by Nikki Duncan
“Are you suggesting there’s a chance you’ll take me back?”
“I’m saying I’ve thought a lot about it and you do seem to have changed.”
It wasn’t the resounding yes he craved, but it was more than he’d hoped to hear so soon. With the new hope buzzing through him, he smiled. “I’ll stay. For awhile.”
Reveling in the idea of taking care of her, something he’d never bothered to do before, he carried her the rest of the way to her room. While she undressed, he took the throw pillows off the bed and pulled back the covers. After tucking her in, he turned on the ceiling fan knowing she slept better with it on.
Tabatha crawled into bed. Danny pulled the covers up and then slid behind her staying on top of the covers. If he got under them with her he wouldn’t leave. He had to keep some distance in case she changed her mind and refused to let him back in her life. That distance meant no more sex until she made up her mind.
With a long exhale and a shift of her head, she curled her body into his and pulled his arm over her stomach. It was how they’d always started the night out before he shifted and took over the bed. She’d hated how little room he left her, but try as he might he’d been unable to change his sleeping habits.
He started the night out on his half of the bed, but every morning he woke up sprawled across the whole bed. It was another reason not to stay all night. He might stand a better chance of winning her back if she thought she could have her half of the bed every night.
“Thank you for doing this, Danny.”
“I’d do anything for you, Tabatha. You only have to ask.” He brushed the hair away from her forehead. “For now, you do me a favor and go to sleep. I’m sure you’ll have a lot of catching up to do at work tomorrow.”
“Yeah.” On a final sigh, her body grew heavy against his as she fell asleep.
Danny closed his eyes and refreshed his memory with the feel of her in his arms while her scent drifted on the air surrounding them. The next time they saw each other they would talk about the future. He would stay patient as long as it took, but being so close to her with so many questions still unanswered was killing him. The biggest question of all was how good were his chances at a second match?
Tabatha woke the next morning feeling more refreshed and relaxed than she had in over a year. Afraid to open her eyes, she stretched a hand behind her and found Danny’s spot behind her empty. Danny’s spot. The thought was there like it had never left.
She’d known he probably wouldn’t stay and she hadn’t wanted to deal with the complications that would come from waking together, but damn if she wasn’t disappointed to find him gone. Rather than dwell on the possibilities of what could have happened or might still happen, she got up and got ready for work.
She found a note on her bathroom mirror, written in the lip gloss he’d bought her. Think of me. Love D.
The top thought in her mind an hour later when she arrived at Tulle and Tulips, before running into Jenny and everyone else other than Sheree, was of Danny. The thoughts only shifted slightly when Sheree met her at the door to her office.
“You’re here early,” she said, surprised to see her assistant in before her.
“I figured you might want some help setting up for the Vasquez wedding this morning.”
“Really? That’s it? There are no burning issues you wanted to get in front of?” Asking the universe to keep things running smooth in the wedding business while a planner was gone for a week was just too much to ask. She’d expected to walk into a handful of issues. She was pleasantly surprised with Sheree’s answer.
“Last week went smoothly. I have two more renderings to do, but those meetings aren’t for a few days and I’ll have them finished tonight. We’re in good shape.”
More relieved than she’d have thought possible, Tabatha pulled Sheree into a hug. She’d trusted her assistant, but wedding plans were unpredictable and often troublesome. A quiet week was a divine gift worth celebrating. “Thank you!”
“Just doing my job.” Sheree, not a toucher let alone a hugger, chuckled as she patted Tabatha’s back. “If it means you’ll stop hugging me I’ll screw something up.”
Now Tabatha laughed as she released her assistant. “Sorry. It won’t happen again.”
“No worries.” Sheree stepped back with a tight smile. “If you’re ready, I have everything loaded in the van out back. The crew is supposed to be there in thirty minutes.”
“You’re a goddess.”
“And you’re in a really chipper mood.” Sheree said with cautiously narrowed eyes.
“Had a good night’s sleep.” With a man I love beside me. The thought jarred Tabatha back a step and had her forcing her focus to the day ahead of her. Danny didn’t move far away in her mind though. “I’m just going to handle a few emails and then I’ll meet you there.”
“You want me to pick you up a Starbucks?”
“That might earn another hug.”
“Then I’ll mess up the order.” Sheree smiled as she backed away. “See you there.”
Tabatha was laughing, something she seemed to be doing more of than normal, as she went into her office. While the computer booted up, she pulled the lip gloss from Danny out of her pocket and put some on.
He’d been kind the night before, taking care of her, making sure she slept. He hadn’t asked for anything in return, had put no pressure on her. The Danny she’d known in California would never have been attuned enough to her needs to set his own wants aside. This Danny made her laugh, saw to her needs and was on time for things. The list of ways he’d changed grew more each day that she talked to or saw him, and every change was for the better.
He was more dangerous than ever, because she was really thinking he deserved a second chance.
