Closer Than A Brother (11 page)

“You have to make sure you aren’t such a stranger. We miss you. Gabi needs to know her Aunt Dani.”

“I know. I promise to make more of an effort to come home more often.”

“Are you sure a handsome cop doesn’t have anything to do with your disappearing act?”

Danielle wagged a warning finger at her best friend to stop before she started. She turned to leave and ran right into Jason on his way in the room.

“Hey, Danielle! When did you sneak in?” he said grabbing her for a hug.

“I guess while you were out getting lunch.” She smiled at him.

“I was actually waiting for these guys to show up so I could lead them up here,” he said awkwardly. Danielle stepped back from Jason to look over at the door. Shane stood there looking better then she’d ever seen in a pair of casual-fit jeans and a black sweater. His dark blond hair cut shorter than it was when she’d last seen him. His gray-blue eyes turned turbulent when she looked him over. She noticed his hand locked with a petite blonde’s. She looked young and suitable for him.

“Hello, Danielle.” His voice was cold and calculating. She tried not to flinch at his words. She ran a hand over her arm to wipe away the goose bumps the chill in his voice caused.

“Hi, Shane, very nice to see you again,” she said in her best nonchalant voice. She was afraid her attempt fell short.

“Danielle Morris!” the chipper blonde piped up. “Wow, I haven’t seen you since high school.” She came over to give Danielle an attempt at a hug.

“I’m sorry,” Danielle said after the embrace. “I don’t think I remember you?”

Brandi spoke up from the bed. “She was in ninth grade with Jason and Shane when we graduated.”

“I remember a couple of little teenybopper blondes that used to pine after Shane,” she said with a little more contempt in her voice than was needed.

“Guilty,” the girl giggled.

“Oh, I
vaguely
remember you now, interesting.” She cast a glance at Shane. She looked at Jason and then at Brandi who both had knowing expressions on their faces.

“I will be back tomorrow when you are released, Brandi.”

“You are going to stay with us for a couple of days, right? I could use the help.”

Danielle turned to look at Jason to make sure he was okay with the extra houseguest.

“Mom gets what Mom wants,” he said, putting his hands up in surrender.

“I’ll stay for a couple of days, Brandi. I promise.” She couldn’t help but laugh at her friend’s triumphant grin.

“I will see you tomorrow,” she said, escaping the room without a good-bye to Shane or his friend. She knew it was childish, but she didn’t care.

Chapter Seventeen

She threw the last of her clothing into her bag and smoothed a hand over her sleek ponytail.

“Are you headed to the hospital, baby?” her mother asked, nudging open her bedroom door.

“Yes, I promised Brandi I’d be there today. I think she should be out shortly after noon. I’m going to stay there a couple of days to help out with the baby before I head back to New York. I’ll stop back through before I go.”

“Okay, honey.” Her mother leaned against the door frame. “You didn’t say much when you came home last night.”

“I was just tired, Mama,” she said.

“Did you happen to see Shane at the hospital?”

She turned to look at her mom. “I—I…yes he was there,” she said quickly.

“You saw his new girlfriend?”

“Yes,” she grumbled.

Her mother chuckled. Danielle cleared her throat trying to seem disinterested as she zipped her bag. “So how serious is that little relationship?”

“They’ve been seeing each other about six months now. Mary says he’s brought her over for dinner a couple of times.”

“A couple times, huh?” She could feel the heat coming to her face.

“
Yes as in more than once.” She heard the amusement in her mother’s voice.

“Well isn’t that—special,” she said hefting the bag up on her shoulder.

“Special indeed.” Her mother watched her.

“Well I’m going to head to the hospital and help my good friends.”

“Did you ever think another good friend may be there to help his friends?”

“I don’t know why he would be,” she snapped. “It doesn’t take two of us to help out!”

Her mother put her hands up in surrender. “It was just a thought.”

“Thanks, Mama,” she said, trying to get out the room.

“Danielle,” she said softly.

She stopped a minute to look at her mother not realizing the tears brimming in her eyes until she stopped to focus. A lone tear spilled over and ran quickly down her cheek.

