Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 100873 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 504(@200wpm)___ 403(@250wpm)___ 336(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100873 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 504(@200wpm)___ 403(@250wpm)___ 336(@300wpm)
A young Pasifika woman who was just barely showing her pregnancy, one hand absently stroking her bump, came to stand next to him while her husband went over to chat with Catie. “I follow her on her socials,” she said to Danny, “but more for her work with children than the running.”
“She’s done amazing things in that area.”
The woman nodded, the glossy black of her bobbed hair obsidian in the sunshine. “My brother lost an arm a couple of years ago, and you know, he’s a teen. I don’t know how he would’ve handled it if she hadn’t been so visible at the time, being amazing with two artificial limbs.” Sibling love was a song in her voice.
“Then Catie’s foundation helped fund a bionic-looking skin for his prosthesis,” the stranger added. “It’s cosmetic, so it wouldn’t have been funded otherwise. But it’s so essential for a teenager. He felt a hundred times cooler, and these days if the kid’s got a problem, it’s that he’s turning into a player.”
Laughter in her eyes, she added, “It doesn’t help that he joined the track team and immediately showed an aptitude for speed.”
Danny’s chest puffed out, but he kept the topic of discussion to the teenager. “Sounds like he’s following her path in more than just confidence.”
“He idolizes her.” A beaming smile. “But I didn’t come here to brag about Joey. I wanted to say that when I first saw pics of you two, I thought you were pranking everyone. But now that I’ve seen how you look at her…” Her gaze softened. “I’m so happy for her. Even though she doesn’t know me, I feel like I know her. More than that, I respect and am deeply grateful to her—it gives me such joy to know that she’s deeply loved.”
Danny swallowed. Hard. The L word was even more terrifying than the idea of the upcoming Talk. Especially when he had no idea what was going on inside him when it came to Catie—much less how to label it. He blew out a quiet breath when the woman’s husband jogged over at that moment, his face awash in smiles.
“She agreed,” he said to his wife, who all but jumped up and down on the spot before breaking into excited chatter in a language Danny clocked as Niuean.
Leaving them to it, Danny and his freaked-out guts joined Catie, and the two of them headed over to the parking lot. “What did you agree to?”
“He invited me to his brother-in-law’s eighteenth birthday party next month.” She grinned. “It’s going to be a family-and-friends thing out in Devonport. Wanna come?”
“Yeah, okay,” Danny said even though they might not be on such good terms after the Talk.
Catie’s smile faded as she looked at him, and he knew he’d revealed too much all over again. They didn’t speak the rest of the way to their cars. Pulling out behind her, he felt his cheeks flush burning hot, then go ice-cold.
“Shit, Danny. You idiot.” Slapping the steering wheel, he wished he was a mad scientist so he could build a time machine and take back that moment—but what was done was done. Chances were that Catie would tell him to pull his head in and stop acting strange, and they’d pretend it never happened.
Yeah, that would be good.
Except… his heart went all tight when he thought about ignoring what was happening and going back to how they’d always been with each other. Though… what the hell was he thinking? Him and Catie? It would never work.
Why not?
A question from the idiot in his brain who’d also taken over his body.
“We barely get along for one thing,” he muttered to himself.
Lies. You two get along fine. You just get along in your own way.
Danny frowned but couldn’t argue with that. He and Catie never actually fought. And when push came to shove, they were there for each other in a blink. They just also liked to rile each other up on a regular basis.
“Which is not the foundation for a relationship,” he pointed out to himself. “And why the fuck am I even thinking that far ahead? Catie’s going to ream me out for messing things up, our relationship will turn awkward for a bit, after which we’ll be fine.” Because the idea of a serious breach between them wasn’t a fact he could comprehend.
He kept that thought at the forefront of his mind as he turned to park in a visitor spot in the underground garage of her apartment building. She’d pulled ahead of him during a traffic light change, so was waiting for him at the elevator by the time he got himself sorted.
Jogging over, he said, “Is it my imagination or did this place get a paint job?”
“The rest of the owners decided it needed a spruce-up. I think it’s a garage and needs to look like a garage, but…” She gave a patently fake smile. “This is obviously why I pay mandatory property maintenance fees—to have a shiny garage.”