Page 73 of Ashes of Us
Danica had left the session feeling much better about her guilt. Dr. Marlowe also explained to her that falling for someone else did not minimize or negate her feelings for Jasper, and that the fact that while her physical attraction to Alex had been apparent from the beginning, the fact that they had developed a friendship without any promises or expectations of anything more than that, was a good indicator that her feelings were real and not just loneliness or a rebound, which was something else she had been concerned about.
“Of course, I can't tell you that you are one hundred percent, for sure not falling for him because he's been there for you and has shown he consistently has your back, which is something you didn't always feel you had with Jasper, but I'd also like to point out that Maverick has been there for you and has shown he's got your back, and you're not falling for him, despite saying you found him cute.”
Danica had pointed out that Maverick was in a relationship and, while she thought he was cute, it wasn't a sexual attraction, just an acknowledgement that he was an attractive man, but Marlowe had waved that off.
“You can't help who you develop feelings for. While knowing Maverick is in a relationship would make you not want to pursue him, it wouldn't stop you from falling for him.”
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They had an overnight flight to Honolulu so they could spend most of it asleep since it was an eleven-plus-hour trip, but to Danica's surprise, instead of sitting in his usual spot at the table, Alex came over and sat next to her, opening and setting up his laptop on the tray. “I downloaded a couple of the John Wick movies and figured we could watch one.” He reached into his bag and pulled out a bag of microwave popcorn with a grin. “What do you think?”
“Sounds like a plan.” Danica giggled as he jumped up and moved to the back of the plane to put the popcorn in the microwave and got up to get drinks from the fridge. A few minutes later, they were reclined in their seats, the bag of popcorn between them, covered up in blankets with the lights turned down and the movie playing. To her delight, Alex was also a talker during movies. It was probably her most annoying trait, but Danica liked to discuss movie scenes, especially fight scenes and how realistic they were. She had been sitting, biting her tongue and not commenting when Alex broke the silence.
“God, I love how the filmmakers designed the fight scenes around keeping things realistic with the weapons and how much ammo they have. I always have trouble suspending my disbelief when the lead character has a bottomless ammo clip.”
“Honestly, the way they choreographed the fight scenes to be so chaotic and realistic is why this is one of my favourite movie series.” Danica agreed, nodding emphatically. “The directors were stuntmen, and they really wanted it to be realistic, and the fact that Keanu did ninety percent of his own stunts really adds to the realism.”
“He was older than me doing those stunts too.” Alex chuckled as he tossed some popcorn into his mouth. “And I'm sore for days after two hours of jujitsu.” He paused and looked at her like he'd just realized something. “I really need to work out more.”
Danica laughed and shook her head. “Nah, you just need yoga. Keeps you flexible and strong.”
“Is that what you do?” She saw him look her over out of the corner of her eye, appreciation clear in his expression and nodded.
“Yeah, I go to classes at the Y when I have time, but I try to do routines at home at least three times a week.” She explained. “Otherwise, walking Indie two or three times a day is the extent of my exercise routine. Which is really starting to suck now that it's getting colder.”
“No kidding.” Alex rolled his eyes and snorted playfully. “Seems like she takes forever to find a suitable spot to pee now.”
“Thank you!” Danica exclaimed, relieved that it wasn't just in her head because she had also noticed that the colder and damper it was, the longer Indie took to do her business. “I told Mave that, and he laughed and insisted it was my imagination!”
“It's definitely not.” He assured her, chuckling. “If it is, we've started having shared delusions.” They fell quiet again, watching the movie for a while. Danica found herself getting tired and shifted to get more comfortable. “Tired?”
“Mmm. Yeah, getting there.” Danica murmured, covering her mouth as she yawned. Alex smiled and moved so he was sitting at more of an angle and put his arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer to him, so she was tucked up against his side.
“Then you should get some sleep.” He told her softly, adjusting her blanket over her before running his fingers through her hair, his nails scratching her scalp lightly. Danica decided not to look a gift horse in the mouth and enjoy being cuddled and held for the first time in months. She snuggled into him and let out a contented sigh.
“You're spoiling me.” She mumbled. “I'm not complaining.” She heard his low chuckle rumble through his chest under her ear and smiled. “But you should be careful, I might start expecting this treatment all the time and become a brat.” She felt his arms wrap around her, and he pressed his face against the side of her head briefly, his lips pressed against her temple.
