“I can’t stay.” Her conscience screamed at her to tell him the truth, but her heart was too afraid. He’d despise her if he knew she’d been stalking him.
“Look, I understand how difficult family relationships can be. Believe me, I know. And you don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to about your stepdad.” He scooted his stool closer. “But this job situation is out in the open now, at least between us. I should probably tell Shelby, but she’ll understand.”
“You don’t want me to go?”
“I’m glad you quit. Whatever the reason.”
“Why?”
“Because if you hadn’t, you’d never have met me.”
His boastful smile warmed her heart, but again her conscience pressed. One thing she had to do. No matter the consequences.
Dani pulled the ring from her pocket and held it out to him. He took it from her, his eyes darting from the ring to the cupboard where it had been kept, and then to Dani.
“How did you get this?”
She couldn’t hold back the tears any longer. “It was an accident. I didn’t mean to snoop.”
“You were snooping? When?”
“Not really.” She hiccupped. “But you had teased me about snooping, remember? Last time I was here. And then I wanted a drink of water. I was looking for a glass, and . . .” She hiccupped again as the words tumbled out. “I saw the dish. It was so lovely. The ring fell in my palm and then you came in and startled me and I didn’t know how to explain. I panicked, and I didn’t want you to think I was snooping and”—she paused to hiccup and catch her breath—“the next thing I knew it was in my pocket.”
She sniffed, then wiped her nose with her napkin. “I’m not a thief, honest, I’m not. I wanted to return it, but there was never a chance. At least not without you finding out.” Another hiccup, then she buried her face in her hands.
Immediately Brett wrapped his arms around her. Snug in his embrace, she let the tears flow.
A moment later, realizing his shoulders were shaking, she raised her eyes. He pressed his lips together, but soon his suppressed chuckles turned into teary-eyed laughter.
“What’s so funny?” she blubbered.
“You. Your ‘theft’ is like something out of a zany slapstick comedy.”
“You’re not angry?”
“Only amused. And hungry. What about you, my little snoop-dog? Feel like eating?”
“You are the nicest, kindest man I’ve ever met.” Really? Had those words just come out of her mouth?
Brett’s eyes clouded, but he smiled and tapped her nose. “I hope you always believe that about me. It’s not true, though. I’m neither nice nor kind.”
“You’ve been very kind to me.”
“And you’re a little vixen whether you know it or not.”
“I’m a what?”
“Never mind.”
“Who does it belong to? The ring?” Please don’t say Meghan.
“I think its Tracie’s. I found it after she, um, after she left.”
“Your girlfriend?”
“Ex-girlfriend.”
One more thing she had to know. “Did you give it to her?”
He gave a careless shrug. “I probably paid for it.”
“Probably?”
“Tracie liked to shop.”
“I can’t possibly imagine buying an expensive ring with someone else’s money. And not even telling him.”
“That’s one of the many differences between you and Tracie. A difference I appreciate, by the way.”
“Though maybe it’s not much different. Look at where I’m living.”
“It’s part of your compensation package. There are no strings attached with the cottage.”
“Were there strings with Tracie’s ring?”
“There were expectations.”
No need to ask what those were. But it hurt that the man of her dreams had such a cavalier past.
“She knew what she was getting into,” he said, his voice defensive. “It’s all part of . . .”
“The Game?”
“What do you know about that?”
“Not much, really. But enough to know I don’t want any part of it.”
“Another difference between you and Tracie.”
“So who broke up with whom?”
“How about we talk about your love life instead of mine.”
“Yours is much more interesting.”
“Tell me about just one guy. To make us even.”
“I didn’t have time to date. Not with school and a job.” Sometimes more than one job so she could stay in school. Waitressing, daycare, housecleaning. She’d done them all and more.
“No broken heart in your past?”
“Nope,” she said, almost chirping. The fake cheeriness hid the pressure descending on her chest. No broken heart in her past. But there might be one in her future. They weren’t playing Brett’s typical game, but she wasn’t immune to his charm.
She needed to stop seeing him, stop thinking about him, stop dreaming about him. Each moment they spent together increased the risk of him finding out who she really was. And yet, she couldn’t stop.
A timer buzzed, and he returned to the oven. “That’s the lasagna. How about we eat on the patio? There’s usually a nice breeze this time of day. And the view’s not too bad this high up.”
“Sounds wonderful.” She slid from the stool and grabbed her bag. “I’m going to freshen up a little, if that’s okay.”
“Just don’t take too long. Dinner’s about ready.”
Dani closed the bathroom door and leaned against the pedestal sink. She’d told the truth, sort of, about the job and confessed to taking the ring. Now there was only one secret between them.
A secret she had to keep.
– 27 –
Dani dabbed her mouth with the linen napkin, then placed it beside her plate. “That’s the best lasagna I’ve ever had.”
“I’ll let the chef know the next time I see him. He loves compliments from pretty young ladies.” Brett reached into his pocket, then slid something across the table. “Here’s another ring you might like to see. Just don’t take it home.”
“Ha-ha.” She shot daggers at him, then examined the ring, a brilliant solitaire diamond. “Is this a platinum band?”
