Divorced, Desperate and Daring

by Christie Craig

  Chloe made a face. “Fine, if you don’t want to tell me. Don’t.”

  Sheri dropped back on the sofa. “I’m not ‘not telling’ you something. I’m just . . . scared.”

  “And only about someone trying to kill you?” she asked, lifting her eyebrow as if daring Sheri to lie.

  “Well, that, too.” Sheri admitted.

  “And Danny, right?” Chloe asked.

  Oh, hell! She could not keep anything from Chloe. The woman was practically a mind reader. “Fine, I’m worried about him,” Sheri admitted and bit down on her lip again. “He ran scared one time. What if he does it again? And what if this is a sign that he’s got serious issues and I’m gonna end up like my mom?”

  “Like your mom?” Chloe asked.

  “Loving a man who’s always doing her wrong. Someone I’m going to have to forgive over and over again.” Sheri sighed. “I could so easily fall in love with him.”

  “Whoa. I think you’re getting ahead of yourself. First, are you seeing signs of Danny skipping out again?” Chloe asked.

  “No . . . Maybe. Sometimes he just looks scared. Or maybe I’m imagining it. Or maybe I’m just worried because of what Anna said.”

  “Anna?” Chloe asked.

  “His cousin.” Sheri answered. Then she told Chloe about Anna showing up and being the woman she’d thought Danny had run home to before.

  Chloe nodded. “I remember him telling me about her. She lost her husband not too long ago.”

  “I didn’t know that,” Sheri said. “That’s sad. She’s young.”

  Chloe nodded and took another sip of tea. “But what did Anna tell you?”

  Sheri explained about the whole lost baby, lesbian, and divorce bomb Anna had dropped on her.

  “Shit!” Chloe said. “Cary told me Danny hadn’t told him why the marriage ended. He did say he didn’t like Tanya. I think he met her a couple of times when they were married. He also said he had a feeling the breakup was bad. Did you ask Danny about it?”

  “Sort of. I didn’t tell him Anna had said anything, but he mentioned his ex and I asked what happened.”

  “And?” Chloe asked.

  “We were going to meet my mom for dinner and were almost at the restaurant so he asked if we could talk about it later. Later never happened.”

  “Then bring it up again. And maybe you just need to tell him what you’re feeling. I mean, I know it’s hard, but look at what happened to Cary and me when I stopped seeing him without explaining what happened. He hadn’t even been seeing that woman anymore, and I just assumed . . . the worse.”

  Sheri held the cold tea glass in her hands. “Yeah, but if I start . . . throwing questions out like ‘where is this going?’ it might scare him even more.”

  “True,” Chloe said. “But if he’s that scared, you’re better off finding out now and not later when you’re completely in love with him.” A frown tightened her friend’s eyes. “If Danny does you wrong again, I might just have to kill him.”

  Sheri’s phone dinged with a text. It was from Danny.

  Mark passed the test. On our way.

  Sheri looked up at Chloe. “Mark passed. He’s not the one who sent me the bomb.”

  “You really thought he was?” Her friend sat her tea down, worry etched into her brow.

  “I just . . . If it’s not him. Who’s doing this? Who wants to kill me, Chloe? Who have I pissed off that bad besides one damn opossum?”

  • • •

  Danny was starving. Not for food, but to see Sheri. How could a few hours feel like weeks? And yet the second he walked into Cary’s condo and laid eyes on her, he turned into an idiot. He didn’t know what to do. Had Sheri told Chloe that they had . . . made up? Would Sheri want him to kiss her in front of Chloe and Cary? Not kiss her?

  Damn it, when had he become such an insecure twit?

  Cary moved straight in and laid one on his wife.

  All of a sudden Taco came barreling out of the kitchen to see Danny.

  Danny looked at her. “Your dog likes me. Dog-lover,” he said and pointed to himself.

  When Sheri smiled at him, his heart took over. Insecurities be damned, he moved in and kissed her. Not nearly as long or as deep as he wanted to, but he did it.

  When he pulled back, she looked up and was still smiling. That had to be good, didn’t it?

