“You wouldn’t—”
“Why wouldn’t I?” He licked his lips, giving her a thorough once-over. “I definitely would. Unless you can give me some incentive not to?”
“You really are a bastard,” she said, her voice breaking. “I don’t know what I ever saw in you.”
“Oh, but you do know what you saw in a guy who killed your twin brother? That’s forgivable, but cheating isn’t? What the hell’s wrong with you, Danielle?”
Her phone rang, three short rings to indicate she had a visitor. “That’s Ace. You have to go. He can’t find you here.”
“Fine, I’ll leave. But you need to think about what I said.” He walked backward to the door. “This can’t end well. For you or for him. But you get to decide how much damage I can do with the information I have.”
***
Ace could tell Dani was off. She was jumpy and seemed distracted. They were supposed to be watching a movie, but she kept checking her phone and chewing on her lip as though she was expecting something to go down.
“Waiting for a call?” he asked, gesturing to her phone.
“What? Oh no.” She set it on the end table beside her. “Sorry.”
“How’s work?” he asked, grabbing a handful from the bowl of trail mix she’d set on the table.
“Busy, as always.” She forced a smile. “But I wouldn’t have it any other way. When I started managing the hotel, we went through a major reno, trying to appeal to a younger crowd. That, combined with some innovative new marketing ideas, has helped us reach a different demographic.”
“You really love what you do, huh?” Ace watched her, trying to get a read on how tied she was to her job and this city. He knew she felt responsible for her parents and would find it difficult to leave them, but his career could take him anywhere next year. He needed to know if there was even a slim chance she’d go with him.
“Yeah, I do.” She smiled as she tucked her legs under her, looking relaxed for the first time all evening. “When I originally decided to study tourism and hospitality, I imagined working at some fancy resort on the other side of the world. But there’s a lot to be said for staying close to home.”
“So you thought about leaving then?” he asked, reaching for his bottled water. That surprised him. He would have thought his hometown girl had never thought about leaving.
“Of course I thought about it.” She held her thick, wavy hair off her face with her hand.
“And if the right opportunity came along, you would have taken it?”
“I probably would have jumped at it,” she said quietly, staring at a patterned cushion resting between them. “For a long time, I wanted to escape.”
“Escape?”
“My parents. The heavy weight of obligation. Their sadness and depression. The memories.”
He understood wanting to escape bad memories. When he’d returned to town after years away, he couldn’t drive down the street where the accident happened. He took a twenty-minute detour just to get home from the ball park where he helped run a camp for at-risk kids who wanted to play baseball.
“I don’t know if I can be happy with them in my life, Ace.”
He didn’t know how to respond to that. He’d always been pretty tight with his parents and couldn’t imagine not wanting them around.
Dani continued as though she didn’t notice his silence. “They think they know what’s best for me, but they don’t. They impose their opinions on me and act like I owe it to them to do what they expect me to do.”
“Such as?” He suspected he already knew what her parents had been pressuring her about as of late.
“My father went to Mike after I told them that he’d cheated on me. They didn’t seem to care. Like I told you, they blamed it on me for not setting a wedding date sooner.”
He wouldn’t defend her parents, but he wouldn’t slam them either. He knew they loved their kids and only wanted what was best for them. “How do you know your father talked to him? He told you?”
She shook her head, looking glum. “No, Mike did.”
“You saw him?” Ace shifted so they were facing each other, and he removed the cushion between them, tossing it aside. “When? Where?”
“He stopped by right before you got here.”
“Is that why you’ve been off tonight?” When she didn’t respond, he gripped her chin, forcing her to look at him. “What the hell did he say to you?”
“He doesn’t want us to be together.” She sighed. “And he’s willing to do whatever it takes to make sure we’re not.”
“You think I give a shit what he thinks?” Ace could tell she was torn, and it pissed him off to think she might have residual feelings for her ex after what he did to her. “But you obviously do care.”
“No,” she said, looking panicked. “It’s not like that. You’ve got it all wrong.”
“Then tell me, what is it?”
“He’s living in my building now,” she said, looking miserable as she glanced at the movie they’d lost interest in watching.
Ace got the impression her ex would do anything to get closer to Dani, which concerned him. He was away a lot and he didn’t know much about this guy, aside from the fact he was an amoral dirtbag who’d cheated on the woman he claimed to love. “Since when?”
“It’s a recent thing, I guess.” She closed her eyes. “I don’t really care about that. Sure, it’ll be awkward, running into him in the elevator or at the mailbox, but it is what it is. I can’t stop him from living in this building if he wants to.”
While Ace wasn’t thrilled with the idea of Dani running into her ex, she was right; there was nothing they could do about it. “But I get the feeling there’s another reason we’re talking about him.”
“He put two and two together, figured out you’re the ex-boyfriend who…”
“Killed your brother?” He knew those words were no easier for her to hear than they were for him to say.
“He’s threatening to use that information to hurt you… and me.”
He was more concerned about how Mike intended to hurt her. He could take care of himself. “What did he say exactly?”
