In Love with a Stranger (12 page)

He nodded yes at me. "Of course, Ms. Hannah."

I let out a relieved breath, when the door shut behind him.

I looked up at William to see his eyes were following Marvin, as he moved across the street and down the sidewalk. "Who was that wanker?"

"That's Marvin, he’s a regular customer. He buys something every week. He comes in every few days."

"I don't like him. He seems familiar, and not in a good way."

"He gives Shawna the creeps, too. We try not to be in the store alone when he shows up. He has a couple of set days, but other times, he just pops in unexpectedly."

"I don't think you should serve him anymore, Hannah."

"He's never done anything untoward, other than give us the creeps. He doesn't harass us, so there's no reason to kick him out of the store. He's a good customer."

William stepped out the door and walked a few block in the direction Marvin had left in. I really hoped he wouldn't start any trouble.

I picked up the phone and ordered pizza like William had suggested. I watched the door, worried that William would be the one to disappear on me. I went as far as to step out on the sidewalk and look down the block. I smiled when I saw his auburn head bopping back in my direction. That was until his face came into focus, and I saw the scowl. He looked furious, and I couldn’t understand why he’d be so mad at me.  I realized it was not me he was glaring at, but the person behind me.

"Hannah, I think it's time for you to finally come home," I heard my father demand sternly.

Chapter 14 – Goin’ to the…Castle?

HANNAH

My father stepped into the store, completely oblivious to William’s charging form. He didn’t get two words out, before William yoked him up, slamming him against the end of a bookshelf. If he’d hit the front of it, I was sure the entire shelving system in the store would’ve been tipped over like dominos. Thankfully, that wasn’t the case.

“You selfish bastard!” William shouted at the top of his lungs. “You stole my child, my wife. I’m going to kill you!”

Brody rushed down the stairs and pulled William off of my dad, and we both stepped between the two.

I was barely holding William back as he yelled, “You’re completely delusional! You’ll never come near my family again!”

“As long as you stay away from
my
family…” My father wasn’t able to finish. William lunged at him, but I held him back. “I won’t let my daughter fraternize with people who think she’s a cheap whore!”

William got passed me at that and decked my father, knocking him to the ground.

“Do you see what he’s capable of?” my dad pointed, acting the victim.  “His family did this. He got you pregnant, and they did everything they could to brush it under the carpet!”

It took Brody and me both holding William back to keep him off of my father. “I’d never do that!” William was livid at the suggestion, and so was I.

“It was his family who put you in the hospital, Hannah. His father all but admitted it. He said you were fine, well off and would surface when you were ready.”   

“Get out!” I ordered. “I told you I don’t want to talk to you. I don’t want you here. You need to get out, before I have you arrested for trespassing!”

“You’re being ridiculous and immature…” he retorted. I was already sick of his voice. I grabbed his arm, dragging him to the door. I gave him a shove out of it and locked the door behind him. From Brody’s strong grip, William’s furious eyes stayed on my father, watching him through the window.  I had no doubt that if he got away from Brody, he’d go after my dad and do some real damage.

Once my dad was out of sight, Brody still hadn’t released William. I rushed over and tried to pry his arms away. “Hannah, what the hell are you doing with this guy? He totally flew off the handle with Scott. I thought I was here to keep the peace and get
Scott
to leave.”

“It’s not that simple, Brody. I’m not sorry for what happened to him. He deserved everything William gave him and more.”

Brody finally let go of William, stepping back cautiously. William scooped me up in his arms, squeezing me tight. I wiggled my arms free, so I could wrap them around him as well. He cried into my neck, and Brody just stood there dumbfounded.

“I don’t know if I feel safe leaving you with this guy.”

“Lisa’s pregnant, right?”   His eyes looked over at William, and he nodded silently, like he was afraid to admit it in front of William. “Now imagine that your father-in-law didn’t like you, so much so that he took Lisa away from you, baby and all, not letting her contact you in any way. Then you hear that she’s dead. Your child and your wife are dead, Brody. How are you going to handle it? William had to deal with that for seven years!” I snapped. It was William’s turn to comfort me. Once I was settled down, I continued.

