by Hadley Quinn
Dani stirred just slightly, and it caused him to remember the good things that were in his life. Right now he had a beautiful girl in his arms and he was very happy with her. He realized that his feelings for her were only growing deeper, and even though he had no idea what the future had in store for them, he was intent on holding on to what he had with her.
Dani knew that Van was awake and she could sense that the day’s events were still bothering him. She felt awful about it, but so grateful he was in her life. Did God really plan for it to be that way? She would have gone through this trial with Brian anyway, but was she truly sent someone that would help her get through it? Even though she wished he didn’t have to bear the burden, Van did it so willingly that Dani couldn’t think of any other word to describe her feelings for him except…love. She loved him. And she knew she did. It scared her—she’d never been in love with anyone before—and even though her strongest instinct was to tell him how she felt, she was hesitant.
His arms were wrapped around her, and she ever so slightly put her hand on his. He responded to the touch, which told her he was still awake, so she turned around to face him, burrowing her face against his chest as he re-gathered her in his arms.
“You can’t sleep?” she asked softly.
Van paused for a second, deciding what to say. He could see the clock and it was almost two in the morning. “Nah, not yet. I think I’ve been awake for so long that my mind is taking a while to shut down.”
She knew that was true, especially because of the night they’d had. “Well, I was thinking…”
Van smiled, and even felt himself relax just from the sound of her voice.
“Maybe after we sleep in really, really late, we can head up north for a night, catch a Mets game, and just…enjoy the next day doing absolutely nothing,” she said.
“Mmm, I like the sound of that.”
“Or…we could head down to Atlantic City for a night, win a lot of money, and still enjoy doing absolutely nothing the next day.”
“I like that too.”
“Or…maybe we should just hole up here and pretend we’re not home.”
“We do that all the time anyway,” Van chuckled.
“True,” she smiled.
“But I think I like the idea of going somewhere with you. We haven’t had a full weekend together for a while.”
“Okay, so let’s go somewhere tomorrow. Up to New York, or down to Atlantic City?”
“You choose.”
She scoffed. “Nice, defer it to me. You’re such a man.”
“Thank you.”
She smiled and slid her hand against his neck to kiss him. “Fine, I’ll have an answer for you in the morning. But first you have to go to sleep.”
“After you kiss me like that?”
“Kiss you like what?” she teased.
“Ooh, you are sexy, you know that?”
“Am I? Hmm, well I must get that from you.”
He laughed again. “Yeah, right.”
Chapter Eight
If there was a better weekend that Van could experience, he wasn’t sure what it would consist of. He and Dani headed out on Saturday morning, both excited to make the trip to Atlantic City. Just the drive there was fun, and Dani liked being a passenger in her own car while Van drove.
Over the past few weeks Van had come to realize that Dani was a talented photographer like her father. She had shown him some of her parents’ work and it was all really good, but Dani also had an eye for visual art. She appreciated the value of capturing a moment in time—or anything that interested her, really—and she wasn’t too proud to admit to anyone, including her father, that she loved photography.
Dani was peering through her lens while the two of them were on the boardwalk Sunday morning. She was focused on Van leaning against the railing, but had to pause for several seconds to stare at him.
“What?” he finally asked with a smile. He was still trying to get used to all of her attention, but he was curious as to why she was looking at him in such a way.
She smiled and lowered the camera as she approached him. “Well, you’re my most fascinating subject ever.”
He kind of scoffed and shook his head at her.
“I’m being serious,” she told him. “You’re just…very photogenic. I thought I was just being biased because of how hot you are, but you have this…this quality about you that’s…I don’t know, intriguing to capture.”
Van raised an eyebrow at her.
“See? You have this…casual yet sexy demeanor to you that is so magnetic—”
“Okay, you’re really nuts.”
She laughed. “I am not! You’ll see what I mean when I develop these. Well maybe you’re too stubborn to see what I mean, but I bet you anything that any professional would feel the same way.”
“And what about you? You seem to be very photogenic as well. You said you used to do shoots for your parents… I think I’d like to see some of ‘em.”
Dani smiled and shook her head. “That’s all in the past.”
“And you’re not going to let me see evidence of it?” he teased, pulling her close to him.
She wrapped her arms around his waist and replied, “Maybe someday.”
Van kissed her just as his phone rang. He wasn’t going to answer it, but he decided to since Dani stepped away with her camera to take more shots of the scenery.
“Yeah, what’s up?” he said to Cody.
There was a brief pause and then, “Uh, I’m not sure how to tell you this…”
Van was instantly alert, and he took a few steps away to sit on a bench. “Then just say it. What happened?”
“Uh…your truck, man. It’s…”
“It’s what?”
“Someone really went to town on it, Van—the windows, the tires, the doors, the paint…everything. It’s completely destroyed. I’m sorry. I came out early this morning to head to the gym and it was just…”
“Wait a minute,” he said quietly. “Someone vandalized my truck?”
“Not just someone. Someone with a serious vengeance, if you know what I mean.”
