“He can’t take back the mistake he made that night, Danielle. I know he would if he could—”
“I know he would too.” She’d never questioned that. She knew he would likely give his own life if he could bring her brother back.
“I can’t tell you what to do,” Rowan said, sliding his chair back. “You have to decide for yourself what’s right. Just make sure you think it through before you decide. This might be your last chance to say the things you’ve always wanted to say to Ace. Yell at him if you need to. Cry. Tell him what he did to you. But don’t walk away with those thoughts locked inside, hon. It will eat away at you, and you don’t deserve to be punished for what happened that night. I don’t think your brother would want that for you, and I know Ace doesn’t.”
Chapter Four
Ace was enjoying a scotch in the armchair of his sitting room when he heard her faint knock. He knew she would come. She couldn’t walk away any more than he could let her walk away.
Dani froze when he answered the door. “I wasn’t sure if I should come.”
“I’m glad you did.” He stood back, hoping she didn’t feel as anxious as he did, though he knew she had to be. “Come in.”
“Thank you.” She slipped inside, letting the door close. Setting his key card on the writing desk just inside the foyer, she failed to look at him. “I don’t even know why I’m here.” Her breath was shaky as she finally faced him. “I guess I just felt there was more to say.”
“Okay.” He held up his near-empty glass. “Would you like a drink while we talk?”
She seemed surprised that he was so willing to accept her explanation. But he wasn’t interested in pushing her. Whatever she wanted, or didn’t want, to discuss about that night and the years that followed had to be her decision, done on her timetable. He’d waited this long. He could wait a little longer.
“That would be nice, thank you.” She stood in front of the armchair across the room.
He made his way to the mini-bar. “Would you like a glass of wine? Chardonnay?” He remembered that was her drink of choice, but that seemed like a lifetime ago. He knew the girl she’d been, not the woman she was.
“Perfect, thank you.”
She seemed uneasy being alone with him, and he knew there were a multitude of reasons. Not the least of which was their ever-present physical chemistry. It was still intense, even more so when they were alone.
Taking his time with the drinks so she could collect herself, he finally turned and crossed the room. Passing the glass to her, he said, “To the excellent job you did tonight. I know my friends were pleased.”
“Thank you.” She touched her glass to his. “I’m glad.”
“Thank you for coming, Dani. For giving me a little more time.”
“Danielle.” She brought the glass to her lips. “Only you and Linc ever called me Dani… and I’m not really comfortable with that anymore.”
“Fair enough.” He understood too well not wanting to be associated with the person you used to be. “And it’s Ace, not Mace or Maceon anymore.”
“Okay.” Her eyes traveled to the sofa. “I don’t know how long I can stay. Tomorrow’s going to be a busy day with last-minute preparations for the wedding.”
“Let’s have a seat,” he said, gesturing toward the sofa.
“Sounds good.”
She walked ahead of him, and he couldn’t help scanning her body from head to toe. The years had been good to her. She was even more beautiful now than he’d expected her to be.
Dani kept a respectable distance between them when they sat, reminding him they weren’t together anymore. They weren’t even friends.
“I have that box I told you about.” He wasn’t sure if that was the only reason she’d come or if she was truly willing to talk… and listen. “If you’re ready to see it.”
She took a sip of wine, followed by another. “Maybe in a minute, if you don’t mind?” She took a deep breath, her hand trembling slightly as she set her glass on the side table. “This is just a lot to process. I never expected to see you again, much less have the opportunity to see and hold new things that had been important to my brother.”
“I understand.” He went through that box at least once a month, to remind himself of Linc, how much he missed him, and how important it was to make good decisions.
“Rowan told me about the scholarship. That was nice of you.”
He would never have been the one to tell her about that, but he wasn’t sorry that Rowan had. Ace wanted her to believe him when he told her he’d never forget her brother or the impact his mistake had had on his life. “I wasn’t trying to be nice. I was just trying to do the right thing.”
“He made a mistake too, getting into that car with you.” Her eyes met his and held for a fraction of a second before she said, “I know that. It’s not easy to admit, because that means he was partially responsible for his own death—”
“He wasn’t.” Ace didn’t want her to think Linc had been on a suicide mission that night. He had so much to live for, with a bright future ahead of him and dozens of people who loved him. “I was behind the wheel. It was my fault.”
“But you said you told him to get out of the car—”
“But when he wouldn’t, I should have just parked the damn thing. He was too good of a friend to let me drive drunk. I think he believed I wouldn’t be stupid enough to put both of our lives at risk. That’s why he climbed in the car with me. He thought that would give me enough reason to stay.”
“It would have been his birthday next week,” she said, looking into her wine glass.
“And yours. I haven’t forgotten.” How could he forget the birth date of the only woman he’d ever really loved and the man he killed?
“I don’t celebrate birthdays anymore,” she said, shaking her head slightly. “Not since we lost Linc. It would be too painful.”
He wondered how many other celebrations were hollow without her twin: Christmases where she and her parents just went through the motions, anniversaries…
“I’m sorry.” Ace knew it was stupid to think an apology would be enough. Nothing would ever be enough to make up for the damage he’d done. “I know there’s nothing I can say or do to make you understand how sorry I am—”
“It’s okay,” she whispered, covering his hand with hers. “I do understand, Ace.”
