by Unknown
“Please don’t,” Dani urged. “You’re Caitlin’s big brother, not mine.”
“My feelings for you aren’t at all brotherly.”
Dani’s hair caught on the wind. Simply beautiful.
Who was Bryce kidding? There was nothing simple about her. She was complex, challenging and even difficult at times. He wouldn’t have her any other way.
“I care about you, Dani.”
“I care about you, too, but it’s my job at stake. You remember how I told you my father left us?”
Bryce nodded.
“Well, my mother had relied on him for everything. When he took off, she was left with nothing except the four of us girls. She’d dropped out of college to get married, never worked a day in her life and didn’t even know their checking account number. She learned her lesson and wanted to make sure me and my sisters didn’t repeat her mistakes. She taught us to take charge of our own lives and ourselves. That’s what I’ve been trying to do. That’s what I need to do with James. I can handle this.” Her eyes implored him. “I need to handle this.”
He squeezed her hand reassuringly. “You can handle anything.”
“Thanks for understanding. That means…a lot to me.”
“I do understand, but just know I’m here if you need backup.”
“Okay.”
But, back in his office, he wasn’t so sure. James’s behavior had everything to do with Bryce and Blinddatebrides.com, not Dani. He hated seeing her caught in the middle and wanted to keep her from getting hurt.
Bryce knew she was attending an afternoon training class off-site when he arrived at Hookamate.com.
James didn’t look surprised to see him. “You’re here about Danica.”
Bryce seethed with anger, but losing control wouldn’t solve anything. The last time he’d lost his temper and argued with Dani, he’d almost lost her. He wasn’t about to do that again.
He set his jaw, determined to put an end to James’s dirty dealings, once and for all. “Stop taking out your problems with me on Dani. Keep her out of this and stay away from my company or I’ll bring legal action against you.”
“You have no proof.” James glowered. “No prosecutor would touch the case.”
“They will if Dani testifies.”
“Is that all the wunderkind Bryce Delaney can come up with? A frivolous lawsuit to spend his trust fund on.” James cackled. “You think a jury would believe a disgruntled former employee who’s sleeping with my top competitor?”
Bryce’s blood ran cold. “Former employee?”
“Why, yes.” James smirked. “If there was any wrongdoing, Danica’s involved. What else can I do, but fire her?”
Fired.
Dani’s shoulders sagged and her bottom lip quivered.
Bryce hadn’t listened to her. He hadn’t trusted her to handle James on her own. Even after she’d explained why she needed to.
Carrying the box containing items from her desk and cubicle, Dani trudged up the stairs of her apartment building.
I thought more of you, Danica. I never expected you would send your lover in to fight your battle.
James’s words splintered her heart.
She’d lost everything in one fell swoop.
Because her boss was a jackass.
Because her boyfriend was a control freak.
Because she was a starry-eyed idiot.
How could she let this happen?
Dani had spent her entire life trying to make something of herself. To be someone. To do everything on her own so she’d never be in the same position as her mother had years ago.
Yet she’d trusted Bryce, believed in him and that had cost Dani her job. And…
Her heart.
Tears pricked her eyes. She blinked them away.
Turning the corner, Dani spotted Bryce.
Concern clouded his eyes. “Dani—”
Just for a moment, she longed to sink against him, to have him hold her and make everything better, but that would make James’s accusations true. She wasn’t going to rely on Bryce. She couldn’t.
Dani swallowed around the gigabyte-sized lump clogging her throat. “Go away.”
“We have to talk.”
Raw pain stabbed her heart. Dani fought against the sting of tears. She was suddenly six years old, standing on the driveway as her dad loaded his suitcases in the trunk. I love you, Danica. I love all of you. I’ll come back. Promise.
But he hadn’t and didn’t.
Her dad had said one thing and done another.
Just like Bryce.
Her chest tightened as if being squeezed by an extra-large vice grip. “Why should I believe anything you have to say to me now?”
Bryce’s gaze sought hers. “You’re upset.”
“Damn right I am.”
He pressed his lips together in a thin line. “I don’t want to argue about this. Fighting won’t solve anything.”
His coolness and rationality irritated her. Her heart pounded. Her heart ached. Every nerve ending shrieked. And he stood there acting like Mr. Cool. “Neither do I.”
“Good. Let’s—”
“You don’t get it.” Or me. The unspoken words scorched her throat. “I don’t want to talk to you.”
“Don’t do this, Dani.”
Dani fumbled with her keys, opened the door and hurried inside. She dropped the box. It thudded against the floor. Sort of like her heart had done when James told her Bryce had stopped by and she was fired. “You cost me my job.”
“James cost you your job.” Bryce followed her inside the apartment and closed the door behind him. “That guy is a sleaze.”
“That guy is—was—my boss.”
“You deserve a better one.”
“Maybe. Or maybe I deserve a better boyfriend.”
His expression froze for a moment. “I have a lead on a job opening. A great opportunity for you. I talked to a friend this afternoon—”
“You mean you went behind my back. Again.”
