I Want to Hold Your Hand by Marie Force Read Free Book Online Page B

time you’d like.”
    “And you won’t think less of me if I do?”
    “Hannah . . . Beautiful Hannah, I will never think you’re anything other than gorgeous and sweet and strong and courageous. So damned courageous you take my breath away.”
    Hannah shook her head. “I’m nowhere near as courageous as you think I am.”
    “Yes, you are, and there’s nothing you can do or say with me that would be wrong. I promise.”
    “You’ll have to be patient with me. I’m very out of practice with all of this.”
    He ran his hands up her back to squeeze her shoulders. “You don’t feel rusty to me at all.”
    Hannah laughed at the way he waggled his brows. “You’re very smooth, you know that?”
    “I’m not feeding you bullshit, Hannah. I mean every word.”
    “I know.” She looked down at him, drinking in the sight of his kiss-swollen lips, the slash of color in his cheeks that hadn’t been there earlier, the fall of his hair over his brow and the heat in his eyes, all directed at her. “You’re going to be tired tomorrow.”
    “It’ll be totally worth it.”
    In between heated kisses, they talked for a long time that night—about everything and nothing. She had no recollection of falling asleep in his arms, but the sound of his heart beating under her ear woke her the next morning. Before she had time to process the fact that she’d spent the night in Nolan’s arms, her front door opened and her dad called out to her.
    Hannah sat up abruptly, rousing Nolan from a sound sleep as she tried to do something with her unruly hair.
    Her parents strolled into the sitting room and stopped short at the sight of her, Nolan and the blanket.
    “Oh,” her mom said. “So sorry.” With her hand on Lincoln’s chest, Molly steered her husband out of the room.

CHAPTER 5

Caleb spent the summer with his grandparents in Missouri. He’s different this year. Maybe he’s FINALLY growing up! He’s a lot taller, and he’s got muscles all of a sudden. It’s so weird! I still don’t like him.
—From the diary of Hannah Abbott, age fifteen
    “S hit,” Nolan muttered, running fingers through his hair.
    “At least we were dressed,” Hannah said with a small smile.
    “There is that.”
    “Feel free to sneak out. I’ll let them know it was on the up and up. Not that I feel the need to explain myself to them, but I will just the same.”
    “I’m not sneaking out. We’ll face them together.”
    That he was unwilling to take the easy way out of an embarrassing encounter with her parents made Hannah’s insides flutter.
    “Shall we face the music?” he asked with a wry smile that drew one from her, too.
    “If we must.”
    Nolan’s hand on the small of her back eased her nerves as Hannah walked into her kitchen to find her mom bustling about making coffee and her dad pretending to be absorbed in the newspaper he’d already read at home.
    “Sorry to barge in on you,” Molly said.
    Was it Hannah’s imagination or was her fearless mom having trouble looking at her or Nolan? Her entire family had been coming and going without so much as a knock at her house since Caleb died. They’d never had to worry about walking in on something because nothing had ever happened. Until last night . . .
    “We just wanted to check on you,” Lincoln added, seeming mortified by the entire thing. “After Homer and all . . .”
    “It’s fine, Dad. We were talking and fell asleep. Nothing scandalous.”
    “We . . . didn’t see your truck outside, Nolan, or we never would’ve come in,” Molly said, her face flushed with embarrassment that was so far out of character for her that Hannah could only stare.
    “It’s in the garage.” Nolan’s voice was calm despite the awkwardness of the situation. “We didn’t want the whole town talking about us before we were ready to be talked about.”
    The press of his fingers against her back reassured her, as did his steady presence next to her. She’d forgotten what it was