He could barely breathe as his eyes touched on her hand. He never thought he’d feel the softness or warmth of her skin again. The vibration that seemed to dance from her hand to his, all the way up his arm, was like a shock of electricity.
“Was it horrible?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper. “Your time in jail?” She withdrew her hand, shaking her head. “Forget I asked that. Stupid question. Of course it was horrible.”
“It gave me a lot of time to think. To mature, figure out what I wanted to do with the rest of my life.”
“I guess I don’t have to guess how you got here,” she said, gesturing to their posh surroundings. “But it’s a far cry from our blue-collar upbringing, you have to admit.”
“Yeah.” He couldn’t believe she actually wanted to hear about his life, but he wasn’t going to squander the opportunity. If he could convince her that he wasn’t the same dumb kid he’d been, maybe she could consider forgiving him. For her sake, not for his. “After I got out, I was determined to make up for lost time. I knew I had talent, but I had to work my ass off to get another team to give me a chance. It was a long battle, especially when people heard I did time, but I eventually managed to convince everyone that I’d learned from my mistake and wasn’t going to be a liability to the team.”
She seemed to consider what she wanted to say before she blurted, “Congratulations on your success. I’m… proud of you.”
“Thank you.” He was humbled by the words, mainly because he’d never expected to hear her say them. “I had to make my life count for something.” Ace locked eyes with her, pleading with her to understand t
hat he’d done as much for her and Linc as he had for himself. “I couldn’t figure out why I was spared and he died. I still feel so guilty about that.”
“You shouldn’t,” she said softly. “He wouldn’t have wanted that.”
“I met this guy on the inside who’d accidentally shot his own mother. We shared a cell for a while.”
She gasped. “My God. I can’t imagine. That must have been horrible.”
“He went through a period of intense self-loathing, did a lot of stupid things to wind up in juvie. You see, he never served time for what he did to her. The judge deemed it an accident. But my friend thought he deserved to be punished.”
“So he punished himself.” She licked her lips, her eyes straying around the room. “I know what that’s like.”
He wanted to know what she meant by that, how she’d punished herself, but he didn’t have the right to ask her personal questions. “Yeah. I probably would have done the same—punished myself with drugs and alcohol and street fights the way he did. But getting to know him made me realize I would be dishonoring your brother’s memory if I wasted my life like that, the way he was dishonoring his mother’s memory.”
“So you got your life together as a tribute to Linc?”
Ace knew it didn’t make sense, but every day, he tried to live his life in honor of the friend he’d lost. “I thought about what he would want if he’d been spared.” He swallowed, feeling pain and grief welling up in his throat. “We spent a lot of time talking about all the dreams we had, things we wanted to do. So I had a pretty good idea of what he’d do.”
“I know how much he loved baseball,” she said, smiling. “That was the thing that brought you two together, wasn’t it?”
They’d been on the same baseball team when they were fifteen. Linc convinced him to transfer high schools junior year, and that’s when Ace met Dani.
“Yeah.” Ace thought about the day he’d met his best friend. He hadn’t known then that their relationship would change the course of his life forever. “And I met you just a few months later. Linc hated that you and I were into each other.”
She smiled, lowering her head. “I remember. My parents weren’t too crazy about it either. They thought I was too young for a boyfriend.”
“You probably were too young.” If he had a daughter that age, he sure as hell wouldn’t want her to be doing the things he and Dani had been. “But that didn’t stop us, did it?”
“No, it didn’t.” She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “I think it made my parents feel better that your dad was a cop.” She chuckled. “Don’t ask me why. But then they got to know you and they fell in love with you, just like I did.”
He got a dull ache in his chest every time he thought about her parents. They’d been his second family, and he’d believed they’d be his in-laws one day. It was still difficult to get through the day knowing he’d given them reason to hate him.
“How are your parents?”
“They’re good.” He was surprised that she’d asked, though he probably shouldn’t have been. Given the choice, his parents would have hand-picked Dani for him. They loved her like a daughter from the very first time they met her. “My old man’s retired now. My mom says he’s turned into a couch potato.”
“My dad’s retired now too, and my mom says the same thing.” She shrugged. “They worked hard all their lives. I guess they earned the right to do nothing, if that’s what they want.”
“I guess so.” He reached for the wine bottle to refill her glass, but she shook her head, setting down her near-empty glass.
“I should go. I have to be up early in the morning.”
“Do you want to take the box with you, go through it when you feel up to it?”
“Um…” She bit her lips, flattening her hands on her outer thighs as she leaned forward. “Can I give that some more thought? I’ve had a lot to process tonight, seeing you again, and I think I just need a good night’s sleep and to think things through, you know?”
“Of course.” He walked her to the door. There were so many things he wanted to say, so many questions he wanted to ask her… about the man she planned to marry, for starters. “I guess I’ll see you tomorrow then,” he said, opening the door for her. “Is there anything I can do to help prepare for the wedding?” He knew it was a stupid question, since she probably had all the help she needed from her staff.
