She made a sympathetic noise as her panic ratcheted up another level. Her question had made him visibly angry and the elevator seemed to be taking forever to reach the fourth floor. Even then, he’d be getting off behind her, wouldn’t he?
Something about the man frightened her. Although his abrupt, vaguely confrontational answer did little to calm her jumping nerves, it served to reassure her that she wasn’t judging him based on appearance. After all the times she’d reminded her students not to judge a book by its cover, doing so would make her a serious hypocrite.
“Is he your boyfriend?”
She could feel her heart pounding in her chest.
Breathe.
“Who?”
He made an impatient hand gesture. “The guy who’s been coming to the apartment. This afternoon…a few days ago. There’s only one.”
“Um…” For him to know those details, he’d have been watching through the peephole. Spying on her? Story racked her brain, trying to remember if she and Daniel had ever kissed in the hallway, in view of his apartment. Oh yeah. They certainly had. “No, he’s just a friend.” She felt compelled to lie anyway, praying he hadn’t seen them.
His eyes narrowed at her answer. Thankfully, the elevator doors slid open then to reveal the carpeted hallway. Not wanting him to walk behind her, Story smiled and gestured for him to exit first, but he shook his head in refusal. With a nervous swallow, she left the elevator and walked toward her door. Had the lighting in the hall always been this poor, or had it merely escaped her attention before now?
She’d never met any of Jack’s other neighbors. Would they even help her if she screamed? She suddenly wanted to give Daniel hell for leaving. If he’d stayed, this wouldn’t be happening.
Stubborn, sex-denying jerk!
“I’m Frank, by the way,” he called from behind her. Casting a look over her shoulder, she saw that he still stood by the elevator watching her walk away.
Find the key, put it in the lock.
“Nice to meet you, Frank.” The door unlocked and she pushed it open. “You and your mother have a nice night.”
Story cut off his answer as she closed the door and locked the dead bolt. With a deep exhale of relief, she slid down the door to the ground. When her heart began beating normally again, she shoveled the Twix bar into her mouth and chased it down with milk.
“This city is definitely going to kill me,” she said out loud to the empty apartment.
Chapter Fifteen
Daniel slipped into the hospital elevator just as the door closed on a car already filled to capacity. After checking to make sure the button for ICU had already been pressed, he looked back down at the last text message he’d received on his phone.
Come quick.—Jack.
Hundreds of possibilities raced through his mind as the elevator started to move. Had Jack gotten bad news? Suffered another attack? Did something happen to Story? He hadn’t seen her for two interminably long days, but upon receiving the message, he’d tried calling her on the way over. She didn’t answer. He glanced impatiently up at the ascending numbers just above the door, mentally urging the car to move faster.
When the doors opened in ICU, he took off down the hallway at a jog, but was forced to dodge the stairwell door as it swung open. Intending to walk past it without a backward glance, he did a double take when Story stepped out appearing just as panicked as he felt.
Relief flooded him, but irritation followed quickly on its heels. Nothing new, since he’d basically been a walking, talking asshole to everyone he’d encountered since leaving her the night of the baseball game. He was sleep-deprived and sex-deprived, and seeing her looking so damn pretty wasn’t helping matters. “I thought I told you not to take the stairwell by yourself,” he snapped.
She flinched, but kept walking toward Jack’s room. “I don’t have time to argue. I got a text message from Jack telling me to come quick. Have you heard anything?”
Daniel shook his head. “No. He sent me the same message. Got here as fast as I could.”
They both rounded the corner into Jack’s room and came to a dead stop. With one hand propped beneath his head, the other holding the television remote, he casually turned up the volume on an episode of
Gilligan’s Island
. Sensing their arrival, he turned toward them with a wide smile.
“Oh, hey, you two.” His brow furrowed. “What’s wrong? You both look out of breath.”
Story held up her phone and released a pent-up breath. “You texted me to come quick. I thought something was wrong.”
“You texted me, too.”
Jack pushed himself up against the pillows. “I knew I’d have better odds of someone showing up if I texted you both.”
Daniel and Story exchanged incredulous glances. “So what did you want, Jack?
“Breakfast.”
Story made a choked noise. “Breakfast?”
“The food here is abysmal.” Jack rubbed his chin. “I’m in the mood for a Danish.”
“Jack, I ran out of a briefing,” Daniel grated, massaging his forehead. “I thought something bad happened. And you’re telling me this is about baked goods?”
He shrugged his broad shoulders. “It’s the most important meal of the day.”
Next to him, Story practically fell into a chair. “I need a drink.”
Jack ignored her. “Daniel, show Story that bakery down on Third Avenue. The one that sells the giant black-and-white cookies.”
“Every bakery in New York sells giant black-and-white cookies.”
“Ah, you know the one.” He waved a hand in the air. “With the muffins and stuff.”
“We’ll find one.” Story stood. “In the meantime, no more emergency texts for food or you won’t be the only heart attack victim in the family.”
Jack turned his attention back to the television, where Mr. Howell was drinking a martini out of a coconut. “Sure thing.” Just as Daniel and Story were about to leave the room, his head whipped toward them. “Oh, wait. Story, since you’re both here, why don’t you pass on Hayden’s phone number to Daniel. After everything you’ve told me about Hayden, I think they’d really hit it off.”
Daniel’s surprised gaze shot to Story, who’d frozen and visibly paled underneath the bright hospital lighting. He watched closely as she hesitated, started to speak, then stopped. Flustered, she dug her phone out of her purse. “Oh, um. Sure. Okay.”
