by Boone Brux
Another soul-weary sigh escaped her as she moved to the desk, dropped her purse on the floor, and plopped down in the chair. A pile of mail sat stacked on her desk. Ignoring it, she turned on her computer and set to work reading the manuscripts that authors had submitted to her. Many she disregarded after the first few pages, but a couple held her attention and allowed her to get lost in a make-believe world.
When she looked at the clock, three hours had passed. She stretched and stood. Lunchtime, only she forgot to bring something to eat. Her phone erupted in her purse. No doubt it was Roxy again. Finally, her anger had subsided enough to speak to her friend. “Hello?”
“I’ve been trying to get a hold of you,” Roxy said.
“I know, but I didn’t want to talk.” She sat, crossed her leg, and bounced her foot with nervous repetition. “I was pretty pissed at you.”
“Are you still?” Her friend’s voice softened. “I mean, I wouldn’t blame you.”
She hesitated. “No, I’m not mad anymore, but don’t ever do that to me again.”
“So I can come in and you won’t throw a coffee cup at me?”
“Where are you?”
The office door opened and Roxy stepped inside. “Right here.”
Dani ended the call and stood, repressing the urge to smile. No matter what happened, they always made up. “So what, you wouldn’t have come in if I’d said I was still mad?”
“No, I still would have come in.” Roxy dropped the phone in her purse and slung the bag over her shoulder. “But I would have made sure you weren’t holding a letter opener first.”
Unable to contain it, she smiled. “I wouldn’t have stabbed you, but I’m not above nailing you with a couple of well-placed staples from my fancy electric stapler.”
The curvy blonde held out her arms. “Can you forgive me?”
“You know I already have.” She wrapped her friend in a hug. Some of the tension in her shoulders eased. “You were only trying to help.”
They disengaged, but Roxy still clutched Dani’s biceps. “I just wanted you to be happy.”
“I know, and I appreciate it, but Jamie is obviously not the answer.”
“Well, how about I apologize by taking you to lunch? Lincoln’s new restaurant is open and it’s only a few blocks away.”
“Ooh, the Fire Grill? I’ll take you up on that.” She retrieved her purse and slid her phone into the front pocket. “Linc says they have a killer curry chicken salad.”
“Sounds delicious.” Roxy herded her out of the building.
Though the day was cloudy, thankfully it wasn’t raining. They chatted about the wedding on the way and when they got to the Fire Grill, she was surprised by how empty it was.
“Are they open?”
“He said they were. Let’s try it anyway.” Roxy held the door. “After you.”
Soft rock and roll wafted from unseen speakers. Wood, chrome, and glass sparkled under the industrial light fixtures, and beyond the main room an atrium gleamed.
“Wow, this is gorgeous.” She turned to Roxy. “Have you ever been in here?”
She made a noncommittal noise and then smiled at the approaching host.
“Hello, ladies.” A bald man in a tight white T-shirt and full tattoos running up his beefy arms gave them a gleaming white smile. “Two for lunch?”
“Yes.” Dani pointed. “Can we sit in the atrium?”
“Of course, your table is ready.”
“Ready?” She looked at Roxy. “Did you call ahead?”
“Uh, yeah. That’s exactly what I did—called ahead. I wanted to make sure we could get in.” She looped her arm through Dani’s and tugged her forward. “I didn’t want to suggest it and then be disappointed.”
They followed the host along the brick path that wound through the main dining room. “I can’t believe how gorgeous this place is.” She stopped to admire a gleaming silver motorcycle, outfitted with black leather and studs. “That looks like something Death would ride.”
“Yeah, look at the flame details on the gas tank,” Roxy said.
“Impressive.” Her mind instantly jumped to Jamie. He’d love seeing this bike. She gave herself a mental shake. None of that. Putting him out of her mind was tough, but she needed to make a serious effort if she ever wanted life to get back to normal. Besides, Linc had probably shown Jamie the bikes already. They were friends, after all.
