their relationship was speeding to an end.
“Mommy, Mommy!” Aria shouted as she crashed into Hannah’s legs with a hug. “Drew dropped his balloon and he got all wet!”
Trip grinned and bent over so that he was level with Aria. “Hi there, young lady, do you remember me?”
Aria went silent and tucked her chin against her chest, peering up at Tripp. She stepped behind Hannah and Chad’s legs to hide from him.
“Well, it’s been a while, I guess.” Tripp chuckled mirthlessly. “Anyway, I’ve got to get back to the guys on the board. We’re going over some important decisions, so …” He trailed off and gave Chad a superior look.
“You go do that,” Chad said, standing straighter. “I’ll be out here doing the work, fundraising and helping out. Talking is fine during meetings, but the whole point of this event is to raise money for our chapter, so that’s what I’m gonna do. Later, Tripp.”
Chad gave Hannah a squeeze and took Aria by the hand as they walked away.
“Screw him,” he whispered in Hannah’s ear. “Let’s go sell some ice cream.”
It calmed her for a moment, but she couldn’t quiet the nagging feeling that Tripp was about to ruin her fresh start.
“Hi, you’re Hannah Smith, right?” the perfectly made-up woman in a form-fitting green dress asked Hannah. She was holding a tablet and had an expectant look on her face that was all too familiar.
“Yes, I am.”
Hannah peered behind the woman and saw the telltale camera operator. No matter the city, reporters always looked the same, more or less. A touch blonder in some parts of the country, or a little more make-up in others, but their smooth, confident approach was universal.
“Hi, I’m Candace Dugan with KRXQ, and I was hoping I could chat with you and Chad for a few minutes. We’re covering the picnic and some of the other work that the association is doing, and we heard that Chad has played a big part in what’s going on. We’ve seen his Instagram feed. You two are so cute together, we’d love to interview you both. Would that be okay?”
Her first reflex was to refuse and defer to Chad, but she knew that he’d try to convince her to join him on camera and it would get awkward. There was no way for her to wiggle her way out of this one.
She looked over at where Chad and Aria were teamed up scooping ice cream together with the rest of the Radford clan and sighed. Now she’d have to fake it on an entirely different level. The second the camera turned on, she’d flip to her professional persona, the one that knew how to keep a smile plastered on no matter what and could summon the perfect soundbite even when she disagreed with everything she was saying.
“Sure, we’d be happy to, Candace!” she enthused then took a step closer to the ice cream booth. “Hey, Chad, can you come here for a minute?”
He glanced at the reporter and nodded, then wrangled Noelle to keep an eye on Aria.
“Well, howdy, Miss Dugan! I thought I recognized you. Pleasure.” He thrust his hand out to the reporter and she practically swooned.
“And I’ve heard so much about you, Chad,” Candace flirted back. “You’ve got quite a few fans in high places.”
“Is that a fact? Well, I have this gorgeous woman to thank for that.” Chad grinned and threw his arm around Hannah. “She always makes me look good.”
Hannah summoned an appropriately modest smile but didn’t say anything.
“Okay, that’s great, but let’s save some of this for the interview,” Candace said as she scrolled on her tablet and the camera operator hoisted the thing onto his shoulder. “You two ready?”
Chad shot Hannah a surprisingly nervous look.
“We are!” she answered with a practiced calm that she hoped would help him relax. “Chad and I are excited to spread the word about the Kingsley Cattlemen’s Association and all of the good work they’re doing, as well as Chad’s campaign to win the chairman position.”
Candace grabbed a mic from the cameraman then counted down, and Hannah snapped back into the role she thought she’d never have to take on again.
Ten minutes later, the interview was over and Chad was flying high.
“You are incredible!” he said as they took a quick stroll at the far end of the park. “I mean, I knew you were good but that was like next level impressive. Even when she brought up the competition for the position, you helped me sidestep