Chapter Four
Dani rolled out of bed, awoken at seven fifteen by the ringing of a cell phone. She yawned as she made her way toward the living room, intent on squelching the offending sound. Maybe she’d just toss it into the pool, then go back to bed.
Since she didn’t have a working phone at the moment, Jake or Michael must’ve forgotten theirs. When she spotted a shiny new phone lying on the coffee table, her eyes widened. It was the one she’d wanted but couldn’t afford. It was especially great because it could double as a lockbox key and had access to MLS listings.
She leaned down and picked it up, but it was too late; the call went to voice mail. A yellow sticky note attached declared, “You can feed a hungry man or you can teach him to fish—or some such thing. This is a tool to help you succeed as I know you will.”
Recognizing her mom’s handwriting, Dani grinned. That her mom was finally taking her attempt to be independent seriously made her smile linger.
Studying the complicated phone, she finally figured out how to retrieve her voice mail. She had twenty-five messages after not having cell service for almost a week, so she chose the most recent. Her mother’s voice rang out: “I bet most of the other Realtors in town are out of bed by now. I hope this is the phone you wanted. Be happy this wasn’t a car, and don’t you dare try to return it. Ciao, bella.”
Ignoring her workaholic mother’s dig about still being in bed, Dani pushed the “Delete” button and dialed her mom’s number. When Annalisa answered, Dani said, “Thank you for the phone, Mom. Would I be totally off base to think that you probably didn’t just pay my outstanding bill?”
“One of my assistants told me they had a special if I paid for a full year, and you know I can’t pass up a good deal. So, you’re welcome.”
Yeah, like her mother ever looked at the price of anything before she bought it. And there was no such thing as paying for a whole year. Her mom must’ve told them to bill her directly. She was sparing her pride, and Dani had to love her mom a little more for that one. “I appreciate it. Say hi to Sara for me when you see her today, will you? Tell her I miss my little sister, and why doesn’t she come here for a change.”
“I will. Gotta run, I have ten more calls to make before I land. Stay safe.”
“That’s the plan. Break a leg or whatever.” Dani disconnected the call and crossed to the kitchen, shaking her head at her mother’s disregard for the rules. She always used her cell when she flew. Her mom said it was just one of the perks of owning her own plane. That and setting new records in the mile-high club, which had been way too much information.
Dani switched the coffee maker on as she listened to her voice mails. There were calls from the office, Jake, her friend Zoe, and then there were Michael’s messages. She smiled at the way his voice grew more and more irritated with each one.
Michael hadn’t changed a bit. Always the responsible sort.
She’d had a long night, thinking about their kisses and how they’d rocked her to the core. She’d told Michael she wasn’t interested, and her mind agreed with that theory, but her body wasn’t buying it. After mulling the idea over, she came to the conclusion that she just hadn’t had sex in a while and that was what was behind her attraction to him, nothing more.
When she played one of the messages from an unknown number, Dani’s heart stuttered. A male voice growled, “If you wanna live to see your next birthday, you’d better not testify against my brother tomorrow.” Carlos, the car beater. He’d probably gotten her number from her listing signs around town.
Then the next message said, “I see you walking into the courtroom. I’m gonna hurt you if you say one bad word against my brother, bitch!”
She swallowed hard and then retrieved the third. “You’re messin’ with the wrong people, lady. I’m gonna track you down and kill you.”
She’d gotten in way over her head this time. That wasn’t a man who was having a temper tantrum, soon to forget about her. The guy was serious.
Now where was that gun Jake had given her? Running toward her closet, she dialed Jake’s number. It went straight to voice mail, so she said, “Jake, I need bullets for my gun. I may have to shoot someone. And if I don’t get my car back soon, it might be you.” She punched the “End” button, then flung her closet doors open. After tossing shoeboxes and purses aside, she finally found the .22-caliber weapon Jake had taught her to shoot. Though empty, she’d feel better having it.
Not that she had to worry when she was home—she lived in an impenetrable fortress staffed with 24–7 armed guards—but maybe she’d carry the big black Coach purse today and keep her new friend tucked inside, just in case. Jake said he’d let her know when the Carlos person was released, and he hadn’t been yet, but the gun was staying with her. Carlos might have friends she’d have to be ready for.
