It wasn't at first sight

Chapter 71

It's Tuesday evening, and as he promised Hanna, Caleb has been accompanying her to New York since the previous week, even staying with her for the three days she needed to be in the city each time. This time, they arrived the previous day and are planning to go back to Rosewood the next day.

Seated at the desk in their hotel room, Caleb is on a video call.

Caleb "Okay, guys, it's all settled. Greg will be arriving in LA next week to coordinate the transfer."

Greg is the computer engineer Caleb hired some months ago to be his right-hand man.

Caleb "Thank you all for your time. Good evening." He wraps up the meeting and disconnects.

Stretching out his arms, he yawns and stands up from the desk. Checking the time on his phone, he decides to text Hanna: "Hey! Are you on your way back already? Want me to order some room service in the meantime? Or are you more in the mood to head down to the restaurant?"

After using the bathroom, he flops down on the couch and turns on the TV, leaving the news on in the background as he entertains himself on his phone.

A few minutes later, he receives a text from Hanna: "Hey! I'll be having dinner with Leo. We're still at the workshop."

Caleb: "Want me to pick you up later?" He offers.

Hanna takes a few more minutes to respond: "No need. Traffic is a mess. I'll call an Uber, don't worry."

Caleb replies immediately: "Okay, just let me know. It's no trouble. I'm here precisely for that."

/

Later, Caleb returns to the hotel room after enjoying dinner and drinks at a popular restaurant's bar, taking advantage of the vibrant nightlife in NYC.

Noticing that Hanna hasn't returned yet, he decides to give her a call.

Hanna "Hey!" She answers after only a couple of rings.

Caleb "Hey! It's getting late. Tell me where you are, and I'll come pick you up."

Hanna "I'm actually entering our hotel at this very moment, Caleb. I'll be up in a sec. Bye." She says and hangs up.

Caleb leaves his phone on the bed and heads for the bathroom. He's brushing his teeth when, after only a couple of minutes, he hears Hanna coming inside their room. Right away, she shows up by the bathroom.

Hanna "Hey!" She briefly greets him. "I'm sorry, I really have to pee right now. Hallie must be using my bladder as a pillow." She explains, rushing to sit on the toilet.

Caleb rinses his mouth and turns off the faucet before leaving his toothbrush and wiping his mouth with a towel.

Caleb "Hey! Is everything okay? You stayed out late..." He asks, hanging the towel back.

Hanna "Yeah, Leo and I took care of shopping for the shoes the models will wear with my dresses at the fashion show, and it took us way longer than expected. We've been to a thousand stores, literally. It took us hours." She sighs and approaches the sink to wash her hands. "And then when we went back to the workshop, Chloe showed up over there. She wanted to see me, catching up took a while, and she was very chatty, then Lucas called me, so Leo and I didn't sit down to work until like 6, and we had tons of things to do... so, well... that was my day." She explains, finishing drying her hands with the towel.

Caleb "Chloe, huh? Hope she didn't show up for another pregnancy test." He jokes.

Hanna "Don't be mean, she's changed so much. She seems more mature. You can tell by how she talks how much she's grown up." She says, heading out of the bathroom.