His grin was full of mischief as he called out, “If it isn’t my favorite fairy god-agent.”
Bippity boppity bite me.
“Good to see you, Danica.”
She gave him a bland smile. “This is Natalie and Ross Andersen.”
“Nice to meet you. Sean Grayson.” He shook hands with both of them. “Danica’s already familiar with the display home, but if you don’t mind my horning in for a few minutes, I can point out a few things that can be customized and what variations we offer on the floor plan.”
The Andersens seemed happy to have his input. He was using her clients as human shields, knowing Dani couldn’t kick him to the curb while maintaining her professional veneer. Behind Natalie’s back, Dani scowled at him in silent accusation.
He responded with a beatific smile.
They proceeded through a generous foyer into the living room. Although the house was a two-story, the upstairs rooms were built around the first floor in an L-shape. The living room had a high ceiling with two skylights.
Natalie smiled up at them, charmed. “I wonder if you can see any stars at night.”
“Doubtful.” Ross joined his wife beneath a skylight, putting an arm around her waist. “They’ve done a nice job of preserving trees around here and not putting the houses right on top of each other, but it’s still an urban area. All the light pollution washes out the night sky.”
“Oh, I don’t know,” Sean said softly, for Dani’s ears only. “I’ve certainly seen stars in a living room.”
Sense memories blazed through her. Their mingled cries in her own living room. The leather of the couch cool against her skin, contrasting with the trail of heat created by his hands. She tried not to think about how closely he’d held her afterward.
Sean pivoted on his heel. “And right through here is the kitchen.” The model home included a flat-top stove and a kitchen island. “These counters are standard height, but we’ve also done some customization in the neighborhood to make individual kitchens more ergonomic.”
“Deviating from the norm can hurt resale value,” Dani warned her clients.
“One compromise for that is altering the height of a single counter surface to give yourself a break,” Sean suggested. “After all, people spend a lot of time in the kitchen. Standing, stretching to reach things, bending over...”
His gaze flickered to Dani, and her cheeks flamed. At the earliest opportunity, she was going to replace that damn couch.
His voice was completely composed as he continued talking about the kitchen, not betraying any sign that he shared her mental images. As he led them through the bedrooms, his demeanor was friendly but businesslike. Few listening would ever realize he was simultaneously having two different conversations—one with the Andersens, and one with her. Whatever assurances she’d made herself that she could remain strictly professional, he wasn’t playing by the same rules.
He showed them the master bathroom, with its spacious tiled shower and built-in bench. “I wish the shower in my town house was this roomy,” he joked. “Heck, you could fit two people in here. Easily.”
For a moment, she could almost feel steam caressing her body as Sean lathered shampoo through her hair. She gave herself a mental shake, pulling herself out of the memory, glad neither of the Andersens seemed to notice. But Sean’s eyes met hers over the top of Natalie’s head, his expression knowing.
After a quick scan of the bedroom and its vast walk-in closet, Natalie slid open the glass door that led to the balcony and stepped outside to check the view. “Ross, look. You can see how the entire neighborhood is laid out from up here.”
He joined his wife, closing the door behind him.
The second they were alone, Dani socked Sean in the arm.
His lips quirked. “I’m not typically into the rough stuff. But for you, I—”
“What is wrong with you?” she demanded in a fierce whisper. If he pretended not to know what she was talking about, she was going to sock him again. “Do you normally try to seduce everyone that sets foot into the display home?”
“No. Just you.”
The simple, poignant admission deflated her righteous fury. She’d expected him to play dumb and had been working herself up for a fight. Or, considering that the Andersens could rejoin them at any moment, at least a really angry glare. But he wasn’t denying his actions.
Instead, he stared at her with such open hunger that if he pulled her into his arms right then, she wouldn’t have been surprised. Indignant, maybe. Conflicted and confused and uncomfortably aroused. But not surprised.