He frowned. “If you mean James, I did you a favor.”
“A favor?” She squared her shoulders. “You did the exact opposite of what I asked you to do.”
“Yeah.” Bryce exhaled. “I’m sorry. I was trying to protect—”
“Your company?”
“My company, my employees. And you.”
She took a deep breath, trying to keep herself together, when all she wanted to do was shout and cry. “I don’t need you to protect me.”
“Yeah, you do.”
“I don’t want you to protect me,” she clarified.
“What you want and what you need are two different things.”
She rubbed her tight neck. “I told you I needed to take care of this myself.”
“I told you, I was trying to protect you.”
His calm manner sent her temper soaring. “You don’t want to protect. You want to control. Me, Caitlin, every single one of your clients on Blinddatebrides.com with that stupid matching program of yours.”
His mouth twisted. “That program said we were highly compatible.”
“There must be a bug in the code.” Dani stared down her nose at him. “I need someone who respects my independence.”
His eyes darkened, the green turning into that of a stormy sea. “You care more about your damn independence than our relationship.”
“What relationship?” she countered, crossing her apartment to put much-needed distance between them. “You want me to trust your judgment about James and my job, but there’s no commitment between us. You’ve said we’re dating, but you’ve never called me your girlfriend or asked us to be exclusive or said…”
“Those are just words.” He took a step toward her, then stopped. “What I do is more important than what I say. I did what I thought was best for you today.”
Tears choked Dani. “You have no idea what’s best for me.”
A muscle throbbed at his temples. “I can fix this.”
“You’
ve done enough.” She stood in one corner with an ocean of room separating her from Bryce. “I’ve fallen in love with you, but being with you has never been about what your wealth and influence could do for me. By going to James the way you did, you acted as if it was. As if I were no different than any of the women your father marries and divorces.”
Bryce’s nostrils flared. “I’m nothing like my father.”
“No, you’re like mine. Promising one thing and doing another.”
He made a fist with his hands, then stretched out his fingers. “You won’t let me do anything for you.”
“That’s because you want to do everything for me.”
Dani waited for him to deny it. He didn’t.
“I…” Her voice cracked. “I want you to go.”
Bryce’s jaw clenched. “I know I overstepped, Dani, but is this what you really want?”
No. She wanted him to say he loved her, even though she was angry with him. She wanted him to say he would never leave her, even though she’d told him to go away.
She wanted…the impossible.
Her pounding heart felt as if it might explode.
Dani might want those things from Bryce; she might want him. But she didn’t need him; she didn’t need anyone.
She raised her chin. “Yes, I want you to go.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
DANI took a deep breath. Her fingers trembled on her laptop keyboard. She typed…
To: “Grace”, “Marissa”
From: “Dani”
Subject: Hey!
Thanks for the e-mails and IMs. I knew you guys would understand why I had to cancel my Blinddatebrides account and make a clean break. My landlord found someone who wanted an apartment ASAP so I packed up and rented a truck. I’m now at my mom’s trying to regroup. Sorry I can’t chat. Dial-up sucks. Hope you both are well. Miss you! TTYS.
Love,
Dani
She hit “send” and logged off so her mom could receive phone calls. No DSL or cable to connect to the Internet at her mom’s trailer.
It was strange being back on the farm.
Dani had been here two days. It felt like two years the way time was passing so slowly, and she was hurting so badly.
She’d gone from standing on the edge of forever, of having the elusive pot of gold at the end of the rainbow within her grasp, to falling into an endless spiral of regrets, heartache and tears.
Lots and lots of tears.
She missed Bryce more than she’d thought possible. And she felt as if she had only herself to blame.
Something clanged outside.
Dani rose from the kitchen table and walked to the window. Outside, the wind chime they’d made out of silverware for their mom on Mother’s Day hung on a rusted nail. A fork with missing tines blew into a bended spoon. She laughed.
“Now that’s a sound I like to hear.” Dolly Bennett spoke with a Southern accent even though she’d only spent the first twenty years of her life in Mississippi. “There hasn’t been enough laughter around here since you all moved away.”
“I can’t believe you kept that old wind chime, Mom.”
“That’s a masterpiece, darlin’. No way could I get rid of it.” Her mom handed Dani a plate with freshly baked chocolate-chip cookies. “I know these are your favorites. Maybe they’ll help you find that beautiful smile of yours.”
Dani set the plate on the table behind her and took a bite of one. The still warm chocolate chips melted in her mouth. “Thanks, Mom. For the cookies. For letting me come here and stay.”
“No thanks are necessary. You always have a place here.” Her mother smoothed Dani’s hair. “This is your home, no matter where you end up making your mark on the world.”
“Home.”
Dolly pulled her into a hug. “And it feels a lot more homey when you girls are here with me. That’s for sure.”
Emotion welled within Dani. For so long, she’d been searching and dreaming about finding a place to call home when, in fact, she’d had one all along.
