“Fine,” Dani said teasingly, then gestured at Tara’s hand. “Let me see this gorgeousness.”
Tara held out the hand with the diamond. “Isn’t it amazing?”
Dani grinned. “So amazing. You obviously have great taste, Jesse. In rings and women.”
The man nodded and pulled Tara in against him. “All I know is there’s no one else for me.”
Sean felt like a total observer as this conversation unfolded. Normally, he would’ve rushed in to apologize that his unluckiness had interrupted the sharing of their happy moment, but he was still laser focused on what Dani’s expression had meant. Especially when she held up her cell phone and said, “Oh, shit. I’m sorry. Hospital.”
Except…from where he stood behind her, Sean saw that the screen remained blank. She hadn’t received any calls or texts. He watched as she quickly threaded her way through the restaurant toward the bathrooms, his gut suddenly in knots for worrying about what was going on with her.
Not that it was his place, but fuck. He couldn’t help it.
When the waiter dropped off their checks, Dani still hadn’t returned, so he paid for both of theirs. Noah and Kristina reminded everyone of the details of next weekend’s July 4th festivities, and then everyone was saying their good-byes. Afterwards, Sean went back to the bathrooms. Not sure what else to do, he knocked on the women’s room door. “Dani?”
The door flew open, and there Dani stood, a total knock-out in that little skirt and Converse. “What the hell are you doing?”
“Looking for you. Everyone’s leaving. You okay?” He studied her face. Beautiful as always, but something was off with her eyes, like she’d hung shutters in front of them and they didn’t shine quite as bright.
“Yeah, of course. Just hospital bullshit. Let me go say good-bye.”
Sean nodded and followed Dani back through the restaurant, but his internal bullshit alarm was blaring. He was, after all, the king of playing shit off. Like, if there was an Olympic event for playing shit off like it was nothing, he would be the all-time record holder. And he’d seen her phone.
Dani’s expression morphed into happiness again as she saw Tara and gave her and Jesse another hug. Promises were made to hang out and shop and look for gowns together. And Sean might’ve almost believed that he was reading the whole thing wrong until, out in the parking garage, Tara turned to Dani one last time.
“Oh, I was going to wait, but I can’t. Dani, will you be my maid of honor?”
Annnd there was that look in her eyes again—only darker. Her jaw dropped.
Lost in her excitement, Tara misinterpreted Dani’s silence as maybe surprise or hesitance. “I know it’s a lot to ask and that we’ve only known each other for a year but you know I love you and I can’t think of anyone I’d want standing beside me more than you.”
Dani blinked and pushed a smile onto her face. “Oh, my God, I can’t believe you’d want me. But of course, I’ll be your maid of honor. I’m stunned and honored.”
Another round of hugs and happy exclamations ensued. Meanwhile, Sean was nearly itchy to get Dani out of there before she burst and unleashed whatever her real reactions were to all this.
Finally, it was just the two of them. “Come on, I’ll drop you at home,” Dani said as she crossed the parking garage toward her car.
“Want me to drive?” he asked, probably taking his life into his own hands.
She made a face at him. “Why?”
He held up his hands. “Just offering.”
Sean eased into the car, expecting to hit his knees on the dash, but he found that the passenger seat was still pushed back from when he’d used it last week. He got hit with the sudden and fucking ridiculous feeling of fitting in to her life, even in this small way, which just showed how pathetic he was sometimes.
The ride back to his house was quiet, but not at all peaceful. Because he could feel Dani raging from where he sat. The car was nearly vibrating with her chaotic energy. Her knuckles were white where she gripped the steering wheel. Her jaw was clenched tight.
“What?” she bit out, glancing over to find him watching her.
“Just looking.”
“Well, don’t.”
“Why not?” He wasn’t sure why he was pushing her, but everything inside him wanted to—in every way he could.
“Because.”
If he laughed, she was going to legit fuck him up. So he remained serious. “Not good enough. I like looking at you.”
She huffed, but Sean was looking, so he didn’t miss the tint of pink that climbed up her high cheekbones. Dani liked him looking whether she admitted it or not.
His cock stirred and he shifted in his seat. And let himself look his fill. At the small swell of her breasts under that tight little shirt. At how high up the black denim skirt rode on her thighs. At how fuckin’ pretty she was.