Love Under Review
Page 16
Taking a large scoop, Danielle let the ice cream melt in her mouth, savoring the flavors before answering. “Just trying to decide if I’m making a big mistake or not.”
The older woman leaned forward on the counter, her eyes open a bit wider, signaling she was willing to listen. It was just after noon, and there were several booths occupied, but the woman must have sensed Danielle needed someone to talk to.
“I got a job offer from an opposing news station back in LA.” She took another bite. Folding her arms on the counter, she rested her chin on top, staring at the glass cup.
“And? Are you taking it?”
“I was going to. I have my suitcase packed and the car all gassed up. But something just doesn’t feel right, like I’m missing something.”
Velda’s face broke into a wide grin. “Or someone.” She stood and put her hand on her hip, exuding the attitude Danielle loved.
Nodding, Danielle said, “Yeah, but that someone doesn’t trust me anymore. I lied to him, Velda. Lied to him even after he told me he couldn’t stand liars.”
“Was it the book-writing thing?”
“Yes. I wasn’t ready to tell anyone, not until I agreed to the author visit. I’d already burned one career, and I was worried I’d ruin this one if I told anyone. And now I’ve lost the man I think I’m in love with.” Tears streamed down her cheeks, and she did all she could to keep from sobbing, knowing she was already getting stares from the people around the counter.
“If a man won’t forgive you for one sincere lie, then he probably isn’t worth your time,” a male voice said from behind her.
Turning slowly, Danielle was surprised to find Liam standing there. As she studied his face, she couldn’t get a good read on his emotions, but the words rotated in her mind at high speeds.
“What if he’s been hurt before?” she said, trying to keep the emotion out of her voice.
Liam took a few steps toward her, his hands reaching for hers and sending that shock wave of electricity through them. “He should have realized the girl of his dreams wasn’t the one who’d caused those trust issues.”
His blue eyes looked back and forth into hers, and he leaned forward, wrapping his arms around her. She returned the hug, feeling the dam break on the emotions she’d been holding back.
“How did you find me here?” she managed between sobs.
“It’s a small town. There were only so many places to look.” He brushed the hair back from her face gently. “And I might have seen your car outside.”
Danielle laughed, wiping at the tears.
His lips came next to her ear, and he whispered, “I’m so sorry. With all the success you’ve had with your books, I should’ve been the first one to be excited that it was you who wrote them.”
Danielle wiggled her head against his shoulder. “I should have told you beforehand, when I realized how much you meant to me. But when you told me about being betrayed by your ex-girlfriend, it made it hard for me to want to say anything.”
Liam leaned back, taking her head between his hands softly. “I love you, Danielle Holloway, for being just who you are.”
“I love you too,” Danielle said, a lone tear sliding down her face.
She never thought she’d be able to say that to anyone or that she’d even want to. But as she reflected on the words, she realized that every scrap of loneliness she’d felt before was gone.
Leaning down, Liam brushed his lips across hers, setting her nerves on fire. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him in for a more intense, passionate kiss.
Clapping began around the diner, and she pulled back, rubbing her lips together as the sensations continued to fire in her nerves. She looked at Liam and grinned as they put their foreheads together.
“Just promise you won’t leave me,” Liam said, his voice barely a whisper.
“As long as you won’t leave me.”
He licked his lips, his gaze more intense than she’d ever seen it. “If something were to happen to, uh, to Kara, I would be the guardian of Cari. We’re kind of a package deal.”
Danielle pulled him in for another kiss, his lips soft against hers. When she pulled back, she said, “You wouldn’t be the man I love if you didn’t take care of family.”
He gave her a peck to the lips and said, “You were really going to take that job?”
Danielle laughed, all the pieces connecting now. “I discovered there are a lot of things here for me, and even though I thought about taking that job for a few seconds, I realized I’d be making a bigger mistake by leaving than by staying.”
With a half-smile on his face, Liam asked, “What kind of things would you be missing out on if you left?” His arms wrapped around her middle, pulling her closer.
Danielle tried to keep her face neutral, but the corners of her mouth twitched. “That would be you.”
Epilogue
After stopping for boxes at a store around the corner from her apartment, Danielle got to work packing up all she owned in LA. With the edits and marketing of her fourth book, as well as slowly convincing her mother to set up a muffin shop in the bookstore, she hadn’t had time to come back and get everything cleared out. The lease was up at the end of the month, and she and Liam had made the decision to get it done that weekend before another storm was due to hit Sage Creek.
She worked late into the night, leaving some of it for the next day. As she worked, she thought of Liam and her new life in Sage Creek. Had anyone told her four months ago that she’d be moving back to her hometown, she’d have laughed in their faces. But Sage Creek felt more like home now than ever, and she hoped to make it so for the future.
Finishing up the last few things by close to four the next afternoon, she looked out the window and saw Liam pull up with the moving truck outside. Meeting him downstairs, she kissed him good and long.
“Thanks for coming to help me with this,” she said, wrapping one arm around his waist as they walked back inside.
“Of course. What are boyfriends for?” Liam grinned, and they moved up the stairs together.
It had been three months since she’d turned down the network job, and with Kara’s treatments, this was the first time they’d been able to get away long enough to pack up her apartment in Los Angeles.
Danielle loved Kara, who’d become the sister she’d never had. Her body had been reacting well to the course of treatments, allowing her to come home from the hospital for a few weeks at a time. The doctors were skeptical that it would last for long, but Liam and Danielle were determined to make the best of the time she had left, with that sliver of possibility that she’d survive for more years to come.
They worked throughout the afternoon, up and down the stairs with several boxes and the few pieces of furniture from the apartment. The weather was perfect for January, and Danielle was grateful for the lack of heat.
“Let’s get something to eat before we head out. Is there somewhere you’ve been dying to eat or just want to have one last time?” Liam asked, inserting the keys into the ignition of the Jeep. They would leave the moving truck by the apartment until after dinner and then would head out from there.
Danielle pulled up a mental map of the area, trying to decide where to eat. “There is this Italian place a few blocks over I’ve always wanted to try. Just never took the time to do it.”
She directed Liam to where it was, and the hostess got them right in. The woman smiled at them on the way back to their table, making Danielle feel a bit uncomfortable.
“Here is your table and your menus. I’ll send your waiter out now.”
“That was odd,” Danielle said, scanning the options for entrees on the menu.
Liam shifted uncomfortably but didn’t say anything, his eyes focused on the options as well.
They ordered their food, and for the first time since that day when they’d decided to be a couple at the diner, Danielle felt some weird invisible wall between them.
“Are you all right?” she asked,
reaching out for his hand.
“Yeah, I’ll be fine.”
Danielle tried to study his face, even hoping to catch his eye so she could understand why he was acting so oddly after a day of laughing and chatting as they packed up the apartment.
“Did I do something wrong?”
Taking in a deep breath, Liam looked up, giving her a hesitant smile. “There’s something I’ve been wanting to ask you, and I wasn’t sure how to do it.” He dug into the pocket of his jeans and pulled out a small silver ring with a teardrop pearl set in the middle. Sliding out of his seat, he knelt on the ground, looking at her with tears forming in his eyes.
Danielle took in a breath, not really believing this event was happening.
“Danielle Kate Holloway, since the day I met you at my bookstore, I’ve grown to love you more than I ever thought possible. Will you be my wife?”
Dropping down to kneel by him, she wrapped her arms around his neck, her tears already falling onto his neck and shoulder.
“Yes. A million times, yes.”
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