself out of the room and headed out into the still-warm night air. He liked walking through the resort at this hour as campers and guests settled in for the night, making it possible to hear the crickets and frogs coming from the lakeside. He passed an older couple walking hand in hand along the road and swapped greetings with them. They, too, seemed to be enjoying the cooler temperature of evening. They looked comfortable together, he thought, glancing over his shoulder at them. Content to be spending their twilight years together.
Would he have anything like that when he reached their age?
He glanced toward the family compound and thought about slipping over to see if Hannah was awake. But, no. She needed her rest, and she wouldn’t appreciate it if anyone in her family saw him making a late-night call on her. She was going to have to face telling her family the truth eventually—soon—but that wasn’t the way she’d want to break the news to them.
He wished he understood better why she was so hesitant about revealing that he was the father of her child. He could understand that she’d be embarrassed about the awkwardness of the situation. But was there more to it than that? Was she worried about any claims he would make on their child? Had their one night together been so unsatisfactory for her that she’d bolted the next morning and was now sorry there was any reason for him to remain in her life? How was he to know if she wouldn’t talk to him?
The glow of several campfires flickered through the trees from both the RV and tent campgrounds. A few cars passed, as did a couple on bicycles equipped with headlamps and reflector tape. As he strolled through the resort, Andrew made mental notes of areas that could use a little more security lighting—without over-lighting the campgrounds of course—and a few places where he would recommend installing discreet, closed-circuit cameras.
Outside Cabin 5, three men were rather loudly arguing outside on the porch. Andrew knew an alcohol-fueled conversation when he heard one. He hoped this one didn’t get so rowdy that a sleepy guest in a neighboring cabin would feel the need to report it to management, disturbing the Bell family. He knew the Bells were accustomed to those late calls, but he was sure they appreciated the uninterrupted nights.
“I’m telling you that girl on the beach was interested in me until you clowns ran her off by acting like fools. If I meet someone tomorrow, I want y’all to back off, you hear?” one of the men demanded loudly.
Another snorted mockingly. “Come on, Bill, she hardly looked twice at you. You think every woman you pass falls for you and most of the time you’re wrong. Like with that pregnant girl in the office yesterday.”
Andrew’s steps slowed dramatically.
“Hey, you think she wasn’t checking me out?” the first man asked. “If I was in the mood to tap a preggo, you can bet she’d be all over it. You didn’t see a ring on her finger, did you?”
Andrew’s fists clenched slowly at his side, even as the jerk’s companions guffawed.
“Hell, Bill, you really are delusional. Pregnant or not, women who look like that don’t go for guys like us. You better be content with Steffie and stop chasing the hotties or you’re going to end up alone, dude.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about, Stu. Ever since Camille dumped you, you’ve been—”
“Hey!” Someone from Cabin 4 called out from his own front porch. “Could you guys keep it down? We’ve got kids trying to sleep in here. Don’t make us call management.”
“Yeah, okay, sorry.” One of the men called back. “C’mon, guys, let’s get some sleep. We’re going out early to fish, remember? The three of us. Bros before … well, you know the rest.”
The