Chapter Six ♥
*
“This wine really is nice.” Dane’s glass was still half full. At least, that particular glass was. Daphne hadn’t kept track of how many he’d had before it, but she knew that the bottle was only half as full as it had started, and Fable wasn’t the only one working on it.
“Glad you liked it. It came recommended.”
Fable poured herself another glass, before turning to Daphne. “You want another?”
“Fuck that,” she answered, halfway laughing. She leaned back and shouted into the other room. “I don’t actually drink wine. Pass me a brew.”
“That’s my girl,” Dane said. Bardot lifted an eyebrow at him, but he didn’t notice it. Daphne decided to get in on the teasing while it was still fresh.
“I think you’ve got another girl now, Dane.”
He shook his head and kissed Bardot’s forehead. She looked tired, but then again, they were all tired, Daphne most of all. Bardot leaned into Dane harder and closed her eyes for a moment.
“You were never anybody’s girl. Major used to be your boy,” Dane answered.
“Everyone makes mistakes; I try not to hold it against him.”
She looked over her shoulder. The fridge was only a room away. What was taking ‘her boy’ so long with the beers? He’d been gone so long, she thought he was fixing up wedding plans.
“I heard my ears burning. I walk away for five minutes and you guys start gossiping about me?”
As he walked past, he handed her a bottle. It was cold as ice; when her finger brushed his, it was the exact opposite. So hot it burned. She watched him go across the room and sit next to his sister, and Daphne secretly hated it.
“They’re debating whether or not you belong to me.”
“I don’t belong to anybody except my sister here,” he said, an arm around Fable. They leaned in with a practiced smile, like they were still taking family photos all the time. “She seems to think that just because I’m her beloved baby brother, she needs to look out for me.”
Fable didn’t look at him when she answered. “You don’t exactly have the best track record with making good decisions, do you, Major?”
After all, if she’d looked at Major, then Fable couldn’t have kept her eyes trained on Daphne the whole time she said that, in case there was any risk that someone might misinterpret what ‘bad decisions’ she was talking about.
“What’s a good decision? Was it a bad decision to go to the gym for a workout? That was the decision Leo made that got him arrested. I’d say if a good decision can get you thrown into jail, then we need to have a serious talk about the difference between good and bad.” He worked a bottle opener and set the bottle down on the coffee table. “In the meantime, I’ve got two more six-packs. Do you think we’re going to need more? I don’t plan on being able to drive once I get started.”
Daphne spoke for all of them. “Keep your ass in the seat, Major.”
“Yes, Mistress Daphne. Your wish is my command.” He winked at her.
Daphne, on the other hand, had barely managed to start winning the crowd over. Fable was still the furthest thing from sold on her being in town, and as little effect as it would have in the long run, it was better not to piss her off, if they could help it.
“Don’t tease your sister,” Daphne snapped.
Major’s smile faded only a little bit at that. He shrugged.
“I’m not teasing her. She knows how bad I had it for you, so if they’re saying you owned me, then you’re the one who deserves some teasing. She was the one here when you left, and she was the one who helped me… get through it.”
“Shit, man,” Dane said, drinking deeply from his cup. “Don’t pull the mood down.”
“I didn’t know, Major. I thought you understood. If I’d known…” For all that Dane wanted to keep the mood light, Daphne felt anything but light-hearted. Her gut twisted in regret and self-doubt.
“It doesn’t change anything,” Major answered. “You made the right decision for yourself. I respect that. I understand it. Don’t for a second think that I blame you for it.”
The way that he made it sound, he was over it. But from the way that they all acted, it was impossible to believe that. He was upset about it, even after all these years, but he was willing to move past it. That was something, at least.
“That’s very… adult of you. You’ve grown a lot while I was gone, I guess.”
Something in her gut welled up, frustration or confusion or doubt. She shouldn’t have come, she knew that. Or maybe she shouldn’t have left. She didn’t know which it was, or which would have been better. She let out a breath and tried to stifle the darkening of her mood.
“No more than you have, I’m sure. Time changes people, it’s one of the few things you can set your clock by.”
He took another drink and then made a show of smiling at her. It didn’t help to lighten the mood again, though. Daphne let out a breath and drank deeply.
“It doesn’t always change everyone for the better.”
Bardot decided to join the conversation, this time. “Are you speaking from experience?”
“… I should go. It’s getting late, and I need to get an early start in the morning.”
She rose before anyone could try to stop. Before she could see that nobody would try to stop her, or she could see that someone would. Which was worse, she didn’t know. She didn’t know whether she’d rather have burned all the bridges she’d ever cared about, or if she still had them, knowing she would never cross them again.
“I’ll show you out,” Major said, rising from the couch.
“You don’t have to.”
“You really don’t,” Fable rejoined.
He shook his head and stepped towards the door.
“I want to. This way.”
They didn’t speak until she’d followed him out almost the whole way to the door. Maybe Major thought it was a comfortable silence. For Daphne, it was a lot of not saying things that she wished she had the guts to. None of it would change anything. She still had her life back in California, and he still had his life here. She’d still have left after she said it all. So she kept quiet, in spite of what she wanted. Instead, standing at the door, she said what she thought she was supposed to say.
“Thanks for this. It was fun, being back with the old gang again. I didn’t know how much I missed being with friends. It’s been… way too long. I guess I thought that I didn’t need it, but I guess I was wrong.”
Major stood over her, and like he always did, he seemed to dominate the room. He certainly seemed like he could dominate her in a heartbeat, regardless of what Dane said. He’d owned her, body and soul, before she left. It was only a moment of strength that let her leave, and she didn’t know if she could find that strength a second time.
“Do you need help with this asshole? I may not be a rock star, and I may not be a big, bad bounty-hunter, but I’m respected around here.”
She shook her head. “I don’t need anything. It’ll be worked out. It’s just a matter of time.”
“It’s not just about whether or not you can do the job. It must be hell being away from your daughter. Crawling through this muck while she’s off with someone else.” She felt as if she was falling into his eyes. And what he was saying was starting to melt the armor that she’d worked so hard to put up between them. “I can’t imagine how bad it must be, and if there’s something I can do to make that one iota easier, then don’t hesitate to ask.”
She grit her teeth and looked up at him. She knew that he could see the wetness of her eyes, and she knew that he could understand quite well what caused them. She couldn’t change it, and she’d learned a long time ago not to bother with things she couldn’t change.
“You’re a real bastard, do you know that?”
He touched her cheek, and she had to stop herself reflexively leaning into him. She wanted to, but she didn’t. He didn’t make decisions for her.
“I missed you, Daphne. I…” He stopped.
“I missed you, too, Major.”
Daphne pulled away from his hand, pulled her coat on, and stepped out into the dark. She took a deep breath of the night air.
“I guess I’ll be seeing you,” Major said. The words bounced around in her head.
Daphne turned and stepped up to him. Close. So close that she could smell the faintest scent of aftershave on him. So close that he was intoxicating her. “There was something else I missed, too,” she said. And then, against every bit of good sense in her head, she pressed her lips against his.