And Then (Part 1)

Chapter 13

I am finishing putting my heels on just as Harrison walks back in. He's wearing dress pants, a black button up, and a sport coat. He looks so damn good! "Mmmmmm" He smiles at me. Did I just make that noise out loud? I blush and avert my eyes. "You look pretty damn good yourself!" He says as he pulls me off the bed and into his arms for a kiss. I then grab his hand and rush us out the door before we can get lost in each other again. When we get on the elevator, he pushes me up against the wall again, kissing me some more. His hand makes it's way to my waist, "Hmmm? Are you wearing underwear?" The doors open and I pull him to get off but I don't answer his question. I just smile at him, and his eyes darken at me. Oh!

We head to the restaurant and find Graig Rains, the Head Chef, standing at the front. Wow! "Annie Hart, it is such an honor to have you here! When I saw your name as one of the reservations, I had to come meet you." He says as he shakes my hand. Did Graig Rains just say he wanted to meet me? I look at Harrison and so does Chef Rains. "And you, Harrison Fine, it is a pleasure to meet you as well. You are both very talented authors! Now come on, your sister is waiting for the both of you Ms. Hart."

We follow Chef Rains into the restaurant and see Nora sitting at a table, but she is not alone, she is sitting with Danny. Oh. Harrison looks at me and I shrug since I didn't know he was going to be here either. Chef Rains then shakes our hands again and excuses himself so he can go back to the kitchen to continue with service. I look over at my sister and Danny and decide to say hello to them. "Hi Nora" she turns and smiles at me. "Hi Danny, what are you doing here?" I ask him, I didn't mean for it to sound so rude, but he did show up out of nowhere.

"I came to check on you, Annie. How are you?" He's looking only at me. Not once has he looked at Harrison or acknowledged the fact that he is even here. This is not good. "I'm fine, Danny. How did you end up here with my sister?"

"She saw me enter the hotel and asked if I was looking for you. She said something about you mentioning that you had met me and thought she would take a chance and ask. I'm glad she did, since she was correct." He smiles at her after he says that and Nora blushes back at him. Oh boy, it's a good thing she's married. Ugh.

"Oh. Ok. Well, as you can see, I am doing alright. Thank you for checking on me. Are you staying for dinner?" I ask but Harrison interjects, "I'm sure you have other plans Danny, right?" Oh, yeah, like that wasn't subtle, geez, that was so rude. I thought these two were friends.

"Oh! Um, y-yeah, you're right, Harrison. Yes! B-Bobby is waiting for me. Yes. Right I should get going." Danny says quite awkwardly. He then slowly stands up and finally manages to smile over at Nora. "It was so nice to meet you and thank you for allowing me to keep you company while you were waiting for Annie. I hope you have a lovely dinner and safe travels home." He firmly shakes Harrison's hand and hugs me tightly before he leaves. "See you soon?" he asks in my ear. "I'm sure." I reply and nod.

After Danny leaves Harrison doesn't wait a second before he asks me, "What did Danny whisper to you?" I cock my head to the side. "He asked me if he'll see me again and you heard what I said. Why?"

"I didn't like it. The whole thing felt off to me. Didn't you think it was weird that he was here? He could have just called you or texted you to see how you were." He shrugs.

"We're friends now, and he's your friend too. Isn't he? And honestly, you have got to trust me." Harrison just shakes his head "No, that's not it, it's him I don't trust." That makes me sigh a bit "I kind of understand, I guess. But he is your friend though, so that makes me sad. And I won't see him if you're not there with me, if that makes you feel any better about the whole thing. Okay?" I look him in the eyes to see his honest reaction. "Okay" he smiles back at me in response and hugs me to him.