“Always.”
Shit day.
But I was with Danny.
And we had ice cream and movies.
So it was going to be a good night.
The elevator stopped, the doors opened, Danny took my hand and pulled me out, but halted almost immediately.
I did it too, looked up at him and then in the direction of his stare.
Sidney and Rob were loitering outside his door.
Shit, damn, hell.
“Hey,” I called.
“Hey?” Sidney asked irately. “You were kidnapped again today, and you say ‘hey’?”
“Elvira,” Danny murmured, my guess, as to the culprit of who spilled the beans to my family about today’s adventures, not to mention gave them details about where Danny lived.
“I’m fine, it’s all good, it’s all over,” I assured as I tugged on Danny’s hand and took him their way.
“We know. Elvira reported in,” Sidney shared.
Yep.
The elusive yet omnipresent Elvira.
“And Dad called me to see if I’d set up bail for him,” she went on as Danny and I stopped close to them. “By the by, I’m pretty proud of myself that I didn’t screech the word no in a pitch that was guaranteed to explode his eardrum, I just said it and then hung up on him.”
Danny cut in at this point, letting my hand go to stick his out to Rob and say, “You’re Rob, I’m Dan Magnusson.”
Dan Magnusson?
I got a gooey, happy feeling because maybe today Danny didn’t just realize why he needed to be Danny to me.
Maybe today he realized he could also give badass Mag a break, and let a cool, sweet, affectionate, handsome, amazing guy named Dan into his life.
And that was awesome.
“Dan, yeah, Rob,” Rob greeted, taking his hand, studying his face, and when neither man moved for one beat, two, three, four, I dropped my eyes and noted how firm a grip they had on each other.
Right, so, he’d introduced himself as Dan.
But Mag was never going to be far away.
That made me happy too.
Because, not a shocker, I’d fallen head over heels in love with a commando called Mag.
“Before you two break all the bones in the other’s hand,” Sidney started, “maybe we can go in and get the rundown on Evan’s latest abduction.”
They broke off, Danny’s mouth twitching, and he turned to the door.
“Again, I’m fine, everyone’s fine. It wasn’t a fun day, but at least it’s all over,” I assured, Danny having opened the door and claimed me again, so I spoke as he was tugging me inside.
My family, what was left of it, followed.
“I can see you’re fine, but how is this all over?” Sidney asked.
Danny had dumped the Nordstrom bag on the island and was turning on lights.
I was turning to face off with my sister.
“Can I not have to do a blow by blow right now?” I requested.
“Anyone want a beer?” Danny asked.
I twisted to give him big eyes because I loved my sister, I loved Rob, but I was down for 300, Chinese, an orgasm where I was sure Danny wouldn’t mind doing all the work, and then sleep.
What I wasn’t down with was having a beer with Sidney grilling me about my day, and Rob doing whatever he was going to do to ascertain he approved of my boyfriend.
But at my big eyes, he just allowed his face to go soft (nice, but that didn’t cut it) and then he winked at me (shit, that worked) as Rob answered, “I’ll have one.”
“I don’t drink beer. Do you have vodka?” Sidney asked.
I sighed.
Then I went stiff because two arms closed around me and they did this tight.
They were Rob’s arms.
I relaxed and slid mine around him too.
“I’m okay,” I whispered.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck me,” he whispered back, these words thick and agonized and said into the top of my hair.
Right, so it wasn’t only Danny who’d had a rough go of the last few weeks while a woman he cared about was in danger.
And…
All right, yeah.
I still had family.
Also, a big fat oh no.
Because I was going to cry again.
I sniffled.
His arms got even tighter.
I lost it.
Damn.
Okay, so maybe it all came crashing down on me in that moment, but yeah, there I was, in Rob’s arms, bawling.
And then I wasn’t in Rob’s arms. He shifted me so I was in Danny’s arms.
Wow, that didn’t take long.
A firm handshake, the offer of a beer, and comforting arms, and he had Rob Approval.
So, of course, this meant I started crying harder.
“She has to get it out,” Danny said, obviously not to me.
“I’ll do the drinks,” Sidney offered quietly.
“And it really is over,” Danny said, my guess, to Rob, specifically, but also to both of them.
“You sure about that?” Rob asked.
“Nothing’s ever sure, man, and you don’t know me, but I’m in love with your girl and you’re important to her so I would never lie to you about something like that.”
What?
Wait.
Whoa.
What?
Oh my God!
Holy shit!