“So where does that leave us, Burke?” She slumped back onto the sofa, and he realized just how physically tired and emotionally worn out she was.
“After what I did, maybe I’m not worth the emotional cost. But do you think we could start over? I won’t rush you in any way, Dani. I just want to be with you in whatever way you’ll have me.” He didn’t dare ask if she still loved him. He figured that if he could spend time with her he could convince her to love him again.
“What about Cynthia?” Her blue eyes stared straight into his, demanding an honest answer. She sat on the worn sofa, as regal as any queen, awaiting his answer.
“I only took her out this evening so I could pretend that I didn’t hurt. She taunted me about your encounter this afternoon.” He was still furious at the mere thought of Cynthia’s cruelty. “I left her and came here. If she was a man, I would have hurt her for the pain she caused you.”
He shook his head, disgusted with himself. “But I’ve caused you the most pain, and for that, your brother had every right to slug me. I think I would have been disappointed in him if he hadn’t.” Reaching up, he gingerly touched his eye, which was starting to swell, and was unable to hold back a small grin. “Well, maybe not too disappointed. Patrick has a wicked left hook.”
For the first time, Dani seemed to notice the swelling in his right eye. “You’re hurt. We’ve got to put some ice on that.” She tried to rise from her seat on the sofa, but he held her back.
“Dani, honey, I deserve to hurt for what I’ve done to you. Just look at you, you’ve lost weight, you’ve got shadows under your eyes, and your eyes are puffy from crying.”
Her smile was self-conscious, and she brushed a stray lock of hair from her face. “You sure know how to make a girl feel beautiful.”
“Don’t you know that to me you couldn’t be more beautiful than you are now? You’re beautiful from the inside out. It shines from you like gold, and I’m greedy enough to want it all to belong to me.”
“Oh, Burke.” A single tear slid down the side of her face. “I didn’t think I had any tears left,” she tried to joke as she swiped at her face.
Burke closed his eyes at the pain that simple statement brought. “Why don’t you yell at me? Rant, rave, and scream! I’d feel better if you did.”
“The pain I feel is beyond those things. I don’t know if I can trust you.” The tears trickled out of the corners of her eyes, falling in earnest as she spoke the truth.
Tugging her from her seat on the sofa, he pulled her down into his lap, locking his arms tight around her. “It’s all right, honey. It’s all right,” he crooned as he rocked them both back and forth on the living room floor. “I’m not asking for anything but a chance. That’s all. Give me the time to prove to you that I’m worth loving. I know how to treat such a gift now, and if, in time, you can trust me enough to give it to me again, you won’t be sorry.”
He would make her trust him no matter how long it took. One of the things that had made him so successful in business was his ability to focus on an idea or concept and find a way to make it work. He was confident that, if he could be a part of Dani’s everyday life again, he could make her trust him again. There had to be something he could do to restore her faith in him.
Chapter Eight
Her heart thumped so hard against her chest, she was sure Burke could feel its frantic pounding as he held her. She rested her head on his solid warm chest, loving the feeling of security it gave her. His arms tightened around her and she sighed. It was her move next. Should she give him another chance? Did she really have a choice? No, her heart answered back.
“Dani, honey, please look at me.” Burke gently tilted her face so he could look into her eyes. “Talk to me. Tell me you’ll give me another chance.”
Dani looked into eyes, deep and black. Eyes that were so very dear to her. She saw the sincerity and the pain in their depths and knew that she had only one real option.
“Please mean what you say, because I don’t think I can survive another week like this one.” She searched his face, looking for some kind of reassurance.
“I mean it, honey. Anything you want, at your own pace. I just want us to have another chance.” Raising his fingertips to her cheek, he gently traced the curve of her face. “We’ll take it slower this time and really get to know each other.”
“As long as we take things slowly and you know up front that this doesn’t mean I’ll sleep with you.” She covered his hand with hers and turned it over so she could kiss the palm of his hand. “I don’t want to be accused of leading you on again.”
She was crushed in a breath-stealing embrace before she had even finished speaking. “That’s all I want, honey. Just a chance to start over with you. All I want is some of your time. That’s all.”
For the first time in a week, she was beginning to feel alive again. She really didn’t know if she was doing the right thing, but it was the only thing she could do. She still loved him, and if there was a chance for them to work out their problems, she had to take it. This time she would be cautious and sure about Burke’s long-term plans before exposing her own heart and emotions. She had to be sure she could trust him before she opened herself up to him again.
She had no idea where their relationship would go from here, but at the moment just being with him was enough. She no longer felt hollow and empty when she held him in her arms. As she pulled away from him, he flinched.
Dani looked at him. Really looked at him for the first time since he came into the house. The right side of his face was turning dark and his eye was swelling shut. “Oh Burke, I forgot your eye. It must hurt something awful.” Scrambling out of his lap, she held out her hand. “Come into the kitchen, and we’ll get some ice on it.”
Burke took her hand as he stood and pulled her into his arms, holding her tight. She felt his lips brush the top of her head. She felt his reluctance to release her as he gave her one final squeeze before stepping back. But he kept hold of her hand as he followed her, as if he didn’t want to lose contact with her. They entered the kitchen and came face-to-face with Patrick.