She plopped the gun into her purse and then spotted the perfect shoes to match. Then she spied a short black skirt and a jade-green silk shirt that would look fabulous together. Amazing how a wardrobe could be built around a gun.
She laid it all out on her bed, studying it. The outfit was killer, combining both fun and business.
Being a Realtor hadn’t been a walk in the park like she thought it’d be. Looking at houses and seeing the latest and greatest designs were fun, but there was much more to it, and the work involved was brutal. Competing with other agents for listings, hours spent researching on the computer, clients pretending to be serious but who were really just looking for decorating ideas, and being expected to be a marriage counselor when the couples disagreed on their version of the perfect house were all just part of the job. The amazing thing was that she enjoyed matching the right people with just the right house in just the right neighborhood, and she was finally getting the hang of it. It’d be nice if she got paid a little more regularly, but, hopefully, that would come in time.
It really sucked being poor. She’d taken her former lifestyle for granted, but not anymore. Now she couldn’t even afford to go to happy hour in her nice outfits and get . . . happy. But she was on the road to independence, determined to succeed on her own.
Before she showered and dressed, she needed to input Michael’s requirements into the MLS system and find boring, nonimaginative homes with guesthouses. She was going to do as he asked, then she was going to run some of her own ideas through the system. It’d be fun to see which home he ended up with. She poured herself a cup of coffee, then got to work.
Just as she booted up her computer, she winced at a searing flash of pain as that stupid bunny with his bass drum began marching around in her aching head again. What could that mean? He was pink, like the master bedroom at Jake’s crime scene. But that wasn’t it. Did he depict a toy in the boy’s bedroom? Something that could record the event? That probably wasn’t right; the rabbit seemed most at home in the master closet. How about batteries? That was what it represented, but what would batteries have to do with that guy killing his wife? And why wouldn’t that bunny stop playing that awful Pink Panther theme song?
Dani dropped her head in her hands and tried to force the images away. She had to concentrate on work. The only way to stop the images from bombarding her brain was to keep her mind occupied. Her grandmother had been the one to suggest reading books when unwanted visions started forming in her brain. She could usually stop them, at least for a while, by reading intently. That technique had resulted in four college degrees and had stopped the random visions about people she didn’t even know from sneaking in.
Most of the time.
If only she could be like her mom and use her extra abilities only when she needed them, she’d be able to hold on to her new job.
She glanced up and concentrated on the listings displayed on the computer screen, forcing the beat of the drum in her ears to slowly fade away.
Michael was reluctantly impressed as he drove away from the fourth house Dani had showed him, all of which had been within his specifications. Maybe the pampered princess did know what she was doing after all.
He glanced in her direction, and memories of kissing her flooded back again. He’d thought about it all night and still couldn’t find an explanation for his ridiculous behavior. They didn’t even like each other—anymore. Nobody kissed someone they didn’t care for like that. Did they?
At least she hadn’t brought it up again. Maybe she’d blown it off just as he should. “So, that last house was pretty good, huh? It had a little more room for the girls to play, and the school is nearby and therefore their friends, too. And it had the largest bedrooms of any of them so far.”
“Yeah,” she replied then yawned widely.
“Am I boring you?”
“No more than usual.” She rolled her head lazily in his direction. “The only interesting thing I saw today is how much you miss your kids. You seem like a good dad. I didn’t think anyone as stuffy as you could be. When do Carly and Amanda get back from Heather’s mother’s house?”
So she’d actually been listening earlier when he went on about his kids. He never meant to overshare about them, but he loved his girls more than he’d ever thought possible. “Sunday. That is, if Heather doesn’t decide to keep them away longer just to irritate me.” When they stopped at a light, he turned and faced her. “Because you’re new to the business world, I feel compelled to share some advice.”
She raised a brow in her snotty rich-girl way. “I’m all aflutter that someone as important as you would stoop so low as to help little ol’ me. Do tell.”
Dani was the only woman he’d ever known who made him want to throw her across his knee and give her the spanking she deserved. That urge was almost as strong as the one to kiss her again. “It’s difficult to get repeat customers when you tell them that they bore you. If you don’t learn to curtail those comments, you’ll have nothing to do but spend your days at the spa, being pampered. Sometimes adults have to make concessions to actually earn a living.”
