Hannah felt very uncomfortable. Norman had asked her to come to him if Ross ever hurt her and she’d promised. And now Mike was talking about Ross, and it was clear he was worried that Ross wasn’t the wonderful, honest, caring man that he truly was. What was going on in the minds of the two men she cared for so deeply?
Even with her mind racing through the possibilities at top speed, it took a few moments. Then Hannah understood, and it was all she could do not to smile. Both Norman and Mike were jealous. That was all it was, coupled with the fact that they didn’t know Ross as well as she did. She’d gone to college with Ross, lived just down the hall from him, and spent hours socializing with Ross and his college girlfriend. She could point all that out, but she wasn’t about to tell Mike that he was just jealous. Mike would simply deny it. She’d let him think that his cop’s sense was working overtime. It was simpler that way.
“Can we still be friends, Mike?” Hannah asked him, reaching out to pat his hand.
“Sure.”
“And you’ll come over to see Ross and me?”
“You bet!” Mike gave her his most devilish smile. “You always make too much food, Hannah, and you’re a great cook. Somebody’s got to make sure you don’t have to put away all those leftovers.”
When Mike left, after finishing three cups of coffee and the whole plate of cookies, Hannah sat down at the workstation again. She was tired, bone tired, and she could hardly keep her eyes open. She hadn’t slept well last night, and today had been riddled with tension-filled events. She wanted to drive home and fall into her bed to sleep for a week, but she couldn’t leave work now. It was almost time to lock the street door to the coffee shop for the day and begin mixing tomorrow’s cookie dough. She still had work to do before she could leave for the night.
Just thinking about what she’d done and what she had left to do was difficult when she was this tired. Hannah could hardly wait until this competition and this wedding were over. Then she could go back to her normal routine of going to work every morning, coming home to the condo, fixing dinner and relaxing at night, and going to sleep with Moishe, her feline roommate, purring on the pillow beside her. Only one thing would be different once she was married and it would be wonderful. Instead of saying good night to Ross, and then going to bed with only Moishe for company, she’d be spending all night and every night with the man she loved.
Contemplating that wonderful state of affairs relaxed her, and Hannah decided that she could take a quick five or ten minute nap right there at her workstation. A quick nap would energize her and get her through the rest of her day. She folded her arms on the stainless steel surface, lowered her head, and fell asleep despite the fact that she was uncomfortable in that position and the banks of fluorescent lights overhead were blazing brightly.
Chapter Six
“Wake up, Hannah. It’s time to go home. I’ll drive.” Hannah heard the voice. It was Michelle. But she was home. She was in bed sleeping and . . . no. This wasn’t her comfortable bed. Hannah groaned as she sat up, blinking. She was in her kitchen at The Cookie Jar and Michelle was standing next to her. She’d been so tired, she’d fallen asleep at the workstation. “We can’t leave yet, Michelle. We have to mix up the cookie dough for tomorrow.”
“It’s done. Aunt Nancy, Lisa, and I did it.”
Hannah groaned again as she got to her feet. She was sore and stiff all over, but there was a job to be done. “I’ll help you put the bowls in the cooler.”
“That’s done, too. I saw you sleeping and we closed early. There were only two ladies in the coffee shop, and we gave them coffee to go and a half-dozen cookies. Just get into your jacket, Hannah. It’s a little past four-thirty, and you said Ross would be there at six.”
“That’s right. And we still have to make corn muffins.”
“I told you before, I’ll make the corn muffins. And we already made dessert. Aunt Nancy and I tried out a recipe for pineapple crisp that Lisa gave us. We can sample it tonight for dessert and see if we like it.”
“Great!” Hannah gave her youngest sister an appreciative smile. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“That’s simple.”
“It is?”
“Yes.” Michelle grinned from ear to ear. “You’d overwork, do something stupid like tell Ross that you were too busy to marry him, and die a miserable death as a single woman before your time. Now let’s go home so that you can take a little nap in a comfortable bed and I can save you from all that.”
Her alarm clock went off and Hannah was immediately aware of a delectable aroma in the air. She was in bed in her own bedroom and Moishe was stretched out on the pillow beside her. All she really wanted to do was go back to sleep for another ten minutes, but one glance at the clock convinced her that she had just enough time to make herself presentable before Ross arrived.