Chapter Fourteen
Dani felt totally wrung out.
She rested her head back against the soft leather as the car sped them back to the villa. She’d never spoken of Sam to anyone before. Now she realized how much she had kept bottled up inside. She’d told Zach that she’d understood why her parents had acted as they did. That didn’t mean it hadn’t hurt.
At the time, it had been like the end of the world, and the years after Sam’s death had been as though she moved though a gray fog, splintered by sharp jabs of intense pain.
In some ways, it had been easier once her mother had left them. Being ignored by her father was like a dull ache, but her mother’s accusing glances had been agony.
What a total mess.
The army had straightened her out. Well, as straight as she was likely to get, though she was aware there were still a few kinks.
She wasn’t ready to meet Zach’s friends. She didn’t want to be faced with the evidence that she didn’t fit into his life. Right now she was living in a lovely little bubble, and she had an inkling that it was about to burst. Maybe she needed to get in there and burst it first, not wait for it to happen. She gave Zach a quick sideways peek—not yet.
She felt and, no doubt, looked like she’d been dunked in seawater and dried all crumpled. She was gritty with sand. What she needed was a long shower and then to crawl into bed with Zach and forget about everything.
Zach appeared quite content to maintain the silence, though he did search out her hand and rest it on his lap.
Dani closed her eyes, but talking about Sam had brought back all those memories she’d buried deep. She could see the past more clearly now. Sam’s death had been a tragic accident that had sent all their lives spiraling out of control, and she hadn’t stopped until she’d gotten away from the source of the poison. But it was still in there, maybe too deep to ever be lanced.
She understood the problem. She’d spent too many years believing she was a misfit, unlovable, that she didn’t fit in. More than that, the very people who might have had the power to pull her back, save her, had abandoned her instead.
Opening her eyes, she watched Zach as he stared out of the car window. In profile, he was perfect. Strong nose, passionate lips, flawless cheekbones. What did he see in her? When would he finally realize that she wasn’t…?
She shook off the thought. The whole idea of coming to care for Zach was impossible; she couldn’t let it happen, couldn’t set herself up for that sort of pain again. Perhaps if he’d been a different sort of man, more…ordinary, then she might have risked it. But if he’d been ordinary, if he’d been anyone other than Zach, would she have wanted to?
Three more days.
Gary pulled up in front of the villa and she scrambled out. Zach took her hand before she could make a run for it. She didn’t want to meet these strangers now, when she was feeling so vulnerable, but she also didn’t want to make a scene, so she allowed him to pull her inside the house.
The door into the lounge opened, and a man stepped out. Medium height, slender, with a smile on his narrow, handsome face.
“Zach.”
He came to a halt in front of them and peered at her with laughter glinting in his pale gray eyes. “So this is how you’ve been amusing yourself. Novel.”
“Fuck off, Julian.” Zach dragged her forward. “This is Dani. And she has two very big dogs, so I’d be careful what you say.”
Julian smiled and held out a hand. At least Zach had to let her go so she could step forward to take it.
“Wonderful to meet you, Dani. Any friend of Zach’s is a friend of mine.”
The guy sounded creepily insincere. “Likewise,” she murmured.
The door behind them swung open. Through it, she could see into the lounge. A group of people stood in the center. For a moment, it looked like a whole crowd, but she realized there were just four, three women and a man. All tall. All glamorous. All staring their way. And all no doubt wondering what the hell Zach was doing with her.
She so didn’t need this right now.
She tugged her hand free. “Nice to meet you,” she said coolly, then turned to Zach. “I should go and check on those dogs.”
It was Julian who answered. “Come and have a drink first, meet Zach’s friends.”
She glanced at Zach. His hands were shoved in his pockets, his lips held in a thin line, but he didn’t speak.
“Maybe later,” she said. “Enjoy your evening.”
She turned and walked away.
“Dani.” She was almost at the door when Zach called her name. She glanced back over her shoulder. “I’ll see you later,” he said.