Chapter 3

"I don't know Lucas, business isn't my thing. I'm a designer. Ask me about fabric, texture, color...these things I know about." I put my fork down and pick up my glass of wine.

"That's why I'm here. Look Hanna, I'm not asking you to run a multi billion dollar empire. I'm asking you to believe in yourself as much as I do. I can do the business side, you can do what you do best, create." Lucas is so sincere. He really does believe in me. We've been friends for so long and Lucas has always been there for me when I really needed someone.

"I'll think about it. Can we take a break from this, it's making my head hurt." I tease. "Tell me, what has the nation's most eligible bachelor been up to the past few months? The last time I saw you, you were looking to invest in some plasticky thingy that was going to transform the electronics industry. Did you succeed?" I'm much more comfortable talking about anybody but me. I feel like I've talked about nothing else over the last 24 hours. Definitely time for a new subject, I think to myself.

"Fine, we can change the subject for now, but Hanna, I'm serious about this. Just think about it." He smiles at me. "And to answer your question, no, that plasticky thingy is still in development. I honestly don't know if it will ever be completed and ready for market."

"What about Amanda? How is she doing?" I ask.

"Amanda," Lucas sighs "Was more interested in the money, the life and connections that I could provide, than she was in me." I'm a little shocked. I had no idea they had broken things off. Lucas doesn't sound too hurt and I'm not sure he was all that emotionally invested himself, even though he had been dating Amanda for the past few years.

"Are you OK?"

"Comes with the territory, I suppose. I just need to find someone that I knew pre massive bank account. Know anybody?" He jokes, but I can hear a tinge of bitterness in his voice.

"Well, if it makes you feel better, Jordan and I broke up. So even those of us without massive bank accounts have issues with our love lives." I grin. I know he's going to find out sooner or later, might as well get it over with. Before I can even begin to give his business offer any serious consideration, I need to make sure that we are both on the same page, business only. I know that Lucas has always had romantic feelings for me and I don't want to ruin what we have, a wonderful, easy friendship. A friendship I value far too much to risk over a business venture.

"Wow, I should be the one asking if you are OK. When did that happen?"

"A few days ago. That's mostly why I came home. I needed time to think, be with my mom. It was for the best. I thought I could make it work, get over the past but we just weren't meant to be." I really don't think that Jordan and I would have been together forever, even if I wasn't still completely in love in with Caleb.

"Meant to be. Hmm." Lucas grins at me. "Well, your mom has always been your rock. Makes sense you would come here to heal and regroup." He knows. Lucas knows that I still love Caleb. He has always been able to read me so easily.

"Yes." I grin back at him.

"What?" His grin spreads across his face, breaking into a full blown smile.

"I know what you were going to ask next." I chuckle, feeling more lighthearted than I have since my car drove past the "Welcome to Rosewood" sign.

"More wine?" Lucas begins to laugh. This is the Lucas that has always been my friend, that has always been able to make me feel better, no matter what the circumstance.

"No, I better go. I have a business proposal to consider and I don't think I can put it off too much longer." Rising from the table, I grab my plate and head for the kitchen. I hear his chair scrape across the patio as he pushes it back to stand up.

"That's what I like to hear." Lucas puts his plate in the sink. I turn the tap on to rinse the dishes and put them in the dishwasher. "Leave those. Cynthia can clean up in the morning." I turn my face and cast a look over my shoulder. "What?" He says.

"Lucas, we can do our own dishes. It was just the two of us. I'm sure Cynthia has a million other things she can do other than pick up after me." I finish rinsing our plates, silverware and wine glasses and load them into the dishwasher. "See, less than five minutes."

I pick up my purse and start to dig for my keys. "Hanna."

"Hmm."

"Even though he's with Spencer right now, you and Caleb are meant to be together forever. As much as I wish it wasn't true, it is." I stop digging and stare at him.

"Lucas..." Suddenly the lighthearted atmosphere evaporates and is replaced by something much more serious, more heavy.

"It's OK Hanna. You will always be my first crush, the girl that I measure all others against. But I value our friendship too mush just the way it is to try to pursue anything more. You are one of the few people in this world that I feel I can truly be myself with, that knew, and liked, me before all this." He waves his hand in the air, gesturing to the opulent furnishings of his penthouse apartment. "I know the truth, I know you belong with Caleb. I would never want to get in the way of that. You deserve that kind of love."

He doesn't just say the words, I can tell he sincerely means them. My heart warms towards my friend. I reach up and kiss him on the cheek. "Thank you." I whisper. "You know, I do love you Lucas."

"Yes, I do know." He smiles at me as he closes the door behind me.

Yawning, I stretch and lay in bed for a minute. I have the entire day to myself, no plans, no appointments. I smile and lazily push the covers back when my cell phone vibrates. I grab it and look at the message. My heart accelerates, zero to sixty in a nanosecond, and I bolt upright. All laziness forgotten. It's from Caleb.

"Are you busy?" I stare at the phone. My mind is racing. Caleb. I feel the familiar pain in my chest.

"What's up." I try to make my reply sound cool and nonchalant. I sit staring at the screen, clutching my phone and anticipating his next text. So much for cool and nonchalant.

"I need to see you. We need to talk. Are you busy this morning?"

My heart is beating like it's trying to break free from my chest. Calm down, you're 28, not 18. "OK, when and where did you want to meet?" I type and hit send.

"Here and now." The text pops up on my screen as I hear the knock on my hotel room door. I clutch the phone to my breast, he can't be. I jump up from the bed and rush to the mirror, trying to smooth my hair down. Hopeless. There's another knock on the door.

"Coming, I call out." As I tie the belt to my pink, fluffy, terry cloth robe around my waist. Sexy, I think to myself with a smirk. Opening the door I stare at him, completely speechless. My smirk disappears instantly.

"Can I come in?" He grins at me and that's it, I'm lost.

I move to the side holding the door open and motion him in. "Uh, what are doing you here." I find my voice.

"We needed to talk." He says it so softly, I can barley hear him.

"I thought we were going to meet someplace else. Somewhere more...public." I'm clutching my robe closed at my throat. I don't know why I feel shy around him. This is Caleb, the man I gave my virginity to. It could be my state of undress or the fact that I haven't had any coffee or brushed my teeth. Latching onto that thought, I ask, "Do you want to order up some coffee and toast while I rinse off and through some clothes on?" I start to move back toward the bedroom.

"Yeah, sure." Caleb walks toward the living area of my suite. "Hanna, no stalling. This is important, please make it quick." He winks at me and I duck into my bedroom and lean back against the bedroom door, letting out the breath I wasn't aware I was holding.