“Sean...” Damn. The way she’d said his name didn’t sound like the admonishment she’d intended. It sounded dangerously close to an invitation.
He reached out, his hand cupping the side of her face. She swayed on her feet, unconsciously leaning toward him. Desire warred with common sense. The Andersens were right outside.
“I screwed up.” Compared to the amiable sales-pitch tone he’d been using, his voice seemed naked now, stripped of everything but unvarnished emotion. “I know how badly I screwed up. But if you’ll give me a chance...”
Wasn’t that what all liars and cheaters said? It’ll never happen again, baby. It was just this once. Sean sounded more convincing than most, but that wasn’t a guarantee. It might simply mean he was a skilled liar.
Seeming frustrated by her silence, he dropped his hand to his side. “You can’t tell me you don’t have any feelings about us.”
“Buyer’s remorse.” She took a step back, crossing her arms over her chest. “And embarrassment. I shared a really uncomfortable elevator ride with your brother.”
He winced. “You talked to Bryce?”
“Yeah. And, not that he’s entitled to an opinion, but I don’t think he approves of our jumping into bed together.”
Sean’s face tightened. “If he said one insulting word to you, I—”
“No, nothing outright.” She was startled by his protective tone and how quickly he sprang to her defense. As an only child, she didn’t have any personal basis for comparison when it came to sibling relationships, but she’d watched Meg with her family plenty of times. The Raffertys razzed each other and even seriously disagreed on occasion, but the core of their relationship was loyalty. They presented a united front to outsiders.
Apparently, such was not the case with Sean and his brother. One would think that identical twins, sharing the same DNA, would be the closest siblings of all.
“It wasn’t that he said anything hateful,” she clarified. “He just seems...”
“To have a stick up his butt?” He scrubbed a hand over his face. “Sorry. I shouldn’t be crass. Or involve you in family squabbles. It’s just that my holier-than-thou brother—”
“It is beautiful out there,” Natalie said, stepping back inside. “Of course, if we moved into the neighborhood, I’d want a house without a view of the community pool. I’m not sure my self-esteem could take Ross watching babes in bikinis while I’m pregnant out to here with twins.”
“Hey,” her husband said sternly. “You are a babe. And carrying our children—” The unexpected sound of a foghorn filled the room. Ross pulled a cell phone from his pocket. “That’s my agent. I need to take this.” He retreated back onto the balcony for privacy.
“Twins, huh?” Sean smiled at Natalie. “I have a twin brother myself. We’re nothing alike, though. He’s Mr. Book Smart and I have what one counselor called ‘kinesthetic intelligence.’ Which is a fancy way of saying, I’m good with my hands.”
Dani kept her gaze steadfastly locked on the baseboard, refusing to risk a glance in his direction.
“We’re having twin girls,” Natalie said.
“Congratulations.” Sean leaned forward, his voice an exaggerated whisper. “Boys are obnoxious handfuls.”
“How long have the two of you been married?” Sean asked conversationally.
“Seven years.”
“Well, it’s easy to see you were made for each other.” Sean unknowingly echoed the opinion Dani had always held about the Andersens.
Natalie giggled. “It’s sweet of you to say that, but it wasn’t always apparent. We had a rather, er, tumultuous courtship.”
The door behind them slid open, and Ross raised his eyebrows at his wife’s amused expression. “Did I miss something funny?”
“Natalie was just telling us that, early on, the two of you hit some bumps in the road,” Dani said. “Which, personally, I find impossible to believe.”
“Oh, believe it. Although, calling them ‘bumps’ is kinder than I deserve.” Ross grimaced, putting his arm around Natalie’s shoulders. “Thank God my wife is a forgiving woman.”
She snuggled against him. “You were worth forgiving. Besides, what choice did I have? My only other option was being without you.”
The words reverberated through Dani. Even without turning her head, she could feel Sean’s gaze on her, his silent entreaty. He wanted her to forgive him. And, frankly, it was tempting. Sean was the most exhilarating man she’d ever known.