Continuing through the restaurant, she noticed several more bikes adorning the interior. All of them had specialty paint jobs and matching accessories. They were more artwork than just motorcycles.
“Oh shoot. I just got a text from Kyle. He’s freaking out about something his mother did.” Roxy let go of her arm and waved her on. “You go ahead and sit. I’ll be there in a second. I need to take care of this.”
“All right. You want me to order you a drink?”
“No, I’m not sure what I want.” Roxy looked up from her phone and smiled. “Hey, you’re still going to be my maid of honor, right?” She paused. “No matter what?”
Maybe the bride was getting the jitters. Maybe she was still afraid they hadn’t settled things and wanted to put Kyle’s mind at ease too. “Of course. You’re my best friend.”
“Okay.” Her eyes rounded and she gave a tiny pout. “It wouldn’t be the same without you.”
With that, Roxy spun and walked outside to make her call. Weird. Dani followed the host to a round table in the atrium and sat. When Roxy got back, she should probably reassure her one more time that all was forgiven. Nothing should darken a second of Roxy and Kyle’s wedding day.
Movement to her right drew her gaze. Her heartbeat quickened and a flurry of butterflies erupted in her stomach. He was here—in the restaurant. “Why is he here?” she whispered. When Jamie started across the atrium she nearly jumped to her feet. “No friggin’ way.” Anger washed through her. “I’m going to kill her. What are you doing here? Roxy…right?”
“Calm down. It’s not her fault.” He stopped several feet from the table. “I wanted to talk to you.”
“Have you ever heard of a phone?” New anger over her friend setting her up again sprang free. “I believe you have my number, don’t you?”
“Would you have answered?” Her brows pinched together, drawing a smile from him. “I didn’t think so. Besides…” He shoved his hands in the front pockets of his jeans—those delicious, bun-hugging jeans. “I wanted to talk to you face-to-face.”
“Listen, Jamie, I appreciate you trying to make everything right, but I really can’t handle any more drama. Let’s just get through the wedding and avoid any situation that involves us delving into our feelings. I’m fine, great even. Really. So you can go back to Florida and Gigi—”
“Sonja.”
“Sonja, Gigi, Yvette, or whoever else you have waiting for you.” She wiggled her finger between them. “You don’t have to worry about this—about us.”
“I don’t have anybody waiting for me, Dani.” His eyes filled with pleading and a touch of desperation, if she had to put a name to it. “Just give me two minutes. If you never want to talk to me again after that, I’ll respect that.”
His response deflated a bit of her ire. She stared at him, a thousand thoughts rampaging through her mind. Logic shouted for her not to waste any more time on this situation, but her ego wanted to hear anything that would take some of the hurt away. “You’ve got two minutes. Then I’m out of here.”
“Great.” He walked to the table and sat. “Thank you.”
She perched on the edge of the chair, as if ready to flee, and waited. If he wanted to talk, he could talk. But at this point she didn’t have anything to say that wouldn’t betray how she felt.
“First off, I want to say again how sorry I am that you walked in on me and Sonja.”
“I bet.” She cocked a brow at him and crossed her arms over her chest. “Talk about awkward—and rather gross. She squealed that she loved you and then swooped down on you like a vulture on a piece
of rotten meat.”
“Felt kind of like that, too.” His expression was stricken and slightly horrified. Then he refocused on her. “But you only heard part of our conversation. I’d already told Sonja that we weren’t good together, and even though she was talking a lot of crap, she had never once told me she loved me.”
Was that true? Had she only caught a smidgen of the conversation? Not willing to accept defeat yet, she glared at him. “What about the lap dance? You didn’t push her off until you saw me.”
“It’s stupid, but at first I was too stunned to react. Despite Sonja’s misguided tactics, she’s not a bad person.” Dani harrumphed and stared out the window. “Our fathers are business partners. They’ve been pushing her at me—I mean pushing hard. But I don’t love her.”
She looked at him and studied his face. Usually she could sniff out a lie, and as much as it appeared he was telling the truth, trust didn’t come easily. “Why didn’t you tell them you didn’t want to be with her?”