“He just implied that he could expose your secret. Go to the press, I guess, or post the story on social media. Nowadays it’s so easy for something to go viral. You have to admit, this would be a big story.”
“Sure, it would. For a few days. Until the next big story came along.” Ace knew being in the public eye meant taking the risk that this could come out eventually, but he wasn’t the only ball player with a criminal record. The team wouldn’t trade him over this. He hoped.
“But it would affect the way people view you,” she said, reaching for his hand. “I’ve done my homework, Ace. I know you’ve done a lot of good work, especially for kids. If word about this got out, it would hurt your career, your image, not to mention your endorsement deals. And that’s not fair. You’re not the same guy now you were back then. You’ve grown up, matured, paid your debt to society.”
He inched closer, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. He was touched by her concern for him, but he had to know… “How about you? Have I paid my debt to you yet?”
Her eyes roamed his face before resting on his lips. “Nothing will bring my brother back,” she whispered, touching his jaw. “And I’ll probably think about him every day for the rest of my life.”
“Just know that I will too.”
“I do know that.” She leaned in and kissed him softly. “You’re not indebted to me. You never were. I understand that it was a terrible accident. You may have made a bad call that night, but you weren’t the only one. Linc did too.”
“So where do we go from here?” He wanted her to tell him they kept moving forward, but he knew that may be wishful thinking on his part.
“Mike threatened to tell my parents about us.”
“That son of a bitch.” He could handle the backlash if people found out, but he wasn’t so sure she could. “You want me to
talk to him? Try to—”
“They stopped living,” she said quietly. “And I think they want me to as well. They don’t take risks anymore, and they’ve made it their mission to instill that same fear in me. Joy is foreign to them now, and they don’t want me to be happy either.” She drew a deep breath. “I don’t know if it’s because they don’t think anyone has the right to be happy now that Linc’s no longer with us—”
“You know that’s not true, even if they think it is, don’t you?” He brushed her side-swept bangs out of her eyes, wishing he could take away her pain. “You deserve to be happy, even if it’s not with me.”
“We all deserve to be happy,” she said, taking his hand. “I know that’s what Linc would want for me. They’re not honoring his memory by living half a life.”
“I’m not scared, you know.” He’d spent a lot of time thinking about what would happen if the truth threatened to come out, and he had a plan. “I’ll own what I did. I’ll apologize for it and look for opportunities to help causes that try to prevent drunk driving. If they’ll let me, I can MC events for them.” He shrugged. “Maybe even become a spokesperson, who knows?”
She smiled as she touched his face. “You’ve become the man I always knew you would be.”
That sounded too final to make Ace feel at ease. “I appreciate that.” Even if she let him go now, making peace with her was giving him a sense of freedom he hadn’t known since the accident. “So are you saying you don’t think we should see each other anymore?”
Her eyes fell to his knee, which was grazing hers. “I think that should be your decision. You’re the one with the most to lose if everyone finds out.”
“That’s not true, Dani.” He tipped her chin up, staring into her eyes. “You could stand to lose your parents. I already took Linc from you. I can’t be responsible for you losing them too.”
“So what are you saying?” she asked, her eyes widening. “You don’t want to be with me?”
That was the last thing he wanted to say, but he heard himself whisper, “Maybe this is for the best. For now.”
***
Ace was at his ex-girlfriend’s birthday party, wishing he could have helped Dani celebrate hers. But as he watched Stacey cozy up to her ex-boyfriend while he tried to pretend that his life didn’t suck, he knew a birthday gift from him would only have reminded Dani that her brother would never be able to celebrate another birthday with her. Thanks to him.
“Hey,” Tenley said, bumping shoulders with him. Though for her that meant her shoulder hit his bicep. “Glad you could make it.”
“Wouldn’t have missed it,” he lied. He hadn’t planned on coming, but Rowan had stopped by and dragged him out of the house, refusing to allow him to stay home and feel sorry for himself, as he put it.
“Rowan told me what happened with Dani,” Tenley said, linking her arm through his. “I’m sorry, honey. That really sucks.”
He cleared his throat. “I knew it was risky. We have a lot of history. Most of it bad. It was bound to come back and bite us eventually.”
“If most of it were bad, you wouldn’t have wanted her back at all. You’re not stupid.”
“You’re right.” He brought his water bottle to his lips. “Most of it was good. There was just that one bad night, but it was bad enough to overshadow all the good up to that point.”
“Yet she was willing to give you another chance.”
“Yeah, that’s something I don’t think I ever really expected. I wanted to see her again, to apologize and share with her some things that belonged to her brother.” He watched couples slow dancing and wondered what Dani was doing… who she was with. “But I never thought there was a hope in hell the chemistry would still be there.”
“But it was.”
“Yeah, it was.” He bit his lip. “It may sound crazy, but all those feelings I’d had for her, the ones I thought I’d buried, all came back like no time had passed at all. With her, I am still that carefree kid with his whole life ahead of him. The one who believes that anything is possible.”
“Then why let her go? Why not fight for that?”
