In Love with a Stranger Read Online Free Page A

heart stopped. Was I hearing things, or had Mr. Harper just called his sister Hannah?
    "You won't lose me."
    "Well, at least take my phone."
    "What good is that going to do? I can't call you if you don't have your phone."
    Before I knew what I was doing, I had my phone out and was handing it to her. My eyes never left her. "Take mine."
    The pair was startled by my voice, not even realizing I’d been there. She stood there shocked. She was staring at me, her hand on her head again, surprised by my offer.
    "Did I hear him right? Did he just call you Hannah?" I finally asked.
    Hannah was about to answer me, but Mr. Harper cut her off. "I called her honey, it’s just a nickname. I use it when I'm trying to persuade her not to get lost in a foreign country," Mr. Harper said with a little edge in his voice directed at her.
    Of course, I thought, I had to be slowly going insane. Mr. Harper took the phone from my hand and gave it to her. "Call me if you get lost. Thank you, Mr. Greyson. My sister, Ophelia, would kill me if I lost her."
    "Do you lose her often?" I asked curiously, and she glared at Mr. Harper.
    "She was lost once before."
    "Shut up, Carter," she snapped and whacked his arm.
    "Fine, go and get my niece something magnificent."
    "Alright," she conceded and kissed his cheek.
    "Be back here in two hours, you hear me?" Mr. Harper shouted after her, like an overprotective father. She waved over her shoulder, not looking back. When he turned, he was surprised to see me waiting for him.
    "Niece?" I asked.
    "Yeah, that's what happened last time she got lost. Not going to happen again," he glared at me. I wondered what’d happened the last time Ms. Harper had gotten lost. She had a daughter, she was Mr. Harper’s sister, named Mary, not Hannah. I was listing the reasons why Ms. Harper couldn’t have been my Hannah. She didn't recognize me at all, not in the slightest.
    The meeting was over, and I followed Mr. Harper out to his waiting sister. I stood back a little and watched as he snatched the book out of her hands, like an annoying sibling. She just rolled her eyes at him and grabbed it back.
    "Do you want to see what I found for Penelope?" she asked him.
    My heart clenched at Ms. Harper's words. How cruel fate was, to throw a woman in my path who looked like my Hannah and who had a daughter with the name we’d jokingly decided to name our future daughter. Penelope and Theodore, we’d had it all planned out. We would get married, after things settled down in the company, and we would have a family. I found it suddenly hard to breathe.
    I stood frozen and broken, as I watched them walk away. They had a plane to catch. She had a life and a daughter to get back to. They were about to step out the door, when she suddenly stopped and came running back to me. I was sure I was hallucinating. Then she tripped, and I caught her in my arms. The energy exploded between us. I carefully righted her and reluctantly let her go.
    "Your phone, I almost took off with it. I'm so sorry, thank you very much for letting me use it."
    It took a moment for me to register what she was saying and take the phone from her. My next words surprised me. "Ms. Harper, can I take you for coffee some time?"
    She looked at me confused for a moment. "I…I live in New York, in the states."
    I suddenly realized my mistake. "Oh, yes, well, if I'm in New York, then?"
    "I suppose, yes, that’d be fine. Carter knows how to get ahold of me," she answered and then quickly turned and hurried away.
    I suddenly had an overwhelming urge to visit the Statue of Liberty.

Chapter 4 - Not Feeling Very Mary
     
    HANNAH
    I had no idea what’d possessed me to accept Mr. Greyson's invitation for coffee. I would’ve thought the word no would’ve been second nature, but I found myself saying yes, and it scared me half to death. I was silently thankful and disappointed at the same time that he most likely would never make good on his coffee offer, because he lived an ocean