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Chapter 2 – Two days later

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Caleb maneuvered the moving truck through the grid of one-way streets in downtown Manhattan, inwardly throwing one curse after another at those damn cars jamming the snowy intersection, which they were supposed to be taking a left turn down now. It was still morning, but he was already annoyed by the traffic situation in the city where he once lived with Hanna, who was frantically pointing and ranting at the other drivers.

"Uh, honey. Can you not yell at me? I cannot make a U-turn on this intersection. It's a one-way street. They all are," Caleb shot back at Hanna after she had yelled at him for having missed their designated left turn onto Second Avenue.

Hanna did a double-take at his face, but he kept looking through the windshield with utmost focus. When the traffic suddenly cleared and they turned onto Second Avenue, Hanna forgot all about the question that had popped into her mind concerning the new endearment that he had used.

Instead, she concentrated on finding the Capital One Bank subsidiary, where they were supposed to meet Jordan Hobart, Hanna's ex-fiancé, and they were already fifteen minutes late.

Those two things combined had turned Hanna into a nervous wreck. She hadn't seen this man since she had called off their engagement, yet he was still nice enough to meet up with her in order to be present at the Bank, where the key for her storage unit had been locked away in a safe deposit box.

She had found it odd that Jordan would put the key in some form of storage itself. But then again, she remembered that this was so him, always on the safe side, always aware of any kind of unlikely event that could cause him to lose the key.

The other nervous twitch in her stomach – not the one that had come from the anticipation of showing up at the Bank with Caleb – had been caused by the fact that she hadn't told her ex that she was now married… to Caleb.

And she had to tell him.

If she didn't, he would find out anyway when she signed the receipt with her brand-new last name, Rivers. And letting him find out like that wasn't her idea of ending this chapter of her life on good terms. Sure, she could have told him on the phone, had she been able to talk to him personally at some point during the last five weeks, rather than his personal assistant.

"There!" She was suddenly yanked out of her train of thought as she spotted not only the Bank, but also a Muni-Meter parking space. She rifled through the contents of her purse to find her New York City Parking Card, which she had kept for some reason.

Caleb stopped the car where she had told him to. "Do you want me to wait outside?" He asked her.

"No," She answered, a hint of panic in her voice, "I mean… no, please don't make me go in there alone," Hanna answered as she turned her head to face him, searching for a small nod of encouragement from him.

Caleb let go of the stick shift and took her hand in his. "Come on, let's go inside. He's not gonna bite your head off. If he ever loved you, he will be glad to see that you're happy, and will move on with his own life."

She smiled at him weakly.

"I mean you are happy, aren't you?" Caleb asked, now a little doubtful.

"Yes, of course. Never been happier," Hanna tried to convince him by broadening her smile.

"Then why are you smiling like you did last Christmas when your grandmother gave you that fake cashmere sweater?" Caleb grinned.

He was right. Why wasn't she confident enough to tell Jordan she had gotten married?

She knew the answer, had known it all along. Because she still felt guilty for treating Jordan the way that she had, and for getting married six months after their separation when it had taken her longer to decide on a wedding date during their engagement? Who does that?

"A woman who's very much in love, maybe?"

Oops, had she accidentally spoken her thoughts aloud?

Hanna finally got a grip on reality when Caleb led their clasped hands to his mouth and brushed his lips against her knuckles. "You're right. Let's show him that we've made the right decision."

Caleb got out of the truck and walked around it to open the passenger door for Hanna, before helping her get out. "Mrs. Rivers?" He spoke as he held his hand out for her.

Hanna took it and climbed down in her winter boots; she had learned from past mistakes.

When the couple had successively entered the Bank through its revolving glass doors, Hanna instantly spotted Jordan in the background, talking with a bank clerk and holding a bunch of papers in his hands.

The Australian smiled as he saw Hanna stride through the foyer. And he smiled even more when he caught a glimpse of Caleb, who had been stuck in the revolving doors for a moment whilst a little girl on her way out had tried to push against the glass door to make it move faster. Hanna hadn't noticed due to the fact that she had tried to walk ahead with confidence.

Jordan came towards her and met her with open arms. And that's when Hanna saw it.

Gracing his left fourth finger was a very shiny, very golden, very unmissable…. ring?

In a matter of seconds, Hanna's composure had been shattered. She swallowed down the tiny feeling of nausea rising up from her belly, and let him engulf her in a warm hug. "Hey, Hanna. It's so great to see you again. How long has it been?" Jordan asked her with the same charm that he always exuded, the charm that everybody she had ever introduced him to had ultimately liked about him.

"Um… I don't know. Six months maybe?" She tried to sound casual. But Caleb, who had finally caught up with them, noticed that something had unsettled her. He took a step forward, and helped her out by holding his hand out to Jordan in order to say hi.

"Caleb, nice to see you, too. Good thing she brought you because she can't possibly clear out that storage unit alone," Jordan told him, smiling.

"Yeah," Caleb said, still shaking hands with him, "That and the fact that I didn't wanna let my wife drive all the way up here on her own in this weather."

Hanna watched Jordan's face, and was surprised to see that it didn't so much as flinch infinitesimally in reaction.

