Be My Love Read online

  “Wow, it’s still here,” Joel marveled. “I wasn’t sure we’d find it.”

  He hadn’t been sure, but he’d still come to Seattle with her—and now planned on spending the night there, too.

  Amazing.

  She held up her camera to record this moment and tried to think of something to say that would encapsulate how big their latest discovery was. But it looked like she was going to have to add the narration later, because right then her brain felt both too empty and too crowded all at the same time.

  “Are you ready to go inside?”

  “Are you?” she countered, in what might have been construed by someone who didn’t know her very well as a playful tone, when the truth was that she was completely serious.

  “I think we’d both be a little crazy to come all this way without going in.”

  Of course he wasn’t going to back down. It was one of the things she liked so much about Joel. Just one of many.

  Hanna swallowed hard as, camera in hand, they headed towards the bed and breakfast’s door. Unfortunately, the woman at the reception counter inside didn’t look like she was going to be able to provide much information on things that had happened in the fifties, because she wasn’t much older than Hanna, though she dressed in a retro mid-century style.

  “Hi there,” the woman at the desk said. She didn’t seem fazed by the camera, fortunately. “I’m Mandy.”

  “Hi Mandy.” Hanna glanced around. It was like someone had taken everything they could find from 1900 through the 1950s and put it in one place, from whole rows of photographs on the walls to vases and furniture that fit the period. “This place is pretty…impressive.”

  “And hard to find,” Joel added, stepping up beside her.

  “We’ve been looking for it for most of the day.”

  “Well, you’ve made it here now.” Mandy smiled. “What name is the reservation under?”

  Hanna shook her head. “We don’t have a reservation.”

  “You’re in luck then. We were full up, but we’ve just had one room come available due to a last-minute cancellation.”

  Hanna moved the camera to explain. “We actually weren’t planning to spend the night in the city, although now that the last ferry back to Walker Island has gone, I suppose we’ll have to. Anyway,” she added, “it’s a little complicated, but I’m making a documentary about my family and Joel’s family, and because we think they were here at some point, it would be really helpful if we could take a look around.”

  Mandy considered that for a moment and then nodded. “Sure. It’s always nice to meet someone else with an enthusiasm for the past. Did you know that this bed and breakfast has been here for almost a hundred years now?”

  “Well, we guessed it was here right around 1951,” Hanna said. When exactly had Ava and Poppy been here? Why had they been here? Because if there were two people who definitely shouldn’t have been here together, it was those two.

  Of course, Hanna thought, there were plenty of people who would think that she and Joel shouldn’t be there together, either. The question was, was Joel still one of them? Or had he begun to change his mind...

  “This lamp came from an auction a couple of years back,” Mandy told them, “and this desk is from my grandmother, who used to work here. This frame is from a private collector who I don’t think really understood what they had, and…”

  Hanna let the words wash over her. She should have been paying closer attention. She really should. After all, they’d finally run into the one person who seemed to know the history of this B&B better than anyone. Yet right then, all she could think about was Joel, watching him through her lens as he carefully picked up a small model sailboat to study it more closely.

  “Hey! What are you doing?” a sharp voice said to Hanna’s left.

  She turned around, automatically bringing the camera with her to frame an older couple. She guessed they were there for the festival...but neither of them looked particularly happy.

  “You can’t just go around filming people like this in a public place,” the man growled.

  Mandy moved over to them, frowning. “Is there a problem, Mr. and Mrs. Smith?”

  Hanna caught their slight pause at the generic surname Mandy had called them by and instantly guessed why a couple in a hotel wouldn’t want to be caught on camera.

  “You bet there’s a problem,” Mr. Smith insisted. “Do you always let people go around filming your guests like this? It’s a gross invasion of privacy.”

  “She could be anyone,” the woman with him agreed.

  Joel stepped up to them. “Like a private investigator, maybe?”

  “What? No! Why would we—”

  Joel held up a hand. “Hanna is a serious documentary maker. Do you think she’d be interested in you?”

  A serious documentary maker.

  Even her professors didn’t describe her quite that way. Not yet, at least. Hearing it from Joel…well, Hanna couldn’t think of anyone who had ever made her feel so good just by saying a few simple words.

  “Even so,” the man said, “she can’t just go waving a video camera around. Who knows who might see the footage?”

  Hanna was about to promise them that she would delete any footage with the two of them in it, but it seemed that Joel wasn’t done defending her.

  “Hanna would never do anything to hurt anyone. Don’t you dare imply that she would.”

  As the couple stalked off in the direction of the rooms, Mandy moved to Hanna’s side.

  “I like your boyfriend’s heroic streak.”

  “He’s not…” Hanna began, but let it tail off. It would take too long to explain. Besides, with everything Joel had done for her—and the way her heart was pounding with gratitude and emotion for him in her chest right then—it was extremely hard not to wish that he was. “I won’t use that footage.”

