Текст книги "Coming Home"

Автор книги: Priscilla Glenn

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Текущая страница: 6 (всего у книги 25 страниц)

That is, if this were even about a dry spell.

There was also the distinct possibility that he was currently sleeping with someone, or a few someones, and didn’t want her to know that. And unfortunately, of the two options, taking into consideration his personality and his looks, the latter was the more likely scenario.

“Okay, my turn,” he said. “Do you have any piercings or tattoos?”

“I have a tattoo,” Leah said, still trying to shake off her disappointment.

“Seriously? I never would have thought that. Where?”

“On the back of my neck.”

“What is it?” he asked.

“A spiral triskele. Long story,” she said, hoping he wouldn’t push it further than that.

“Wow. I gotta say though, I love that.”

“What, the triskele?”

“No, I have no idea what that is,” he said with a laugh. “I mean when a girl has a tattoo in a secret place.”

“Oh,” she said. “Well, it’s not really a secret place.”

“I think it is. Unless you wear your hair up all the time, only people close to you would ever get to see it. I feel like the back of a woman’s neck is an extremely intimate place.”

Seriously, goddamn him.

Why, why, why did he have to refuse to answer her last question and then follow it up with that? Almost like he knew how to suck her right back in. Leah started to consider the possibility that he was reading from some type of handbook.

And the title of it might as well have been How to Reduce Leah to a Besotted, Quivering Pile of Easy.

“Your turn,” he prompted when several seconds had passed and she hadn’t said anything.

Leah inhaled deeply and closed her eyes. No more silly questions. She needed to start figuring him out.

“What’s the one thing you’ve done in your life that you regret the most?” she asked.

“Pass.”

Her eyes flipped open as the corner of her mouth lifted in a smile. “You can’t pass. You don’t have any more.”

“Yeah, I know,” he said curtly, and Leah’s stomach dropped for the second time.

She recognized this tone.

“Look, I gotta go,” he said. “I just pulled onto my street and I have to find a spot.”

“Oh, okay.”

“Thanks for keeping me awake, though. I appreciate it. Good night, Leah.”

He hung up before she could even respond.

Leah took the phone away from her ear and stared at it for a second before she threw her head back and groaned loudly.

Being with him, talking to him, was the emotional equivalent of bungee jumping. There was the freedom, the adrenaline, the exhilaration of the fall, only to have it come to an abrupt halt, roughly yanking her back in the direction from which she came.

Leah reached up and rubbed her eyes roughly with the heels of her hands.

He could be really sweet sometimes, but he was so goddamn capricious. And he was funny, but his moods were completely unreliable. He did have a genuine kindness about him, but he could also be closed off and abrupt, and there was no guarantee as to which version of him she’d be getting.

But far more frustrating to her than any of those things was the fact that even though he’d thrown her for a loop yet again, she was completely captivated by him.

Danny had just finished reinstalling the drain plug on the Cadillac’s transmission when he felt his phone buzz in his pocket, and he slid the creeper out from under the car, wiping his hand down the side of his coveralls before he pulled it out.

His pulse quickened when he saw her name next to the notification, and he eagerly opened the text.

I’ll be at The Rabbit Hole tonight. You should come out if you’re not busy.

He stared at her message for a moment before he cleared the screen and slid the phone back in his pocket.

And then he rested his head back on the creeper, throwing his forearm over his eyes.

He wasn’t going to go, of course. That would be a horrible idea.

But God, it was so fucking tempting.

She had been so forgiving of the rude way he’d gotten off the phone the last time they had spoken. The second he’d hung up on her that night, he felt like kicking himself. It was such a stupid move; he should have just made something up, some insignificant answer to her question, and it would have been fine. But she had caught him off guard, and instead he panicked and acted like a complete dick.

Again.

And yet the next morning, she sent him a text. Five simple words, but it made his chest feel like hundreds of little bubbles were popping inside.

Have a good day today.

He spent the rest of the day thinking about her, and that night he’d broken his rule and initiated contact with her, sending her a quick text.

Hope you successfully fended off the zombies today. Good night.

She had responded with an LOL and a smiley face, and Danny ended up leaving his phone in the kitchen for the remainder of the night so he wouldn’t be tempted to contact her again.

The following day, just before lunch, he’d gotten another text from her.

Hope your day is going well. No cursing at cars today. SWEAR JAR!

He had laughed out lout at that, drawing confused looks from the customers sitting in the waiting area. And that night he’d ignored his self-imposed rule again, sending her a message that wished her a good night and reminded her to turn on her night-light.

