Chapter 5

~ Gabrielle ~

Present Day

On the passenger seat next to me, my cell phone chimed from inside my purse. I reached over to pull it out, reading the display before turning on the speakerphone.

“Hey, girl. What’s going on?” Kat’s voice called out.

“Hi, Aunt Kat!” Dani yelled from the backseat.

“I just picked up Dani from ballet and we’re heading home. I need to get started on dinner. What are you up to? Studying?”

I listened as she ranted and raved about her schoolwork. After working as a paralegal—even though I’d always said she should model, with her dark, sensual look and tall, curvaceous figure—Kat had returned to school for her law degree, which meant her life was now all about going to class and homework. That also meant we didn’t spend as much time together as we would like, but I was thrilled for her. My one dear friend, who had been there when the bottom dropped out on me all those years ago, and had stuck with me through it all, helping with Dani in more ways than I could count, was achieving her dreams and proving many people wrong. Everybody had expected Kat to be the one who ended up pregnant and a high school dropout; not me, the school’s “tight-ass librarian.”

I remember when she’d shown up at my ballet class and I’d been terrified, afraid she would continue making fun of me as her friends had done in school, but Kat wasn’t like that and we became good friends soon after. I don’t know what I would have done without her during those bleak days; I doubt I would have survived.

Turning into our neighborhood, I noticed more cars than usual parked along the sidewalks of the quiet street lined with small, modest bungalows. Not only were there more than usual, but they all were expensive cars—a Hummer, Mercedes, and a Bentley—extremely out of place and all in front of my house.

“Uh, Kat, I’m going to have to go. There’s something going on at my house.”

“What? What’s happening?”

“I don’t know, but there are a lot of cars parked outside of it.” I glanced around as I pulled into the driveway, and breathed a sigh of relief when I spotted Brad’s car sitting in the detached garage. “Brad’s here, so maybe he knows what’s going on.”

“Be careful. Let me know, or else I’m going to worry about my girls.” Concern colored Kat’s usually cheerful tone.

“I will,” I said as I hung up and climbed out of the car. I walked to the back door and held it open for Dani. When we stepped into the kitchen, the deep rumbling of multiple voices greeted us from the front room.

“Stay in here, Dani.”

She shrugged as she headed toward the fridge in search of a snack. “Okay.”

I laid my purse on the counter and moved through the small dining room attached to the kitchen when Brad came barreling around the corner, almost running me over.

“I thought I heard you come in.” He put his hands on my shoulders to steady us both.

I gave a puzzled smile as I studied him. His face held a flush of color and his brown eyes sparkled. “What’s going on? What’s with the fleet of cars out front?”

He grabbed my elbow and guided me back to the kitchen, out of earshot. “You’re never going to believe what’s happened. One sec.” He hurried back to stick his head around the corner and called out, “I’ll be right back, guys.”

There were several murmurs of “Yeah” before he popped back into view. Tall and slender, the clothes fit as if made only for him. His short dark hair was always perfect, not a single strand out of place, and his chiseled face was the epitome of classic good looks. He was also the complete opposite of Danny, which was what had attracted me to him.

He grinned, showing perfect, white teeth. “Okay, so I’m in my office and a call comes in.”

I nodded and sat at the table, forcing myself to ignore my annoyance over his lack of acknowledgement of Dani, who sat next to me listening. He was thrilled about something, so I would overlook his inattentiveness—again.

“You’ll never guess who is going on a world tour, and they want my company—me—to work with them on marketing and everything.”

I smiled and shook my head, eager for him to get to the point. “I’ll never guess.”

“DOA.”

Cold alarm spiked at my scalps and drained down my face, and my heart skipped a beat. I had to have misheard. “Who?”

“DOA. You know who he is. Danny Anderson, the big rap star who grew up around here. He’s putting out a new album this year, and he wants to tour with it.”

I shot to my feet, causing the kitchen chair to scrape against the linoleum floor and almost tip. “I know who he is.” The hair on my arms prickled and my heartbeat tripped when the hum of voices from the other room reminded me there were other people in our house, one of which might be Danny. I strained my ears, trying to recognize anyone. “Who’s here?”

“That’s the thing.” He grinned, oblivious to my distress. “They wanted to get started right away, so I suggested coming here rather than some restaurant or stuffy conference room. I wanted to show them this side of me. Fun, relaxed, all that stuff, since they haven’t officially signed yet, wanting to get to know me more. To make sure we can work together—”

“Who’s here, Brad?” My voice rose and tremored. I only wanted the answer to one question.