He snorted and shook his head. “I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve said that very thing to my father. But you know him. He doesn’t take no for an answer.”
“That’s always been one of your problems, Jamie. How long are you going to let him control your life? Even though you hate working for him, you still jump when he says jump.”
“Not anymore.” His gaze was steady, and a smile curved the corners of his mouth.
“What do you mean?” Hope sprouted a tiny bud and threatened to open.
“I quit yesterday. Told him I was tired of his manipulations and that I didn’t want to be part of the business anymore.”
“Wait, why?” All of her anger evaporated.
“A lot of reasons.”
“How did he take it?” She chewed on her bottom lip for a second. “He didn’t disown you, did he?”
“His only son? No way.” Jamie leaned back in the chair and folded his hands in his lap. “But he was pissed. Said I needed to get my priorities straight and get my ass back to Florida immediately.” He shrugged. “He’ll get over it.”
“You seem pretty confident about that.” All this was great—standing up to his father had been a long time coming—but that didn’t change the situation for her. “I hope you’re right.”
“Bottom line is that it’s his choice. I’m here, and he knows where to find me.”
“So, what are you going to do?” she asked, trying to sound casual—as if her heart wasn’t beating a million miles an hour on the off chance that this whole meet-and-greet might be about more than just telling her he’d quit his job and apologizing again. “Do you have other job prospects?”
“Well…” He stood and held out his hand. “Let me show you.”
Touching—just what she needed. Hesitant at first, she forced her hand into his and rose. “Where are we going?”
“You’ll see.” He guided her out of the atrium and into the main dining room, stopping in front of one of the motorcycles she’d passed on her way to the atrium. “This is my bike.”
“Seriously?” She released his hand and rubbed it against her pants when she stepped closer to examine the work. The action didn’t remove the sensation of his skin against hers or the desire to slip her hand back in his. “But…” She pivoted and looked around the dining room, crossing her arms over her chest so she wouldn’t give in to the urge. “Are all of these bikes yours?”
“Yes. Linc asked me to do some specialty work for the restaurant. We shipped these up from Florida about a month ago. Except for one.” He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and led her deeper into the room. She stiffened against the way her body tucked perfectly next to his. Seriously? How was a girl supposed to resist a guy? “When Lincoln invested in the restaurant, he asked if I wanted to be part of it. At first I was happy just doing the bikes, but I’ve decided to become a full partner.” He stopped and held out his hand. “I just finished this bike yesterday. It’s the last one I’m doing for the restaurant.” He released her and stepped to the side, staring at her. “What do you think?”
It took a second for her to take it all in. Red leather covered the seat, and red panniers were fixed on the back end. One of them was open and a stack of horror DVDs stuck out of the bag in an artistic arrangement. Scrolled in white letters across the custom-painted tank was Dani.
Her heart tap-danced in her chest. “You named the motorcycle after me?”
“Yes, I did.” He stepped toward her and reclaimed her hand. With a slow tug, he dragged her to him and wrapped his arms around her waist. “You inspired me.”
“It’s beautiful, Jamie.” She went willingly, unsure where the conversation was going, but unable to resist him. The entire south wall of her resolve crumbled. “I’m honored and…a little confused.” Searching for the right words, she stared at him “Why?” Her gaze darted to the bike. “Why would you do this for me?”
He released her waist and stepped back. A deep breath exhaled from him. “Because ever since I left, my life has been miserable. At first I thought it was because I lived in Florida and missed home. But even coming back to Seattle didn’t change things.” He paused. “Until we started hanging out. I quickly realized it was you I missed.”
“Me?” Forming a more concise question was too difficult—too scary. The fear of getting hurt beat against her swelling hope.
He gripped her hands and twined his fingers with hers. “When you told me you loved me last New Year’s Eve, I won’t lie, you scared the hell out of me. I wasn’t ready to make that kind of commitment. And the fact that I cared about you made that decision weigh so much heavier. I panicked. My father had been saying he wanted me in Florida, and this was my perfect out.” He shrugged. “I was a coward.”