They’d been going back and forth like that for the past four days, and he’d managed to convince himself that it was acceptable because it was only texting. It wasn’t like they were talking on the phone, or meeting up, or hooking up.

He was still completely fine.

Danny dropped his forearm from his eyes and stared up at the high ceiling of the garage. In his moments of clarity, however, he realized how stupid it was to be doing this with her. Because every text only reinforced how much he liked her. She was sarcastic and quick-witted, but also incredibly sweet and considerate. Not to mention forgiving. On more than one occasion, she seemed to completely overlook the fact that he had fucked up.

And sometimes, for a split second, it made him think that maybe she might forgive him his biggest one; that there was a chance she wouldn’t run from him if she knew the truth.

But that line of thinking was idiotic, not to mention dangerous. He shouldn’t be entertaining that remote possibility. He shouldn’t even be focusing on the things he liked about her; he wasn’t doing himself any favors in that regard.

And he absolutely, one hundred percent, should not be looking for excuses to see her again.

Yet even as that thought crossed his mind, he was running through potential reasons to make an appearance at The Rabbit Hole. Technically, he wouldn’t be breaking any of his rules if he went; she was the one who asked him to go, and he had already determined that if she were to initiate contact, he would follow through.

As if that made him any less culpable.

No. Fuck it. You’re not going.

“What’s going on over there, deep thinker?”

Danny turned his head to see Jake leaning against the bumper of a car, elbow deep in a bag of Lay’s.

“What? Nothing,” he said as he sat up and ran his hand through his hair.

“Not nothing,” Jake said around a mouthful of chips. “Who was that text from?”

Danny made a face as he stood up and popped the hood of the Cadillac. “What are you, a fucking detective?”

“Was it a chick?” he asked, completely unfazed.

“Go change the spark plugs on the Pontiac out back.”

“Did it already,” he said, shoving another handful of chips in his mouth. “So what’d this girl say to make you so goddamn pissy?”

Danny ignored him, taking off the transmission’s filler cap.

“Did she say your dick was small?”

He laughed before he could stop himself. “You wish, asshole.”

“Well, then what the hell did she say?” he asked, balling up the empty bag and making a jump shot for the trash can across the garage, missing by several feet.

“Nothing. She asked me to meet her at The Rabbit Hole,” he said, grabbing the bottle of transmission fluid and pouring it through the opening of the funnel.

“Nice,” Jake said with a nod, handing Danny a rag. After a few seconds of silence, he said, “Are you gonna go?”

“No.”

“Why the fuck not?”

Danny exhaled heavily as he tossed the empty bottle behind him and grabbed the next one, uncapping it. “You know why not.”

“No, I don’t,” Jake said deliberately. “You already know what my opinion of the whole thing is.”

Danny poured the second bottle into the transmission, saying nothing.

“I told you, you should be having as much fun as you can right now. Do whatever you gotta do. Go fuck that girl six ways from Sunday.”

Danny laughed, trying to keep his hand steady as he glanced up. “I hope you have a daughter one day.”

Jake’s face dropped. “Dude, fuck you, that’s not even funny.”

“Go clean that up,” he said, motioning to the crumpled bag of chips on the floor, “and then change the brake pads on the blue Mustang.”

“On it,” Jake said with a salute before he crossed to the other side of the garage, and Danny watched him go, shaking his head as he tossed the empty bottle into the trash and put the filler cap back on.

It wasn’t the first time Jake had given him that piece of advice, but in this case, there was one glaring problem.

He didn’t want to fuck her six ways from Sunday.

Well, he did, but that wasn’t all he wanted. Because the day they had lunch together, he didn’t want the meal to end, and that night on the phone, he could have talked to her for hours.

With her it would be more than just a fling, more than some hookup he used to entertain himself while he still could.

“Yo,” Tommy said, coming in from the reception area. “Jake said we’re hittin’ up The Rabbit Hole tonight?”

Danny closed his eyes and dropped his head.

“Did he now?” Fucking douche.

“I just texted Damon. He’s on tonight, so we should definitely go.”

Danny took a deep breath before he opened his eyes and looked up. “Alright. I’m in,” he said, vowing to make Jake wash the shop floor every night for the next year.

“Goddamn, this place is ripe tonight,” Jake said, taking a sip of his beer as he scanned the crowd below.