“Everyone.” His eyes narrowed when he finally realized I wasn’t happy with his announcement. “What’s your deal? I thought you’d be happy for me. This is a huge account. Huge money.”

“Is he here?”

“Who? DOA? Yeah, he’s in there. He wanted to be personally involved, like he always is. Make sure everything is to his liking, since he wants to kick things off here at home.”

“Omigod.” I covered my mouth with my hand and began to pace around the kitchen. I needed to move, to get away.

“What’s your problem, Gabby? And don’t get on your high horse about swearing. It’s not like he’s going to drop the f-bomb or whatever.”

My eyes dropped to Dani, and I tried to figure out how to get her out of the house. I couldn’t believe this was happening. After never hearing from Danny when Kat and I had tried to inform him of my pregnancy, we’d assumed he didn’t care and didn’t want to be a part of her life. If that wasn’t bad enough, I never told Brad the identity of Dani’s father, and had never intended to; explaining he was gone and out of our lives for good, so it didn’t matter anyway. But now he was back and sitting in my house, by some unbelievable coincidence. There was no way I was ready to see him up close and personal after all these years.

I reached down and pulled Dani out of her chair as I grabbed my purse with the other hand. “We’ll get out of your way then, and get dinner out.”

He stepped in front of me when I started for the back door. “No, I need you both here. That’s why I brought them here; to meet you guys, meet my family.”

I snorted and tried to step around him. “Trust me, I don’t think they care.”

He seized my arm, turning me back toward him. His eyes were hard and his jaw tight. “They might not, but I do. You’re not leaving.”

“Please. You don’t know what you’re asking of me.”

“You’re right. I don’t understand what the big deal is. Most people would welcome the opportunity to meet a big star.”

“Please, Brad, don’t do this. I’ll explain everything later, but just let us go,” I pleaded with him, my eyes filling with moisture as I stared into his unfeeling ones.

“Hey, Bradley boy!” a voice shouted from the other room.

“Stay here,” he hissed. I watched as his long legs carried him out of the room. “How are we doing in here?” Brad’s voice was saccharine, the sound almost making me gag.

“Mom?”

I peered down at my daughter, whose eyes, so like her father’s, were wide with concern after catching on to my distress. There was no way Danny would not recognize himself in her. Anyone who saw them together would see the similarities.

How the hell had this even happened? I didn’t know what to think, what to do. Part of me wanted to rush in there and throw myself into his arms. I wanted to tell him how much I still loved him, admit how much I missed him. The other half was horrified. How could I face him after all this time? After what he’d done to me? After he’d turned his back on his daughter and forced me to raise her all alone? What would I even say to him? I never believed I would ever see him again, so unprepared for this moment wasn’t even close to describing it.

“It’s okay, honey.” Leaning against the counter, I pressed my palm against my forehead. “I just need to think.”

I needed to calm down and think. There was no reason I couldn’t be civil to him. I could hop in there, say hi, and be gone. That was all, and Brad could keep up his farce of being a family man and get the job. None of it required Dani being involved. There was no need to put her in the middle since Danny didn’t care about her to begin with.

And I had to make him believe I didn’t care anymore either, somehow convincing him that our past was behind me and I’d moved on, that I didn’t think about him every day and wonder. Hiding in the kitchen wouldn’t prove that. I would say hi, then leave, and continue to bury the ache, the same as I always had for the past six years. I needed to remember he hadn’t cared then, and he wouldn’t care now. He would be just as uncomfortable seeing me and would be grateful once I left the room.

My heart battered itself against my ribcage, my palms were sweaty, and my stomach was a churning ball of nerves, but I could do it.

“Okay, okay.” I took a steadying breath before leaning down to put my hands on Dani’s shoulders, forcing her to make eye contact with me. “I’m going to go into the other room and you need to stay right here, okay? Do not move from this spot.”

She nodded, and I took another deep breath, standing upright. I tugged my blouse and tried to calm my racing heart, despite being about to face the one person I worked to forget on a daily basis.

What would his reaction be? He probably hoped never to see me again after shredding me to pieces in front of an audience. He was going to be shocked at my sudden appearance, giving me the upper hand since I knew what I was about to walk into. I would be nothing but cordial. I refused to let him see the grief I still carried around, the pain I still fought to ignore.

Squaring my shoulders, I set off with a purposeful stride, uncertain what to expect, so reminiscent of the early days with Danny. I was hesitant to test how strong Danny’s hold on me still was. But I only had to do this once, and then perhaps I could move on—the one thing everyone had wanted to begin with, all those years before, warning me that his world was nowhere I should be. I hadn’t listened, blinded by love and promises of always. There were times when I wished I had, for it had almost cost me everything.