“Don't worry, I know how to handle spoiled brats.” He murmured, nuzzling into her momentarily before settling back and resuming running his fingers over her scalp. “Get some rest, Dani, it's a long flight.”
Chapter Fifty-Seven: Islands & Intentions
Alex
Alex was only half watching the movie as he felt Danica relax in his arms and heard her breathing even out. He continued running his fingers through her golden-brown hair, enjoying the feeling of the silky strands slipping between his fingers. He wasn't sure when the grudging respect and admiration he had developed for her in the first few months of having her as his executive assistant morphed into what he first thought was a crush on a pretty woman who had no problem standing up to him, but he realized he was utterly, hopelessly in love with her when he heard the doctor tell her that Jasper would never wake up because while he felt terrible for her, he also felt a rush of joy that he could now pursue her and had immediately set out to do just that.
His motives weren't entirely selfish, though. He wanted her to be happy, and while he wanted to be the one to make her happy, he didn't want to rush her. He knew it might be months or even years before she felt ready to date, and he was willing to be patient and put in the work to make her fall for him.
Alex decided to take what could have been a considerable disadvantage, her situation with how Jasper died and her emotional state around his death, and use it to improve his odds, as well as an opportunity to get to know her better and develop a friendship with her, figuring it would either solidify his feelings for her or make them go away.
He looked down at her, soaking up the feeling of finally having her in his arms, admiring the way her long eyelashes rested on her cheeks, hiding the blue green of her eyes, the slope of her nose, and the dusting of freckles across her face. She was not his usual type, more girl-next-door cute instead of the high-fashion, model-esque woman he usually dated, but he freely admitted to never feeling so strongly for someone before. He wanted her close to him so badly that he had fudged the truth a little about her condo. His neighbour had looked after his condo while he was in London, but she had moved to Arizona to care for her elderly parents, not the other way around, and she hadn't agreed to Alex's original proposal that she rent out the condo and he would act as the property manager. Instead, Alex had ended up buying the condo outright. He had wanted to tell Danica the truth, but Emilia had insisted Danica would not be happy that he essentially purchased a million dollar condo for her and suggested he stick to the rental story, although he wasn't sure what the difference was between renting from him and renting from someone else, However, Emilia knew her better then he did, so he went along with it after she promised to take the blame when he told Danica the truth.
Shifting Danica slightly so he could move and get more comfortable, he settled back, holding her against him and closed his eyes. As much as he wanted to stay awake and enjoy holding her, he was exhausted and needed to get some sleep so he would be on top of his game when they landed in Honolulu.
When the pilot announced they would be landing in an hour, Alex felt Danica shift and start to pull away, and he tightened his hold on her briefly before letting her sit up. Opening his eyes, he watched as she stretched and smiled at him. He let his eyes trail over her. For once, she wasn't wearing clothes that they could both fit into at the same time; instead, she was dressed in a pair of leggings and a t-shirt that was only a size too big for her. She had lost between fifteen and twenty pounds in the aftermath of Jasper's accident and death, something he wasn't overly happy about. Danica had always been underweight, in his opinion, impossibly slender; now she was practically waif-like. Still beautiful, but he wished she would eat more calories. Swallowing his concern, knowing she wouldn't appreciate it, he returned her smile. “How'd you sleep?”
“Probably the best sleep I had in months.” She admitted, her voice soft and almost shy, which made Alex pause. Danica was anything but shy; she might blush and get flustered when he teased her, but she never hesitated to tell him what she thought or felt about something. That was interesting. Standing up, he reached out and tucked her rumpled hair behind her ear, enjoying the flush that crossed her cheeks.
“Good.” He said simply as he picked up the empty popcorn bag and drink bottles to throw away, nodding to the small bathroom at the back of the plane. “Do you want to go first?” They were going directly to the hotel and their first meeting with the manager from the airport, something he had arranged on purpose. The Honolulu hotel was solid, and he had no concerns about its management. Unless something unexpected was brought to their attention, he fully intended to be done by the next afternoon, leaving five days together inthe presidential penthouse suite of a luxury hotel in a tropical paradise.