The Rabbit Hole was part club, part bar; on the lower level, there was a large dance floor, with the main bar taking up the entire wall on the right. Surrounding the dance floor on all other sides were a few small tables, and above that—on the second level—were the roped-off VIP areas, each one consisting of a large U-shaped white leather couch with a low table in the center. The middle of the second floor was cut out so that each booth looked down on the dance floor and the main bar.

“So which lucky girl is about to turn you down?” Tommy asked from the booth, and Danny laughed.

“This girl can turn me any way she wants,” Jake said. “DeLuca, come look at this.”

“I’ve seen girls before,” Danny said, his arm draped over the back of the booth.

“Not like this,” Jake said, never taking his eyes from the dance floor.

“Humor him,” Tommy said, “or we’re gonna be listening to his cheesy-ass double entendres for the next two hours.”

Danny rubbed his hand over his eyes before he got up with a sigh. “Ten bucks says I can see her plastic parts from here.”

Tommy chuckled as he brought his beer to his lips, and Danny walked the few steps over to the balcony.

“Check her out,” Jake said. “The blonde in the orange top.”

Danny’s eye immediately landed on the bright orange halter that ended halfway down the girl’s stomach.

And the indecently large breasts that were bursting out the sides of it.

“Wow,” Danny said, rubbing the back of his neck. “She seems…classy.”

“She’s got the sickest tattoo on her lower back. Watch when she turns around.”

But Danny was no longer looking at the blonde with the fake chest. His eye was on the dance floor just to the right of the door.

She was here.

Her arms were over her head as she rolled her hips in time to the beat, her body moving in tantalizing waves as she sang the lyrics to the girl dancing beside her.

Holy. Shit.

“Hot, right?” Jake said.

Danny nodded, having no idea what he’d just said yes to. She was wearing dark jeans that hugged her legs all the way down and a flowing white tank top that was missing a strap on one side. The only part of her body that was exposed was that shoulder, and yet she was a hundred times sexier than the girl Jake was frothing at the mouth over.

“Your girl here yet?” Jake asked from beside him.

Danny shook his head slowly, his eyes still on Leah. “No, not yet.”

He’d spent the entire day thinking about it, but he still hadn’t decided what he was going to do. He never answered her text earlier, so it wasn’t like she was expecting him. If he left without seeing her, she’d never even know he had been there.

And as he watched her swaying her hips provocatively to the pulsing beat, he realized that was probably the best plan of action.

Leah scooped her dark hair back into a ponytail with one hand and fanned herself with the other before she gestured to the girl she was with. The girl nodded, grabbing Leah’s hand, and they walked off the dance floor together, approaching another girl who was sitting at the bar. She turned to the girls and said something, and Leah threw her head back and laughed, wrapping one arm around her.

“If she stands you up, it’s her loss, man,” Jake said before he took down the rest of his beer.

“Thanks,” Danny said as he smiled weakly, glancing over at him.

Jake clapped him on the back before he said, “I think I need one more beer in me before I talk to orange halter. You want?”

“I’m good,” Danny said, leaning his forearms on the railing and clasping his hands in front of him.

“Alright, I’ll be back,” Jake said, making his way around Danny and heading for the stairs that would bring him down to the main bar.

Danny wet his lips, allowing his eyes to drift over the lower level of the bar, but every few seconds, they would find their way back to her.

The bartender had just brought the girls a round of shots, and the three of them held their glasses up while the smallest one said something that made the others laugh. They all clinked their glasses before taking the shots, and just as they were lining up the empty glasses along the bar, a guy approached them.

“Oh Jesus.” Danny laughed, giving him the once-over. Even from all the way up on the balcony, he could see the meticulously gelled blowout and the blatantly fake tan the guy was sporting. Not to mention the button-down shirt he wore open.

With nothing underneath.

He sidled right up to the smallest friend, reaching out to swipe the hair out of her face as he said something to her, and she jerked backward with a look on her face that had Danny flinching for the guy while fighting laughter.

Without answering, she walked around to the other side of Leah, putting some distance between her and her admirer, who was clearly unfazed by the rejection.

Because he went right for friend number two.

Danny watched the guy put his hand on her shoulder, massaging it creepily as he said whatever line he’d been saving up for her. This girl was a little gentler, it seemed; she kept her expression in check as she held up her left hand, pointing at it with her right.

Danny was too far away, but he assumed she was showing him some type of wedding ring.

“Tough break, pal,” he said with a laugh, shaking his head.