“It wouldn’t be fair to her. She’s already been through so much because of me. I couldn’t put her through any more.”
“Do you know how I’d feel if I were Dani?” Tenley asked, looking up at him.
“How?”
“I’d feel as though you didn’t care enough to fight for me. I’d think I wasn’t worth the effort.”
“That’s not true. She knows that’s not true.”
“You know what they say, Ace. Actions speak louder than words.”
Chapter Twelve
“God, I hate him for what he’s doing to you. It wasn’t bad enough he cheated on you? Now he has to try to ruin the best thing that’s happened to you in years?”
Dani was checking to make sure their largest ballroom had been set up according to the bride and groom’s specifications. Ro had tagged along to… talk about Ace apparently.
“I can’t think about this now,” Dani warned. “We’re booked solid this weekend, with this wedding and that conference—”
“You’re just trying to avoid talking about it because you’re hurt. If you ask me, you’ve given him too much power. Tell your parents about Ace, then you won’t have to worry about whether Mike will spill the beans.”
“I’m honestly beyond caring about how my parents will react to my life choices.” She’d had two weeks to think about it since Mike issued his warning, and she’d decided her parents could support her decisions or not. She was tired of living her life for them because they’d already endured so much.
“Then what’s the problem?” Ro asked, spreading her hands. “Call Ace and tell him you’ve had a change of heart and you’re willing to see him again.”
“This isn’t about me,” she said, trying to maintain her composure. Every time she thought about Ace, she felt sad and frustrated. She wanted to be with him but couldn’t. And it didn’t seem fair. Fate had brought him back into her life only to take him away again? Why? It didn’t make sense. “This is about Ace and his career. He’s worked too hard to shed his past to have it brought to light now. He doesn’t deserve that, and I won’t be the reason he has to suffer.”
Rosanna stepped in front of her, gripping her shoulders. “You really care about this guy, don’t you?”
Rosanna hadn’t been with Dani during the Ace phase of her teen years. She couldn’t possibly understand how much he’d meant to her.
“You know how it is with first love. They always have a part of your heart, right?”
She rolled her eyes. “Not my first love. He had a mop of curly hair, braces, and acne.” She shuddered. “I have no fond memories of that time.”
Dani smiled, hugging her tablet. “I guess I was lucky then. Ace was sweet, sexy, smart, athletic… he was just… everything.”
“Uh, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but he still is all of those things. And more.”
“I’ve noticed.” Every time Dani tried to convince herself letting him go was for the best, she got an ache deep down that reminded her there’d never be another Maceon. He was more than her first love. He felt like her destiny.
“You once told me a part of you died when your brother did, but not just because you’d lost him. Because you’d lost your boyfriend too.”
“I remember.” They’d been having a girls’ night, and after a few glasses of wine, Dani confessed that she’d never really loved her fiancé the way she did her first boyfriend.
“Honey,” Ro said, putting her arm around Dani, “you can’t bring your brother back, as much as you might wish you could. But you can have Ace back. He’s right there for the taking. And I just can’t understand why you’re letting him go again. It doesn’t make any sense.”
“It makes sense to me,” she said, stepping back. “I’m doing it for him.”
***
Ace was surprised to find Rosanna waiting for him when he showed
up at the stadium to get a little extra practice in before their game.
“Hey,” he said, giving her a one-armed hug. “What are you doing here? Is it Dani? Is she okay?”
“She’s fine,” Rosanna assured him, touching his arm. “But she is the reason I’m here.” She gestured to her car. “Do you think you could spare me a few minutes to talk?”
“In your car?” he asked. “We could go in—”
“I’d rather have some privacy.”
“Okay. I don’t have a lot of time though.” But if it was for Dani, he’d make the time.
Once they were seated in her late model Honda, she asked, “How’ve you been?”
“Okay, I guess.” He stared straight ahead, drumming his fingers on his leg. “Trying to keep busy.” Which wasn’t hard to do during the regular season. If he’d lost his last chance with Dani during the off-season, he would have been a mess with too much time on his hands.
“Yeah, same goes for Danielle. But that’s not working out so well for her. I can tell this is killing her.”
Ace curled his hand into a fist. “If I’d known I was going to hurt her like this, I would have stayed the hell away. I’ve already done too much damage, cost her—”
“That’s your answer?” Rosanna asked, sounding incredulous. “You never take the chance? How did you get where you are with an attitude like that?”
He wasn’t used to being challenged, so he simply stared at her before he realized she was waiting for a response. “It was different with baseball. I didn’t have a Plan B. I knew if I didn’t pursue that, I’d have no other options.”
“But love came easily for you? You’ve had plenty of girls in your life you could see yourself marrying and having a family with?”
He immediately thought of Stacey. He’d loved her, but he hadn’t been in love with her. When he thought of their future together, he couldn’t see marriage and kids, no matter how hard he tried. That was why he let her go to try to reconcile with her ex, because he hoped someone else could give her more. “I didn’t say that.”
Hit and Run (Summer Rush #2) Page 11