She yawned again, then added a long, luxurious stretch of her arms over her head. The clingy material of her shirt tightened over her ample breasts, outlining the possibilities he refused to let enter his mind.
“You’re right, Mikey. Who’d want to go to a fun spa rather than spend a fascinating afternoon looking at boring, nondescript houses with a cranky lawyer?”
“Nondescript houses? Is that your underhanded way to get me to look at more expensive homes to increase your commission?”
The lazy cat finding its bit of sunshine on the thick carpet instantly disappeared, and Dani’s claws came out. “I’m not like that, Michael, and you know it.”
He did, and guilt twisted his gut.
She was right. He’d been out of sorts all afternoon. Looking at all those kids’ cheery bedrooms made him miss his daughters and the life he used to share with them. For the past year and a half, he’d only had them a few days each week and every other weekend. It wasn’t enough.
He glanced at Dani, who was still fuming like a semiactive volcano. “Sorry. That was out of line. I’d like to hear your thoughts about the houses we’ve seen.”
Dani narrowed her eyes as if deciding whether or not he was being sarcastic. “Why would you want to buy a house, for this much money, that’s just pretty good? Oh, wait, let me guess. Your last house, the one that Heather picked out, you looked at for ten minutes, and when she begged you to buy it, you did. Am I right?”
“Maybe.” He turned his attention back to the road. She was exactly right, and it annoyed him.
“See, I knew that, because Heather was always so concerned about fitting in and never standing out. She’d want a house built by the same builder as her friends, one in the right neighborhood, with the right neighbors and the right schools. So what if the house was built entirely of spit and toilet paper with granite countertops thrown in? Just that it was the trendy new place to live.”
Dani had pegged his ex-wife perfectly. He said, “I forgot. You and Heather were in drama together in high school, weren’t you? What happened between you guys? Heather would never talk about it when I’d ask.”
“Girl stuff.” Dani crossed her arms tightly against her chest and frowned. “You know, the usual. Jealousy, talking behind each other’s backs, being in love with the same boys—you don’t want to know.”
The miserable look on her face told she wasn’t telling him everything, but he probably didn’t want to know. “Okay. So I suppose now that you’ve placated me and shown me my poor choices, you’d like to show me what I’d really like? Even though I have no idea what that is?”
“Yep. I’d like to show you some older homes, completely remodeled, so you can still have your granite, but the lot sizes will be twice as large, you’ll have huge trees, spacious floor plans with big bedrooms, and there’ll even be room for horses. We used to go riding almost every afternoon, remember? Your girls would love that.”
He grinned at the memory. Horseback riding was the only sport Dani had been better at than him, and yet he never minded because they’d always had fun. His girls probably would love riding as much as he and Dani had. They were too young now. But later, it might be something he and the girls could do together. “Yeah, that sounds good, but I still need to be close to Heather so it’ll be easier on the girls to go back and forth to school and visits.”
“I’ve got that covered, too. Come on, Michael, you need to bust out. Take a walk on the wild side for a change.”
He scowled for form’s sake, but Dani was right. The homes they’d seen were a little vanilla. There really wasn’t anything special about them.
“Okay, I’ll have a look at some tomorrow. I’m starving. Want to grab some dinner?” When she gnawed her lower lip, as she always did when she was thinking, he added, “I’ll even buy.”
She narrowed her eyes again. “Why?”
He loved that she was suspicious of his motives. They’d always had a fun, teasing relationship, so why stop now? “Because when I’m hungry, I can’t think straight. Like right now, I’m feeling a strange sense of remorse over my earlier remark about you bumping up your commission. I’m hoping it’ll go away after I’ve had dinner. Otherwise, I’d have made you pay for dinner with your most important client. Me. That’s how you should make them all feel, by the way. Like they are your only client.”
Her face lit with a false enthusiasm that meant she was about to give it to him with both barrels.
He looked forward to the battle.
She said, “This must be my lucky day. Another helpful hint all rolled up in a dinner invitation?” She reached out and gave his arm a viselike squeeze, her touch sending a blow to his already shaky defenses against her. “Then I should probably return the favor by ordering the most expensive thing on the menu. That way you’ll be able to forgive yourself a whole lot easier.”
Typical Dani logic.
