Page 46 of Anything To Be With You

"Of course you did. Weirdo." She mumbles as she shuts the door.

I head towards my truck when she yells, "don’t you dare call me tomorrow night either. Take a weekend off Archer, you need it." She starts the car or at least tries to.

"You need a boost?" I yell.

"No. Just give it a minute," she punches the dash, and the car starts up. "Ha! See. Have a good weekend, Archer." She waves out the window and drives off.

Getting in my truck, I take off towards home. I walk in the door, throwing my keys on the table, and head to the fridge for a much-needed beer. Spending almost four hours locked in an elevator with Dani has gotten under my skin.

I will admit it was nice having someone—other than Gabe and Carrie—to talk and joke around with. It had been years since I talked with a woman for no other reason than to have a conversation and get to know her. My blind dates had small talk, until they found out that I'm a lawyer, then it moved onto how much I make and if I have a big house. But with Dani, she didn't care about that. She cared about how I was doing.

I down my beer and head to the bathroom to shower. I rub one out like I do every night—which is my sad reality—and finish up. I towel off, throw on a pair of boxer briefs and slide under the sheets.

I stare at the ceiling. The moonlight casts a silver line along one wall of the room. I can’t sleep, so I do the one thing guaranteed to relax me enough to put me to sleep. I grab my phone and make a call.

"Archer, what in the fuck did I tell you." Dani’s voice has that husky sleepy tone to it.

"I wanted to make sure you got home okay."

There’s a pause before Dani speaks. "You did?" surprise colours her tone.

"Yes. After watching you fight with your car, I wanted to make sure you made it home safe." And to hear her voice.

A shocked giggle comes over the line. "That’s sweet of you, Archer. I made it home just fine."

I smile into the darkness of my room. "Wonderful. Goodnight, Sweetheart."

"Goodnight, Dimples."

I'm A Dead Man

Luke

I get to work earlier than usual Monday morning to start on the Dobson divorce, getting everything ready for when Joni comes in at ten. Dani walks into the office fifteen minutes later, speaking with someone.

"He's going to complain, Mom, he hates this. Put him on and I'll deal with it." She tosses her purse on her desk. "Mason, are you giving Nanny attitude?…I don’t give two shits that you’re tired.

You should have thought of that before deciding to have a party while I was stuck in that elevator. Did you really think I wouldn’t call Uncle Jake to check in on you?" Dani yells.

"And I still don’t understand how you managed to convince Uncle Jake to stay, but now he’s in deep shit with Auntie Erin."

I stand in the doorway of my office, leaning against the frame.

"I don’t care, Mason. I have your phone for another week and you’re spending three days with Nanny and Papa. Now, shut your yap and go cut the grass like Nanny asked you to do when I dropped you off. I love you with all my heart, I’ll see you Thursday." She hangs up and flops down in her chair with a grunt.

"Daniella," I call.

She jumps and throws a pen at my head; I duck before it hits me.

"What have I told you about doing that!" she spits out. "You’re going to give me a heart attack or make me piss myself." She runs her fingers through her hair, that she’s wearing down today. "I have a mom bladder, remember. It’s not as strong as it used to be."

I pick up her pen and place it on her desk. "Noted."

Dani leans forward, resting her elbows on the desk, and dropping her chin on her palms. "So, how was your weekend?" she bats her lashes at me.

"Unproductive," I cross my arms over my chest.

"So, what did you do instead of working?"

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