  “If you two could stop making out, we might be able to go to dinner,” Cary said.

  “Don’t even start,” Danny muttered without even looking back. “I’ve had to watch you two practically get to third base for almost a year.”

  “Not true,” Chloe said.

  “True,” Sheri said and giggled. And the sound of it was music to Danny’s ears.

  “Have you boys decided on where we’re going to eat?” Sheri asked.

  “I suggested Chinese,” Cary said. “There’s a good restaurant right up the street.”

  Sheri looked at Danny. “I like Chinese. You?”

  He nodded. But he couldn’t help but think of the bad chicken he’d consumed at Sheri’s. “Fine. I skipped lunch.” And skipped that other thing he had planned, he remembered, noticing how pretty she looked in the red sweater and wondering if she was wearing her red bra and panties.

  Chloe went to grab her purse, and Cary went to change his shirt. Alone, Danny kissed her again. When he pulled back, Sheri looked up at him. “So now we’re back to square one again?” she asked.

  Danny knew he should tell her about Patrick being married, but then again, maybe after they talked to him, they’d learn he was separated or something.

  “They couldn’t meet up with Patrick. Supposedly, he’s going to come in for an interview tomorrow. They also are going to bring in Kevin and his ex-fiancée for lie-detector tests.”

  She frowned. “What if we never find out who did it?”

  “We will.” He pulled her against him. Hearing Cary moving down the hall, Danny went back in for one last quick kiss.

  Before the kiss ended, Taco came hauling ass into the living room with Cary’s pintsize dog, Pooch, nipping at the big mastiff’s heels.

  Sheri jumped out of Danny’s arms to catch Pooch. Taco, tail tucked between his legs, crouched down and whimpered like the sky was falling.

  Danny knelt to try to calm the big dog. “It’s okay, buddy.” Then he looked up at Sheri. “I don’t believe this,” he said and glanced from the little rugrat to the mastiff. “You could breathe on that rodent, and it would hurt him.”

  “Sorry. He snuck out of our bedroom,” Cary said, chuckling. He took Pooch from Sheri and then glanced down at Danny. “I’m telling you, my dog’s a badass.”

  Danny looked back at Taco. “That’s just wrong. I’m going to take you to assertiveness classes.”

  • • •

  The restaurant seated them right away, and the dinner got off to a great start. At least when Sheri wasn’t thinking about someone wanting her dead. Danny had looked almost petrified when he’d first walked into Chloe’s condo, but he’d relaxed, and it even seemed like he was having a good time now.

  They’d ordered five different dinners and ate family style. Danny and Cary had beers, and Sheri and Chloe each had a glass of wine. The conversation moved all over the place, from cars, to Chloe’s books, to the craziest things Danny and Cary had dealt with on the job.

  “Did you know Cary used to be a stripper?” Chloe interjected.

  Sheri cracked up, not because she didn’t know it. Chloe had told her this story already about the undercover gig he’d done, but it was the look on Cary’s face that cracked her up.

  Danny laughed, too. “Oh, boy, do I remember. We gave him so much hell at work.”

  “Almost as hard as we laughed at you when you dressed up like a hot dog for that street festival investigation,” Cary shot back.

  “A hot dog?” Sheri asked.

  “Hey,” Danny said. “I was the best-looking wiener there.”

  The waitress dropped off the check and fortune cooki
es. Danny snagged the bill, and he and Cary argued for a few seconds.

  Chloe grabbed a cookie and then passed the plate for everyone to get one. Chloe opened hers. “Someone close to you is singing your praises,” she read aloud. She looked up at Sheri. “That’s true. Thank you,” she said to Sheri.

  “Hey, you don’t think I sing your praises?” Cary asked.

  “You do, but she’s my publicist.”

  “I swear,” Cary said looking at Sheri. “I think she loves you more than me.”

  Sheri laughed and watched Cary read his. “Hmm,” he said. Then he read it out loud. “‘You should take a job earning tips.’ You know, I did get a lot of tips stripping.”