He had to hold back the chuckle that threatened to escape, while tamping down the heat her hand on his arm ignited within him. “I’d forgotten how considerate you are. Where would you like to go?”
“Anything’s fine with me.” Her grin turned mischievous. “But the Skyline Club is always a safe bet.”
And it was one of the most expensive restaurants in town, but he loved the food there, and as much as he hated to admit it, it could be fun. “Then it’s a date.”
A sudden and familiar sadness settled over him as it had so many times since his divorce. Had he asked Dani to dinner because it was better than going home to his quiet apartment alone and nuking something? He hated to acknowledge that he was lonely.
The women he’d dated since the breakup of his marriage seemed more interested in his time in the NFL rather than hearing about his kids. At least he could share a meal with Dani and know she couldn’t care less about his past. She wasn’t interested in fame or notoriety. She hated that, having grown up the daughter of a famous actress.
She was the only one who ever truly seemed to understand him.
At the same time, Dani could annoy the hell out of him, but he got the most perverse satisfaction out of sparring with her.
He should probably see a shrink.
As Michael headed for her favorite restaurant, a quiet chime sounded from Dani’s phone, so she dug it out of her purse and studied the screen.
“Jake forwarded an e-mail that says my car is ready. They want it off the lot by six. He’ll try to meet us there, but he might be a little late. That’s nothing new. Jake was late for our wedding and hasn’t been on time since. It’s at a place called Gabe’s Garage.” Like she’d know where that was. She quickly google-mapped it.
Man, she loved her new phone with superfast Internet.
Michael said, “It’s five forty now. Where’s it at?”
“Downtown.” She gave him directions, and they were off.
At two minutes to six, they rolled up in front of a graffiti-covered body shop in the sketchiest part of town. A chain-link fence with barbed wire on the top surrounded a bunch of cars, and hers, with a shiny new windshield, stood just inside the fence. The “Die Bitx” was still there, so the department must not have had the budget for a new hood. She’d have to figure something out later.
The sign in the office window said they were closed already, and the hours on the door said they closed at five. Maybe someone was inside waiting for them?
She reached for the door handle, but Michael’s warm hand covered hers and stopped her. “I’ll get it. Stay in the car and lock the doors after me.”
She wasn’t going to argue with that.
As soon as Michael’s door closed, she popped down all the locks. She peered through the windshield, admiring Michael’s big, broad shoulders and fine ass in his expensive suit. But it wasn’t only his nice build that she enjoyed. She’d forgotten how his smile could make her feel all warm and gooey inside. And how cute his face was when it lit with excitement whenever he spoke of his girls. They’d had a fun day even while giving each other a hard time. She’d missed having fun with Michael.
He reached for the shop’s door just as a loud explosion sounded from inside. The big glass window blew out, and a fiery ball lit up the sky.
Her teeth rattled, along with all the windows and doors, while the force of the explosion hit Michael square in the chest. With his arms and legs extended out in front of him, his body flew backward against the hood of his car, slamming into it with a sickening thud. Debris poured down like an out-of-control hailstorm as Michael’s body limply rolled off the hood and onto the hard pavement below.
Michael was hurt. She had to help him.
The fear for Michael and adrenaline racing up Dani’s spine spurred her into action. She fumbled with the locks and then finally threw her door open. She jumped out, then heard someone down the street shouting to call 9-1-1 as she made her way to the other side of the car. The heat from the flames warmed the right side of her body as she struggled to comprehend what was happening. The office was closed. Was it an explosion from chemicals inside the shop? Or a setup? Was that a bomb meant for her? All she knew for sure was that she was afraid for Michael. She couldn’t bear the thought of him being injured. He had two little girls to raise who needed their father.
Glass crunched under her stilettos as she rounded the hood. When she spotted Michael lying on the pavement with blood seeping from his forehead, tears filled her eyes.
Please don’t let Michael be dead.
She crouched beside him. When he opened his eyes, she could finally breathe again. He was alive.
Thank goodness.
“Don’t move, Michael.” She checked his head wound. It didn’t appear too deep, but there was a lot of blood. They needed something to stop the steady flow from his forehead. She wrenched the driver’s door open and dived across the seats, hopeful he’d have something in the glove box she could use. She grabbed a handful of napkins, then dabbed his wound as the blare of sirens grew louder.
