Page 11 of Rekindling Desire

Damien took a step back and nodded. “We were going to the cafeteria. Join us.”

As Dani nodded, the happiness she’d displayed in the chapel was replaced by the stress and worry of the last week. Her hair was piled on her head in a haphazard bun. She wasn’t wearing makeup, and her clothes were soft and comfortable. It was the dark circles beneath her bloodshot eyes that were the most telling.

None of us said a word as we descended to the ground floor. As we walked toward the cafeteria—both Damien and Dani seemed to know the way—we made small talk.

The Florida humidity.

Our dislike of hospital coffee.

A distrust of Darius and Amber.

Entering the cafeteria, Dani looked around at the tables. Given the late—or early—hour, most of the tables were empty. “Good,” she said. “I was afraid Darius and his new bride would be here.”

“They’re not with Mom?” Damien asked.

“No, I haven’t seen them since your ceremony.”

“I’d say that it’s shitty to get married while this is going on,” Damien said with a glance to me.

I shrugged before reaching for Dani’s hand. “That makes us shitty too.”

“No,” Dani said definitively.

Damien stuffed his hands into the front pockets of his blue jeans. Uncertainty showed in his expression as he changed the subject. “My mind is a mess. Days are blending together. How long has Dad been in surgery?”

“Going on six hours.” She looked from me to Damien and back to me. “Thank you for keeping him sane.”

“Wait a minute,” I replied. “I didn’t sign up for safeguarding his sanity. That would definitely require a renegotiation of terms and compensation.”

Dani smiled. “You two work out the details. I’m just saying you obviously have a positive effect.”

We stepped into the food area. The grill station was dark and empty. Only prepackaged food in an open refrigerator was available. Scanning the choices, I remembered the delicious meal at the Shermans’ home.

It seemed as if it had occurred weeks ago, not hours.

Forgoing food, we made our way to a row of coffee pots, each of us filling a cup. I added cream to mine. Dani skipped the cream and added sweetener. Damien drank his black.

“You might add sweetener,” Dani recommended. “It’s really bad.”

“I remember from last week,” Damien replied.

After Damien paid the cashier, the three of us found a table near large windows. The scene beyond the panes and palm fronds was a parking lot filled with cars. Tall light posts cast circles of illumination through the darkness and down to the pavement below.

Dani’s eyes narrowed and she straightened her neck. Looking at her brother, she insisted, “I support you, but if you don’t tell Ella about the addendum, I will.”

“Fuck,” Damien growled.

Demanding was definitely a Sinclair family trait.

I lifted my hand. “I know.”

Dani turned her tired eyes to me. “You know?”

“I do. It’s why I said we were engaged.” I shrugged. “Damien had asked earlier today. I hadn’t answered him until then.”

“You know and you went through with the wedding?” Dani asked.

Laying my hand on Damien’s knee below the table, he covered mine with his. “The addendum isn’t the only reason I went through with it,” I admitted.

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