Van closed his eyes and let out a long breath. He glanced at Dani near the railing as she made adjustments to her camera, and when she looked up and smiled at him, he smiled back.
“So what are you saying,” he asked, continuing to speak so Dani couldn’t hear. “Beyond shop repair? I mean is it all cosmetic damage? Can it be fixed?”
“I don’t think so, Van. I mean I had Jimmy come over and take a look at it. He said it’d be a shitload of money to fix, and that it might be better to—”
“Just haul it to Jimmy’s and I’ll decide later,” Van said quickly as he noticed Dani heading his way. He paused for a few seconds as she sat down beside him and laid her head against his shoulder.
“Okay,” Cody replied. “You gonna tell Dani?”
“No.”
After Van didn’t say anything further Cody asked, “She’s right there?”
“Yep.”
“Okay. Doug was already over here, too. The police are looking into it, so I’m sure they’ll be able to tie ass clown to the deed. I’m really sorry, Van. I’ll talk to you later. You’ll be back tonight?”
“Yeah, we’ll be back tonight.”
“Okay, see ya.”
Van hung up and slid his phone into his pocket. If Dani hadn’t been near he might have had a chance to get upset.
“The boys can’t do without you?” she teased.
Van smiled. “No, Cody was just wondering where I was.”
“I thought you told him? Or was that Quincy,” she wondered, not even sure herself.
“I don’t remember, which means that spending time with you is more important,” he smiled.
“What happened to bro before the ho?”
He chuckled and shook his head. “You’re not my ho; you’re my whoa.”
She laughed out loud. “Wow, how clever are you? Wait a minute. Is that w-h-o-a, or
w-o-e?”
Van pretended to consider it for a moment. “Hmm, I’ll have to think about that.”
She playfully slugged him in the chest. “Decide very quickly, Mr. Kemp.”
“Definitely w-h-o-a. It’s what was originally in my head, at least.”
“Hmm, then that makes two of us. You’re my whoa also. I’m honestly thinking about making me a calendar,” she added, browsing through the photos on her camera. “Would you consider doing some of these nude?” she asked, hiding a smile.
“Pssh, for you? Anytime. For a calendar? No way.”
She finally did smile and asked, “Really? You’ve got the best body ever. Don’t tell me you’re shy.”
“I don’t know, but it’s just not my thing.”
“What if it was for charity?”
“What kind of charity?”
“I don’t know, dying children or something.”
“Possibly. But would you really want everyone to see what I save just for you?”
Dani chuckled and shook her head. “No.”
He stood and held out his hand for her to stand as well. “Hmm, well don’t ever consider taking your clothes off for any type of charity. I would be really bothered by that.”
Dani looked at him for a few seconds, very touched that he was so protective of her. Some guys would be proud of such a thing, like it was a compliment that their girl was hot enough to pose nude.
But Van took her pause a different way and asked, “Wait, you haven’t…?”
She waited for him to finish until she realized what he was asking. “What? Oh! No, I’ve never done any nude photos!”
“Well you just paused when I said that, like you were thinking about how to break it to me…”
“No, no, I was just… I was thinking that you’re very…protective of me and…I like that. I didn’t know how to respond,” she smiled shyly.
Van was getting that feeling again. The same feeling he’d been getting over and over for the past week. Was he protective of her? Hell yes. And why was that?
“It’s because I love you,” he said, unsure if he really did say it out loud.
It stunned Dani, and she had no response except, “What?”
He sighed, unsure if he was doing the right thing. But he couldn’t take it back now, and besides…he was only being honest.
“I want to protect you because I love you, Dani. I mean…I’ve fallen in love with you.”
They were both quiet for several seconds. He was afraid of scaring her away and he feared he said it too soon. After all, she had no response, and if he had just ruined everything between them, he wasn’t sure what he would—
“I love you too, Van,” she replied softly. She slid her hands behind his neck and added, “I fell in love with you the first night I met you.”
He studied her beautiful eyes, understanding that the moment had changed everything, and then finalized it with a kiss that clearly proved how they felt about one another.
“So would you believe me if I said I fell in love with you when I first saw you in the club?” he asked.
She tilted her head with a smile. “Well, I’ll believe anything you tell me. Even if you fluff it up to make it sound better.”
He chuckled and shook his head. “There’s no fluffing involved. Just a really stupid guy that didn’t realize what was happening to him at the time.”
“Hmm, do explain. You never did tell me about that night. I guess we just kind of…pushed it behind us.”
“Maybe we were just letting the bad stuff overshadow the good stuff.”
She thought about that for a moment. “I have considered that,” she admitted. “And I decided since then that I was meant to have you in my life.”
With a nod he slowly smiled. “I agree. Which is why it was odd that I came across you in the parking lot that night.”
“That was odd?”
“Out of all the people there that night? You were the one girl that I couldn’t take my eyes off the entire time.”
“Really? You told me that you just ‘saw’ me there.”
“Yeah, I saw you there and couldn’t stop staring at you.”
“Seriously?” she smiled.