Michael’s eyes focused on hers as she put light pressure on his forehead. Warm blood seeped along the edges of the paper, staining her fingers.
He blinked a few times before he said, “What the hell was that?”
“I don’t know. But what else hurts?” She ran her hand through his hair, checking for other head wounds. His suit was a bit dirty, but he seemed intact otherwise. Her heart ached at the thought of what might have happened to him if they’d arrived just a minute earlier and he’d made it all the way inside the office.
Michael winced as he sat up. “I’m fine, Dani. I took harder sacks than that in the NFL.” He took control of the napkins, then leaned against the tire. “Come here. You’re shaking.”
Firemen spilled out of a hook and ladder while the screams of multiple approaching sirens became deafening.
Michael tugged her onto his lap and wrapped his free arm around her shoulders, holding her tight while hoses sprayed water over the fiery building. “We’re fine, Dani.”
After the adrenaline settled down a fraction, she heard people talking about a bomb, and the shaking started right back up again.
She wrapped her arms around Michael and whispered, “I’m glad you’re okay. I was so afraid that you’d—”
“What?” Michael put a finger under her chin and tilted it up. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you still care about me.”
In that split second, when she didn’t know if Michael was dead or alive, it had become crystal clear she still cared. A lot.
“I never stopped caring about you, Michael. And I miss you.” She hadn’t meant to say that—it must’ve been the shock—but there was no taking it back once it was out there.
He blinked at her, clearly confused by what she was saying.
She quickly added, “I was a hormonal teenage girl when we parted ways before. I made a big mistake. And I’m sorry.” All true. She couldn’t tell him the most important reason: that she was a freak who could see into his future.
A fireman approached them and looked Michael up and down. “How are you feeling, sir?”
Michael lifted the napkin from his forehead. “Just a cut. I’m fine.”
The fireman leaned closer to examine the wound and nodded, then turned his gaze toward her. “Ma’am, that’s a nasty bruise. How’d that happen?”
“Oh, this?” Dani lifted her hand to her face. “I’m fine. That happened yesterday.” She’d thought she’d done a better job of covering the bruise with makeup earlier.
When the fireman’s eyes cut to Michael, glaring with unsaid accusations about her handprint bruise, she quickly added, “The guy who hit me is in jail.”
“Good.” The fireman nodded. “Paramedics are on the way. Hang tight.” He stepped back to give them some privacy.
Michael whispered, “Last night you said you didn’t want to be involved with anyone right now.”
“That’s how I honestly felt . . . until you kissed me. I still don’t want anything serious—my life is a mess at the moment.” And there was the dream guy and his scar that she was still uncertain about. Was he the one for her or not?
Maybe it was time to live in the moment for a change, rather than worrying about the future so much. Could she be more like her mom and sister and have a casual fling with a man who made her toes curl when he kissed her? A guy who she honestly enjoyed spending time with? She’d just be careful to make sure her heart didn’t get attached. “Maybe we can start by being friends again?” She sent him a weak smile. “With maybe some occasional benefits thrown in?”
“The benefits are tempting.” The corners of his mouth tilted. “But I don’t think you’re over Jake.”
“He’s the one who can’t let go. I’m definitely over Jake.”
“I don’t know, Dani. We’re obviously still attracted to each other, but—”
Fear that he was about to say no to her offer made her kiss him. To show him how much she’d missed him. And how much she cared for him.
When he groaned and slid a hand to the back of her head, tilting her mouth to just where he wanted it, taking the kiss to a deeper level, she sighed with relief and sank into the kiss.
She snuggled closer and gingerly ran her hands through his thick hair, in case he was more hurt than she knew. Their bodies fit together as if they were custom-made, just for each other.
Whenever they kissed, it filled her with a kind of elation in a way no one else ever had. Even better then shopping sprees on Rodeo Drive. Or driving her Porsche over a hundred miles an hour.
And that was saying a lot.
The firefighter who stood nearby must’ve had enough, because he cleared his throat—loudly—reminding them that they were in the parking lot, not her bedroom. He said, “The paramedics are here.”
Michael broke the kiss and helped her stand. “As nice as that was, let’s take this one step at a time. Friends?”
“Yes. Friends.” It was a step in the right direction, and she’d take it.