“Oh, baby, what is it?”

“I think I may have made a mistake,” she choked on the words. “I—I really care about him. I do. I just thought—damn it. I don’t know what I was thinking. I let him go. Now he is with—her and they look happy, you know. Like the perfect, little made-for-freaking-TV movie couple.”

“Well things aren’t always what they seem, my dear.”

“What do you mean?”

“I think maybe you should talk to Mr. Shane. See how he really feels.”

“He doesn’t want to talk to me. You should have seen the way he looked at me yesterday. He is really hating me right now. I don’t want to make things worse. I did this to us. It is better for both of us to just leave things go. I will go back to New York and bury myself in work.” She let a bitter smile spread across her face.

“I think that stinks,” her mother said. “I didn’t raise you to give up.”

“I’m not giving up I’m—I…”

Her mother raised a brow.

“Okay, I thought that he would be better off with someone closer to his age. He found her, right? They look cute together.”

“You’re four years older than him, Danielle. It’s not forty years,” her mother exclaimed. “Brandi is older than Jason and they are a beautiful couple. Will you stop this craziness right now and make sure you talk to Shane again before you leave South Carolina.” She turned and left the room before Danielle could protest.

* * * *

Nothing had been more difficult than walking in that room and seeing her standing there. He knew Jason tried to soften the blow by giving her a hug—which gave him a few minutes to pick his jaw off the ground. She looked great. Danielle had always been his picture of perfection and seeing her yesterday had put a hitch in his gate. He couldn’t tell if what he was feeling for her was reciprocated, until she looked at Ellen. She was not happy to see the blonde on his arm. He did notice that. It was a bittersweet moment after she shoved his heart back in his face, for the second time. When she left the room it took everything in him not to follow her down the hall. He wanted to speak to her and hold her again. That wasn’t the time or the place especially with Ellen there. He couldn’t get out of that room fast enough. After he held his goddaughter and cooed and made over how beautiful she was he needed to be by himself. He needed to drop Ellen off and think.

Jason took his shuffling from one foot to the next as a sign. “So it’s getting late. Visiting hours will be over soon. Will you two mind terribly if I asked for some alone time with my two ladies?”

Shane could have hugged his best friend. “No man, not at all he piped up.” Brandi watched the two suspiciously. “Ellen told me she has an early class anyway. I’m sure she would like to get home.”

* * * *

“You weren’t really serious about taking me home, Shaney?”

He winced. He hated when she called him that. “Yes, El. I need to check in at the club, and then I’m going home to get some sleep.”

“I could come home and help you with that.” She moved her hand up his thigh.

He dropped a hand off the steering wheel to stop her advances. “No, I’m fine,” he said driving down her street, breaking the speed limit to get her home. The only one that could help him with anything in the bedroom was Danielle. He had to see her again before she went back to New York.

“This is about Danielle isn’t it? I swear to God, Shane, you have had such a thing for her since we were kids. It’s almost pathetic. She didn’t want you then she doesn’t want you now. Get over it.”

He stopped in front of her house turning to look at her. “I guess I could say the same thing about you and me. Good-bye, Ellen.”

Her eyes narrowed to slits. She huffed and climbed outta his car. He waited until she stomped up her front walk and unlocked her front door before he peeled off down the street.

* * * *

He arrived at the hospital shortly before noon, when Jason informed him Brandi would be released with the baby. When he rounded the corner of the maternity ward, he immediately saw her. Danielle stood in front of the large window that showcased the newborns lined in a perfect row in their bassinets.

She hadn’t noticed him yet so he took the stolen moment to drink in the sight of her. Her dark hair was straightened from its usual curls and pulled back into a ponytail showcasing her smooth caramel skin and high cheekbones. A slight smile graced her glossed lips. His eyes lingered there for a minute. The thought of her lips on his sent a jolt of desire straight through him. His gaze continued their journey over her well-curved body filling out every inch of those jeans. He wanted to wrap his arms around her body and press into her. His cock jerked at the thought of being home inside of her warmth. He closed his eyes for a second trying to regain his composure.

