Brushing the hair away from her face, Hannah walked over to the sliding-glass door that led to the balcony. Several long-legged cranes walked along the pebbled beach, their thin necks bobbing as they sauntered along the edge of the shallow water. Hannah folded her arms around her middle as she stiffened her spine. It had been Riley's choice to marry her, she recalled. He'd insisted. She might have been able to dissuade her father from this marriage, but when Riley concurred, Hannah had agreed, too weak to battle the pair of them. Riley had chosen to marry her of his own free will, whatever his reasons, and despite the fact that he was currently involved with someone else.
Judy. Hannah was shocked by the hard fist of resentment that struck her as she mentally repeated the other woman's name. Recognizing she was being utterly unreasonable didn't help. It wasn't as though her marriage was a great love match. Riley had never led her to believe it would be. No doubt he'd been with any number of women over the years.
The four men walked into the apartment, diverting her attention for the moment. Riley paused when he found her in the kitchen. His blue eyes searched her as if to read her thoughts, and when she offered him a weak smile, he seemed genuinely relieved.
Doing her best to stay out of the men's way, Hannah did what she could to help the loading go as smoothly as possible. Generally, this consisted of directing traffic and answering minor questions.
It amazed her how smoothly everything was going. She'd assumed it would take most of the day to move, but the four men worked well as a team and handled the burdensome task with an economy of effort.
When the apartment was nearly empty, Hannah moved into the bedroom to push some boxes into the center of the room. She wanted to do something, anything other than stand idle. Never in her life had she stood by, wasting time while watching others work. It went against the very grain of her personality, and she deeply resented it now.
"Hannah!"
"I'm only trying to help," she cried. "You're treating me like an old woman."
"I'm treating you like a pregnant woman," he countered sharply, gripping her by the shoulders. Despite the anger in his voice, his touch was light. Hannah raised her gaze to his, and when their eyes met, something warm and delicate passed between them. The silence swelled, filling the room. It was a comfortable silence that chased away the doubts she'd experienced earlier.
Whatever his reasoning, whatever hers, they were married now; and each in their own way seemed determined to make the best of the situation. If Riley had lost his love, then it was behind him now. She, too, had loved another.