Injury (14 page)

Chapter 27

Dani and her date walked out the door, and Cope fought the
urge to run after them. He wasn’t sure what he’d do if he caught up to them. It
was a tossup between grabbing Dani and kissing her until her knees buckled or
slugging the date in the face until
his
knees buckled. What if the bastard was taking Dani back to his place? The
thought of Dani, vulnerable and hurting, going to another guy’s apartment made
Cope’s insides churn.

He finished a last sip of coffee and signaled the waiter for
the check. “Sorry, Kate. I can’t stay here.”

Katherine brushed Cope’s cheek with her fingers. “You have
it bad, my friend. You won’t try to follow them, will you? They’re long gone by
this point.”

“No, but I might just sit in Dani’s apartment building until
she gets home.”

“Oh, Cope. Stalking?” Katherine sucked in a breath through
gritted teeth. “That’s not needy.”

“I can live without the sarcasm, Katie.” She was right
though. But the days without Dani had been hell, and the more time passed, the
more miserable he became.

“Why continue to punish her? And don’t launch into all that
blah, blah, blah about your pride and respect. I’m not discounting your
feelings, but why haven’t you at least heard her out?”

Why indeed? He’d wanted to call Dani a hundred times since
he’d left her. Part of it was, he felt like a heel for abandoning her. “Shame.
I’m ashamed I left her when she’d been traumatized. But I was so angry. I
thought she was manipulating me to get what she wanted.”

Katherine sighed. “Since then, you wallow every time we get
together. You must face her sometime. Didn’t you see how badly she’s hurting?”

“Yeah. She’s hurting so badly she’s on a date with another
man.”

Katherine laughed. “You’re on a date with another woman.”

“No, I’m not.”

“For God’s sake, Robert, Dani doesn’t know that. Did you
notice her face when she spotted us together? She could’ve killed me with that
look. Did you ever tell her I’m gay?”

Cope’s head snapped around to face Katherine. “No. It’s not
my place to out you to anyone.”

“That’s considerate of you, darling, but what do you suppose
Dani thinks when she sees our picture splashed all over the papers? Now she’s
seen us here together, it’s even worse for her.”

“Jesus Christ. Dani knows you and I are just friends. I told
her that.” Cope’s hands went cold, and his stomach knotted. The thought of Dani
believing he’d moved on sickened him. What if it compelled her to find someone
else?

“She’s an insecure young woman, struggling to overcome
childhood trauma, rape, and an assault. Her assumption will be that you’re over
her and going back to your first love. God, Rob, you can be such a fucking
man.”

The waiter appeared, and they stopped talking while Cope
paid the bill. When they were alone again, Cope stood and pulled Katherine to
her feet. “Let’s go. I’ll drop you at your apartment. I just hope it’s not too
late.”

***

Dani stuck it out at Eric’s until twelve-thirty. She’d
relaxed as the evening wore on, and by the time she left, she no longer felt as
if she’d hung around just to be polite. While Eric didn’t make her heart sing,
the two had spent a pleasant few hours chatting and watching a movie. What she
appreciated the most was, he didn’t pressure her to get more intimate than she
was comfortable with.

While the movie played, he’d put his arm around her, and
she’d rested her head on his shoulder. They’d kissed, but it was friendly
rather than passionate. After the movie, Dani called for a cab, and Eric walked
her down to the lobby.

“Thank you. I had a nice time. Sorry dinner didn’t go well.
I’ll make it up to you.” Dani smiled.

Eric returned the smile, eyes showing affection. “No
worries. Can we do it again? I promise I’ll pick a different restaurant.”

“Okay. I’d enjoy that.” He was nice—good company. It
wouldn’t be terrible to spend time with him sometimes though he couldn’t fill
the void Cope had left in her life. That might never be filled, but eventually,
she’d get used to living with it.

Lighter than she had felt in a long time, Dani climbed into
the cab and headed home.

***

Dani paid the cab driver and stepped out of the vehicle,
careful to keep her short skirt from rising up and her high heels from tripping
her. The warm, humid air hugged her as she walked to the building’s entrance.

Silence, except for the sound of the odd car driving by on
the street, blanketed everything. Street grime mixed with the floral perfume of
landscaped gardens scented the air. No reporters or fans hung around outside
the building. It was after one in the morning.