Home wasn’t something you bought, but the place where you were surrounded by love. Whether a house or a beat-up station wagon or an old two bedroom, one bath single-wide trailer.
She was home.
An unfamiliar contentment filled her.
And this was the perfect place to pull herself together and figure out what she wanted to do next.
“Your father’s here,” Joelle said from the doorway to Bryce’s office. “Do you want me to send him in or tell him you’re busy?”
Peter Delaney visited the office when he wanted Bryce to act as a go-between with his mother. The two only spoke when attending the same social event, where they limited their exchanges to polite platitudes. Bryce had assumed the mediator role as a child, but dealing with one of his parents’ endless battles when he felt so broken up inside didn’t appeal to him in the slightest.
“Did he say why he wants to see me?” Bryce asked.
“Only that it was important,” Joelle said.
He stared at the code on his monitor. He’d thrown himself into work for over a week now, but the long hours hadn’t made him feel any better over what had happened with Dani. If anything, work made him feel worse. They’d met through the Web site. Every time he logged on, he thought about her.
Dani would never admit she needed anything, not even love, if that meant she had to rely on someone except herself. She hadn’t wanted his help. She hadn’t wanted him. And there wasn’t a damn thing he could do about it. Not unless he wanted to be accused of trying to “control.”
“Boss?” Joelle asked.
Maybe talking with his father would take his mind off her. Something had to. Bryce saved and closed the file. “Send him in.”
A minute later, his father sauntered in, checking out Joelle’s backside as she walked away. “How’s it going, son?”
“Fine.”
Peter sat. He studied the stacks of papers on the desk, grimaced and looked at Bryce. “Your mother’s worried about you.”
“Caitlin called you.”
“No, Maeve called me herself.”
Bryce straightened.
“That’s why I’m here,” Peter admitted. “She’s very concerned about you, Bryce. You haven’t returned any of her phone calls.”
Bryce wasn’t ready to tell his family he was no longer dating Dani. He hadn’t wanted the questions or the company. “It’s been a hectic week.”
“You haven’t been home. Your mother and I stopped by your house last night.”
“You and Mother together at my place. I hope I still have a house to go home to.”
Peter frowned. “We may not be the best parents, but we’re adult enough to put aside our differences for our children’s sake.”
A bitter guilt coated Bryce’s mouth. Even he could see his father was here trying to help. “Sorry. Rough week.”
“Were you with Dani last night?”
“No, I slept here at the office,” Bryce admitted. “I’ve been putting in more hours lately.”
Not that he’d been getting anything done.
The lines on his father’s face relaxed. “Your mother will be relieved.”
“You seem relieved, too.”
“We like Dani, but you haven’t been together long. Your mother is worried you might be rushing into something. She thinks you might be thinking about following in Edward’s footsteps and eloping to Las Vegas.”
Bryce winced. “Not going to happen.”
“But if things do get more serious, you have to start thinking about a prenup.”
He shook his head. “I don’t have to worry about that.”
Not now.
“One of these days, you will,” Peter counseled. “You have so much to lose, including half of your share of this company.”
“I—”
“Hear me out, Bryce,” Peter said. “You said Dani was a smart woman.”
“She is.”
“Her brains match her body.
”
“They do.”
“Your mother is like that.” Peter’s eyes narrowed. “Women like your mother will take you for everything you’ve got.”
“Dani’s not like my mother.”
Peter raised a brow. “How do you know?”
“I trust her.” And he did, Bryce realized in spite of everything. “Dani wants to be independent. She won’t take anything from me.”
Not even my heart.
Peter stood. “Just remember, son, a man has every right to protect himself.”
You don’t want to protect. You want to control.
Dani had been right about his trying to control things with her, but he hadn’t known the reason until now.
Being in control was the way Bryce protected himself.
The realization brought a rush of shame and a flash of clarity.
But controlling things hadn’t worked. He’d lost what mattered most.
Dani.
Peter walked toward the door. “Call your mother.”
“I will,” Bryce said. “Thanks for coming by.”
His father smiled. “Catch you later, son.”
Bryce dialed Dani’s cell number. One ring, two rings. The line connected. Every one of his muscles tensed.
“I’m sorry,” an automated voice said. “This wireless number is no longer in service.”
He grabbed his keys, told Joelle to cancel all his appointments for the day and drove to Dani’s apartment. He parked illegally, not caring if he got a ticket or was towed.
He’d known what she’d needed, but done the exact opposite. Sure he’d thought about her, but he’d also been thinking about himself. Just like…her father.
Bryce took the stairs three at a time. He knocked on Dani’s door.
Something clicked. The knob turned.
He breathed a sigh of relief.
The door opened.
“What do you want?” asked a man dressed in a pirate costume complete with eye patch and a real parrot on his shoulder.
Bryce’s heart fell. “I was looking for the woman who used to live here.”
“She’s gone.”
“Gone,” the parrot mimicked. “Long gone.”
“Do you know where she went?”
“Nope, but if you find her tell her thanks for cleaning this place so well.”
