by Kate Pearce
Faith patted the nearest stool. “Why don’t you sit up here and I’ll make us both a sandwich?”
“You sure about that?”
Faith met his gaze. “I know how much you care about Danny, and I get that you want to guard his back. Dave does the same for me.” She turned to the refrigerator. “I’ve got chicken, mayo, and salad. Will that work for you?”
Ten minutes later, Evan was starting on his third round of sandwiches, which he’d made himself while Faith ate her first.
“You know he’s in love with you, right?” Evan looked up. “Like seriously.”
“He did mention something to that effect,” Faith admitted.
“Do you love him back?”
“That’s the million-dollar question, right?” She held his gaze. “I also think that’s between me and Danny.”
“Okay.” Evan held up his hands. “I get it. I’ll shut up.”
Faith was just showing Evan out the door, with an extra bag of chips tucked under his arm in case he got hungry on the way home, when his brother’s truck parked up in the driveway.
“Crap,” Evan breathed. “Don’t tell him I was here.”
“Unless he’s suddenly lost his sight, he can see you right now, you idiot,” Faith said. “If you don’t want to talk to him, I suggest you make a run for it.”
“Will do. Thanks for lunch.”
Evan dived to the right and hightailed it around the bushes to his truck while Danny made his leisurely way to Faith’s side.
“What’s with him?” He pointed as his brother’s truck made a loud turn and roared away.
“No idea. Did you speak to Sue Ellen?” Faith asked.
“Yeah, I was just up there.” He searched her face. “Is everything okay?”
She smiled way too brightly. “I hope it will be. Can you come in and talk, or do you have to get back?”
“I’m here, aren’t I?” He followed her into the house. “I hope Evan wasn’t making trouble.”
“He was totally fine,” Faith assured him as she gathered up the plates and put them in the dishwasher. “Coffee?”
“Sure.” Danny still didn’t look convinced about Evan’s innocence. “Have you heard any more from Brandon and Callie?”
“Just a text to ask if I’d be willing to talk to them and when I didn’t reply, one to tell me they were leaving town.”
“Good riddance.”
“I feel kind of free of them now,” Faith admitted. “Their marriage is nothing to do with me and I won’t be dragged back into it.”
“Awesome.”
Faith drew a resolute breath. “I need to talk to you about something Brandon said.”
Danny leaned back against the countertop and nodded. “Shoot.”
“And I want you just to let me get to the end of it before you say anything,” Faith added.
“Got it.” He drew his finger across his lips.
“Okay. When I married Brandon, I was keen to start a family and he was totally on board, but things didn’t work out naturally. After a couple of years, we ended up seeing a bunch of specialists and things went downhill from there.” She grimaced. “You know me well enough to understand that failure was not an option and it became my life’s purpose to get pregnant, which wasn’t healthy.”
She met Danny’s gaze. “I think some of it was tied up with what happened with Marcus. Some stupid idea that this time I could do it right and that would make up for what I’d lost, but along the way it morphed into an obsession. I can totally see why Brandon wanted out. He tried to tell me, but I didn’t want to hear him, so he went off and complained to Callie behind my back. And then, of course, it came down to the fact that medically he was totally okay, and I . . . wasn’t.”
Now came the hard part. She gathered her courage. “The specialist finally obtained the surgical records of my emergency caesarian and subsequent full-blown eclampsia and coma from Vegas. She said I would never be able to carry a baby again.”
Danny stayed absolutely still.
Faith sucked in a breath. “I thought you should know that.”
“Because?”
“Obviously, I can’t have kids.”
“Okay.”
“Doesn’t that bother you?” Faith asked. “Like if we were to get back together then we wouldn’t be able to have another child.”
His slow smile was a beautiful thing to see. “If we get back together? Are you trying to tell me something here?”
“Danny Miler.” Faith almost stamped her foot. “I’m trying to give you an out!”
He came toward her, framed her face in his hands, and bent to kiss her nose. “We of all people know that there are plenty of kids in this world who need parents.”
“You’re saying . . .”
“Well, unless you’ve got a plan for stealing Marcus back, I guess I’m saying that if we can’t have our own, and it’s something we both want, we can certainly look at adopting.”
Faith’s eyes filled with tears. “I do love you.”
“I know.” He kissed her properly this time. “You just needed to find a way to say the words.”
“I just needed to believe that we could have a future together as well as a past,” Faith said. “Do you think—?”
“Yeah, I do,” Danny said firmly. “Now hold me tight because I’m shaking, here.”
She went up on her toes and wrapped her arms around his neck. “I love you, Danny Miller. I always have.”
A little while later, when she was sitting on his lap on the couch and things were getting heated, she remembered she was supposed to be back at work, grabbed for her phone, and texted Dave.
Hey, I might not make it back until 3. Can you cope?
Sure. What are you up to?
You don’t want to know.
Eew, GROSS. Give Danny a kiss from me.
Will do x
Actually, why don’t you take the rest of the day off and I’ll see you in the morning?
Faith turned to Danny, who’d been reading the texts over her shoulder.
“What do you think?”
He got out his own phone. “I think we need to take advantage of this free time and make a plan.”
Faith frowned. “A plan to do what?”
He grinned at her, set her on the couch, and stood up. “Wait and see. Hang on while I just make a few calls.”