A man stepped from the lobby onto the sidewalk, the familiar
form making the breath catch in her throat.

“Cope.” Dani stopped walking though he held the door open.

“We need to talk. Can we go up to your apartment?”

Dani studied him. His expression was wary.

“Why didn’t you call or text me? I’d have come home
earlier.”

“Not here, Dani, please. Let’s go inside.”

“How’d you get in? I should move. Security here is
terrible,” she said and brushed past him.

That made him smile. “I begged them not to throw me out.
Wave when you pass the cameras to let the guys know you’re okay, or they’ll
come running.”

Dani realized she was trembling and stepped carefully,
mindful of the spike heels. Instinct and familiarity made her want to reach out
and take his arm, but she fought the urge. Cope didn’t look as though he wanted
to return to the familiar or intimate.

The distance between them brought tears to her eyes. All she
wanted to do was put her arms around him, fall into his embrace, and kiss him
with every ounce of passion she could muster.

While they waited for the elevator, her palm twitched with
the need to take his hand. Dani clasped her hands together and stared at the
doors in front of her.

“Where’s the bodyguard, Daniella?”

She whipped her head around to face him. “Tell me that’s not
why you’re here.”

“No, it isn’t,” Cope admitted. “But you came home in a cab.
Where’s your driver? Where were you?”

“Robert—” The elevator’s arrival interrupted, and Dani
stepped inside, Cope following close behind her. If they had this discussion
now, she’d say something she’d regret, and it would drive the wedge between
them deeper. Dani clamped her lips together and pressed the button for the
penthouse. The doors slid shut. The numbers flashed at each floor, and she
stared at the sequence as if it were the most fascinating thing she’d ever
seen.

“It’s not safe for you to be out without the bodyguard. Why
didn’t you take the limo?”

“Eric picked me up, and we went out for dinner.”

“You left the restaurant. Obviously, you didn’t come home
right away.”

The elevator stopped, and Dani led Cope to her unit, anger
rising the closer they got to her home. Cope had left her, refused to speak to
her, and now he showed up in the middle of the night after he’d seen her with
another guy.

If there was a God, seeing her with Eric had ripped Cope’s
heart out as much as it had killed her to see him with Katherine. Yes, it was
immature. The hell with maturity. She wanted karma to bite him in the ass since
it had taken such a big chunk out of her own butt. Dani unlocked the apartment
door and stepped inside. Behind her, Cope shut and locked the door.

When she turned to face him, his gaze traveled up and down
her body. “You look nice.”

“Thank you. What do you want—other than to inform me I
should use a bodyguard when I leave my apartment? Consider the suggestion under
advisement. Now, tell me why you’re here instead of with your date.” The
trembling in her body and ache in her heart grew fiercer.

Was Cope here because he wanted to reconcile? Dani kicked
off the spike heels and walked to the couch to sit before her legs gave out. A
yearning to have Cope’s arms around her, his body on top of her, brought her
close to tears. Dani bit her lip to stem the tide while he stared in silence.
“Cope?” Her voice was gentle, and she couldn’t keep the longing out of it.

“I had to see you. Since I left you, I’ve been in agony.”
Cope sat next to her, making her heart pound.

Dani licked her lips. “Why didn’t you let me explain? You
may not have agreed with my justifications, but you could at least have heard
me out. I loved you, Robert.” Past tense. Too afraid to say it in the present
tense. It might be too late for that.

Cope smiled when she said his name and then shook his head
in such a sorrowful way it tore at her. “You rarely call me by my proper
name—only when you’re emotional over something. Or … ” He trailed off, probably
not wanting to say, “when we make love.”

Dani lowered her eyes, afraid he’d notice the hovering
tears. “Robert.” It slipped out again, on its own, ache, need, hurt, and
despair coating it.

Cope’s arms went around her, crushing her. When his mouth
covered hers, Dani threw her arms around him and gripped him tight, pressing
against him with her whole body. The tears coursed down her face and a sob
escaped. When he removed his lips from hers, she gasped in fear, but he kissed
away the tears and the loneliness.