“Nothing I can think of off the top of my head,” she said with a grateful smile. “But I’ll let you know if I change my mind.”
“Yeah, you do that.” He held his breath as she stepped through the door and turned to face him.
“I never thought I’d say this, but I’m glad you were here tonight. Seeing you again, talking about Linc, it’s helped a bit.”
“I’m glad.” It had helped him too, more than she would know, but this visit wasn’t about his healing. It was about hers.
***
The following morning, Danielle was enjoying a quick breakfast from the buffet with her best friend and assistant when Ace walked in.
“Oh my God,” Rosanna whispered, leaning over the table to clasp Danielle’s hand. “That’s Ace Phillips, isn’t it?”
“It is,” she said, reaching for her juice as her gaze landed on Ace.
Ro had left early last night because of a headache, so she hadn’t met Ace. Her fiancé was a huge baseball fan and she went to plenty of games, so she probably knew Ace’s stats off the top of her head. She knew Danielle had once been in love with a boy who’d gone to jail for killing her twin brother in a drunk driving accident, but she didn’t know he’d gone on to riches and acclaim in baseball after paying his debt to society.
“Oh my God, he’s heading this way,” she hissed, squeezing Danielle’s hand.
She cleared her throat, trying to mentally prepare for the emotional onslaught of talking to him again. She’d gotten precious little sleep last night as she tossed and turned, thinking about him. Trying to merge the stupid, reckless boy he’d been with the responsible man he portrayed himself as now.
“Good morning, Ace,” she said with a tight smile. “This is my friend and assistant, Rosanna Marks. Ro, Ace Phillips. He’s a friend of the bride and groom.”
“It’s so nice to meet you,” she gushed, accepting his outstretched hand.
“You as well.” He turned to face Danielle after releasing Ro’s hand. “I just wanted to make sure you were doing okay after our talk last night, Dani… Danielle, sorry.”
Her eyes darted to Ro. The lilt of her brow told Danielle she was curious about their exchange but too polite to ask in front of Ace. “I’m fine.” It was a total lie, but hopefully he couldn’t read her anymore.
“I was hoping if you have a little time later today, we could meet for a drink?” He glanced at Ro, who was hanging on their every word. “You know, to pick up where we left off last night?”
“Um, I’m not sure if I’ll have time. If I do, I’ll come find you.”
“Fair enough.” He nodded at Ro. “Well, I’ll leave you ladies to your breakfast. Enjoy.”
Danielle knew it would have been polite to invite him to join them, but she just couldn’t bring herself to do it. It wasn’t so much that she still resented him for what happened with Linc; she just wasn’t quite ready to let it go.
“Did you just meet him last night?” Ro asked, watching Ace, who was standing at the omelette station and making small talk with the lady preparing his breakfast. “’Cause there sure as hell were some sparks flying between you two.” She fanned her face with her hand. “I can’t think of anyone better to help you take your mind off Mike the douc—”
“You don’t understand,” Danielle said, sneaking a peek over her shoulder to make sure Ace wasn’t within earshot. “We, uh, have history. It’s complicated.”
“Please tell me you’ve already slept with him. ‘Cause if you haven’t—”
“He killed Linc.” She regretted the words as soon as they were out of her m
outh. Just a few days ago, she might have been able to say them without thinking twice, but after hearing his apology and feeling his remorse, she couldn’t pretend he’d held a gun to Linc’s head and pulled the trigger. “I mean, he was driving the car—”
“Oh my God.” Ro reached for her friend’s hand, her green eyes shimmering with pity. “He was your high school boyfriend? The one who went to jail for manslaughter for—”
“That’s him.” Danielle withdrew her hand, before smiling at the bus boy who cleared their empty plates. “I don’t want to make a big deal of this, okay? Obviously I’m shocked that he’s here, but I don’t want this to distract us from our work.”
“This can’t be a coincidence,” Ro said, tucking a strand of wavy auburn hair behind her ear.
“It’s not.” She took a deep breath, knowing she wasn’t going to escape this conversation until she’d filled her nosy friend in on every last little detail. “Ace asked Rowan to hire me. He wanted a chance to see me, talk to me, where it wouldn’t be so easy for me to escape, I guess.”
“How do you feel about seeing him again?” Ro asked, leaning in. “It has to be weird, right?”
“That’s an understatement,” she muttered. There were no words to describe how she felt. “At first I was angry, then I was sad, now I’m…” She shrugged. “Just confused, I guess. I want to go on being mad at him because I feel I should, given what happened. But it’s a lot harder than I thought it would be.”
“Because you loved him?” she asked gently.
“Because he reminds me a little bit of the boy I used to love…” She sneaked a peek at him when he pulled up a seat at a table occupied by two of his teammates. “I guess I thought time would have hardened him, that jail would have turned him into someone I didn’t even recognize anymore.”
“But it didn’t?”
“As a teenager, he was pretty full of himself. I guess he had reason. He was sexy and smart. He was a good athlete. All the girls loved him. Everyone thought he was going somewhere—”
“Until the accident.”
Hit and Run (Summer Rush #2) Page 3