The Best Friend Bargain(55)
“Hi, Sienna. It’s great to hear your voice, too. I miss you.”
“Miss you, too. Is everything okay?”
Liv sat on the edge of the bed in Danny’s room. “Will’s here.”
“In White Strand?” she said, not as surprised as Liv would have liked.
“Yes and something doesn’t seem right.”
“Oh, Olivia. I’m sorry I didn’t warn you. I didn’t realize he meant to fly out there so quickly.”
“What’s going on, Sienna? And please tell me the truth. I can’t risk my heart again or my baby’s well being if something is wrong.”
“What has he said to you?”
“He’s sorry and wants me back in London with him.”
Sienna let out a harsh breath that made Liv’s heart pinch. “That arse.”
The pinch worsened. “Tell me what I need to know.”
“I’m sorry, Olivia. Are you sitting down?”
…
Danny walked down the beach, kicking up sand and scowling at the seagulls. He should have changed into his wetsuit and grabbed his surfboard out of the garage, but he hadn’t been thinking clearly when he’d stormed out of the house.
His worst nightmare had come true. Will, Mr. Shit for Brains and Doesn’t Deserve Her, Stapleton had come for Liv. And from the vibe Danny had gotten, they’d been in contact more than Liv had shared. Did she still love the jerk?
No. She couldn’t. She never would have shared his bed if she still did.
Didn’t mean she wouldn’t give the bloke a second chance.
That’s what he’d come for, with flowers in his hand and a smarmy smile. Danny clenched his hands into fists. He’d wanted to punch the guy for hurting Liv. Punch him a second time for showing up unannounced and draining all the color from Liv’s face.
The guy rubbed Danny the wrong way, but then he’d never been able to let go of a grudge when it concerned Liv.
A crackling static sound drew Danny’s attention away from the water. “Hey, old man, looks like you finally found something.”
Henry smiled back, each wrinkle on the old guy’s face a story Henry was only too keen to share. “Looks like.”
Danny helped him dig in the sand to find what his metal detector had located.
“Balls to the wall,” Henry said, making Danny laugh. “Check it out.”
Danny whistled. “I think you just hit the jackpot.” The woman’s ring, platinum Danny guessed, included one large round diamond set inside the middle of the band with several smaller ones trailing down each side. “Looks like an antique.”
“Agreed,” Henry said. He sat in the sand and brought the ring to the tip of his nose for a closer look. Danny parked himself in the cold granules alongside Henry. “There’s an engraving. ‘O. L. Love Forever D. E. 8-6-1966.’”
The date didn’t interest Danny so much as the initials. They were his and Olivia’s. The random coincidence had his heart running back to her. He looked down the beach in the direction of his house.
His effing heart. That organ he’d told not to engage in any funny business. He hadn’t meant to feel anything more than friendship, but he was pretty sure the jealous, greedy rush hitting his bloodstream meant he didn’t want Liv with anyone else but him.
And here he’d been worried about Liv, wanting her to keep her heart free because if her feelings for him deepened and he screwed up, there would be no going back to friends. No apology that would fix what he’d broken.
“I should probably turn this in to the police,” Henry said.
“Probably.”
“I ever tell you about the girl I loved and lost?”
“No. What happened?” Danny asked.
“She married my cousin.”
“Ouch.”
Henry shrugged. “It was my own damn fault. I pushed her away because I thought that was best for her, but turns out I made a mistake.”
Danny watched the waves roll onto shore. “How so?”
“I’d enlisted in the Navy two months before I met her. The day I shipped out I told her I loved her and she said she loved me back. But we were twenty-two and I didn’t want her to worry about me. I didn’t want her to wait.” The melancholy in Henry’s voice reminded Danny of his own actions with his medical condition.
“I broke up with her even though she insisted she could handle the separation and uncertainty. I didn’t care what she had to say. I let my pride get in the way and lost her when I should have held on.” He let out a breath. “I should have accepted her at her word. Instead, I made her decision for her.”
“You never met anyone else?”