The guy took a step back, looking like he was going to admit defeat, but then he turned, smiling at Leah as he said something. She smiled politely back before she turned her attention back to the dance floor, and he moved to her side, resting his elbow on the bar as he leaned close to her ear, saying something else.

Danny’s smile dropped.

Her expression was smooth as she answered him, never taking her eyes off the dance floor, and the guy smiled, taking the tiniest step closer to her.

And just like that, Danny’s decision was made.

Friends. They could be friends. Friends texted each other.

And friends hung out at bars together.

He turned and walked quickly toward the stairway. She seemed to be handling herself just fine, and she had two girlfriends down there with her, but he didn’t give a shit. That douchebag had ignited something visceral in him, and he wanted her by his side tonight.

He rounded the corner after passing the bouncer at the bottom of the stairs, scanning the crowd until he spotted her again.

Jersey Shore was still nestled up beside her, using the noise of the bar as an excuse to lean close to her whenever he spoke. She leaned away just enough to be noticeable, but not enough to be rude, forcing a smile and answering briefly before she looked at her friend and widened her eyes.

Just as Danny approached them, he heard the guy say, “Come on, hon. Let me buy you a drink. You’re too pretty not to have a drink in your hand.”

Without thinking, Danny snaked his arm around Leah’s waist, resting his hand on her hip as he pulled her into his side.

“Thanks, but she’s all set,” he said.

As the guy’s eyes met Danny’s, his seductive expression faltered.

“Sorry, bro,” he said, holding both hands up in a peace offering before he turned and made his way to the other side of the bar.

Danny watched him until he was far enough away that he knew he wouldn’t be coming back, and then he looked down at Leah.

“I hope I didn’t just blow that for you. Were you planning on taking My Cousin Vinny home?”

She smiled as she turned her body to face him. Danny kept his hand on her so that when she turned, it traveled along her lower back, coming to rest on her opposite hip.

“Take him home?” she said in horror. “No way. I was probably just gonna bang him in the bathroom and then bail.”

Danny laughed loudly, and she grinned, her chin lifted slightly as she looked up at him.

Someone cleared her throat loudly, and Danny turned to see the two girls from before staring pointedly at Leah.

Her expression and posture straightened simultaneously. “Oh, sorry. Guys, this is Danny. Danny, this is Robyn and Holly.”

Danny took his hand off Leah’s hip and reached out, shaking each of theirs. “Nice to meet you,” he said. “Did you guys just order drinks?”

“No, not yet,” the little one—Holly—said. “We’re waiting for the bartender.”

Danny stepped forward and held up his hand, and a second later, Damon glanced up at him from behind the bar. Danny made a wide circle over the girls’ heads with his finger before pointing back to himself, and Damon gave him the thumbs-up and then pointed up at the second level.

“That’s my friend Damon,” Danny said to the girls. “You guys are all set.”

“All set?” the one named Robyn asked.

“Yeah, you’re on the house tonight.”

Danny caught the smile that lifted the corner of Holly’s mouth as she elbowed Robyn just before he turned back to Leah. “We have a table up there, if you guys want to come up.”

He could still see Holly and Robyn in his peripheral vision, although they clearly didn’t know that: Robyn was nodding enthusiastically while mouthing an exaggerated “say yes” at Leah, while Holly gave her the OK sign, looking him over as she mouthed the word “hot.” He pressed his lips together, trying to keep a straight face as he waited for her reply.

“Um, yeah, sure,” she said before turning her attention to the girls, and as soon as Danny followed suit, both girls immediately straightened their expressions. “You guys want to go upstairs?”

“Sure,” Holly said nonchalantly. “Danny, this is so nice of you. Thank you.”

“No problem,” he said. “Follow me.”

Danny led the way to the back stairs, nodding at the bouncer who sat on the stool at the bottom.

“What’s up, Dan,” he said, gesturing for them to pass. As the girls followed him up the stairs, he added, “Have a good night, ladies.”

Danny rounded the corner and made his way toward their booth, and as Tommy saw him approaching, he called out, “Danny boy! Where the hell did you just run off to?”

“I saw a friend. Tommy, this is Leah, and that’s Holly and Robyn.”

“Welcome, ladies,” Tommy said, sliding over to make room, and Holly slid in first, followed by Robyn and then Leah.

When Danny slid in behind her, she smiled wryly. “I had no idea you were such a big shot,” she said.

“A big shot?” He laughed. “Hardly. I’m just a lowly mechanic who happens to know the head bartender.”

“A humble big shot? Those are the most dangerous kind.”

