Page 41 of Peak of Love
As soon as the door closed, Dane wrapped his arms around her waist.
“Celina, are you OK?”
She wiggled out of his grasp. It was impossible to think when they were touching.
“I’m fine.”
“Why are you looking at me like that?” Anxiety crowded his features.
“You need to leave, too.” That was all she could say to the man splintering her senses and clouding her judgment.
She didn’t want to hurt her friend, although she now recognized something crucial.
Yes, balance was essential to her long-term mental and physical health. She learned the importance of seeking quality time for herself and by herself.Thatwas the key. For herself and by herself.
Maybe she’d get back to fitness or start a hobby. At the very least, she needed to stop thinking about soccer bake sales while lying in bed! Her independent and intelligent boys didn’t need her attention every minute of every day. Some of that attention could be redirected to caring for herself. Alone.
“Don’t do this, baby.” His voice, jagged and rough, threatened to rip her calm façade.
“Please leave. I’m sorry,” she squeaked out. “What happened last night, it doesn’t need to—”
“Don’t do this,” he repeated through grinding teeth. She couldn’t look at him. Not when he sounded as raw as her heart felt. Dane’s hand reached for her elbow. She moved out of his grasp and walked towards the stairs.
“Celina, stop. This morning was obviously not how we imagined things would go. It won’t be easy to explain this to… to everyone. But Parker will come around. We’re all adults.” He paused, as if waiting for her to agree.
“Adults make hard decisions, Dane.” Her defiant tone was sharp, every word landing like a decree.
His head snapped back in response to her unexpected answer. “You’re upset. We don’t have to decide anything right now.” Self-assured as always, he announced, “We’ll figure it out, Celina. I promise we will. C’mere, baby.”
Something about his confident declaration—echoing his certainty from last night—grated at her. He was full of shit. He was making promises he couldn’t keep. Figure it out?
Well, shedidfigure it out. Everything wasfigured outbefore she let emotions and passion sweep away common sense. She was better alone. Stronger. Surer.
And that last bit?C’mere, baby.
Celina straightened her spine. She didn’t need his nicknames and assurances and promises. Andno onetold her what to do.
“Don’t call me that,” she hissed. “I’m not a child. And I’m not yours.”
The highlights of Dane Verghese’s next two weeks were: the boys aced their math exam, Dane redistributed duties to his project manager in Vancouver, and, soon after, put the Whistler property up for sale.
The winter vacation home had become unbearable. Everywhere he turned, pangs of longing took him by surprise. A package of chocolate-covered pretzels. His bed that she’d slept in. The sofa where they tasted each other for the first time. Dane also decided that he was done with hot tubs. Because a hot tub without Celina in it was pointless.
As for his construction team in Vancouver, Dane was rearranging his projects to accommodate significant changes in his own lifestyle. He was serious about centralizing operations in Seattle and increasing his project manager’s responsibilities in Canada.
Something in Dane had clicked throughout this ordeal. He noticed the twins sought him out for more serious conversations beyond Mario Kart or funny memes. So, if he was spending weekends skiing in Whistler, he wasn’t there for the boys. Video calling and sporadic visits were no longer sufficient.
He didn’t want to miss any more of Jonas and Jerome’s lives. He would arrange his schedule to be in Seattle full time and only travel when necessary. If those boys needed him, he would drop everything.
Unfortunately, their mother didn’t need him at all. She let the Jonas and Jerome connect with him as much as they wanted. Celina, however, avoided Dane’s texts and calls. Two weeks without hearing her voice or exchanging a text? He didn’t go that long even when they were just friends.
Was Dane surprised that he got so much wrong? Not really. He accepted his limitations. He’d never had a steady girlfriend.
What bothered him the most was the inability to fix what he broke. It struck him that the one person who could have helped him was Asher. Except, when it came to Celina, would Asher think Dane worth helping?
Or perhaps the one certainty of his life remained unchanged: the woman he loved would always be his best friend’s girl.
***