But what was the saying? Fool me once, shame on you... Did she want to risk setting herself up to be made a fool of again? In Dani’s opinion, the key part of Natalie’s story wasn’t that she’d forgiven her husband. It was her certainty that he’d been worth it.
Dani was nowhere near the neighborhood of certainty. That neighborhood hadn’t even been zoned for development yet. Was Sean worth second-guessing herself, going back on what she felt was a wise decision? There was one absolute way to know for sure, but she didn’t think she could face the consequences of being wrong.
* * *
AFTER WORK FRIDAY, Dani attended an orientation meeting for all the volunteers in the softball league, then grabbed a late dinner with a few of the other coaches. It was almost ten when she got home, and it had been a fairly eventful week. She took a quick shower, planning to curl up with a good book afterward. She deserved some downtime.
But once she’d shimmied into a pair of comfortable pajamas and scanned both her e-reader and bedroom shelf for choices, she realized she felt too manic to concentrate. Restless and edgy. That would be the sexual frustration.
She rejected the thought as soon as it crossed her mind. Frustrated, because of a few paltry moments alone with Sean today? Ha! She’d been celibate for months and had survived just fine. She was not going to become a needy hostage to her hormones. For crying out loud, it had only been a week since she’d had sex.
Really, really great sex.
A knock sounded at her front door. Dani was so tightly strung that she jumped. Who the hell was showing up unannounced at this hour of the night? Sean.
The unbidden thought made her go liquid inside. There’d been that moment today when he’d considered going for broke and kissing her—she’d seen it in his eyes, heard it in the change of his breathing. If he was rash enough to do it, did she trust herself not to kiss him back? No.
She was honest enough to admit to herself that, if she opened the door and let him in, they were going to make love. She just didn’t know if that’s what she wanted.
Another knock interrupted her mental debate. Down, girl. It’s probably not even him. One of her neighbors had given Dani a spare key for the times she’d locked herself out of her apartment, which was four and counting. Dani went into her living room warily, as if Sean’s magnetism might be too much for her to resist even through metal-reinforced wood.
“Who is it?” she called, not yet close enough to look through the peep-hole.
“It’s me.” Muffled sniffling came from the other side. “Meg.”
Dani unfastened the chain and turned the deadbolt. “You’re the last person I expected to see.” She knew from their chats earlier this week that Meg and Nolan had special plans tonight. It was their six-month anniversary.
“Sorry I didn’t call first,” Meg said. “I left the house in such a hurry I forgot that my phone was on the charger instead of in my purse.”
“You know you’re always welcome, any time day or night. No advance notice require.” She ushered her inside, getting a clearer look at her friend. Something was obviously wrong.
Meg wore a slinky green dress and killer gold sandals. At some point, she’d also been wearing suitably dramatic evening makeup. But mascara that had no doubt started the evening on her lashes now formed rivulets over blotchy red cheeks. Meg sniffed, and Dani turned to find her a box of tissues.
“Here.”
Meg took the box but hardly seemed to register what it was for. She clutched it against her, staggering numbly toward the sofa, offering no clue what was wrong.
Dani took a stab in the dark. “Don’t tell me he forgot your anniversary.”
“No, he asked me to marry him.”
And that warranted sobbing? Dani blinked, trying to connect the dots between a proposal and her friend’s current condition. “Are these...happy tears?” They sure as hell didn’t look like it.
Meg made a loud, honking sound midway between a laugh and a sob. “Hardly! Before I could even think how to answer him, he was outlining our future. You know how he’s a little older than you and me? Well, it turns out he’s in quite a hurry to become a father.”
“And this was the first you’d heard about it?”
“I knew he wanted to be a dad someday. I didn’t know he wanted to be one now. I have nieces and nephews. I love them, but I see how much work they are. There are a lot of things a childless married couple can do that they might not have the freedom—or disposable income—for after kids come along. When I tried telling Nolan that, it was like he misunderstood, that he just thought I was worried I wouldn’t be a good mom, so he kept reassuring me and trying to get me to see things his way.”