  “Since they don’t have anything to do with what you’re looking for,” Mandy said, “I can’t imagine you would.” A bell rang from the dining room and she said, “We’re going to begin serving dinner soon. Since you’ve found yourself unexpectedly staying over in Seattle for the night, are you sure you don’t want to take my open room? With the festival, every other hotel I know of that’s closer to the ferry terminal is fully booked, so you’re lucky it’s open. And I’ll give you a good price too, since it’s at the last minute.”

  Lucky. That was one way of putting it, considering Joel was probably freaking out at the idea of sharing a room with her, and being tempted to finally crash through the Peterson – Walker barrier that had been there for so many decades.

  “We’ll take it.”

  Hanna turned to Joel in surprise. “We will?”

  “I think it would be best if we did, don’t you, Hanna?”

  The heat that had been in his eyes all day was burning hotter than ever as she agreed, “Yes, I do.”

  Their room was decorated in the same style as the rest of the hotel. The dresser was an antique, the closet was a heavily decorated affair with a mirrored front, and the mantel over the fireplace was elaborately carved.

  And there was only one bed, of course. One very romantic looking bed.

  “After you both get settled in, feel free to come back down to explore more of the hotel’s history and have some dinner.”

  Hanna nodded mutely. Already, she knew that after more than a few minutes in the same room as Joel she was going to have to get away. Because if she didn’t…

  “We’ll be down soon,” she promised, and Mandy pulled the door shut.

  Just that simple act ratcheted up the tension in the room instantly. And now that they were alone, it was impossible to ignore how good Joel looked. How sweet he’d been all day.

  And how badly she wanted to kiss him.

  How would they manage to get through an entire night sharing a room?

  “I can sleep on the floor,” Joel suggested, in answer to her unspoken question.

  “Don’t be silly. There’s lo
ts of room for you on the bed. You could fit an army on that bed.”

  But in that moment as Joel’s gaze locked with hers, it was obvious how much he wanted her. As much as she wanted him.

  “It’s not an army I’m worried about, Hanna.” He looked slightly pained as he said, “I’m going to go splash some cold water on my face.”

  As he headed through to the bathroom, Hanna tried to distract herself, setting up her camera for a video diary of the day so far. Something for the documentary. Only, when it came to it, she didn’t have the words. Not when all she could think about was Joel.

  Turning off her camera, she took out her phone and left a text message for her sisters. Missed the ferry. Staying over in Seattle. I’m with Joel, so everything’s fine.

  ‘Fine’ didn’t come close to covering it, but she knew better than to mention anything about sharing a room with Joel to her sisters. At this point, even mentioning him was a risk.

  Hanna worked to clear her mind as she lay back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. It wasn’t like she’d brought an overnight bag, and she wasn’t about to start taking anything off around Joel. Well…not unless he wanted her to.

  No. It wasn’t going to happen. They weren’t going to happen.

  When Joel came out of the bathroom, he stopped several feet from the bed, clearly afraid to get too close even though they were both fully clothed.

  Hanna knew she needed to leave the room, and she needed to leave it quickly. Before she did or said something that he might not be able to forgive her for.

  And maybe she would have actually managed it, had Joel not reached for her hand as she got up from the bed to pull her closer.

  “Hanna?” His deep voice resonated all the way down to her toes. “I’ve been trying to fight this all week, but—”

  With his hand over hers and his heated gaze warming her from the inside out, she couldn’t stop herself from moving even closer, and whispering, “—now it’s time for one more thing that a Peterson and a Walker haven’t done together in sixty years, isn’t it?”

  And then she kissed him.

  And, oh, the way he kissed her back made her breathless. His mouth on hers was hard and desperate one moment, then gentle and sweet the next. She tried to memorize every contour of his lips, the delicious roughness of his stubble against her cheek.

  “I don’t want you to sleep on the floor, and I don’t want to just sleep,” she said softly. “I know you think you’re doing the right thing pulling back all the time, but you’re not. I don’t want to hold back with you anymore. Especially after getting to know you better and spending such a wonderful day with you. For one night, can’t we just be who we are and feel how we feel without worrying about what happened between our families so many years ago?”

  He didn’t say yes, but he didn’t need to, because the way he pulled her fiercely against him and claimed her mouth again was the only answer she needed.

  And with Joel, she felt so safe, so perfect, that the moment was everything she could have ever wanted it to be.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  The next morning, Hanna woke up with a smile on her lips. Last night had been perfect.

  Absolutely perfect.

  She felt full of energy and couldn’t wait to see what the day would bring. After giving Joel a quick “good morning” kiss, she grabbed her clothes and practically bounced across the room into the bathroom.

  After the day—and the night—they’d spent together, she should have been exhausted. Yet, as she showered and got dressed, she knew exactly why she was so full of energy.

  She loved Joel. Loved him completely. Loved him with everything she was.

  She never would have gone to bed with him if she didn’t.

  Joel would need to get back to the island today, but before that she hoped they could carve out a little more time to catch up with Mandy and get that tour through the bed and breakfast’s past that they’d never quite gotten around to the night before.