“Yeah. I thought I had a chance when you smiled at me, but then I realized you had a boyfriend and—”
“I what? You were the guy I smiled at!?” she exclaimed with disbelief. She quickly tried to piece the night together and asked, “So Brian was right?”
Van gave her a curious look. “Well I don’t know which guys you smiled at but—”
“Just one apparently. And it must have been you.” She almost couldn’t believe it. It really was true. She thought Brian was just being an ass, but if Van said she had smiled at him…
“Wait a minute,” Van said. “You told me that you broke up with Brian that night because he got upset with you about something.”
Dani laughed out loud, mainly because she couldn’t believe the irony. “He accused me of smiling at a guy in the club.”
She looked at Van for him to see the significance and he laughed. “No way. I caused you to break up with your boyfriend?”
“I guess so.”
“Well…in the parking lot…you didn’t even remember me.”
“No, I didn’t put it together. In the club it was from a distance, and I was busy dealing with Brian so maybe it didn’t even register, and then I guess I was just…a little shaken up and…”
Van slightly shook his head, letting her know she didn’t have to think about that part of the night. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close. “Well, at least we have fate on our side,” he smiled.
“I guess so,” she chuckled.
***
For the most part, Van put Cody’s call out of his mind and enjoyed the rest of the day with his girlfriend. But as they got closer to home that evening, he knew he’d have to face the situation sooner or later. On one hand he wanted Dani to remain aware of all the things Brian was capable of, just so she kept up her guard. On the other hand, he knew the incident could cause a lot more problems between he and Dani, and he wasn’t willing to sacrifice anything he had with her at that point.
He decided that lying to her was the best choice at the time, and Cody was willing to back it up, claiming he got in an accident while driving Van’s truck and totaled it. When Dani went to work the next morning, Van got a ride to Jimmy’s to take a look at the damage.
It was exactly how he imagined it.
Jimmy could tell Van was pissed. He’d known the guy for eight years and knew him well. He didn’t say anything as Van silently walked around the F250 with his jaw clenched together.
“That fucker has lost his mind,” Van finally said, shaking his head.
“You know for sure it was him? Her ex?”
Van scoffed. “Oh, yeah. No doubt.”
“Maybe it was Matson, or Devlin, or someone else you’ve slaughtered in the cage,” Jimmy offered.
“Oh, no. This isn’t a fighter’s vengeance. This is…this is cowardly. This is just…”
“The guy has gotta be fucking crazy,” Jimmy murmured.
Van gave him a look but didn’t say anything. Finally he sat on a stool next to his friend and shrugged. “Well, go ahead and part her out—what you’re able to, at least—and I guess I’ll look for a new set of wheels.”
“You sure?”
“Do I have another choice?”
“No. I mean it would take months to restore it…”
“Then just do it,” Van said, standing up. “Part it or fix it, whichever you want.”
“What about your girlfriend? What’s she got to say?”
“She doesn’t know about it and I don’t want her to.”
Jimmy looked him over, unsure of the reason. “Why not? I mean I kind of know the story with the ex, but why do you have to keep it from her?”
“It’s complicated. Look, just don’t let anyone know, okay? I don’t want Dani to stress out over it because
it’ll cause problems. I just want this fuckup out of our lives, and if it comes down to it, I might have to handle things my own way.”
Jimmy didn’t like the sound of that. He respected his friend more than anyone—Van was just that kind of guy—but he was worried for him. Van wasn’t one to make idle threats, and this time, Jimmy was afraid of the outcome.
***
“Paul, look at this!” Marnie called from across the room. “Come here, come here! Take a look!”
“What?” Paul grumbled, barely glancing up from fixing the television. “Can’t you bring it here?”
All she had in her hand was some stupid fashion magazine she’d been looking through for the past hour.
She sighed. “I just painted my toenails,” she replied. “Please?”
Paul eventually stood and came across the room where she was sitting at the kitchen table with her feet on a chair. “What is it? Some five thousand dollar dress you want me to buy for you?”
“No,” she smiled. “But Connie gave me a pile of her old magazines and I’ve just been looking through ‘em the past couple days.”
“And? Last year’s dresses are now at the new low price of a thousand bucks?”
“No, stop it,” she waved at him. “Look at the picture,” she instructed, pointing at the page that was open.
Paul angled his head to get a look at it, and since he’d been joking about dresses, that’s what he was focused on at first. But Marnie gave him a few seconds before she asked, “Well? She looks kind of familiar, huh?”
“That’s Dani,” he chuckled with surprise. He turned the magazine to face him better and looked at it again. “That’s her, right?”
“Yeah, that’s her,” Marnie said. “I knew she used to do some modeling, but I had no idea it was to this extent. I mean look at her in this picture. She’s gorgeous.”
“She’s gorgeous anyways,” Paul shrugged.
Marnie gave him a scowl, although she didn’t disagree. “There’s more,” she added.
“More pictures?”
She slid another open magazine to him and showed him a different photo that advertised the same perfume.