“White gold. It’s probably an antique.”
“It’s stunning.” She almost asked if it belonged to his mother but stopped herself. Bringing up his parents was never a good idea. But she had to say something. “Where did you get it?”
“I found it in the office safe after Sully died.”
“It belonged to your grandmother?” Dani tilted the diamond one direction then the next, catching the setting sun’s rays within the prism.
“Unfortunately, no.”
“Then who?”
“You’re inquisitive.”
“Only intrigued. Besides, you did show it to me.”
“So I did. From what I understand, Sully planned to give it to the woman he loved. But when he came home from the Korean War, she was engaged to someone else.”
“How sad for him.” For the first time, Dani felt a twinge of sympathy for the man she considered a monster. Not just because of the things Brett had told her, but also because of the things she’d read in the investigative reports about the airplane crash. Sully Sullivan had made sure the fault was placed on her deceased mother. What Brett had said in the interview was true. If she had survived, she might have been charged with manslaughter. Or worse.
Dani’s thoughts created a whirlpool that threatened to drown her, but Brett’s voice broke through the waves of sickness and stilled the eddy.
“Depends on who you ask,” he said.
“I don’t understand.”
“The woman he was in love with married Thad Lassiter.”
“Shelby’s grandfather?”
“Sully bought this ring in Seoul, brought it all the way back from Korea. But when he found out that Thad a
nd Aubrey were engaged, he locked it away.”
Another sympathetic twinge. But the bitter old man’s youthful heartache was no excuse for what he’d done. For how he’d used his power, his influence, and his money to malign her mother.
“He never forgave her, did he?”
“I’m sure he didn’t.”
“There’s more to the story?”
“I wish I knew why Gran married him.”
“She must have loved him.”
“I suppose.”
“Was she terribly unhappy?”
“She was . . . stoic.” His pressed lips curved slightly upward, and warmth softened his eyes. “I wish you could have known her.”
“You think she’d have liked me?”
“She would have loved you.”
His words floated into a deep and hidden place in Dani’s heart, a treasure worth more to her than Sully’s diamond ring.
Brett hadn’t intended to say what he did, but he meant every word. His grandmother would have loved Dani.
The longing to spend another day with Gran, to hear her gentle laugh, to feel the soft touch of her palm against his cheek, welled up within him. The grief, only a few months old, rubbed his insides raw.
For all of Sully’s acumen, he’d been too blind to see how fortunate he’d been to have Joyanna as his wife.
The last time Brett asked Aubrey’s elderly brother about the ring, Richard had floated into the past, lost in the days before Aubrey’s wedding to Thad. He’d wanted Aubrey to change her mind and marry Sully instead.
“Then I can marry Joyanna,” he’d said, his voice a pitiable whimper.
It was the last conversation they’d had. A few days later, Richard had died in Shelby’s barn.
“The ring seems to symbolize spurned love,” Brett said to Dani. “And I don’t know what to do with it.”
“I don’t know either. Though if that’s how you feel about it, you probably shouldn’t give it to anyone you’re seriously involved with.” She handed the diamond back to him as if its radiance had burnt her hand.
“You mean you’d say no if I got on one knee and offered it to you?” He held up the ring, his voice teasing.
“I’d say no whatever you offered me.”
“You cut me to the quick, Dani Prescott.” He clutched at his heart. “Love spurned again. I tell you, this ring is bad luck.”
“Don’t blame the ring just because your grandfather lost the girl. It’s sad that something so lovely was hidden away. After all, things turned out okay, didn’t they?”
“I think that’s debatable.”
“But if he hadn’t married your grandmother, you wouldn’t be sitting here right now. I’d be talking to someone else. Or maybe I wouldn’t be here either.” Her face took on a strange expression, but her thoughts were hidden from him. Clouded and somehow sad until a sudden light sparked in her eyes, and a strange insight lasered into his mind.
“You wish that, don’t you?” he asked.
“Wish what?”
“That Sully had married Aubrey. That we weren’t here together.”
“Of course I don’t.” But her tone didn’t convince him. She forced a smile, then stacked their plates. “Did I tell you the lasagna was delicious?”
He gripped her hand to stop her from gathering the silverware. “Why does it matter to you who Sully married?”
“I was just thinking that maybe he wouldn’t have been so unhappy. Maybe he would have been a nicer man. All the circumstances of his life might have been different.”
“Maybe.” In his gut he knew she was hiding something from him. But what? Sully’s broken heart didn’t have anything to do with her.
He stood to help with the dishes. “So any ideas on what I can do with this ring?”
“Sell it. Pawn it.”
“And pass the curse on to some other innocent soul?”
“There’s no curse.” Dani rose too, and her eyes brightened. “But we could make up a story. He bought it in Seoul, right? Maybe it once belonged to a Korean prince. Do the Koreans have princes?”
“I have no idea. And I’ll leave the stories to your crazy imagination.”
“I think the ring first belonged to a handsome but poverty-stricken young man who was deeply in love with a beautiful young woman. She came from a wealthy family, so her father didn’t want her to marry the handsome young man.”
