‘Sure, I’ve just been … busy.’

Ward shifted a little, glancing to the side, and it was then Hannah realized that he wasn’t alone, and a woman’s arm was threaded through his.

A gorgeous twenty-something brunette in workout gear with dark eyes and a flawless olive complexion, she looked every last iota of the Classic Athlete Other Half.

Ah. So that must be what had been dominating so much of his time lately, to the point that he hadn’t been returning her calls.

‘Hi there,’ she greeted his companion enthusiastically, watching them together, her gaze alternating between their faces.

‘This is Shelley …’ Ward began, awkwardness thick in his voice.

Hannah extended her hand in greeting, slightly slopping her coffee in the process. ‘Oh shite … er, um, just hold on.’ She grabbed a paper napkin off the counter and placed the coffee cup down as she tried to wipe her fingers dry. ‘Hannah,’ she replied pleasantly, and a smile of recognition broke out on the girl’s face. Extracting her arm from Ward’s, she grasped Hannah’s hand in an enthusiastic greeting. To the point that she was worried her fingers might break.

‘Great to meet you,’ Shelley greeted in return, her voice low and throaty and which Hannah immediately recognized as the one behind the camera in Ward’s famous fitness video.

Aha.

‘I have to tell you, everything you have been doing for Ward is wonderful,’ she continued. ‘Seriously, nice work; you had a job cut out.’

She searched the girl’s face for any sign of insincerity or discomfort but found nothing. Shelley didn’t offer any explanation of who she was either as if it was obvious that she and Ward were together. Hannah felt foolish for worrying about his reaction to Rob answering his call. She had been self-conscious over nothing because even though she’d turned Ward down that night in the park, he’d simply brushed himself off, taken it in his stride, and resumed whatever he had going on with this gorgeous creature.

She was stunning, almost Amazonian in stature, and while Shelley also seemed lovely and self-assured, Hannah got the sense that this confident, no-nonsense lady would not take kindly to anyone cheating on her, and thus decided she would not like to get on the other side of her if wronged.

As this flurry of thoughts raced around Hannah’s brain, she forced herself to come back to the present moment – and noticed that Ward was staring at her. So she made a conscious effort to even out her features.