“Agreed.” She didn’t know what to say. Though she understood what had driven him away, it didn’t make her feel any better about that horrible time. Sure, she could say it wasn’t personal. It was him, not her, but she hadn’t misunderstood the situation. He’d fled the second she bared her heart. “So what changed?”
“Me. I’ve changed. By being around you again I’ve realized I want this.” He pulled her closer. “There’s nothing for me in Florida. There never has been. I think I knew that the minute I got on the plane, but this past week has driven the truth home. Last night when I said I was sad for losing my best friend, I didn’t mean Kyle.” His gaze bored into her. “I meant you.”
Tears prickled behind her eyes. If this was a joke, it was a cruel one. Jamie might have been misguided, but he had never been malicious. “How can you be sure this is really what you want?”
“I’ve never been surer of anything in my entire life. The thought of getting back on a plane and leaving you again…” He swallowed hard. Instead of finishing his sentence, he tightened his grip on her hands and brought them to his mouth, placing a lingering kiss against her skin.
A knot formed in her throat. She wanted to believe him. Boy, oh boy, did she want to believe him, but her fear of getting dumped again wouldn’t shut up.
He released her hands and retrieved two items from a saddlebag. Her heart jumped to her throat. He held out the first gift to her. It was a miniature motorcycle with a couple seated on it. A tiny white veil streamed from behind the woman’s head, as if the couple were speeding to start their life together. She took the motorcycle and looked up at him, not sure what it meant and too unnerved to ask.
Next he held out a black velvet box. Her gaze was riveted on it, the situation quickly dawning. Hope of what waited inside the box blossomed.
“They say life isn’t measured in the breaths we take but in the moments that take our breath away.” He lifted his hand and ran a finger along her jawline. “You are my breathless moments, Dani. When I’m with you, the world makes sense. You are selfless and fill me up, never taking more than you return.” He opened the black velvet box and turned it to face her. Slowly, he lowered to one knee. She couldn’t look away. Couldn’t speak. Afraid to even blink or she’d wake up
from the wonderful dream. “You’ve given me the strength to follow my dreams. Please share them with me. I promise I’ll do everything in my power to prove how much I love you.” He plucked the ring from inside and held it out to her. “Dani, will you marry me?”
Having watched enough episodes of the reality TV wedding shows, she had always imagined her reply would be awesome. Tearful, but not the ugly cry, wearing makeup but none of it running down her face. That’s not what happened.
She stared at the diamond gleaming under the golden lights. “You love me?”
He nodded. “More than you know.”
Still “yes” wouldn’t come. After another few seconds of staring, she dropped to her knees in front of him, coming to eye level. “Are you sure, Jamie? Because…” She shook her head. “Before I answer, I need to know that you’re all in, and not going to leave me again. I can’t handle that. There won’t be a third chance.”
“The one thing I am sure of is how much I love you.” He set the box on the floor. “I want to be the shoulder you hide your face against during a horror movie.” His voice softened. “And the rock that protects you against the punishing waves of life.” He took a deep breath. “Without you nothing else matters.”
The ring was gorgeous, but his words were priceless. Joy exploded through her body. It took a few seconds for his words to fully register, but when they did, she ignored the ring and threw her arms around his neck. “Yes, Jamie, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.”
They tumbled backward onto the brick floor. She rained kisses down on his face and then focused on his mouth. At first her attack peppered his lips, but after a few seconds of that, Jamie grasped her head and held her steady. He slanted his mouth over hers. Dani’s body relaxed, pinning him under her.
Thoughts of the waiter or any guests in the restaurant melted. She didn’t care who watched, and Jamie didn’t seem bothered by the idea, either.
Clapping sounded from behind her. Just one person—then another—and another. She broke the kiss and craned her neck to look. The entire wedding party stood watching. Lincoln stuck his index fingers in his mouth and whistled. The note echoed off the walls and pierced her ears.