He took the few steps toward her. He cleared his throat, catching her attention. “Is my goddaughter still in there?” he asked, grasping for a conversation topic.

“
Your
goddaughter?” she asked, turning to look at him. He locked eyes with her light chocolate gaze. The lump in his throat was forming and his heart began to beat so hard he knew she had to be able to hear it. Her gaze dropped to his lips and then shot back to his eyes.
She has to feel this sexual tension.
His skin grew hot, and he thought he may spontaneously combust from it. The passion between them had been so hot a year ago. There was no way that wasn’t still there.

“They are prepping
my
godchild to go home. Mom and Dad are talking to the pediatrician now. I told them I would come down to check on her.” He turned to look through the glass as they dressed her in the going home outfit Brandi had provided.

“You know, as godparents, we are going to have to share the responsibility of spoiling the hell out of her.”

“Absolutely.” She smiled, looking at him briefly before her attention moved back to the baby. They were quite for a minute before they both spoke at the same time.

“We need to talk—” he said, as she asked, “So where is Ellen?”

“What?” he asked, taken back that they had spoken at the same time.

“Ellen”

“She had a class this morning.”

“Oh.”

“We broke up anyway.” He made sure she had her facts straight.

She turned to look at him. “Oh?”

“Yeah, it wasn’t working out.”

“Could have fooled me,” she said sarcastically. “Six months wasn’t it?”

Six months of being with the wrong person.
“Yes, it was a long time coming though. We just weren’t right for each other.” He didn’t want to talk about the disaster otherwise known as Ellen. “There is someone else that has my heart. She always will”

“Don’t, Shane. Not here,” she pleaded, her voice a whimper.

“Well then, you tell me when. Because we are going to have this conversation, Danielle.” He was ready to lay his cards on the table. He didn’t care. “I’m in love with you. There is no one else I want to be with.”

She closed her eyes at his words. The emotion was written all over her face.

“Hey, you two!” Jason said coming into the hall.

“Damn it, Jas, worst timing in the world, man.” He moved so that only his friend could see his face, shooting him a look.

Jason stopped dead in his tracks. “I just came out to see if they have my little button close to being ready, and we are going to head out. Will you two meet us at the house?”

“Yes,” Danielle said, stepping away from Shane.

“Jason, if you could give us a few minutes. Danielle and I have to talk.”

“No really, Shane, this can wait.”

“I’m going to let you two work this out. I’m going to get out of here,” Jason said turning to hurry in the nursery.

“This is about our best friends and their baby. You and I can talk later.” She turned to walk away from him. He reached out and grabbed her arm and pulled her back to him. His lips landed on hers hard and fast. She was resistant at first, but he could feel her body soften as he deepened the kiss. His tongue worked at the corner of her lips finding a way in as his tongue found hers soft and responsive. As his body found its home close to hers, he moaned a sigh of desire. Her hands came up to rest on his shoulders. He moved against her body, knowing it was not the most appropriate place to be grinding with his stiff erection begging to break free from the restricting material of his jeans.

She broke the kiss, her hand coming to her lips. She looked at him. She tried to move, but he kept hold around her waist. He was sure they were quite the spectacle for anyone walking up and down that hall way. He didn’t give a damn. He had Danielle in his arms again, where, as far as he was concerned, she belonged.

“Shane—”

He stopped her before she could say anything to diminish the moment. “No. I don’t want to hear the bull shit—the why and the why not—the yes, the no and the maybes. We belong together, Danielle. You know when we are apart we are miserable. I love you. Don’t deny it. So just…for once, baby, shut up. Enjoy this…enjoy us. Stop trying to rationalize and make sense of it.

She slowly shook her head in agreement.

“Come back to my place with me.”

“When?” she asked, her eyes wide.

“Now.”

“What about Jason and Brandi? We promised we would come over.”

“They will be there when we come over later tonight. They also understand we have things we need to work out.” He dropped his hands from her waist taking her hand in one fluid motion.

“We should tell them.”

He led her over to the nurse’s station where a few nurses stood smiling, acting like they hadn’t been nosing at the scene that just went on.