“What are you talking about?”
“She’s the girl, Danny. You’ve just been too blind to see it.”
“Aptly put considering one day I won’t see a damn thing.”
The night of Bryce’s awards dinner earlier in the year flashed through Danny’s mind. Liv staying at his place afterward and catching him naked in the middle of the night. Him taking in the thin white sleep shirt that covered and shared her curves. Lust had stormed him like a heat wave and he’d wanted to kiss her, get her bare, and make love to her.
He’d held back, but he hadn’t been able to get her off his mind. A couple of weeks later he called to ask her to dinner, secretly planning to feel her out for signs she felt the same desires he did, but she’d told him she couldn’t because she was leaving for London.
She’d taken a piece of him with her when she left.
Had he been half in love with her then, but afraid to admit it? Afraid to ruin the most important relationship he’d ever had?
“You’re thinking really hard over there,” Bryce said.
Danny rubbed between his eyes. “I’m thinking it doesn’t matter. That Will can offer her a future I can’t.”
“That’s bullshit. I know what you think your future holds and you know I don’t agree with it. Liv doesn’t either. It doesn’t always matter what you can and can’t see. Sometimes you still miss things. Important things. And life still goes on.”
They were silent for a few beats, small waves splashing onto shore filling the quiet. “I’m afraid I won’t be able to handle the changes I’m facing and I’ll hurt her.”
“Ever think you might be the one to get hurt?”
Hell, with the way his heart was dragging, it was already too late for that. Which meant Will had come at the perfect time. Danny hoped the guy didn’t blow it.
“You’re an idiot,” Bryce said, like he’d read Danny’s mind. “She loves you and she always will, despite what you think is best for her.”
Danny shrugged and got to his feet. “Thanks for the talk.”
Bryce stood, frowned. “Not sure we got anywhere.”
“What are you talking about? You’ve got a proposal ready to go now.”
“True, but Danny?” Danny turned his head to look at his friend. “Don’t do anything without some serious thought.”
“I won’t.” He meant it. With each step closer to home he realized the house hadn’t been a home until Liv arrived and filled it with her smiles, her laughter, her quiet concentration when she read or sat outside under the willow tree.
Liv was the girl.
Problem was he was a bad investment. He wasn’t, he realized, as scared of his feelings for her as he was on edge about her feelings for him. The sacrifices she’d encounter to make his life better when the last thing he wanted was to feel like an obligation.
Not to mention the feelings a kid would develop for him.
Now that he’d given serious thought to fatherhood, it killed him to think about the things he wouldn’t see: high school dates and sporting events, graduations, happy tears and sad tears, waves good-bye and hello, smile lines around Liv’s eyes and mouth when she saw all of that.
If he walked away, regardless of whether Liv ended up with Will, she could be with someone who could take care of her in ways Danny wouldn’t be able to when they hit middle age and beyond. And he and Liv would still be friends.
Friendship had always been their thing.
It was time to remember that.
Chapter Thirteen
Olivia paced outside Ellis Design silently cursing her ooh-la-la lavender deodorant. The “2-3 clicks of product” recommended in the directions obviously did not apply to pregnant women. Or a woman about to tell her best friend he was everything to her.
Love. You love him. Do not be chicken. Tell him.
After hanging up the phone with Sienna yesterday, Liv had left the house before Danny returned. She’d driven to the White Strand Inn, found a corner table in the bar, and waited for Will to join her.
“Hello, Olivia,” he’d said, taking the seat next to her. “You look beautiful.”
He didn’t look too bad himself, but she didn’t feel even the tiniest spark of attraction anymore. “Thanks for meeting me,” she said around a friendly smile.
“I think I’m the one who should be thanking you. Listen, before you say what you need to tell me, I want to come clean about something.”
“Oh?” Was he going to tell her about the coveted promotion at work?
“I wasn’t 100 percent honest with you earlier.” He reached for her hand, but she tucked it into her lap. “I do want a second chance with you, but I should tell you part of the reason is because of my job.”