never failed to turn her temp up a few degrees.
They definitely had chemistry. They always had. There was no denying it.
“Okay, so maybe more than just friends. But it’s complicated.”
Becks nodded. “It always is.”
“And we have history together.”
“So did Jackson and I. When we first ran into each other again, he didn’t even remember me.”
Hannah stared at Becks in shock. She had strawberry blonde hair and was covered in tattoos. She was gorgeous. Who wouldn’t remember her? “What?”
“To be fair, I was a kid the last time he’d seen me. I’d changed a lot.”
“Okay, so that makes sense.”
“And he’d been called to a fire scene—my tattoo shop. So he was kind of busy that day.”
“Oh, Rafe told me this story,” Carmen said. “But Rafe said he recognized you right away. So Jackson doesn’t get a pass.”
“True. But Rafe and I always hung out together when we were kids. To Jackson, I was just one in a long line of kids he had to watch over on the streets. So it made sense he wouldn’t remember me.”
“So you were homeless with the Donovan boys?” Hannah asked.
Becks nodded.
“That must have been so hard. I’m sorry you had to go through that.”
“Thanks. It wasn’t easy, but I had Jackson and Rafe and Kal. They were like my brothers. Okay, Rafe and Kal were like my brothers. I crushed on Jackson hard when I was a preteen. And when we ran into each other again as adults?” She gave an enigmatic smile.
“Then it became love,” Carmen said with a wide smile.
“It did. Well, first we argued with each other a lot. Then it became love.”
Hannah laughed.
“See?” Carmen said. “It was complicated.”
She did see. And then again, she didn’t. Not the same way as her situation, anyway. “Not at all the same thing.”
“Well, no one’s relationship is the same,” Carmen said. “Mine and Rafe’s was completely different from Becks and Jackson’s. But ours was complicated as well. The thing is, we made it work because we had feelings for each other. So we worked our way through the complications.”
Okay, that part she did see. Sort of. “I’m divorced. And my ex was a lot to handle. And while Kal is nothing like my ex-husband, I’m just not ready to jump back into a relationship yet. Plus I have a seven-year-old son to consider, too.”
“I can understand that,” Carmen said. “I went through the same thing. Marriage, divorce, you feel like you made all the wrong choices and you don’t want to do it again. It’s hard to put your heart into the hands of another man when someone hurt you.”
“You do get it.”
Carmen smiled and stood. “Yes, I do. But I also wasted a lot of time second-guessing myself and all the choices I made. Don’t do what I did. And speaking of time, I have a husband waiting for me.”
They all left the room, and Hannah was happy to have finally met the women who captured Jackson’s and Rafe’s hearts.
Those guys were very lucky, because Becks and Carmen were incredible. Open and honest and fun to hang out with. She hoped she’d have more time with them in the future.
They met up with the men, and Kal slipped his hand in hers. “I thought maybe they kidnapped you for an inquisition.”
Her lips curved. “More like getting acquainted. Becks and Carmen are lovely.”
She followed Kal’s glance to the table where Rafe and Carmen sat with their hands entwined, their gazes only on each other, then to the dance floor where Jackson and Becks rocked slowly together.
“Yeah, they are. They’re family.”
She knew that Kal loved his brothers, so she was happy to see how much he appreciated the women who were now part of their lives. He walked her over to the main table and pulled up an extra chair for her to sit.
“Something to drink?” he asked.
“Wine would be great, thanks.”
He dipped down to drop a short kiss on her cheek, then whispered, “Be right back.”
She smiled up at him, then watched him disappear into the crowd. While he was gone, she observed Carmen and Rafe, the way they held each other’s hands and looked at each other. There was so much love on their faces. Even if someone stopped to chat with them, they’d still steal glances at each other while they were talking to the other person.
Her attention drifted over to Jackson and Becks, who walked off the dance floor. They did the same thing, focusing only on each other as if no