Forty-five minutes later she pulled up to the beach where they were setting up for the Vasquez wedding. She stepped onto the sand to find the problems she’d expected on the first day back after a week.
“What do you mean the lights and the crew to install them aren’t here,” Sheree was asking, Joe, the crew foreman. “I specifically confirmed those yesterday.”
Joe was tall and slightly overweight, and he was one of the best foremen Tabatha had ever worked with. He never budged beneath the weight of Sheree’s disappointment.
She was tempted to step in and take over, but was equally interested in letting Sheree spread her wings and handle the issue. The stronger she was in the job, the more freedom Tabatha would have in her schedule. She’d come to realize, after a few more chats with her mom and her dad when he’d woken up, that she needed a little more fun and a little less work in her schedule.
“I only know what’s on the truck. The packing slip clearly shows they were loaded, but the manager who signed off on it called in sick this morning. I have a call in to the warehouse. As soon as she gets in we’ll get the lighting situation handled.”
The wedding wasn’t scheduled to start until later in the afternoon, but the setup was extensive and they would need to get the lights strung before they could put the tent flooring down. Before Tabatha could step forward saying as much, Sheree stated the same to the man.
“I understand, believe me. And if I don’t hear from the manager in the next thirty minutes I will figure something out. In the meantime, the rest of the crew will set up the tent and the arbor for the ceremony. We’ll get the tables and chairs ready so we only have to move things into place once the floor is down. We still have time.”
It was a reasonable approach, and Tabatha had worked with the rental company enough times to know they would make things right. Somehow, though, Tabatha knew the lights weren’t in the warehouse. After a year of putting sites together she’d developed a sense. Pulling her phone out, she sent off a tweet.
Missing 2000 white twinkle lights and the install crew only matters if the reception is outside at night
. #backupneeded
Tabatha pocketed her phone and settled in to work. In thirty minutes, if she didn’t have an answer on the twinkle lights, she would go shopping.
Twenty minutes later, Joe approached her and Sheree to tell them the lights had been sent to another venue. “I will personally go get the lights you need, Tabatha. This is our mistake and we’ll make it right.”
“I know, Joe.” In the current case, making it right was looking like it would be a complete refund on the lights and their installation charges. She’d deal with that after the wedding. “But you oversee the crew. I’ll go get the lights.”
Joe, used to working with her enough to know not to argue, returned to work. Tabatha got on her tablet and began looking for retailers with enough lights on hand. A few phone calls later she had the lights pulled aside and waiting for her to pick them up. She only needed to manifest a crew to hang them and things would go off smoothly.
“I can go get the lights,” Sheree said as two cars pulled up. One of them was Danny’s.
Tabatha was suddenly on board with Sheree leaving the site if it meant keeping Danny’s existence a secret from the Tulle and Tulips gals a little longer.
“After I shoo these playboys down the beach,” Sheree said.
“No.” Tabatha held up a hand to stop her. “You stay here and keep things running. I’ll deal with these guys and get the lights.”
Before Sheree could argue, Tabatha turned and walked to Danny, Will, Drake and Logan. Sheree had taken in their tank tops and athletic shorts and judged them pretty accurately. They were out of place playboys, but there was more to the story.
Zeroing in on Danny, Tabatha approached the men. “What are you doing here?”
Danny smiled. “You need twinkle lights I think you called them. And help hanging them.”
“Yes, but we have it under control. Or will as soon as I go get them.”
“No need. We’re here with two thousand twinkle lights.” He motioned toward Drake, Logan and Will who had each pulled a box from the cars. “Do you not want them? Or is white not okay?”
“Where’d you get those so fast?”
“Norma’s. She changes out the lights once a month for a different color scheme. This month she has blue lights up, which means the white ones were in storage.”
“Don’t you guys have practice today?”
“That was my argument,” Will said as he moved closer. “Your husband said this was more important.”
Tabatha glanced back to make sure the Tulle and Tulips women on site were far enough away that they wouldn’t have heard Will’s statement. Relieved that they were, she closed her eyes for a breath before giving in.
“Fine. I’m not fool enough to turn away your help.” She looked at all four men to make sure she had their attention. “Do me a favor while you’re here and don’t mention that marriage thing.”
Danny jerked like she’d slapped him, which she kind of just had, but she could deal with that.
“Fine by me,” Will said.
Drake saluted. “You’re the boss.”
“Just tell us where you want us,” Logan said.
“Sheree can get you started.” Tabatha pointed to Sheree who was watching with too much interest. “Danny, can I have a minute?”
“Sure.” The tightness in his tone wasn’t normal, but she remembered it from the time or two she’d hurt his feelings.
Oh yeah, she’d hurt him with her request and she felt like crap for it. When his friends had walked away she moved close enough to touch his arm. He slowly pulled away.
She sighed. “I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
“It’s fine.”
“No. It isn’t.” She reached out again and rested her fingers against his. “The women I work with are meddlesome busy bodies and they’ll be here throughout the day setting up for this wedding. Having you and your friends here is already going to send them into matchmaking mode. If they know you’re anything more than a friend they’ll spend more time grilling you and me than they will working. I need them focused.”
