Page 21 of Taking Root

Chapter Ten

Adrian let out a groan as he hung up his phone.

He’d pulled into the parking lot of Ferry’s Way by the riverside, the place he was supposed to meet Danny for dinner. Except Mom had called, worried about Matty. His bike gang had gotten the cops called on them again, and his brother headed down a fast track of following in Lex’s ex-con footsteps. Already, the late afternoon sun cast goldenrod rays across the skyline. He considered himself lucky he’d gotten out of the hospital before sunset, having been there since before the sun rose.

He got out of the car, the cool breezes by the river rifling through his hair and rippling the open button-down he wore.

Danny stood by the entrance of Ferry’s Way, leaning against the white siding. She was the sort of splash of color on a blank canvas that begged to be photographed. And the moment she caught sight of him, the way her jade eyes crinkled in a genuine smile and she hopped up from her slouch to greet him made his chest squeeze tight. Her ripped jean shorts exposed enough of those creamy thighs to have him salivating, and the black tank-top she wore paired with black Vans made him want to pin her down and forget dinner.

This time, they’d agreed on a less fancy dinner spot, and he picked this one for a reason. It was right near Riverfront Park, their high school meet-up spot. They’d headed there countless times after his track practices when she needed an escape and didn’t want to return home. He would smuggle a bottle of rum from his parents’ cabinet, and they’d sit on the boardwalk and just talk until they were alone with the stars.

“What’s up, Doc?” she called to him, mischief in her gaze.

Adrian rolled his eyes as he stepped up to her. “Original, darlin’.”

He settled his hands around her waist, drawing her close. She leaned up to press her lips to his, the taste of her an addiction. He deepened the kiss, the scent of lavender lingering around her. Her sun-warmed skin was the sort he wanted to touch, lick, and bite every inch of. She melted against him in a way that stoked his flames, and he wanted to give in to the heady lust percolating between them.

Danny pulled back first and slipped a hand through his. “Come on,” she said, leading them toward the door. “I’m starving and liable to turn into a bitch if I don’t get some sustenance.”

He couldn’t help but grin. The blunt way she talked offered a refreshing contrast to all the subtle shaded phrases Betty used to drop. No wonder Danny meshed so well with his family’s chaos—they operated on the same wavelength. A couple weeks together and he could already picture forever with her.

The thought splashed him in the face like the chill of the AC as they entered the restaurant. They followed the hostess to seats by the windows, these ones overlooking the Cooper River which sparkled like raw quartz under the late afternoon sun.

Christ, what was he doing?

Danny had made it clear from the moment she crashed back into his life—this was a temporary thrill. She would only ever be transitory, a stop before whatever secret she kept dragged her to a new location. Yet he couldn’t stop himself from yearning. He couldn’t tether his daydream mind or stop himself from searching for something real and lasting—that she’d be the one he’d settle down with after all these years.

“You still there, Adrian?” Danny asked as they plunked into the vinyl booth on opposite sides. He ignored the bittersweet twist in his chest of sharp, intense longing even as the woman of his dreams sat right before him.

He lifted his plastic menu, cracking it open as he forced a smile. “Apparently I was hungrier than I thought.” Her gaze lingered on him a heartbeat longer, like she didn’t buy it. Yet, she didn’t push harder, like they both knew what a precarious ledge they walked across.

Focus. Enjoy the moment. His shift at Hampton General was done for the day, and he sat in this wide-windowed restaurant by the river with a gorgeous woman. Life could be a whole lot worse.

The moment the waitress swung over, they both placed orders for burgers and drinks. Danny looked like she might gnaw an arm off if she didn’t get food soon. Adrian settled back in the weathered vinyl booth, basking in the sunlight that streamed through the window. The river’s sparkling crests winked at him as it churned outside.

“What’s it been like traveling so much?” he asked. Every time they neared mention of her family, questions about her disappearance, or why she changed location, Danny snapped up tight, but apart from those subjects, she usually gave an honest answer. With so many secrets stitched away, it was almost like she grasped for anything true to offer.

Danny ran a hand through her copper strands before responding. She didn’t look him in the eyes but instead stared out the window, pressing her forearms down on the lacquer table. “It’s interesting, but I’d be lying if I said I liked it. New York’s too fast and lonely, Boston’s the same sort of bustle, and if you didn’t grow up in the small towns in the Midwest, no one gives you the time of day. I’ve missed Hanahan something fierce.”

Adrian reached across the table to place his hand on hers. She met his eyes, and the look there struck him speechless. From the start, so much brimmed under the surface with Danny, complex emotions that begged to be untangled. Her laughs and smiles all had a sharpness to them, the edge of loneliness he now understood clear as the way it blazed in her eyes.

“Well, you’re here now,” he murmured. “Let’s enjoy every second of it.”

A brief flicker of relief shuttered through her eyes before she flashed him another gorgeous grin. “I’m here with you, aren’t I? This is by far what I’d consider my best life.”

A lump formed in his throat, followed by the longing that had been building with every interaction. What flared between them wasn’t just the brief heat of passion but a slow, simmering promise, one that would never come to completion.

Before he could respond, his phone began to light up and buzz with texts. He glanced down. Cal sent one after another in succession.

Danny grinned. “Which member of the Dukas family is it?” Wry amusement filled her voice, the sort of affection he’d always hoped for. When Betty said the same words, they were loaded with derision and long-held bitterness.

“Cal this time.” He heaved a sigh. The communication flowed continually between his family, something he’d grown up loving, but the more and more it caused fights between him and Betty, the more he’d come to resent it. Things had gotten to the point where the second his phone rang or buzzed, she’d huff and leave the room whether he responded or not, and the last year of their relationship, she’d made it to only a handful of family dinners.

“Well, don’t keep us in suspense,” Danny said, her gaze gleaming as she gestured to his phone. “What’s going on with your brother?”

“You don’t have to pretend to care,” he commented. “This is a constant with the Dukas family.”

She tilted her head, her expression bemused. “Who’s pretending? I’m genuinely curious. Adrian, do you realize how damn lucky you are to have a family who talks to you so often? I’d give anything for that sort of connection.”

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