Danny smirked and Tommy said, “I think Damon’s sending drinks up. Does he know they’re up here?”

“Yeah,” Danny said just as Jake approached the table with his beer.

“What do we have here?” he asked, eyeing the girls as he slid in the booth next to Tommy.

“DeLuca,” Tommy answered, nodding over at him.

“All three of them?” he asked, raising his beer in salute. “Impressive.”

Danny leaned down, bringing his lips to Leah’s ear. “That’s Jake. I apologize in advance for him.”

She laughed, leaning in conspiratorially as she nodded toward Holly. “Wait until this one gets going. They’ll cancel each other out, and then we’ll be even.”

Danny smiled as one of the waitresses approached them with a tray of six shots, placing one in front of each person at the table.

“Alabama Slammers all around,” she said with a wink before she walked away, and Danny’s smile fell.

“Who ordered these?” he asked flatly.

Everyone reached for a shot as if he hadn’t spoken, and Danny pushed his to the center of the table.

“I’m good, if anyone wants that.”

Tommy lowered his shot, looking at Danny over the top of it. “Bro, you have to take it. It’s for Bryan.”

The words took the air right out of his body. Danny stared at his friend from across the table, concentrating on taking his next breath.

He had no idea what expression he was wearing, but it must have been something truly special because the color instantly drained from Tommy’s face before his eyes flitted away.

He could see that Leah was watching him, and he reached across the table, pulling the shot back as his jaw tensed. His knee began bouncing under the table, and all he really wanted to do in that moment was pick up the glass and throw it against the wall.

From across the table, Jake lifted his shot up high, glancing up at the ceiling before he took it, and that gesture pushed Danny over the edge.

He tossed the shot back before placing the empty glass on the table. “Excuse me,” he mumbled before he slid out of the booth and walked toward the stairwell.

Danny quickly pushed his way through the crowd on the lower level, yanking the door open and stumbling out into the frigid January air.

As soon as he was outside, he bent at the waist, bringing his hands to his knees as he dropped his head.

“Tommy, what the fuck,” he muttered as he straightened, running both hands down his face.

Why the hell would he have done that?

Because he’s Bryan’s friend too.

Danny dropped his head back, leaving his hands over his mouth as he blinked up at the sky.

Because he’s dealing with it his way.

He closed his eyes, shaking his head. He was such a fucking hypocrite. How could he begrudge someone his method of dealing with everything, when both Tommy and Jake had been nothing but accommodating to him?

And his methods weren’t always as diplomatic as ordering a round of drinks.

Just let it go.

He rubbed his hands over his face again before he exhaled.

He really needed to push all this shit aside right now, because he had dragged Leah into his night, and the only thing he should be focusing on was having a good time with her.

Let it go. For one night, just let it go.

With a tiny breath to steel his resolve, he turned and opened the door, reentering the bar. By the time he made his way back upstairs, he could see the empty shot glasses had already been cleared. Tommy looked up, catching his eyes as he approached, and Danny gave him a nod. He nodded in return, holding his hand up in understanding just as Leah’s head turned in Danny’s direction.

“Hey,” she said gently, fiddling with one of her earrings as she looked up at him. “Where’d you go?”

Danny rubbed the back of his neck. “Just needed some air for a minute.”

She kept her eyes on him for a moment before she nodded. “Yeah, it’s definitely hot in here,” she said, scooping her hair off her neck with both hands.

He could tell she didn’t buy that story for one second.

And yet she smiled up at him as she released her hair, scooting over a few inches to make room for him in the booth again.

He had no idea how she managed to do that—to erase his discomfort with a simple look. And when he sat down beside her, the remaining tension drained from his body as if her presence alone had siphoned it out of him.

“You need a drink, Leah?” Holly asked.

“Um, yeah. I’ll take a margarita.”

“Danny, what about you?”

“I’m good, thanks,” he said.

He watched Holly and Tommy make their way downstairs before he turned to see Leah watching him.

“You’re not gonna get anything?”

“I don’t drink.”

She lifted her brow. “But you just took a shot.”

“Well then, I’m already past my quota.”

She laughed then, shaking her head. “I’m glad you came out tonight.”

If there was any lingering doubt over his decision to approach her, it dissipated with those six words.

“Me too,” he said. “So, did Jake behave himself while I was gone?”

“He asked us what we thought of the girl in the orange halter.”

Danny chuckled. “And what did you tell him?”