“You’ve missed the birth of your child, all of their milestones, like first steps, first words, first day of kindergarten, and then you find out, after seven years, that your wife and baby have been alive the whole time. They had no idea who you were, because they had been hurt and didn’t remember you. What if there was no way in hell your father-in-law would ever help her remember you ever existed. He didn’t want her to remember, or for you to ever be a part of their lives, and not for any good reason. 

“You’d never hurt her. He just didn’t like that you lived far away. He wasn’t going to give her up, because you lived somewhere he considered to be out of his reach. Lisa’s from Georgia, isn’t she? That’s not so farfetched. What if her dad decided he didn’t want his grandchild to be raised in Nevada amongst those ‘gambling heathens’ out there? What if he decided you weren’t good enough for her, because you’re from someplace he doesn’t approve of.
HE
decides you’re not good enough for her, Brody. He doesn’t believe that you deserve to keep Lisa and your baby, so he does everything in his power to keep them from you.”

“That’s not…”

“That’s exactly what happened to us. My dad didn’t like William because of where he lived. He heard we were moving and seized the opportunity to keep me here, when I couldn’t remember who William was. He’d rather Penelope grow up without a father, than let us know who William was. He didn’t care that I didn’t date or want anyone else for
seven years
, Brody. I might not have remembered him, but my heart did. I never got over him. My dad didn’t care that I’d be alone for the rest of my life. He knew I didn’t want anyone else, because of William, and he didn’t care!” I shouted. William held me closer, trying to calm me.

“He knew William loved me and was looking for me, but he did everything in his power to keep me from him, and he let him believe I was dead. William’s missed the first six years of his daughter’s life, Brody. If he didn’t hit my father, then I would’ve.

“He’s not welcome in my home anymore, especially since he still holds the belief that William shouldn’t be in mine and Penelope’s lives. He knows we love him, but still he doesn’t care how much it’d hurt us. No, the only reason I held William back was so he didn’t end up in jail for murder, because I don’t want him taken from me again.”

“It was grandpa?” we heard little Penelope’s voice say from the stairs.

“Penelope.” I worried about how much she’d seen.

“He knew who my daddy was?” she asked confused.

“He did,” I answered honestly. I wasn’t going to hide it from her.

“Why? I asked him for a daddy. Why didn’t he want me to know him?”

“You’ll have to ask him that yourself one day, Penny. For now, mommy and daddy are putting him in a time out from our family.”

She nodded in understanding, with her brow furrowed. My dad was an idiot to think keeping William from Penelope wouldn’t hurt her.

“I think I’m still gonna stick around for a few days. Lisa’s sister is visiting, and I really don’t want to encroach on their girl time.”

“Ah, the real reason for your visit comes out,” I teased, hoping to lighten the mood.

There was a knock on the door, reminding me I’d locked it. The pizza guy was standing there, holding up our pie. Brody let him in, and I grabbed some cash to pay him. I decided to close the store early, wanting time with William to settle myself down. There was a doorbell if anyone really needed something.

Penelope sat in William’s lap instead of on her chair. He kissed the top of her head and didn’t care that she was too big to sit on his lap to eat. He made do and held her, knowing she needed him just as much as I did.

She caught sight of my ring after lunch, and she squealed excitedly, when we told her it was an engagement ring. Come Monday, we were going to get William on the birth certificate and buy a marriage license. I think we were all anxious to get it done.

WILLIAM

I felt like I’d explode with joy, when they handed us the new birth certificate with my name on it. I was officially Penelope’s father, and there was not a damn thing anyone could do about it. She was mine.

I had to go to work, and so did Hannah, but she promised me Shawna would be working with her today, stocking inventory or something. I didn’t want her alone, just in case Marvin decided to pop in. I didn’t know who he was, but I didn’t like him. He gave off a bad vibe, a guilty one. I’d watched their interaction, before I’d stepped in. He wanted her, and I didn’t like it. It was obvious by her body language, though, that she didn’t wanted him at all.

I’d hated it when Hannah had defended him, saying he was her best customer. I was starting to rethink the whole staying in the U.S. to keep the shop thing. I didn’t like her being somewhere creepy strangers popped in regularly. If we moved to England, I could keep my job. She could stay home with our daughter and write her book, in a secluded room, away from creepy wankers.