  Maybe they would learn something more about Poppy’s past, and maybe they wouldn’t, but just the thought of Joel being there with her, holding her hand while they searched together, was enough to send a warm glow straight through the middle of Hanna’s heart.

  * * *

  By the time Hanna emerged from the shower, dressed again and lovely as ever, Joel figured he should have been used to her beauty. Especially after the hours they’d spent together in each other’s arms the night before. But he was just as stunned as ever, so much so that he almost couldn’t get his brain to work right and his fingers fumbled on the final button of his shirt.

  “Are you ready to head downstairs? Because,” she said with a grin that was at once pretty and sensual, “I’d be more than happy to stay up here.”

  Having a heck of a time trying to silence the voices inside his head that kept warning him he was making a huge mistake with her—and that if his father and grandfather were still alive they would never forgive him for allowing himself to get close to a Walker—he finally managed to say, “After missing dinner last night, we should probably go down and eat some breakfast.”

  One of them had to be sensible about this, didn’t they? Especially after last night had been anything but.

  He could easily see the disappointment race across her face, before she quickly pushed it away. “I’ll just make sure my camera’s all charged and then I’ll be ready to go down.”

  Only Hanna would need her video camera to go get breakfast. Joel smiled at that, and in that moment he wanted her as much as ever. Just watching her sleep when he’d woken a short while before her, his heart had been doing small flips in his chest as she lay cradled in his arms. And when she’d kissed him good morning, it had felt so right. Even now, it was all he could do to keep from kissing her again.

  But it was just that thought—of how much he wanted her—that made him nervous.

  He wanted so much, so quickly. And with a Walker, of all people.

  A Walker who made his heart beat faster every time he looked into her eyes.

  “I loved waking up next to you,” she said in a soft voice as she slipped a hand into his. “I can’t wait to do it again.”

  They were just a few simple words, but ones that hinted at so much more. Not just the perfect way they’d come together last night as man and woman...but at the possibility of a life together.

  Again, his chest clenched tight at the thought of what his father and grandfather would think if they were still here to see him with Hanna. They’d be angry. So angry that he’d broken ranks and had let himself fall for her.

  Downstairs, Mandy was already serving up breakfast to several other guests. Thanks to Hanna and her friendly questions, Joel soon found out that the gray haired couple had been to the festival every year for a couple of decades now, the group of college students had come from Vancouver to enjoy the big event for the first time, and the two women sitting together had come all the way from New York.

  “What do you do when you’re not traveling to festivals?” she asked one of the women.

  “I work in pyrotechnics.”

  “Like firework displays?”

  “Mostly movies and TV shows, actually.”

  “Wow, so maybe the next time my sister Morgan does the makeup for a movie action sequence, there’s a chance you’ll be there, too?”

  “Your sister works in movies?”

  Soon everyone was chatting together, the conversation moving easily from movie sets to artists’ studios in Seattle to everyone’s stories about the festival. Joel could have joined in. Instead, he sat back, watching Hanna at work. This side of her, the side that went out and tried to learn all about people’s lives, was just as beautiful as all the others. She got answers from people because she genuinely seemed to want to know about them. She genuinely cared.

  “Are all of you studying anthropology?” Hanna said to the group of college students who had come in from Vancouver for the festival. “I know I might be biased, but I think
that you would find a trip to Walker Island really amazing for your studies. And just to have fun, too.”

  Always the island. Joel couldn’t blame Hanna for how everything came back around to it—not when his own life revolved around it, too. And not when he loved Walker Island just as much as she did.

  Yet that was the problem right there. It was Walker Island. Every mention of it inevitably came with a reminder that they weren’t just two people who were falling for each other. On the contrary, they each came with deep family histories full of heartache and betrayal. But for a little while, at least, he’d been able to forget the past, and concentrate, instead, on the way that Hanna seemed to give other people’s lives more meaning just by paying attention to them.

  Just the way she has with mine.

  Hanna reached over to touch his hand. “We should probably find Mandy. I want to see if she can tell us anything before we go.”

  When they found the B&B’s manager in the kitchen, she asked, “How was your evening?”

  “The room was lovely and the bed was very comfortable.”

  Joel thought Hanna was blushing a little as she said it, but not enough that anyone who didn’t know her well would notice.

  “We were hoping that you might know someone who remembers this place from the fifties that we could speak to?”

  “My grandmother used to run the hotel, but now it’s just me. But I know pretty much everything there is to know about the history of the place.”

  Hanna took out the photograph of Poppy and Ava, pointing at Poppy. “I’m trying to find out more about this woman. We were wondering, if you have any old account books or journals, perhaps we could find out if she was a guest here.”

  “Why are you looking for her?” Mandy asked. “Who is she?”

  “Her name is Poppy.” Hanna looked across to Joel, a question in her eyes. When he nodded that it was okay to say more, she said, “Poppy Peterson. She was Joel’s great aunt and the woman in the picture with her is my grandmother. We think this picture probably dates back to the late forties or early fifties. She’s been, well, missing for a very long time, and we’re trying to figure out what really happened to her.”