Page 28 of Coming Undone

Butterflies stirred in her belly at the thought- part anticipation and part nerves. While she wanted to be with him again and experience more of the mind-numbing, gorgeous release he could give her, she wasn’t sure how she felt about the new intensity that lurked in their relationship.

“I’ll be fine,” she repeated, as much for her sake as for his. Her personal space and autonomy had been hard won from her family the first time, and even more so after she’d come home from her ordeal. Then they’d been twice as protective of her. She would be careful not to give Danny the idea that she needed a protector. “I’m looking forward to exploring the Cape while I’m here. I don’t want to steal too much time away from your family.”

He studied her thoughtfully, and in the brief silence, she could hear male voices calling to one another and laughing outside. She had the feeling they’d already started their game, never making good on their threat to drag Danny out of the gate house he’d said was less than a tenth of a mile away from his parents’ main property.

“Okay.” He gave a brief nod and pulled on an old concert t-shirt. If her effort to keep things light bothered him, he didn’t show it. “The game should be done by noon.”

She watched in silence as he grabbed some sneakers out of a suitcase and jogged out of the room to join his brothers. Guilt pinched at the comprehension that she had put more distance between them after he’d been so very good to her when she’d really needed him.

Had it been wrong of her to ask something for so superficial of him as sex? Of course, at the time she’d initiated her request, she hadn’t realized that their past might mean more to him than she’d ever expected. By staying with him now, was she only making their separation that much harder at the end of the month?

Her chest ached at the thought of hurting him. Maybe the week with his family would be a good thing, giving them some natural space from each other before the tender feelings inside her had a chance to take root. Her independence was a hard-won thing after the kidnapping, and she wasn’t ready to give it up for any man. Not even the most tempting guy she’d ever met.

* * *

Danny did his damnedest to walk the fine line between being a good host to Stephanie while still giving her some space. He hadn’t protested when the backyard football game went into overtime, dutifully marching his team back out on the field after Keith insisted on a coin toss to decide possession in the extra period.

He also didn’t protest when his brothers decided to throw him – their team captain- into the swimming pool after he’d led them to victory. They’d insisted a dunk in the water was the only way to celebrate since they lacked a Gatorade container to dump over his head.

Sopping wet and fully clothed, he climbed out of the heated infinity edge pool his father had installed a few years ago, only to come face-to-face with soon-to-be groom Jack.

His second oldest brother tossed him a towel. Square jawed and serious, Jack had the same brown hair and green eyes as all the biological Murphys. In temperament, Jack and he were closest of the brothers, both tending to be quieter and more intense. Whereas Keith and Ryan had inherited their father’s business mogul tendencies, and Kyle and Axel were content to dominate sports, Jack and Danny shared a rebellious streak that made it tough to find one clear career path. These days, Jack was debating getting into politics in the Maine community where he and his fiancée, Alicia, ran a bed and breakfast.

“I expected you to be a whole lot happier when I heard you were coming home with her,” Jack said without preamble.

No need to identify “her.” Stephanie had been an unspoken constant in Danny’s life for five years and Jack was probably the one who understood that best. He’d seen how hard Danny fell for her that night they’d met after Danny’s Manhattan gig. Hell, Jack had ended up as Uncle Sam’s property for four years because of Danny’s feelings for her as much as a calling to free Christina.

Drying off his face and arms, Danny squinted against the afternoon sunlight. “It’s complicated.”

“Isn’t it always?” Jack dropped into a wrought iron deck lounger with fat ivory-colored cushions.

Clearly, Danny wasn’t opting out of this conversation too easily. The lawn buzzed with catering staff and people assembling an outdoor tent, tables, and chairs, but they seemed to have finished prepping the pool area, so this part of the property was quieter.

“She sought me out for the first time in five years, and she wants to keep things… uncomplicated.”

“Ouch.”

“Tell me about it.” Danny shoved aside the cushion on another lounger so he wouldn’t soak the thing through. Sitting directly on the wrought iron, he laid the towel over his knees.

“But she’s here, right? You’ve got an opportunity to change her mind.” Jack lifted the lid on a cooler built into a wooden cart between them and revealed an assortment of imported beers on ice that must be for the party due to start in a couple of hours.

Danny scooped up a longneck microbrew bottled locally. He used the bottle opener built into the drink cart and took a long swallow.

“And risk pushing too hard? She could be out of here before you even say your vows if she starts feeling pressured.” He’d gotten the message loud and clear from her this morning when she’d said “I’ll be fine” not once, but twice. Obviously, she was already warning him not to get too close.

“So don’t push. Don’t pressure. Duh.” Jack opened his bottle and took a swig. “Can’t you be… fun? Low key?”

“Laid back,” he muttered, remembering what she’d said when he’d gotten off the ship earlier that week. You look kind of dashing in the white… and not at all like the laid-back rock n’ roll dude I met five years ago.

“Exactly.” Jack lifted his beer in mock salute. “Take her out for a sail. Hit up some open microphone nights at the local clubs so you can jam with your guitar and just have fun. I remember she really liked hearing you play.”

“That’s not a bad idea,” Danny mused, wondering if he even knew how to be low key anymore.

“Hey, I’m getting married to an incredible woman next week, dude. I must be doing something right.” He grinned like he’d won the freaking lottery and Danny was glad for the guy.

Jack had gone without Alicia for almost as long as Danny had missed Stephanie.

“I’m happy for you.” Leaning across the space between them, he clinked his bottle against Jack’s in a makeshift toast. “Seriously. You deserve this.”

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