"You two got married?" The Australian asked with excitement, "Me too."

Caleb and Hanna looked at each other, and the exact same thoughts ran through their minds. The three stood in awkward silence for a moment, until Hanna suddenly raised her left hand to give proof of their legal relationship status. "January 15th," She smiled at Jordan.

He, too, showed her his ring. "January 2nd".

"Oh," Was all that Hanna managed to say in reply, and again, the couple exchanged meaningful glances. Another short moment passed in awkward silence. Caleb took Hanna's hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze before interlacing their fingers.

"Congratulations!" All three of them suddenly said in perfect synchrony, prompting them to laugh at each other, all tension vanishing immediately.

"Well, anyway. If it fits, you don't wanna waste any time. And I see that also goes for you two," Jordan said with a sincere smile on his face.

Hanna turned to look at Caleb, who also glanced at her lovingly. "Yeah," She said, not taking her eyes off of him, "You're right. And this…" She looked down at their joined hands before continuing quietly, "This fits. Always has, always will. I can't remember a time when I didn't want this." Her eyes locked with Caleb's, and suddenly she realized that she had said something incredibly insensitive in the presence of her former fiancé.

"Um, I mean…" She swallowed down the perceivable lump in her throat. She could feel a tear or two welling in her eyes. God, why was she suddenly this emotional?

Noticing that Jordan had begun to fumble with the papers in his hands, Caleb looked back at him and asked politely, "So, who's the lucky woman?" Thus also allowing Hanna a moment to collect herself. Unbeknown to him, she was fighting some deeper demons as she held her breath, waiting for his answer.

At that, Jordan opened his wallet, and slipped a photo out of one of the pockets to show them. "Her name's Roberta and she's my personal-"

"-assistant, right?" Hanna finished the sentence for him, trying to sound cheerful in an attempt to cover up the stab to her heart that this information had inflicted. Her head suddenly seemed clouded, and her instincts and thoughts became irrational. I knew it! That little bi-

"-utiful picture," She heard Caleb say out loud; she knew for sure that he was unaware of what was going on inside her head, but his sincere remark thankfully kept her from spilling words that she might have later regretted. God, what was wrong with her? Why did she care about it at all?

"Thank you, Caleb," Jordan said before he paused, waiting to see whether Caleb would also pull out visual proof of their marriage – other than them wearing matching wedding bands, of course.

As if on cue, he shook his head apologetically, "Oh, we haven't gotten our pictures back yet."

"Ok. Well, shall we go get the key so that you guys can get started?" Jordan suggested.

"Yeah, we really should," Hanna agreed, suddenly sweating heavily in her winter coat. She wanted nothing more than to get out of the stuffy Bank building, which was irritating not only her body, but her brain, too.

X

After Hanna had signed the reception receipt, and had been handed the key from Jordan's safe deposit box, she had tried to give it back to Jordan. But he had declined, stating that he had already arranged with the Bank to give up the safe deposit box altogether.

"I'll only be in town for another month. Roberta has this fantastic job offer waiting for her in Sydney with the Mayor's Office, and we're moving back home. Her family lives there," He explained.

When they had all left the building through the revolving doors, Hanna turned around and gave Jordan a short hug. The fresh air and oxygen had helped her to think straight again. "I'm really happy for you," She said sincerely as she pulled back from their hug.

"Thanks," He told her, "I hope that you two have a wonderful life together."

Hanna turned to her side, and saw that Caleb's eyes were fixated on her, shining full of love. "We will, we will," She said, more to herself and Caleb than to Jordan.

"Goodbye, Hanna."

"Goodbye, Jordan."

And at that, he turned around and walked away. For a short moment, Hanna looked after him. But then she heard Caleb chuckle beside her.

"What's so funny?" She asked, curiously.

"Everything. I mean this morning you were so afraid to see him again, let alone tell him that we got married. And now…," He paused to scoff, "Now you know that the dude got married himself, before we did." Suddenly, he laughed out loud, "Do you think Roberta took his name?"

Hanna eyed him suspiciously, trying to find the humor in the situation. And then it hit her. "You know, you're right," She said as she closed the distance between them in order to wrap her arms around him, "And besides, Hanna Hobart just doesn't have a good ring to it. Seriously! Whereas, Hanna Rivers…." She purposefully paused for emphasis.

"Hanna Rivers sounds pretty perfect to me," He whispered as their lips moved closer to one another's.

"Absolutely perfect. Now kiss me," She demanded huskily as she realized that she had now gotten real closure on a past chapter of her life. Caleb willingly complied, and cradled her face in his hands as he brought their lips together.

They stood in the middle of the crowded sidewalk on Second Avenue, kissing passionately, not caring about the fact that they were partaking in a public display of affection in broad daylight.

In a desperate attempt to catch a breath, they let go of each other. Relieved about the outcome of her last ever conversation with her ex, Hanna grabbed Caleb's hand, and together they walked back to their rented moving truck.

to be continued…

Another small chapter, I know, but I can't always post 8,000+ words. ;-) Let me know if you have any ideas for what's to happen next... And as always, I live for reviews. Zip (and thank you, Jenna, yet again for correcting my grammar and style)