“Oh, God, I’m so sorry. I should have let you explain.
Whatever you intended, I should have trusted you. When I saw you with that guy
tonight, it felt like someone had shoved a hot poker into my heart.”

Head against his chest, Dani squeezed him tighter. Cope’s
body shook and, disbelieving, she looked up to confirm that he was crying.

“The woman you were with—Katherine.” Dani couldn’t continue.

“I’m sorry. It must have crushed you. I was so confused, so
angry, and hurt. I tried to wipe you out of my mind, but don’t get the wrong
idea about Katherine.”

They clung to one another on the couch. Both had stopped
crying, and Cope stroked Dani’s hair in that way he’d always done.

“Did you sleep with her?” She gasped as soon as the words
left her mouth. “Sorry. It’s none of my business.”

“It’s okay. The answer’s no. Dani, we’re just friends. I
never wanted to hurt you, and I don’t want to be without you. When the media
referred to me as ‘sugar baby’ and ‘kept man,’ I felt emasculated and
humiliated. I blamed you for what they’d done when I should have shrugged it
off and ignored it.”

Dani kept her hands on him—running fingers through his hair,
stroking his cheek, or pressing on his chest. It assured her he was here, he
was real, and he wouldn’t disappear forever.

“Oh, God.” It choked out of her. The thought of Cope
disappearing called to mind her father, and she gagged on the horror of what
had happened to him.

“What is it?” Cope’s face had gone white, and his expression
registered concern.

Dani shook her head. “It’s okay. It’s just … what happened
to my father … I still have the dreams. You left me, and I was afraid you were
gone forever, and would see me only in the magazines or on the news.” Cope
had
seen her in the media, and it had
pushed him away from her.

“Daniella, I’m so sorry. I didn’t intend to cause you pain,
just protect myself and my pride. My family hounded me to use their money,
wanting to control everything. I assumed you were doing the same thing, which
was unfair. I’m ready to listen to your side of it now. Tell me what happened.”

So she explained that, to make it up to him for getting him
fired, she’d asked William to keep an eye out for Cope’s proposal. “You
submitted it without my interference, and Star Power informed me when it
arrived. William said he’d have granted you an interview based on the
proposal’s merits even if I hadn’t asked him to watch for it.”

Dani paused and took one of Cope’s hands in hers, turned it
over, and traced a finger along the life line. When she raised her eyes to
check if he was angry with her again, he hugged her tighter and kissed the top
of her head.

“I’m not mad anymore, Dani. Keep going. Tell me the truth
now, so I can set up a defense against the press. They’ll continue with this
‘sugar baby’ bullshit when they know we’re back together. I can live with it as
long as I know that’s false.”

When they know we’re
back together.
Music to her ears though a devil on her shoulder made her
want to tell him not to decide for her. Dani released the toxic thought and
carried on with her story. “You presented your case to the execs. I observed,
which isn’t unusual, though I don’t watch every prospect present.”

Chin jutting out, Dani said, “It’s my right as the owner of
the company to view whatever presentations catch my interest, and you were
special. Of course, I had to see it.”

“I understand. The problem was you did it behind my back
without telling me you were involved. That’s what hurt. But one thing at a
time. Go on.”

“The feedback was positive. They all wanted to back you,
except Nate, and apparently, he has a history with your father. I told them I
wanted to fund you, but that if they didn’t consider it viable, I’d defer to
their decision. They were in favor of it. You landed this on your own. The
result would have been the same even if I’d stayed out of it.”

“But you didn’t tell me you owned that company. You tracked
the entire process and celebrated with me when I got the funding, but didn’t
tell me it was yours. It made me think you didn’t respect me or trust me, and
you wanted to control me. The capper was hearing about it on the news.”

“Robert, I’m so sorry. I don’t know how else to say it. My
intention was to help you—make it up to you for causing you to lose your job.
It always comes back to that because it consumed me. I wanted to tell you so
many times, but I was afraid.”

Cope turned his face away from her, and it made her heart
jump in fear. He spoke, staring off into nothing. “I abandoned you, and I’m a
shit for doing it. I’ve been miserable ever since I walked out on you, leaving
you to handle an attempted rape without me. My beauty, I’m the one who needs to
ask for forgiveness.”