Everything Bared (Six-Alarm Sexy) (26 page)

His insides were balled into a huge confused knot. “What the fuck was that?”

“
That
was goodbye.”

When Dani shuffled into the kitchen, bleary-eyed from tossing and turning all night, Will was waiting for her. While her hair resembled a rat’s nest, he looked as fabulous as always in lightweight gray trousers with a cream-colored shirt open at the collar. But his eyes were bloodshot and lines bracketed his lips. A crushing sadness squeezed her heart, and her breath left her in a rush. He was going to kick her out. Well, she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction.

She turned her back and poured herself a cup of coffee while she sucked in air and gathered her courage. “I have to work today, but tomorrow morning, I’ll pack up my stuff, and Coco and I will get out of your hair.”

“You’re working? It’s Labor Day.”

Leaning against the counter, she studied his face, the honest curiosity she saw there. He really didn’t get it. “Do your brothers get every holiday off?”

He blushed and toyed with the handle of his mug. “Stupid question. Sorry.”

She snorted and indicated his casual clothing. “CFF is obviously closed for the day. Going somewhere?”

“My parents’ place.”

“Ah yes. The annual Caldwell Labor Day gathering. Too bad Jamie’s going to miss it.” William hadn’t invited her even before their fight last night. That hurt almost worse than everything else. A belt tightened around her heart, cinching it painfully. It really was over.

“Where…” His voice broke. He cleared his throat. “Where will you go?”

“A cheap motel. Some place that takes dogs.”

He stood and grabbed her shoulders, gently squeezing. Avoiding his gaze, she fiddled with the belt on her robe. She couldn’t stand to be so close to him, his eyes, his lips. A hole opened up in her chest, and she wanted to die. “Will,” she hiccupped.

He cupped her chin with one hand and forced her to look at him. “I don’t want you to leave. Not yet. Your apartment won’t be ready for another couple weeks.”

“You want me to stay?”

“Yes.”

“Platonically?”

A wry smile played on his lips. “I’m not sure I can do that.”

She laughed, the sound sharp and bordering on hysterical. Her throat clogged with tears she refused to shed. She tore away from him, running back to her room. Sitting on the edge of her bed, she covered her face with her hands and broke down. Sobs like she hadn’t experienced since being a hormonally challenged teen shook her torso and made shreds of her throat. Her heart was breaking, and there was nothing she could do. She’d known this was coming, but she hadn’t expected it to be so soon, or so painful.

The mattress dipped beside her and Will gathered her against his warm hard chest. She clutched his shirt and buried her face in his shoulder, while tears and a soul-destroying sadness wracked her body. His hand stroked her back as he murmured soothing words in her hair. “Shh. It’s okay.”

“I thought I could do this,” she said. Pushed through the invisible noose tightening around her throat, the words came out garbled.

Get to know him. Love him. Then leave him when the month was up. How could she have been so stupid? Pining for him, for something that had only existed in her mind, was infinitely easier than losing something she knew to be more precious to her than the rising sun.

“Will, please. I can’t lose you. Not now and not like this.”

He pressed a kiss to the top of her head and sighed. “Danielle, you are who you are. I can’t risk exposing the company to scandal. There’s too much at stake with the union negotiations.”

Dani shrank into herself. Although he’d enjoyed her kink, had even embraced it for a while, ultimately it was too much for him. He was like the others; she was too extreme to fit into his life. Her heart squeezed so tightly, it was a physical pain. An idea popped into her mind. She’d been in love with this man for years, and she knew he felt something for her. Maybe, just maybe, if she could convince him to finish out their arrangement, she’d have enough time to become the woman he needed.

“I’ll give it up,” she blurted. “Let me show you I can be normal. That I can be an asset for you.”

“I don’t want you to change for me, Danielle.”

“Please, give me a chance. Give
us
a chance.” She knew she was begging, and she hated herself for it. But she’d hate herself more if she gave him up without a fight.

William sighed, a harsh release of air. “I want this to work, but things have to change.”

“It will work, you’ll see.” For him, she could tame her wild side. She had to.

“How about you come to the CFF anniversary party with me on Saturday?”

She stared at him. If she went to the party with him, people would know they were together. “As Danielle or Dani?”

He angled his head and gave her a puzzled look.

“Do you want me to go to the party with my platoon or with you?” she clarified, not wanting to jump to any false conclusions.

“With me. We’re not hiding anymore either.” Will brushed his lips against hers. A rabble of butterflies took flight in her chest. Just when she’d thought everything was over between them, Will had done a one-eighty. All she wanted was to throw herself in his arms. But she didn’t. This was the beginning of her test. She had exactly two weeks to prove to Will that she could be discreet and circumspect—the perfect girlfriend.

Christ, she needed a miracle; she needed to be just like Kathleen.