“Well?” Patrick asked her, all the while keeping a watchful eye on Burke.
“Sit down, both of you,” she directed as she went to the refrigerator and took two bags of frozen vegetables out of the freezer section. Turning back to the table, she wasn’t sure they really needed ice packs as the frozen looks on both men’s faces had certainly dropped the room’s temperature to subzero.
Sitting at the kitchen table, both men stared at each other. Patrick glared at Burke. Burke had an impassive look on his face, but his black watchful eyes never left Patrick’s face.
She quietly went to the kitchen drawer, took out two clean dishtowels and wrapped them around the bags of frozen food. The silence continued as she placed one ice pack against Burke’s face and the other on Patrick’s left hand. Both men were still.
“Patrick,” Dani began softly, waiting patiently until her brother finally took his eyes off Burke and turned his full attention to her. “Burke and I have talked, and we’re going to start seeing each other again.”
Patrick stared at her as if he was trying to read her mind. “Are you sure he’s worth it, Dani, after all he’s put you through?” She knew her brother didn’t care that Burke sat across the table from him. His only concern was for her.
“We still have a lot to talk about, but yes, I think it’s worth it. Don’t worry. We’re going to take things slowly.” Raising the ice pack, she studied his left knuckles. “I don’t think anything is broken.”
“I don’t care if it’s broken or not. I only care about you being hurt.” He turned to stare at Burke, who shifted uncomfortably in his chair. “I don’t know if you’re worth a second chance, but I don’t think I have a lot of say in the matter. Use it wisely or we’ll have a much longer discussion next time.” Removing the ice pack, he flexed his hand to emphasize what kind of discussion he had in mind.
Burke ac
tually grinned. “I understand, Patrick. And I admire a man who’s honest and straightforward.” Abruptly Burke’s face turned serious. “But I’ve got a second chance, and I plan to make the most of it. I never meant to hurt Dani or any of you. I have a lot of things from my past that I have to work through, and I’m sorry you got caught up in it.” He continued to look the younger man in the eye as he made his point. “I won’t knowingly do anything to hurt her again. On that you have my word.”
Patrick took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, taking his time before speaking, weighing Burke’s words carefully. “All right, you’ve got your second chance. Although you may not be too sure you want it in the morning.” Slowly, he extended his bruised hand across the table. “That eye is really something.”
Burke looked at the hand extended to him and carefully took it, giving it one firm shake before he released it. “To tell you the truth, I didn’t feel a thing until a few minutes ago. I guess I had more important matters to worry about.”
“If you boys are finished working out your difference and won’t beat up each other while I’m gone, you can keep those ice packs on while I get the first aid kit from the bathroom.” She had stood quietly by while they talked, but the time had come to be practical about their injuries.
They both looked at her as if they would protest but stopped when they saw the annoyed look in her eyes.
“Yes, ma’am,” Patrick answered as he placed the ice pack back on his hand.
“Sure thing, honey,” Burke answered easily as he smiled at her.
Dani turned and left the kitchen, heading for the bathroom. Honestly, men were such little boys sometimes. But she smiled as she thought of the men she loved, and she was glad that they had come to some kind of agreement between them.
She was smart enough to realize that Patrick could have made all kinds of trouble for her and Burke if he had wanted to. Patrick was concerned about her, and to tell the truth, she was concerned about her too. Her younger brother knew what she had gone through this week, but he had supported her decision regarding Burke. She only hoped she had made the right one, for all their sakes.
…
It was two o’clock in the morning by the time Dani and Burke were settled in the living room with steaming mugs of hot chocolate.
She had returned to the kitchen, first aid kit in hand, to the sound of male laughter. Shamus had returned from his friend’s house and had found the two men sitting at the kitchen table comparing injuries. Shamus had been aware that she and Burke were no longer seeing one another, but he really hadn’t known how much suffering she had gone through. Only Patrick had seen the depth of her pain and helped her through it. Since Shamus was the youngest, both she and Patrick were guilty of trying to protect him as much as possible during times of trouble. It was hard to remember sometimes that he was almost an adult now as well.
“Looks like Patrick helped you and Burke get things straightened out,” Shamus had said to her with laughter in his eyes.
“We prefer to call it a gentlemanly discussion,” Burke had replied, while trying to keep a straight face. He’d winced in pain when he couldn’t quite manage to.
“More like schoolboys,” she’d retorted as she had gently rubbed an antiseptic cream around Burke’s eye.
From there, both injuries had been tended, and both her brothers had retired upstairs for the night. She knew that Shamus would go to bed thinking that whatever problem had been between her and Burke was fixed. But Patrick would probably stay awake until Burke left, just to make sure she was all right.
Burke took a sip of the hot chocolate and placed his mug on the coffee table. He turned to stare at her by the light of the Christmas tree, which he had plugged in when they had settled in the living room.
“Happy New Year, Dani,” Burke said as he continued to look at her. “I can hardly believe I’m really here with you.”
“Yes, I guess it is New Year’s Day. I forgot about it with everything else that’s happened today.”
