Page 22 of Taking Root

Her words socked him in the chest. He’d fallen into a pattern of complaining after years of mediating his family’s persistent presence and Betty’s annoyance with their closeness. The truth he’d smothered all this time bubbled to the surface. He loved being in the center of the storm. The calls at random times, how his younger siblings came to him to help with their problems—he was so enmeshed he could never extricate himself, and he didn’t want to.

Since he was a kid, Adrian had always wanted to help people. To settle down and have a family of his own someday.

“I guess you don’t realize how much the past messes you up,” he responded, scratching the nape of his neck.

Danny cocked an eyebrow. “Betty?”

“Damn, how did you guess?” he responded with sarcasm so dry he needed water. “She hated how close I was with my family, and through our entire relationship, we had this constant push and pull, a me or them.”

Danny bit her lip, which only made him want to lean across the table and kiss her. “As much as her cheating on you was shitty, it sounds like the relationship would’ve withered eventually. You and the rest of the Dukases are a package deal—anyone who’s known you five seconds understands that.”

“Not everyone got me like you did,” he reminded her, unable to forget how she swung by study hall the days he needed a friend the most. Or even now, the way she drove straight through all his walls and defenses to the heart of him. As much as he tried to warn himself not to get attached, he’d been falling for her from the day they first met.

Tension settled between them, a thickness in the air making it hard to breathe as their eyes locked. Inevitability lingered there, the understanding that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t detach himself even if he wanted to. Light and easy had never been part of his genetic makeup.

“So, what did Cal want?” Danny asked, snagging his phone from the table. “You’ve struck my curiosity, and you can’t leave it dangling there.”

He snagged his phone back, aware of the way she skated around seriousness. Adrian flipped through the texts, scanning over them before he let out a sigh.

“He’s worried about my youngest sister Nellie.” He placed his phone down again, leaning back in his seat. “Her husband Greg is a grade A jerk, and she’s never been the type to survive well by her lonesome. She wouldn’t be able to live your sort of life, bouncing from city to city and not knowing a soul.”

Danny let out a bitter cross between a snort and a huff. “Don’t count me in the surviving camp. I’d trade anything to settle down.”

The “why” lingered on the tip of his tongue, but he swallowed it back. She wouldn’t, maybe even couldn’t answer, so why bother?

“I know I’m lucky to have them, but it’s hard not feeling like Betty was right,” Adrian murmured, his thumb lingering over the surface of his phone. He should respond, but right now he just wanted to enjoy this time with Danny. Was that really so bad?

Danny lifted a brow. “My god, Romeo. You don’t have control issues—you’re so busy trying to save the world that you don’t bother setting boundaries for yourself. You’re allowed to give a damn about your siblings and get up in their business, but you’re also allowed to turn your phone off. You’re not on-call for everyone with a problem 24/7, and that includes me.”

Adrian’s throat dried.

Everything Betty had said was tangled with her own personal issues, but Danny zeroed right in on the heart of his problem. She didn’t demand he divorce himself from his family—simply offered the temporary reprieve he’d been denying himself.

He blinked and then sucked in a shaky breath. “You’re right. Except right now, this time with you? This is for me too.” He flashed her a smile that traveled straight to his depths and turned off his phone, slipping it back into his pocket. “No interruptions for the rest of our date.”

The waitress returned, this time carrying plates of burgers dripping with grease. His stomach rumbled in response, and their focus zeroed in on the meal in front of them. Danny tucked in with gusto, not giving a damn who watched, something he adored about her. Adrian sank his teeth in, the first bite of salty cheese and tangy meat so good he almost moaned. Who was he kidding? He adored every damn thing about her, and every moment they spent together only stoked the blaze already growing in his chest.

On the opposite side of the coin, the deeper the feelings ran, the more it would hurt when she left.

---