Recalling how Meg had come to her rescue post-Sean with mimosas, Dani asked, “Do we need liquor for this?” She wasn’t sure what she had in the cabinets, but if it would help her friend, she’d find something.
Meg blew her nose. “Can I just have some ice water? I’m feeling a little dehydrated.”
“Coming right up.” She filled two glasses and returned to the living room. “For what it’s worth, when you decide you are ready for children—many moons from now—you will make a fantastic mom.”
Her friend had an innately nurturing spirit and optimistic outlook. She was fun, the kind of mother who would finger-paint with her kids and laugh at the mess, but she was also a successful businesswoman, smart and savvy. And unlike Dani, she’d never accidentally swear in front of young ears.
Meg gave her a watery smile, showing appreciation for the support. “If Nolan had said anything like that, I might still be there now. His repeated attempts to bring me around to his way of thinking are what caused the excrement to really hit the fan. He told me he’d known from the first time he laid eyes on me that I was made to be a mom, that I had a generous smile and compassionate eyes. And child-bearing hips.”
Dani choked on her water.
“Yeah. I took offense, too, but he assured me it was a compliment, not criticism, that he considers me ‘pleasingly plump.’”
“He called you plump? Bastard.”
“It was so awful. Here was this guy offering me everything I want, but he ruined it. He kept saying he loves me, but I’m not sure he understands me at all. Get this—in the imaginary future he has all mapped out for us, he assumed I’d quit working at the store to be a stay-at-home mom. He said that remaining a silent partner would bring welcome income, but t
hat selling corsets and lace panties isn’t a respectable job for a mother. Tell that to my sister who co-owns the place and has two kids!”
“I’d pay money to see him tell your sister. Marissa would lay him out flat.”
“The more he talked, the clearer it became that I’ve completely wasted the past six months. And it’s not like I can keep living in his house now that I’ve broken up with him. Can I stay here tonight?”
“Of course.” The sofa folded out into a bed. “Not the poshest of accommodations, but mi crappy apartment es su crappy apartment. Seriously, stay as long as you need.” As a real-estate agent, she knew there were dozens of factors that played into choosing a living arrangement. Desperation shouldn’t be one of them. There was no need for Meg to go from one rash housing situation to another. “For now, all we have to do is address getting your stuff out of Nolan’s place and into temporary storage. The rest, we’ll figure out with time.”
Meg’s face crumpled. “You were right all along. I never should have moved in with him so soon. Then I wouldn’t be in this mess.”
“Don’t beat yourself up.” Dani squeezed her shoulder. “It doesn’t matter what I thought. You were brave enough to take a chance. I’ve been thinking a lot about chances.” Second chances, missed chances. “They offer rewards and pose risks. How are we supposed to know which risks are worth it if we never take them?”
“Thank you.” Meg leaned her head back, staring forlornly at the ceiling. “But for the record? I wish I hadn’t taken it.”
* * *
DUSK WAS FALLING across Decatur as Sean drove to his parents’ on Sunday evening. His mom had called earlier in the week, insisting that both her sons come over for a belated birthday celebration and see the pictures from Hawaii.
“I managed to get them loaded onto my computer,” Keely Grayson had said proudly. “All four hundred and thirty-three! Bryce says there’s something he can do so that we can watch them on the TV. Like an old-fashioned slide show.”
Four hundred photos seemed a bit extreme to Sean. Still, he was looking forward to the Never-Ending Slide Show more than he was looking forward to seeing Bryce. For once, Sean would welcome one of his brother’s last-minute cancellations. Keely hated it when her sons fought, but Sean wasn’t sure how they could be in the same room without that happening. When he thought about how Bryce had made Dani feel, his temper bubbled and boiled like one of the active volcanoes his parents had just visited.
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