“So you haven’t told the people you work with about me? Do they even know you’ve been married?”
Tabatha wanted this conversation to be over quickly so they could get to work, but Danny didn’t seem to be in a hurry. He was saving her with the lights and skipping a practice so she owed him a little time.
“Lori, the founder of Tulle and Tulips, knows. If she shows up and hears your name she’ll know who you are. No one else knows though.”
“And she hasn’t blown your secret?”
“You remember that former spy I mentioned? That’s Lori and she knows a thing or two about secrets and why we might keep them.”
“But as far as your other friends know, I don’t exist.”
“At most they would know you as the bad date I had a few weeks ago in Sam’s bar. But only if I mentioned your name.” She didn’t think she had, but remembering every detail of every conversation she had with her friends wasn’t possible.
“Answer me one question, yes or no, and then I’ll do whatever you ask.”
“Okay.”
“Is there any chance this will end with you taking me back and telling your friends about us?”
“Not a chance.” She’d known the answer even before she heard the question. She’d known it since she woke up that morning with the knowledge of what he’d done for her when she needed him. Now, with him showing up to rescue a bride’s wedding, which was something she cared more about than he did, she knew with complete certainty he was a different man. “A guarantee.”
He opened his mouth to speak but then closed it again. His fingers squeezed hers and his throat bobbed with a swallow.
His eyes filled with tears he didn’t shed, and damn if hers didn’t do the same. She was at work, with a thousand things to accomplish before the bridal party began arriving. Dealing with the drama of her own marriage shouldn’t be on the list, but it was impossible to ignore.
“Then we have a deal.” Sweeping his tongue across his lips, he looked behind her. “No one’s looking. Can I kiss you?”
He asked instead of assumed. Though she’d hurt his feelings, he was still willing to indulge her charade. The unexpected kindness revealed what a jerk she’d been. She’d villainized Danny to the point of being ashamed of having fallen for him. Owing him an apology, she stepped closer. “Please.”
Grinning like he had when he’d hit the winning spike on that game she’d watched, he bent down and kissed her cheek. Then he lingered to whisper, “When you wrap up here tonight, I’ll meet you at your place.”
“I look forward to it.”
“There’s one more box in the car,” Danny said. “I’ll be right back.”
Looking for any excuse to prolong their time together, she followed. “Do you need any help?”
“Nope. There’s just the one.”
She met him behind the car. “Danny.”
He looked down with the box in his arms. “Yeah?”
“I missed you.” She reached up and pulled him down for another kiss. The demand of work and the noises coming from the site they were constructing kept her from dragging him into the car. Instead, she kept the kiss brief, but not brief enough to prevent her arousal from kicking into gear.
When they pulled apart, with him still holding the box, he brushed his chin along her temple. “I missed you too. More than I can ever say.”
“You can show me later.” Tabatha winked as she closed the trunk.
“What time are you finished here?”
“Not soon enough.” She wished for the first time in a year that she wasn’t a responsible adult. “Hey, Danny,” she asked as they walked back to the tent, “how’d you know where I needed the lights?”
“I called your office and pretended to be the lighting crew. I
said we’d missed getting you the lights and could they verify the location.”
“How can you be the same man and yet so different?”
“I told you your leaving had been the best thing. I needed to learn the hard way what I’d screwed up.”
That’s what he’d meant. It had given them both the space to learn who they needed to be for themselves, because only when they knew themselves could they work as a team.
Pulling her phone from her pocket, she sent a quick tweet.
Where’s Romeo? He’s here with 2000 lights and friends to help install. #sexybackup
“Hey, Danny?”
“Tabatha?”
“Put that box down.”
He stopped and looked down at her with his brows narrowed in curiosity. Without questioning her, he did as she asked. When his arms were empty she stepped in front of him, wrapped a hand around the back of his neck and pulled his head down.
In front of anyone who wanted to watch, not caring in the least what kind of distraction it caused or how much her friends questioned her, she kissed him. He was her husband, the man she loved more than ever before, and she’d been pretty crazy about him to begin with.
They were both breathless when he pulled away. “So much for keeping me a secret.”
“Eh. I’d hate to have to kick a friend’s ass because she hit on my husband.”
“So you’re marking your territory?”
“It’s territory I love. Do you mind?”
“Not a damn bit.” He rested a hand on her hip and kissed her again. “Do you need to mark it again?”
“I do.” Holding an index finger up, she smiled. “Wait here.”
Grabbing the box he’d set down, she called for Sheree who predictably hustled over.
“What’s up? Who are these guys?”
“They’re friends who are going to help with these lights.” She passed Sheree the box. “Have Joe call his manager to get some more crew out here to help you.”
“You talk like you’re leaving.” Sheree looked behind Tabatha to where Danny still stood. “Who’s that?”
