“Yeah, thanks.” He slipped a matching cloth napkin onto his lap.
“Good. I’m hoping that means I can have you all week.” She put aside her fancy day planner and put her elbows on the table while she gave him a serious look.
“All week?” He’d brought an overnight bag and made plans to crash with a friend since he and Jennifer had an early appointment with the project manager on the hotel tomorrow morning.
Jennifer unleashed a smile. “I’m designing Robert Downey Jr.’s new house, and I mentioned you. Showed him pictures of your work and he wants to meet with us tomorrow afternoon. If it goes well, he’ll probably want us to meet with his assistant the next day. And”—she paused for dramatic effect and, for the first time in hours, the weight on Danny’s shoulders lifted some—“my friend at Vanity Fair is doing a spotlight on up-and-coming furniture designers and she wants a quick chat with you on Thursday.”
“Wow.” He broke eye contact, leaned back in his chair.
“Right? And this is only the beginning of how bright your star is going to shine.”
A waiter stopped at the table to deliver a bottle of champagne. “I thought we should celebrate,” Jennifer said. “Hope you don’t mind.”
“Not at all.” This deserved some celebrating, the only problem being the woman he most wanted to share the news and celebrate with sat in a hospital bed.
How was she feeling? Had the dizziness subsided? Did she miss him or hate him?
Jennifer lifted her glass to clink with his. “To many more years of success,” she said.
Danny tapped her glass with his and took a healthy sip. He’d worked hard these past eight months and what he had to show for it far exceeded his expectations. Timing is everything, his dad often said.
“You don’t look as happy as I thought you’d be.” Jennifer opened her menu, but kept her eyes on him.
“Got a lot on my mind.” All of it centered on Olivia and how she’d taken his note. He’d done the right thing writing her. It didn’t take the crushing pain away, though. You can’t offer her safety and security for the long haul.
“You’re wondering if RD’s got an Iron Man suit lying around, aren’t you?”
Danny smiled. He appreciated Jennifer’s sense of humor when he needed it. “I wouldn’t say no to trying it on.”
“So you’re good to stick around?”
“I’m good to stick around.”
The job was supposed to be his end-all and, with the opportunities Jennifer presented, he planned to refocus his efforts. His future had been decided when a rare genetic disease slowly started stealing his vision, and he didn’t want to be resentful or angry about it. He wanted to deal with it on his terms.
Alone.
…
Olivia opened her eyes slowly, expecting—no hoping—to see Danny. Instead, two other handsome faces greeted her.
“Hey, Linc,” Bryce and Zane said at the same time. They sat in chairs near the window, their caring smiles filling her with fondness and warm feelings. Through the open blinds she noticed daylight hung on by a tiny thread.
“Hi guys.” Her gaze slid east.
“He’s not here,” Bryce said, and Liv’s eyes bounced away from the doorway and back to her friend. “He had a meeting in L.A.”
Smile. Like you know all about the meeting. Only she didn’t. She didn’t know anything at the moment. Weird how she could know nothing, yet feel everything at the same time.
She had a pretty good idea why Danny had left without a goodbye. He blamed himself for her fall. She hadn’t noticed it at first because concern for her and the baby had masked his shame, but having the past few hours to replay the few words he’d spoken and remember the guilt etched around his eyes, she knew two things: he hated himself for not catching her, and he probably blamed his weakening eyesight. A double whammy she would set him straight on if he’d give her the chance.
She should have noticed the power cord. Blame lay on her and no one else. Even with 20/20 vision, someone could make a mistake.
“Liv?” Zane said, recapturing her attention.
“I’m okay. Just thought…” She thought she mattered enough to keep him here. While she loved Zane and Bryce, they were a disappointing substitute for Danny.
“He’ll be back,” Bryce said.
“Right,” she answered, unconvinced.
Bryce raised his eyebrows in that cute, friendly way of his that always got her talking when something bothered her.
She did and she didn’t want to talk this time. These guys were her closest friends. And they were guys. Who knew Danny as well as she did. She smiled inside because only Bryce would actually want to talk things through with her. He had the sexy and sweet thing down. Zane, tall, commanding, and a David Beckham lookalike with a surfboard instead of a soccer ball, shrank in his chair, a big sign he’d rather skip ahead to a hug and good-bye. Not that he wasn’t sweet and sexy, too. He just saved that for Sophie.