  Chloe snatched the piece of paper. “It does not say that. It says . . . ‘You are never too old to learn.’”

  Sheri opened hers. “Never take a friend for granted.” She smiled at Chloe.

  Danny ripped open his. “Slow down. Life wasn’t meant to happen fast.” He didn’t say anything, and Sheri couldn’t help but worry if he wasn’t associating the fortune to their relationship right now. He dropped the piece of paper and ate his cookie.

  Sheri finished off the last sip of her wine.

  Other than Danny’s fortune, the dinner had been just about perfect. It was just so . . . normal feeling.

  As if everything in the world was right.

  As if she didn’t have some lunatic trying to kill her.

  As if she wouldn’t soon be asking Danny if she should just stay at Chloe’s. After all, it was the polite thing to do. The only reason he’d taken her in was because she hadn’t had anywhere else to go.

  Her gut told her he would insist she come home with him. But then she recalled that look on his face from this morning. And even his fortune.

  She realized how scared she was about the relationship, and considering Danny had even more emotional baggage, he might really want to slow things down.

  Staying at Chloe’s would definitely slow them down. Sheri’s pulse started to race. She knew that if Danny didn’t want her at his place, it was going to break her heart. Because right now, her heart didn’t want to slow anything down.

  • • •

  Cary parked, and they all got out. Sheri grabbed Danny’s hand and said to the Chloe, “We’ll be right in.”

  Danny looked at her, concern flashed in his baby blues. “Something wrong?”

  A cold wind blew and stirred her hair. She shivered just a bit. “No, I just needed a second.”

  Looking relieved, he took off his jacket and hung it around her shoulders. “I need more than a second,” he said and leaned in to kiss her.

  She let him. His brown leather jacket surrounded her with his scent and warmth. He tasted like sweet-and-sour chicken and fortune cookie. After a hot kiss, he pulled back. His hands moved to her waist under the jacket. They fit perfectly.

  His fingers slipped under her red sweater to her bare waist.

  He grinned. “You wearing red underwear?”

  She thumped on his chest. “Behave.”

  “There’s no fun in that. Besides, you might as well tell me. I’m going to find out later anyway.”

  She inhaled, relief whispering through her. “That’s what I wanted to ask. Do you . . .” Oh, heck, why was this so hard? “I could just stay with Chloe instead of going home with you.”

  His warm hands holding her waist slipped off. “What about Pooch and Taco?”

  It took her a second to digest what he’d said. And another to realize why it kind of stung. She’d wanted to hear that he wanted her there. “Yeah, but . . . I mean, we could keep them in separate rooms.”

  “Is that what you want?” Hurt rang in his voice.

  “No, I . . . I just don’t want to crowd you.”

  “Did I make you feel as if you crowded me?” Now he sounded offended.

  “No, but we’re new, and I know some guys wouldn’t want—”

  “I’m not some guys.”

  She frowned, not sure how she’d screwed this up. “I’m just trying to figure this out, Danny.”

  “Then let’s figure it out together, at my place. Unless you don’t—”

  She put a hand on his chest. “I needed to make sure you wanted me there.”

  “I do,” he said. He put his hand over hers. Then he dipped down and kissed her again. And although she wouldn’t swear by it, there was something different in that kiss. Something almost desperate.

  • • •

  They left Chloe’s right away. It was only seven when they arrived back at his place. He tried to convince himself that Sheri’s offer to stay at Chloe’s didn’t mean shit.

  Because if it did mean something, it was bad news. Was she already tired of him? Hadn’t last night been as amazing for her as it had been for him? Then he worried he hadn’t told her how amazing it had been. Tonight, he’d remedy that.

  They put the leftovers in the fridge, and he suggested they go ahead and walk Taco. Danny grabbed another coat from the hall closet.

  “I’m sorry,” Sheri said. “I never gave you your coat back.”

  “It’s okay,” he said. “You look good in it.”

