“That’s good.” She nodded. An awkward tension built between us, and I tilted my head to the side.
“What’s really going on, El? I know you didn’t come in here just to ask about Roxy.”
As soon as the words were out of my mouth, her chin began to quiver, and her eyes filled with tears. “I just wanted to talk to you. I miss you. Since all of this started, you’ve pulled back more and more, and it’s freaking me out. I just need to know that you’ll be back once it’s over. Can you tell me that?”
The more she rambled, the more my heart broke. I’d gone so deep inside myself to deal with this, and I hadn’t realized it was affecting her the way that it was.
“Ellie! I’m so sorry!” I jumped up and rushed around my desk. She stood up, and we threw our arms around each other. “I didn’t mean to hurt you, it’s just been really tough on me, and this is what I do. I retreat. I hate it, but I can’t help it . . .”
The crack my voice made as I trailed off was more like a crack in my emotional dam. At that moment, I let everything out.
All the pent-up emotion from the messages, my car, my dog, having to leave my house, ignoring Sadie, pulling back from Ellie . . . all of it poured out my eyes and all over Ellie’s cute dress, and I sobbed and sobbed.
“It’s okay.” Ellie rubbed my back. “I get it. You’re a strong woman, Dani, and you feel like you have to carry this whole thing alone, but you don’t have to. I’m here, Andy’s here.”
“I know. You two have been amazing.” I pulled back and sniffled as I reached for a tissue off of my desk. We both stood there, a couple of red-rimmed, teary-eyed idiots wiping our noses as we clutched on to each other for dear life. “I feel horrible, El. You don’t deserve this. You’ve been nothing but supportive of me.”
“It’s okay.” She shook her head with a little giggle. “I can handle it, just make sure that it’s temporary, okay?”
“It’s not even temporary. It’s over. I promise. Lunch today?”
The corners of her pink lips curled up into a smile as she started crying again. “Yes! Absolutely!” she squealed, pulling me into another tight hug. “You can tell me all about how your first night at Andy’s went.”
“I’m afraid there’s not much to tell. I slept in the guest room, that’s it. I told you, Ellie. We’re coworkers, that’s it.”
Ellie rolled her eyes. “If you really think that, Dani, you’re an idiot. He’s been out of his office three times today just to ask me if you’d come out of yours yet.”
“He did?”
“He has fifteen extra boxes of tissues in his closet that he grabbed just so he’d have an excuse to walk by your door and strike up small talk. Haven’t you noticed all the Kleenex we’ve been going through?”
“Seriously?”
“Yes, seriously. Now would you stop being a stubborn asshole and admit that you’re just as crazy about him?”
“Ellie—”
“No. Don’t Ellie me. I’m serious.” She looked me straight in the eye, her brows low and angry. “If you’ve learned anything from these past few months, Dani, it should be that life is too short for you to not take this chance with him. What if you’d been in that house when he got there yesterday?”
Her question was a sneak attack right in my gut. “Wh—what?” I stammered, feeling light-headed.
“I said . . . what if you’d been home yesterday when he broke into your house? What if you weren’t here today? What if instead of me standing here talking to you right now, I was at home crying on my couch, wondering what I’m going to wear to your funeral in a couple days?”
I swallowed hard as my stomach swirled round and round. “Ouch. Ellie, that’s harsh.”
“That’s life.” She shrugged. “And you’re so worried about what other agents or athletes or the losers of the Internet are going to say about you that you’re missing out on an amazing man.”
She gave me another hug, followed by a kiss on the cheek, and opened my office door. “Think about it.”
CHAPTER 29
Andy
Dani spent most of Friday night alone in her bedroom, so I didn’t have any clue what her weekend plans were, but it was the last weekend of the summer for Logan and Becca, and they wanted to have some fun.
“Okay, what are we doing again?” I yawned, hovering over my coffee cup at the kitchen table.
“Remember, Daddy? I want to go to breakfast, then The Bouncy Bandit, then lunch, then the park,” Becca said happily. “And my tummy is growling, so we need to go soon.”