“I didn’t tell him anything,” she said with a laugh. “Holly said, and I quote, ‘It’s gonna be an expensive evening for you. First, all the drinks you’ll have to buy her, and then the next forty years’ worth of Valtrex prescriptions.’”

Danny threw his head back and laughed. “Oh my God,” he said when he’d gotten himself under control. “I love her already.”

“Yeah, well, she’s certainly one of a kind,” Leah said with a smile as Holly approached the table with her drink.

“Here you go, chick,” she said, handing her the margarita. “Danny, are you sure you don’t want anything?”

Before he could answer, Leah said, “Yeah, you’re really not gonna have a drink with me?” Danny turned in her direction, his brow lifted, and she shrugged. “Just one drink? You already had a shot.”

Danny looked back and forth between them. “I feel like I’m on an after-school special.”

Leah laughed as she placed her drink on the table, and he turned back to Holly and Tommy. “Alright, I’ll take a beer,” he said, and Tommy turned to gesture over the railing.

“There,” he said, turning back to Leah. “One drink.”

“You make me feel like some sort of depraved villain,” she said, bringing her margarita to her lips and licking the salt off the rim where she was about to take a sip.

His eye was immediately drawn to her mouth, and he felt a jolt go through his stomach and straight between his legs.

“So, Leah,” Tommy said as he slid back into the booth, and Danny took advantage of the respite to try and regain his composure. “How do you know Danny?”

“Well, long story short, I lost a bracelet the last time I was in the city, and he helped me find it.”

“Yeah, sounds like Danny,” Jake chimed in. “Did he help you before or after he saved a kitten from a tree and assisted an elderly woman across the street?”

Before Danny could respond, Leah leaned over to him.

“He’s good,” she whispered.

“Who’s good?” Danny asked, leaning into their private conversation.

“Jake. He’s a good wingman. Make sure you tip him well tonight.”

Danny scoffed, looking at her in feigned offense. “If Jake’s getting anything from me tonight, it’s a foot in his ass. And what do you mean he’s good? You don’t think I’m the kitten-saving, granny-assisting type?”

Leah sat back a little, looking him up and down as she pretended to assess him. “Hmm. I guess I can see it. Although you’d probably frighten the kitten and offend the granny with your horrible language.”

“No way. Then I’d have to put money in the jar.”

A slow smile lit her face as she looked at him. “If you really have a jar started, I’m pretty pumped. I should have my something pretty by this time tomorrow.”

“So little faith,” he said, and Leah shrugged.

“Old habits die hard,” she replied as she brought her drink to her lips.

He watched her lick the rim again before taking a sip, and he swallowed hard. She looked tempting enough tonight; the absolute last thing he needed was to be six inches away from her while she kept licking that glass.

He pulled his eyes away from her mouth and back up to her face; her normally wavy hair was straight and shiny, and she had some shimmery stuff above her eyes that made them look intensely green. And her mouth—that goddamn mouth. She wasn’t wearing any of that goopy, shiny shit that so many girls wore, but they were a soft pink color, and so full he wanted to lean over and bite her bottom lip.

“You look really beautiful tonight,” he said before he could stop himself, and he saw the surprise register on her face as she paused mid-sip.

She swallowed, clearing her throat before she smiled shyly. “Thank you.”

“So Tommy was telling me how you guys all work together,” Holly said.

“Oh really?” Robyn asked. “Where do you guys work?”

They spent the next hour talking and laughing over drinks, and Danny was pleasantly surprised by how at ease Leah seemed to be with his friends; she and Tommy had a quick and easy rapport, and whenever Jake said something horrible, she would just roll her eyes or laugh it off.

And on two separate occasions, both Tommy and Jake gave him the signal that meant Leah earned their seal of approval.

Danny had stopped drinking after the beer he’d ordered to appease Leah, but the rest of them continued to order rounds. Jake was regaling the girls with a story about a belligerent customer who had insisted they’d broken his car when they’d worked on it, and when they took a tow truck out to pick it up, it turned out the guy was just out of gas. In his current state, the animation he put into telling the story had Danny cracking up, despite the fact that he’d heard it a million times.

In the middle of Jake’s spot-on imitation of the guy, Danny felt something brush over the back of his hand, and he glanced over at Leah. Her brow was pulled together, her eyes trained on his hand as she ran the tip of her index finger along his knuckles.

Right over his scars.

He jerked his hand back instinctively, and she jolted, yanking her own hand back as her eyes flashed up to his. She brought her hands into her lap as she quickly turned her attention back to Jake, looking like a child who had just been caught doing something wrong.