  His mind created an image of her wearing only it and some red underwear. He leaned down and kissed her. As they walked out, he took her hand. The wind picked up, and the full moon hung in the dark sky. Taco, obviously leash-trained, trotted along beside them. As they walked, they talked about everything from Taco’s fear of Pooch, to camping, to the moon.

  Fifteen minutes later, they walked back in and shed their coats. She got out Taco’s food.

  “Look at that,” Danny said. “He’s already drooling.”

  “He can’t help it.” Sheri defended him.

  “I’m not complaining. I’m just shocked.”

  They went and sat on the sofa. “Anything on television you want to watch?” he asked.

  They both agreed they didn’t watch much on Mondays, but he flipped through a few channels anyway.

  After a few minutes, he found country music videos, left it there and leaned in and kissed her. He slipped his hand under her sweater.

  Breaking the kiss, she looked up at him. “I think I’d like a shower.”

  He lifted a brow. “Mind company?”

  She smiled. “I’ve always been into water conservation.”

  “Me, too.” He popped up and offered her his hand.

  He turned on the water, and they were just about to take off their clothes when his cell rang. “Go get it,” she said.

  He’d rather not, but he went to grab it. It was Anna.

  “How are things?” she asked.

  Danny moved back to the hall where he could see Sheri in his bedroom starting to undress. “Getting better and better,” he said, his gaze on Sheri removing her dress.

  Red underwear. Damn.

  Anna chuckled. “That sounds really good. Is she still at your place?”

  “Uh, huh,” he managed to say and saw Sheri reach back for her bra.

  “Did I tell you I was applying to do some home health care?”

  “You’re not working at the hospital?” he asked, trying to think but . . .

  “Yes, but a couple of days a week, I’m going to do home health care.”

  He saw Sheri’s bra slip off her shoulders. “Uh huh.”

  “Danny?”

  The bra dropped to the floor. His mind quit working. “Huh?”

  “Is this a bad time?” she asked as if realizing he wasn’t listening.

  Her question brought him out of his sexually induced stupor. “Uh, no. Not really. Is everything okay?”

  “Great. I just wanted to check in.”

  Sheri bent down and removed her red panties. He slipped right back into the stupor and smiled when he saw her ‘black and white cookie.’ “Uhhh . . . Can I call you tomorrow?”

  “Yeah,” she said and chuckled as if she knew what was happening. “Have a great night.”

  “I plan on it.”

  Chapter
Twenty-four

  Danny hung up and started removing his shirt as he made his way down the hall.

  By the time he got in the room, Sheri was in the shower. He stood in his bathroom, taking off the rest of his clothes and spying on her as she rubbed herself down with soap.

  He was already hard when he stepped in. “You started without me.”

  She turned around, her gaze lowered and she lifted her eyes quickly.

  “So did you.” Her chuckle sounded a little bashful, and her cheeks got pink. God, he loved that about her.

  Water ran down her body. He let himself enjoy the view. “You look good wet.”

  She smiled. “You’re not bad yourself.” She leaned in. Her bare chest came against him, and he inhaled from the sheer pleasure of it.

  Pressing her hands on his chest, she gazed up at him. “Thank you,” she said.

  “For what?”

  “For letting me stay here. For putting up with my drooly dog.”

  He lowered his head and kissed her.

  Sheri’s hand moved around to his back, lowering until she cupped his ass. Then she shifted her right hand around and wrapped her palm around him.

  He moaned at the perfect amount of pressure with which she held him and shifted her hand down and up over his sex. Before he knew her intent, she’d knelt down and taken him in her mouth.

  His breath caught. The sight and feel of her sweet lips around him nearly pushed him over the edge. He pulled her up, pressed her against the tiled wall, started kissing her lips and then slowly moved down. Her soft moans were music to his ears as he left her breasts for the softness between her thighs.

  She called out his name when she came with his tongue, and he felt her knees buckle. He shot up and caught her. He stayed there, kissing her, until he felt her regain her balance.

  So high on her, his sex hard and pulsing, he almost fell on his ass as he stepped out of the shower to get a condom.

  He slid it on, and when he turned around, she was standing right outside the shower, wet, naked and sexy as hell.