It seemed impossible to her that her life had changed so drastically in a matter of hours. She had gone from the depths of despair to a fragile hope in less than one day. Suddenly, she felt very tired. Happy, but tired.
As if sensing the change in her mood, Burke wrapped his arm around her and pulled her gently onto his lap. “Just relax, honey, and let me hold you. You can’t know how amazingly good it feels for me to have you in my arms.”
Dani felt her body relax. She didn’t seem to have any choice in the matter. It just felt so natural and right to be held by Burke again. It was like coming home. Snuggling closer to him, she placed her hand on his chest and could feel the strong beat of his heart against her palm. “I missed you so much.” She said it quietly, as if making some deep dark confession.
“I missed you too, Dani, you’ll never know how much.” Burke’s lips brushed the top of her head as he pulled her even closer. “I’m surprised that you still have your tree up. I’d have thought you would have torn it down the day after our fight.”
“I couldn’t bear to come into the living room.” Dani looked down at her hands, not wanting him to see the pain that she knew was there in her eyes. “There were too many memories in this room. Good memories from when we put the tree up and then the bad memories of what happened Christmas night. I just couldn’t bear to be in here.”
Slowly, he began to rock her back and forth in his arms. “I’m so sorry for that, but I’m glad you didn’t take it down. I’m glad we had a chance to enjoy it again, just the two of us. It’s a special tree and not just because it’s my first real one, but because I was a part of it with you and your family.”
He stared at the tree as if he was trying to memorize every part of it. “No matter what happens from here on, I want you to know you’ve made a difference in my life and in me. You’ve changed how I look at the world and at people. It’s been a hard time for both of us, but in the long run I think that it’s worth it.”
“Maybe you can help me take down the tree tomorrow?” She was deeply moved by what he’d said, and like him, she hoped that they would be able to move past their problems and create a future together. Trying to fight back a yawn and losing the battle, she closed her eyes, just to rest them for a moment.
…
“I’d like that a lot, Dani. I want us to spend more time together. There’s so much I want to talk to you about.” His own words surprised him, but he knew they were nothing less than the truth. He never talked to anyone about himself or his plans. Never shared his hopes or his dreams. But suddenly, he found he wanted to do just that with Dani. She would understand him and would help him see the future more clearly. He didn’t know how he knew this. He only knew it was true.
“What time tomorrow, Dani?” He pushed back a strand of hair that had fallen on her face, loving the feel of her long hair, and took a moment to let the shiny lock glide through his fingers.
When he got no answer, he glanced down and saw that her eyes had closed and her breathing had deepened. His chest tightened, and he suddenly found it hard to breathe. She had trusted him enough to fall asleep in his arms. It was definitely a good beginning.
“I’ll take care of you, honey, I promise.” He whispered his vow as he sat there in the living room, staring at the Christmas tree, soaking in the peace of the moment. A deep contentment unlike anything he’d ever felt in his life filled him. He continued to run his hands lightly through Dani’s hair, careful not to wake her, but needing to keep touching her.
He didn’t know how much time had passed when he jerked upright, waking from the light doze he’d fallen into. Shaking off the lure of sleep, he shifted Dani in his arms and stood. She didn’t stir except to burrow closer to him, rubbing her cheek against his chest. That simple action made him smile, until the pain from his face made him wince instead.
Taking a deep breath, he inhaled her unique fragrance, part vanilla and something elusively Dani. It was amazing that just holding her made him feel so da
mn good. His arms tightened protectively around her as he carried her from the room.
As he climbed the stairs with her cradled in his arms, a door opened upstairs, and Patrick appeared on the landing above. “She’s asleep,” Burke whispered. “Where’s her room?”
Turning, Patrick silently led the way into Dani’s room, pulled the covers back on her bed, and then moved aside. Burke gently laid her gently on the bed, all the while aware of her brother watching his every move.
He pulled the covers over her, tucking her in tight before leaning down and placing a soft kiss on her lips. Still fully dressed, Dani snuggled deeper under the covers, her exhaustion evident by the faint dark circles under her eyes. “Good night,” Burke whispered in her ear. Turning, he left the room with Patrick close behind him.
“Tell Dani I’ll be back after lunch tomorrow to help her with taking down the tree.” He kept his voice low as Patrick closed her bedroom door.
“I’ll tell her.”
“Good night then.” Burke started down the stairs again. “I’ll lock up on my way out.” Patrick said nothing, but Burke could feel the other man’s eyes on his back, watching him, until the front door clicked shut behind him.
Burke stood outside the front door of the little house on Peach Street and inhaled a deep breath of the crisp winter air. It helped clear the sleep from his head for the ride home. He ambled to his truck, climbed in, and drove away. To help stay alert, he kept the heat on low and tuned into a rock and roll oldies radio station. He hummed along to the music all the way back to the cabin. When he finally fell in bed, he slept deeply and peacefully the whole night through for the first time in a week.
Chapter Nine
The sound of someone moaning dragged Burke from his slumber. It took him a few groggy moments to realize that he was the one actually making the irritating noise. Rolling over in bed, he cautiously touched the side of his face.
Discovering Dani Page 8