“If he was so poor, how did he afford the ring?”
“He worked hard and saved all his money. For years and years. Then he bought the ring and took it to the girl’s father.”
“Who threw him out and told him never to come back again.”
“Who said, ‘I’ve never seen anything so fine as the love you have for my daughter. Marry her and be happy.’ So you see, it’s a ring of happiness and the truest, deepest love.”
“That’s a great story but highly unlikely. Maybe I should just throw it in the Scioto River. End its unlucky streak.”
“You know, I never thought of you as the superstitious type. You’re too practical. Too business-y.”
“Business-y?”
“Yeah.”
“We all have our flaws. Even you.”
“What flaws do I have?” She held up a hand. “Nope. Don’t answer that.”
“Just look at your face.”
“What’s wrong with it?”
In the soft light of the afternoon sun, a rosy blush touched her cheeks and her dark eyes shone with a radiance that wrapped around his heart. “It’s perfect.”
Brett paid for the cannoli and two bottles of water, then followed Dani to one of the few wrought-iron tables lining the sidewalk outside the bakery. They’d walked the few blocks from his apartment, her fingers interlaced with his. Holding her hand had been the natural thing to do, as if she belonged to him and he belonged to her.
But not in the smothering confines of a relationship built on selfish expectations—greed on the woman’s part and lust on his. He’d dated numerous beautiful women. Showered them with expensive gifts. Given them access to his credit card.
Then unceremoniously sent them packing on an arbitrary timetable that stoked his ego. It’d been fun, he thought. But his callousness had hollowed out a chunk of his heart and left him cold and empty. He didn’t want to live like that anymore.
Dani somehow managed to sit cross-legged in the iron chair as she daintily nibbled the cream-filled pastry. The girl had an appetite—also a pleasant change from the constant diets of his usual arm candy.
But that’s what made Dani different. She wasn’t on display for the drooling pleasure of other men. Nor did she aspire to use her body to snag his name. That plan never had a chance of working, but several women had tried it.
She popped the rest of the cannoli in her mouth and brushed the crumbs from her fingers. “Why are you staring at me?”
Because you enchant me.
“Didn’t I tell you?” he said instead. “Best cannoli in town.”
“It was yummy. Thank you.”
“Glad you enjoyed it. I like a gal who’s not afraid to eat.”
Her eyes narrowed in puzzlement. “I’m not sure if that’s supposed to be a compliment or an insult.”
“A compliment. I promise.” He flashed a reassuring smile, then rotated the water bottle against the tabletop’s latticework. “Maybe I should buy a few for Amy.”
“Why don’t you?”
“Because she’d probably throw them in the trash as soon as I walked out the door.”
“She doesn’t eat dessert?”
“She’s not eating anything.”
“Is that why she collapsed?”
“That’s my guess. She won’t talk about it, so I don’t know whether it’s anorexia or bulimia. But it’s one or the other or something similar.”
“I’m sorry, Brett. It must hurt for her to shut you out like that.”
Instead of answering, he studied her expression, suddenly vulnerable to how she responded to him. She
shifted position and hugged one leg as the sole of her sandled foot rested on the chair’s edge, but her eyes held his, clear and steady. She cared that he hurt, not to win points with him but because she honestly, truthfully cared.
“Do you have any idea how beautiful you are?”
She broke eye contact and stared in the opposite direction. Would he ever be able to pay her a compliment without her blushing? In a way, he hoped that day never came.
“What are you going to do?” she asked, still intent on avoiding his gaze. “About Amy, I mean.”
“I’ve given her information about a few places that specialize in eating disorders. Highly recommended facilities. But she won’t admit she needs help.” He took a long drink from his water bottle, then twisted the cap. “I’ve considered kidnapping her, but apparently that’s against the law. Even when your motive is a good one.”
“She’d hate you for doing that.”
“You don’t have any siblings, do you?”
“There’s just me.” She faced him and gave a wry smile. “The lonely only.”
His lips momentarily curved upward in response to her rhyme. But he didn’t feel like smiling. “I’ve always taken care of Amy. Protected her when I could. When she’d let me.”
His pulse stirred beneath Dani’s sympathetic gaze. “I’d risk her hatred if it meant she’d get well.”
Neither said anything for a moment or two. A group of teens neared the bakery, their chatter lively and raucous. The uneven purr of a dozen automobiles increased as Brett became more aware of the silence between him and Dani.
He’d said too much. Exposed another secret place in his heart and handed it to her for safekeeping.
Something he’d never done with other women. So why did he with Dani?
Her fingertips brushed his, and he loosened his grip on the bottle to take her hand.
“I’ll be your getaway driver,” she said, bending her head to peer into his eyes. “If you need me.”
Her expression, mischief graced with tenderness, eased his misgivings. Her lovely freshness, given the chance, could knit his heart’s frayed pieces into something whole and new. But now was not the time. Not when his life was this out of control.
Maybe if AJ had never found Meghan. If Brett didn’t know about Jonah.
When Love Arrives Page 19