Good with His Hands(35)

Meg turned back to her date. "Sorry, but I have to kick you out now."

He squeezed her shoulder. "I'd expect no less. You're a loyal and  compassionate woman." He leaned forward and brushed the lightest kiss  across the corner of her mouth. "You're also incredibly sexy, but we'll  discuss that another time."

Her heart thudded in giddy pleasure and as he turned to go, she grabbed  him by the lapels of his suit jacket and planted a kiss soundly on his  lips, letting herself melt into it for the briefest of moments, her  mouth opening eagerly beneath his as she breathed in the scent of him,  the warmth of him.

"Right, then." She patted him on the chest, happy to see her basic  motor functions were still functioning. A kiss like that could shock a  girl's system. "Call me soon."

"Tomorrow," he promised, his gorgeous eyes looking a bit dazed. "And I  wouldn't even wait that long except I think your friend needs you."

"You should know, I warned your brother that if he hurt her, I would end him. How would you feel about being an only child?"

Bryce chuckled. "There have been days when it was my fondest wish." But  then he sobered. "I have to say, though, it's hard to imagine him  hurting her. The way he looks at her? I would have bet money he was a  man in love."

She grimaced, knowing Dani's feelings on that subject. "For his sake, I hope not."

* * *

WHEN DANI CAME home from a closing the following Monday afternoon, she  was surprised to find Meg sitting in her living room. She hadn't seen  much of her friend since rather rudely stonewalling Meg last week,  claiming she had no intention of discussing her breakup with Sean and  wasn't interested in anyone's opinion on the subject.

Dani was even more surprised to see that her unused wedding gown was  draped over the living room sofa. "What on earth are you doing with  that?"

"I needed a visual aid." Meg's eyes were gleaming and her arms were  crossed. She looked like someone prepared for battle. "Do you remember  the day we went shopping for a dress? You had a checklist of practical  considerations, like budget and the usual weather conditions for the  month you were getting married."

"Yeah. I planned ahead. I do that."

"Yes, very practical of you. And you found a dress that fit you well and matched all your criteria."                       
       
           



       

Dani nodded, lamenting the wasted time and money. "The perfect dress."

"No." Meg shook her finger at her. "Because you didn't love the dress.  You didn't light up when you looked in the mirror with that 'yes, this  is the one!' bridal glow. And you approached your relationship with Tate  in much the same way. He made sense according to some sort of practical  boyfriend list you had in your head. But he didn't make you glow."

Dani ground her teeth in frustration. "Not everyone's as emotionally  open as you are, Rafferty. I'm not a very glowy person." Nor did she  want to be. It was a silly basis for long-term decisions. "You think I  tell my clients to buy houses based on which ones give them the goofiest  smiles when they walk through the door? There are inspections to  schedule and lenders to consult."

"I don't think you give your heart enough credit," Meg argued. "You  think that just because it's an emotional decision, it can't also be  intelligent? Your heart was smart enough not to fall in love with Tate  Malcom. He didn't deserve you. I think Sean Grayson does. And what's  more, you think that, too. Your heart's shouting it at you, and you're  being a pansy. You've been miserable all week in a sterile,  I-refuse-to-cry, emotionless-robot kind of way. He made you happy!"

Sometimes. He also made her nervous. She realized now that Tate had  been safe. On some level, she'd known even when she agreed to marry him  that there was no chance he'd ever break her heart the way her mother's  death had broken her father's. Sean was exhilarating and consuming and  dangerous. He would never be "safe."

Because she couldn't contest Meg's point, she limited her response to a stiff, "I didn't ask your opinion."

Meg snorted. "That's never stopped you from giving yours. And most of  your advice to me has been spot-on. Well, it's my turn now. I'm the one  with the good advice. But it's up to you to get your head out of your  ass and take it!"

Dani blinked. "Did you just swear at me?"

"You're damn right I did! Extenuating circumstances. I've never seen  you truly in love before, and I can't stand that you let it slip through  your fingers."

"It's not like I broke up with him," Dani protested. "He said he didn't want to see me again."

"And you didn't fight to change his mind? That's what he would have  done. That's what he did do. Because he thought you were worth it."

Dani's throat burned and it was tough to get the words out. "Maybe he  was wrong." She'd called him "fun," as if he was a day at an amusement  park. He deserved someone who could love him back, and she wasn't sure  she was that person.





      14

AN HOUR LATER, Dani pulled into the parking lot of an upscale sports  bar. Meg had left because she had plans with her sister, and Dani  couldn't stand to be alone in her own company right now. Plus, that damn  wedding dress had been mocking her, taunting her with plans that hadn't  come to fruition and a future she might never have.

Wanting an excuse to flee her apartment that didn't feel cowardly,  she'd called Erik Frye. There was a baseball game on tonight, and she'd  suggested they watch it together and grab some dinner. She knew he was  still worried about his mother and figured they could both use some  distraction.

He was already inside, having come straight from work. The sports bar  was around the corner from his office. He hailed her from a back corner  booth. The spicy smell of buffalo wings was prevalent. On any other day,  her stomach would have rumbled in expectation.

"The waitress already brought our waters out," he said, pushing a plate  of lemon wedges toward her. He'd once teased that with the amount of  citrus she put in her water, she should just order lemonade. "But on the  phone you sounded like you might need something stronger to drink."

"I don't know what I need." Maybe the number of a good therapist. "A friendly shoulder?"

"You got it. I can just listen or give actual advice. Unless it's legal advice," he teased. "Then I have to bill you."

She managed a wan smile. "I've already had more advice than I can stand today. But it didn't solve my problem."

"I'm guessing this problem is a man?"

I don't know. She was starting to think she was her problem. "Can I ask you a question about your marriage?"                       
       
           



       

"Fire away. But since it ended in divorce, I can hardly claim to be an expert."

"That's my question." She fiddled with the straw in her drink. She  wasn't thirsty for her usual lemon water today. The taste in her mouth  was bitter enough. "If you'd known how it would go, that you and your  wife would get divorced, would you still have married her? That sounds  stupid, doesn't it? Of course you wouldn't-"

"Actually, I would." He looked surprised by his own admission. "We had a  lot of good years before things took a wrong turn, and I wouldn't trade  those for anything."

Though she hadn't asked her father the question-she hesitated bringing  up his wife's death-she knew deep down his answer would be the same. He  wouldn't have sacrificed the time he had with Gina. "My dad's a  widower," she said. "I don't know if I ever told you that. I don't  really remember my mom, but she was the love of his life."

"Must've been hard on him to lose her."

"I'm not sure he's ever been the same. He still misses her, still loves her. It seems a rather tragic way to live."

He raised an eyebrow. "Tell me the truth, is your calling me here  tonight really my secretary's idea? Because this sounds like a very  subtle intervention."

She laughed out loud. "I'm not hinting that you're tragic. Trust me."

"Good. I hope to get over my wife, eventually. I don't think failed  love dooms you to be alone forever. I can't know what your father's  going through, exactly, but we make choices. I choose to believe that  having loved Margot makes me a better person and that maybe I learned  from my mistakes and will have better relationships in the future. I'm  not ready yet, but that doesn't mean I'll never be."

I'm not ready yet. That's what she should have told Sean. She should  have embraced what he said about evolving. He hadn't asked her to love  him right now, he'd only asked that she give the possibility a chance.  And she'd resisted to the point of losing him.