Page 36 of Duress
And so I do. I make one of each, using a loaf of crusty bread from my favorite bakery, showing him my preferred method for buttering the bread, layering each ingredient, explaining how each cheese pairs with something salty or sweet. As I assemble, he grills the sandwiches in the pan. It’s so wonderfully, blissfully domestic cooking together, I can’t help but daydream what our life would be like if he was the brother I married.
CHAPTER 32
DANE
Eating grilled cheese with Everly feels like a dream. The way her face lights up in delight and amusement when the cheese from her sandwich makes a gooey trail from the toasty bread to her gorgeous mouth makes my stomach flip. She looks so light and happy in this moment, which is a stark contrast from the sullen, withdrawn women who answered the door. The way her eyes crinkle in the corners when she laughs is joy personified. I must be staring, because she stops mid-chew and looks self-conscious.
“Is there still cheese on my face?” She swipes at her chin, but I catch her hand in mine, grazing my lips against her palm.
“Just admiring the dramatic effect my dick had on your attitude.” Her lips pop open in a surprisedOat my comment, before she tosses the crust of her sandwich at me.
Before she can respond, I lean forward, capturing herlips with mine, silencing any protest. Something shifted in her fundamentally between the time I got here and now, and I will fight to hang on to this feeling for as long as possible. I was terrified when Everly rebuffed me when I got here. I was sure she was going to end things between us. Saysorry, Dane. I can’t do it. I love BryceorDane, that was a mistake.The way she had retreated into herself scared the shit out of me. But when I saw the way she was looking at me, like I was the air she needed to breathe—to live—I knew that wasn’t the case. Because that’s how I look ather, and Iknowshe’s the air I breathe.
I don’t blame her for having conflicting feelings about this situation. I know it’s fucked up beyond belief. But I also know it’s the most right I have felt about anything in my life, and I will not let my shitbag of a brother or her guilty conscience diminish what this is between us.
When I pull away, there is a faraway, glassy look in her eyes, like she just woke up from a dream, and I know she is feeling the same way I do.
Before I get the chance to reignite the flames that were burning between us in the office, her phone buzzes on the kitchen table. Bryce’s smug face lights up her screen, and Everly jerks back violently like she’s been burned. Nerves and fear flash in her eyes as she stares at her phone like it’s a snake poised to strike.
“Shit. I should get this. Umm… I’ll be right back.” Snatching her phone, I hear her voice chime out with a frazzled sounding “Hey, hon,” as she ducks out of the kitchen. I debate whether I should follow her, listen in on her conversation, but I assume if she wanted me to hear, she would’ve stayed put. I don’t want to make her more nervous and give Bryce any reason to suspect anything, so instead I clear our plates from the table, load them into the dishwasher, and put away the remaining food.
After finishing cleaning up, I go back to the office, careful to listen for Everly as I walk through the house, wondering what she and Bryce could be talking about. Is she pretending she misses him? Barely paying attention to his self-absorbed recounting of his day? When I reach the door to the office, I hear her muffled voice coming from her studio just down the hall. I know I shouldn’t eavesdrop, but I want to make sure he’s not saying anything to upset her.
Creeping closer to the studio door that’s been left partially ajar, I hear Everly let out an exasperated sigh at something Bryce is saying. “…look I don’t know what you expect me to do about it. Even if you think he had some sort of crush on me, or grudge against you, I don’t think Dane is going to compromise on his morals. It’s not like I can just bat my eye lashes at him and he’ll do whatever I say.”
My ears burn at the mention of my name. Why are they talking about me?
“We had one pleasant evening chatting while he was waiting for you. It’s not like we’re friends. Before that, the last time I spent any time with him was when I was having therapy sessions with your mom. I know this case is important to Skip, but maybe this is one you should just leave alone. That Dominick guy sounds like a real piece of work. Why would you want to help someone like him?”
Her words cut into the tender part of my heart that already wonders if there is an expiration date on what is going on between us. That I’m some sort of exciting rebound to make her feel good again after Bryce destroyed her self-esteem. My brain—known to be more rational and logical, thanks to my years on the force—knows she has to downplay our relationship to Bryce. She’s doing the right thing. That doesn’t take the sting out of her words, though.
She lets out another irritated sigh at whatever Bryce’s response is. “Fine. I’ll see what I can do. When will you be back?”
Everly crosses the room, and I see her through the crack in the door. She’s biting her nails on one hand, her shoulders slumped forward. I’ve seen this body language so many times in my line of work. I’ve seen it on my partner, Serena. This is the body language of a woman who has been beaten down, emotionally, if not physically, by a man that she loves and who is supposed to love her back, and it kills me to see the effect he has on her. I want to take her away from this. Away from him. I don’t know why she is so hesitant to leave him and make a clean break, but maybe I can use our time together this weekend to show her how safe she will be with me if she does.
Her conversation sounds like it’s wrapping up, so I back away, careful to not alert her to my presence. I’ll wait for her in the office and see if she brings up what Bryce wants her to do. I want to know if she fully trusts me enough to tell me his plans.
When Everly returns to the office, her body language is still off. She’s closed in on herself again, like a flowerclosing its petals when the sun goes down.Nyctinasty.The word floats through my brain, resurfacing from a memory of me as a young child when I asked my mom why some of the flowers in her garden would close up at night. We were outside at dusk, watering the plants, and I noticed some of the petals furling in on themselves.
“Momma, why do the flowers all close up when the sun is gone?”
“It’s called nyctinasty, sweetie.”
“Nick-ti-nasty?
“Nyctinasty.”
“Flowers go to bed too. When the sun goes down, their petals close up, tucking the warmth and the pollen inside where it will be safe for the bees to find in the morning. It’s just like when your dad and I tuck you into bed at night and make you all warm and cozy and safe until morning.”
Seeing Everly furled up and afraid makes me want become the sun so I can help her open back up and reveal her beauty to the world again.
CHAPTER 33
DANE
“Is everything okay?” I pull Everly into a hug, tucking her head under my chin and she instantly melts into me. She doesn’t say anything for a long moment, but I’m a patient man, and I know what kind of mental gymnastics my brother is capable of pulling, so I wait for her to talk first. I just rub her back, letting her take whatever comfort she needs from me before she tells me about her conversation with Bryce.
“He’s going to call you and tell you to come check on me while he’s out of town.”
