Page 93 of Ghost Note

Gina: I know you’re in there. Where is the damn key from under the flowerpot?

I’m not leaving until you let me in.

“Oh, shit…”

“What?” Danny groaned, rolling over onto his back, drawing my attention his way.

He was a beautiful sight. All that tanned skin over ripped muscle finished off with tattoos I didn’t even know I’d like on his body. He looked so peaceful, with his arms up and resting on the pillow, his eyes still closed. I gave him ten more seconds of bliss before I shuffled to sit upright, pulling the sheet up to my chest.

“Gina’s here.”

Danny’s eyes popped open, and his head rolled my way. “Oh, shit,” he said, echoing my initial response. “She’s here? Now?”

I nodded and pressed my lips together, just as the banging started at the front door again. Gina’s voice soon poured through the house, and I imagined her mouth pressed against the letterbox.

“Daisy Piper, I know you’re in there. Open this door right now!”

“I have to go.” I climbed out of bed and found my dressing gown hanging on the back of the door. I wrapped it around me before I pulled my hair out of the collar and looked back at Danny.

The guy had a choice to make now—one he’d probably been avoiding since the day he heard the news of his parents dying right alongside Gina’s mum and dad. If she saw him here, she was going to lose her shit for many reasons.Her dislike of him wasn’t only because of me. Their parents had died together, and Gina had carried the weight of all four of them without Danny being around for any of it.

“You can stay up here if you want. She doesn’t have to know you stayed the night.”

Danny swallowed and sat upright in bed, his back falling against the headboard with a thud before he ran his hands through his hair and looked up at me.“I’m not hiding away anymore. I’ll be down in a minute.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m sure. Let her in before she breaks your door down.”

With a small nod, I turned to leave, only to glance over my shoulder when he called for me.

“Oh, and, Zee? Last night was one of the best nights of my life. Don’t let anybody else ruin that for us.”

“Not possible,” I assured him before I smiled and made my way downstairs. Gina was banging away like a damn lunatic, which gave me a fire in my stomach I was grateful for. It was early—very early—and I didn’t want her waking my neighbours, or worse, half of the damn village.

“What the hell, Gina?” I said, swinging the door open to take her in.

She was standing there with a fight on her face. Her hands rested on her curvy hips, and Gina’s blue halo hair shone above narrowed eyes and a heavy frown.

“He’s in there, isn’t he?”

“What?” I scowled.

“Don’t act innocent, Daisy. I’m talking about Danny. He’s in your house. In your bed. In your life again.”

It was too early, and I hadn’t been awake long enough for my brain to function properly. Her anger may have been irrational, but I understood it because she loved me. This is what Gina was like: fiery and protective, willing to raise a tornado if it meant clearing all the crap in our lives away.

“It’s… not like that,” I lied, and that lie was weak. We both heard it.

“He stayed the night?”

“Well… yeah.” I cleared my throat. “But—”

“You could save yourself a lot of time by admitting what’s going on here. You’re about to get your heart broken again, and it’s your right to do that, but as the person who picked up the pieces that arsehole left behind once already, I deserve to know what’s ahead of us when he fucks off out of here again. As your best friend, who has your best interests at heart, I can’t let you get caught up in this whirlwind. I can’t let you get blindsided by what feels good for a day when it’s going to leave you feeling shit for a year.”

“I love you, and I promise you that I’ll call you later, but now is not the time for—”

Her eyes drifted over my shoulder, her brows rising. “Well… shit. Look at the frog the pussy dragged in.”

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