I sent her a quick text of “I love you.” I needed to make sure she was okay. We went back and forth all day. We sent messages about every twenty minutes. I knew I was not the only one who needed reassuring. I’d left my phone on the desk with Duncan, while I went to the bathroom. When I came back, it had five missed texts, each more frantic than the next. I called her immediately to let her know I wasn’t hurt, I wasn’t leaving her, and I loved her.

I had to admit, I had a similar issue. She’d had her phone in the backroom with her, when a customer came in needing help. I went nuts, when three texts were ignored, and her phone was not answered. I had my coat and was rushing down the hall, when my phone rang with her number. I answered it, so relieved it was ridiculous.  I took an early lunch that day, because I needed to see that she really was okay.

My phone buzzed, and I smiled when I read, “
I love you, too, Daddy.”

Penelope had called me daddy from the moment we’d confirmed her assumption. Hearing it, after it being official, made me smile huge. I was a daddy, and I was loving it.

A few texts later that day, Hannah sent me a frowny face. I took a break and called her. “Why the frowny face, beautiful?”

“I’ve being looking into what we need to get married, and there’s so much paperwork and visas, and the wait times on all of them are horrible,” she sniffled a little, like she might cry.

“We’ll figure it out, beautiful. Have you looked at having it go the other way? Maybe getting married in England instead?”

“No,” she sounded hopeful.

“Look into that. Don’t worry, beautiful. I
will
marry you, come hell or high water, you’re mine.”

She giggled that sweet giggle, and I could picture the gorgeous smile that went with it. “I love you, William.”

“I love you, too. You’re coming for lunch, then?”

“Yeah, I’m counting the minutes.”

“Alright, then, I’ll see you soon, beautiful.”

Duncan poked his head around the corner and then waved me over. I rushed into the now-full conference room. I knew I had to land this deal, if I was ever going to have a shot at working over here.

“Mr. Conner was just telling us that you’ve already found a piece to invest in,” Mr. Jackson asked with interest, and I was thrilled. That was one thing everyone was worried about, not having enough heirloom jewelry intact to have a viable market, but I was sure we would be able to find some.

“Yes, Sir, Mr. Conner and I have been looking at local dealers to partner with, and I came across an original Georgian diamond crowned heart ring. It was created in c1780 and is in exceptional condition for its age. It’s highly collectible. It’s already been purchased and sent to the home office in London.”

“Really?”

“Yes, and I suspect there’ll be several more exciting finds once we really start looking. I just happened upon that one, when I was shopping for myself, and I couldn’t pass it up.”

“You invest in pieces personally?”

“I do, but that particular one was a gift. I hold mostly loose gems with history or solids of some sort. I find tangible investments comforting. I’m also heavily invested with the Victor group, of course. I can’t sell you something I’m not willing to buy myself.”

Mr. Jackson nodded with a big smile. “Good answer.”

~*~

The meeting had gone great. We were sure to get the contract. “They were ringers, once you told them about your own stash. I thought you were mental when you proposed the expansion, but I think you might have a brain in that head of yours,” Duncan teased, as we headed to the bookshop.

We were laughing when we entered the store, but we stopped dead in our tracks, when we saw Ophelia holding my distraught fiancée. I quickly pulled her into my arms. “What’s wrong, beautiful?”

“It’s so hard to get married. It’s frustrating. England has a lot of the same mess we do here, with the added need to publically announce the engagement for fifteen days.”

“That won’t work. I can’t have my dad catching wind of this.”

“Why would that be so bad? Are you ashamed of her?” Ophelia snapped.

“Not even close…” I started, but Duncan cut me off.

“William’s dad is mental. He’ll lose it once he hears William wants to move here. He’s on the dirty side.”

My eyes snapped to him. “How do you know?”

“Please, the gossip rags in England are just as bad there as they are here. There are all sorts of rumors, and if it has anything to do with paper persuading or pictures being leaked, it involves your father. They don’t need a photographer with him in town.”

I looked away embarrassed. There were a lot of reasons I wanted nothing to do with the title of viscount, and that was one of them.

“So, it’s hard to get married here, and it’s hard to get married there. What about somewhere else? There are such things as destination weddings. Why don’t you guys do that?” Duncan suggested.