William spent the holiday visiting with his parents, Erica, Chloe, Drew, and Chad. His mother had been horrified by Chad’s injuries, and that angry vein in his father’s forehead had pulsed the entire afternoon. They’d had fun though. Chloe was a little firecracker, and she’d had them laughing until their sides hurt. There was so much of Jamie in her. Several times when they’d been playing together, Erica had eyed him questioningly. Had Jamie told her about the shower incident? He flushed. Shit, he hoped not.

Later, when Chloe had worn him down playing Knights and Dragons, and he lay exhausted on a blanket—their “castle” as Chloe called it—Erica knelt beside him. He sat up and accepted the scotch she handed him. That’s when he noticed she was sipping orange juice.

He motioned to her drink. “Any news you want to share?”

Her eyes took on a dreamy quality, and she smiled. “We’ve decided to try for another child. I’d wanted to wait until I was certain things with Jamie would work out.” The love on her face almost knocked him over.

Then she turned away, but not before he saw a hint of concern in her eyes. He touched her elbow. “You’re worried about something.”

“Do you think it’s too soon to, you know, rock the boat?”

As soon as he heard the words, his mind went to Danielle standing naked on the deck of Sam’s yacht, open and inviting, waiting for him to join her, to fill her. His cock stirred. Okay, it stood at attention, ready to report for duty.
Fuck.
He pulled his knees up so Erica wouldn’t catch sight of the tenting action in his pants. She was looking at his face expectantly. Had she asked him something? Oh, right. “I think only you and Jamie can answer that question.”

“I don’t want to repeat history.”

“Is it really the same? From the looks of it, you both seem to be in very different places than you were before.”

“We are. We’re very in sync, connected in a way I never imagined we could be.”

Envy clawed at his gut. He wanted a connection like that. So fucking bad. “Then what’s the problem?”

“How much…” She took a deep breath, then she lowered her voice. “How much do you know about Jamie’s past?”

He raised his brows. “How much do
you
?” He was pretty sure Jamie had resumed his old ways, but in case he was wrong, he wasn’t going to be the one to spill his brother’s secrets.

“I know that it’s not just in the past anymore.” Her face turned bright red.

His sister-in-law was adorable, and the perfect wife for his brother. “Erica, whatever makes the two of you happy is good. Don’t ever question that.”

“You don’t think it’s weird or wrong?”

“Absolutely not. I’m thrilled that you and Jamie found each other again and can give each other what you both need.”

She offered him a shy smile, then her expression turned serious. “Have you found that, William? Someone who can give you what you need?”

Her question arced through him, putting him in a tailspin. He flopped back onto the blanket and peered up at the clear blue sky. “I thought I knew what I wanted. I had it all planned out. Now I’m not so sure.”

“Dani told me about Kathleen. I assume she’s part of this plan?”

At the mention of Kathleen, the contents of his stomach turned to lead, a hard heavy ball. “She’d be very good for me.”

“For your career, you mean.”

“Same thing.”

“Is it?”

Good question
. Erica seemed full of those lately.

William had mulled over Erica’s question nonstop throughout the endless night, during which he’d tossed and turned alone in his big Caldwell custom-design bed, wishing Danielle were with him. When he’d risen to an empty apartment, the question had still been topmost in his mind. And even now when he was supposed to be concentrating on the report from the man in charge of the audit, he could think of nothing else.

“Sir?” John Grimsdale said, his tone clearly indicating it wasn’t the first time.

“Yes.” William looked up from his notebook, where he’d been compiling a list of how each woman was good for him or his career. So far, the list was split clean down the middle.

“What would you like us to do?”

“Dig deeper.” Remembering the team’s earlier discovery concerning CFF’s most profitable product, he added, “Focus your efforts on the Pioneer bed set line. The rate of returns has risen exponentially. There’s clearly an irregularity here. Find it and follow the trail to the source. You have all the paperwork, now it’s a matter of going over each and every piece of data and validating it.”

“Yes, sir.”

William turned to his lead accountant. “Paul, any word from the union regarding our latest offer?”

“They’re still discussing it.”

“Remind them there are only eighteen days left to the current contract. After that, all our concessions are
off
the table.”

Paul seemed shaken. “Sir—”

“I’m serious. We’ve been in negotiations for two months. If Torval’s plan is to run CFF into the ground with these tactics, I won’t let him win.”

“They’ll go on strike.”

“Let them. At the very least, we’ll save on salaries.” His father would want to kill him if that happened. But he had to play hardball, even in front of his own staff. Word would get out, it always did, so his threat would reach Torval without him needing to make it official. Danielle had said it:
Control the discussion
.

When Paul opened his mouth, William held up a hand. “Look, I don’t think things will get that far. Once people realize where Torval is taking them, the employees will push back. No one wants a strike.”

His phone beeped as his staff was filing out of his office. Once he was alone, William checked the message. Danielle. His heart did a little two-step.