* * *
Three hours later Faith was still staring at him like he was nuts, but at least she’d been willing to go along with his crazy idea. After calling his mom, who was the only person in his family who could keep a secret, he’d persuaded Silver to lend him her private jet and pilot and they were on the move.
“Please return to your seats. We will be landing in five minutes.”
Danny took the seat beside Faith and held her hand as he craned his head to see the lights of Vegas and the mind-boggling view of the Strip come into view.
“You still good on this?”
“It will certainly save us having to answer a lot of questions.”
He squeezed her fingers. “And this time, we’ll get it right. I promise.”
A private limo met them at the airport and whisked them away to one of the nicer and pricier of the Vegas hotels. At her insistence he’d left certain matters in Silver’s capable hands and was interested to see what she’d managed to achieve in the two hours head start she’d been given.
They were bowed into the hotel like royalty and taken up to what looked like the penthouse suite. There was certainly enough room for about fifty people in the place.
“The documents you requested are on the desk, sir, along with a copy of the preapproval you completed online. I will send someone up at six to escort you down to the wedding chapel. Ms. Meadows has ordered you a sumptuous repast that will be delivered to your suite after the celebration.”
“Thank you.” Danny went to tip the guy, but he held up his hand.
“No need, sir. All taken care of.” He gestured at the master bedr
oom. “I believe there are a variety of garments laid out in the dressing area if you wish to change for the ceremony, madam, and of course, complimentary robes courtesy of the hotel.”
As Danny closed the door behind the hotel guy Faith was already making a run for the bedroom. He grinned as he heard her gasp.
“Silver’s . . . amazing.”
“So Ben keeps telling me.”
Danny leaned against the doorframe as Faith stared openmouthed at the beautiful clothes hanging on the stand-alone rack. There were shoes, hats, bags, and all kinds of jewelry laid out on the coffee table as well.
“How did she know my size?” Faith spared him a brief glance.
“She asked. She also wanted to know if you needed a makeup artist and hairdresser, but I said you’d be okay without them.” Danny shrugged and strolled over to inspect his own rack of clothes. “Now, those are some fancy cowboy boots.”
“But how am I going to repay her?” Faith asked. “I mean, what if I spill red wine all over myself, or rip my hem, or—”
Danny handed her the notecard propped up on the sink and let her read it out loud.
“‘Dear Faith and Danny, please take what you want and consider it our wedding gift to you, love Silver and Ben xx.’”
“Sometimes it must be nice to be married to a millionaire movie star,” Danny murmured as he looked through the shirts on the rack. “Let me see what you’re going to wear, and then I can coordinate my look to yours.”
“Nope. I want to keep it a secret for as long as possible.” Faith set the notecard down on the table. “You pick exactly what you like, and I’ll tell you which accent color you need.”
“What does that even mean?” Danny pretended to complain as she hustled him toward the enormous bathroom and the slightly intimidating twenty-second-century shower.
“You know. Knock before you come back in to get changed and I’ll make sure I’m already out of your way.”
“Don’t you need a shower, too?”
She raised her eyebrows. “There are his-and-hers bathrooms in this suite. I’ll be fine.”
* * *
She picked something classic in cream with a soft little sparkly knitted shrug to go around her shoulders. The dress was V-neck and A-line with a rustling petticoat underneath. She’d gone fancy with her sparkling beaded teal shoes and a flower crown of sapphires and wildflowers. She looked like a million dollars and, as she currently felt like she was living in a dream, she intended to own it.
Despite the sudden decision to come to Vegas she knew in her soul that she was making the right choice. Danny wasn’t just her past, but her future as well, and there was no one she would rather have by her side in the upcoming years. They’d proved they could weather the worst of times, now hopefully they could enjoy the best.
“Faith . . .”
She turned to see Danny in the doorway. He wore a shirt in his favorite blue, cream pants, and the fanciest cowboy boots she had ever seen. He’d also replaced his battered straw cowboy hat with a new white one and carried a sports jacket over his arm.
“You see?” She pointed at his attire. “I knew you’d pick blue.”
“You look beautiful.” He came over and took her hands. “You still okay with all this?”
“Yes.” She smiled into his eyes. “After all the crap our families have put us through, I’m more than happy to get one over them for a change.”
His gray eyes crinkled at the corners as he grinned at her. “That’s my girl.”
“I think I always will be.” She squeezed his fingers. “Now, shall we go and get married?”
“Yeah. We’ve waited seventeen years for this.” He gently kissed her nose. “Now let’s do it right this time and make it forever.”
RECIPE
FAITH’S BACON, PEA, AND CHEDDAR CARBONARA FOR DANNY
Ingredients:
4 eggs
2 ounces strong cheddar cheese, finely grated
1 pound spaghetti
10 ounces frozen peas (defrosted)
8 slices of bacon, roughly diced into inch cubes
Method:
Whisk the eggs in a small bowl, mix in grated cheese, and season with black pepper.1
Cook the pasta as directed on packaging, add in peas for last 2 minutes to cook through.
Fry the bacon pieces for about 5 minutes until golden and crisp. Remove pan from heat.
When the pasta and peas are cooked, drain, reserving ½ cup of water. Add pasta, peas, and water to the bacon pan and toss together.
Pour in the egg and cheese mixture, toss through and stir for 2 minutes to allow the residual heat from the pasta to cook the eggs. Serve immediately.
Notes
1 If worried the eggs will curdle, add 2 tablespoons of heavy cream to the egg and cheese mixture before mixing into the pasta.