Daniel reluctantly keyed the number into his phone as Story read it off quietly, and filed it under “Never.” She refused to look at him as they left the room, but Daniel could practically feel the tension radiating from her. With the manufactured crisis averted, he finally took the chance to drink her in. Everything about her was soft and inviting, begging for his touch. She wore a pale-yellow T-shirt tucked into a lightweight floral skirt. Near her neck, a red string peeked out over the neck of her shirt.
Unable to stop himself, he reached over and toyed with it. “What’s this?”
“A bathing suit,” Story answered brusquely. “Hayden and I are road-tripping to the beach today.” Impatiently, she pushed her hair over her shoulder. “Do you want to come with us? I promise to make myself scarce.”
With considerable effort, Daniel hid a pleased smile. “You can’t really be jealous. You’re acting like I asked you for Hayden’s number. That was all Jack.”
“You didn’t hesitate taking it.” They breezed past the vending machine where they’d met. The first time they’d been in that spot, he’d been willing to do anything to get her alone, beneath him. Now, he was doing everything he could to keep his hands off. Give her time to view him as more than a rebound. Daniel wanted to laugh at the irony of it, but he was in too much pain for it to be funny. Story punched the button for the elevator. “There’s no need to wait until I leave New York to call her. Don’t let me cramp your style.”
They stepped into the empty elevator. Daniel stood in front of her, looking down into her upturned face. Damn if her irritated little pout wasn’t turning him on. But the last thing he wanted was her feeling insecure. Especially over him and another woman. That was the very thing he wanted to avoid. Daniel took her wrist, drew circles with his thumb on the delicate skin. “Do you honestly think I’d use it?”
She shrugged one shoulder. “I don’t—”
A hand shot out to stop the doors from rolling closed. When Nurse Helen poked her head in and smiled, Daniel wanted the ground to open up and swallow him. He edged closer to Story in the hopes that she would get the message. No dice. He’d obviously done something to offend the universe, and now it was making his life hell.
“Hi there,” she greeted him cheerfully, without a single glance in Story’s direction. “You haven’t used my number yet. What’s taking you so long?”
With a tight smile, Story answered for him. “He’s lousy with numbers at the moment. I’m sure he’ll get around to it.”
“I’ll be waiting,” Helen sang as the doors rolled closed.
…
Story stood in line at the crowded bakery, Daniel directly behind her, mentally berating herself for acting childish. She didn’t have any claim on Daniel, nor did she have the right to dictate whom he chose to date. The night he’d asked her to stay through the summer in New York, she’d told him she didn’t want him to change. And she’d meant it. Right? The alternative would be him seeing
only
her and she couldn’t possibly be ready for that kind of commitment so soon. It still didn’t make the idea of him with the cute nurse or Hayden any more tolerable.
On the uncomfortably silent walk to the bakery, she’d come to a startling realization. She was scared. Scared to even consider the option of staying in New York to see where things went with Daniel. Scared of her reaction to the very thought of him with someone else.
Fisher’s revelation that he’d met someone else hadn’t cut her as deeply, and she’d spent three years with the man. Her ex-fiancé hadn’t managed to shatter her heart, but his dishonesty had blasted her full of insecurities. Insecurities that would make it difficult to be with a man like Daniel. If she let herself slide down that slippery slope into a relationship, one that went beyond the physical, she would open herself up for a world of pain.
More customers piled into the already-jam-packed bakery, forcing her and Daniel closer together. Every inch of her body tingled with awareness as his chest made contact with her back. Obviously, her body vehemently disagreed with her brain’s decision to slow things down. She wanted him so badly, it felt like a constant ache that refused to dull. Her body didn’t care that he’d been with too many women to count, that they’d all benefited from his skillful touch. How he made
her
feel was all that mattered.
The only problem? She was starting to have a hard time separating the physical from the emotional. Somewhere along the line, he’d gotten to her. Bad. And right now, having him this close, she craved him like oxygen.
Involuntarily, her head tipped to the side to expose her neck to him, and a moment later she felt his breath there, warming her skin. Her eyelids fluttered. Goose bumps broke out along her bare arms. One of Daniel’s arms curled around her waist hesitantly, pulling her back against him when she didn’t protest. When his warmth cradled her completely, she sank back against him with a sigh. Daniel’s head dropped down onto her shoulder as if in relief.
“Sunshine,” he murmured near her neck. “I can’t see past you to anyone else. Please believe me.”
“It’s not a matter of me believing you. I’m just not ready,” she whispered shakily. “I like being with you. I want to spend time with you while I’m here. Can’t that be enough?” Daniel’s answer was cut off when they reached the front of the line. “Give us the healthiest thing you have, please,” she instructed the baker, making Daniel raise a questioning eyebrow. Story pursed her lips. “Oh, he’s not getting away with this.”
Daniel thankfully didn’t bring up their earlier conversation as they left the bakery. Wanting to ease the tension, she started to ask him about work but her phone rang, interrupting her. Her mother. She ignored the call and groaned upon seeing that her mother had called three times since this morning.
“I’m curious about your mother.” Daniel’s mouth quirked up at the side. “I can’t imagine Jack getting married. She must be one hell of a lady.”
Story smiled, relieved at the casual topic. “She is. I don’t remember much about them being married, though. I was so young.” She sent him a mischievous look. “Although I do remember the day my mother and I refer to as
The Reckoning
, if you’re looking for blackmail material.”
“Always.”
“I had a feeling.” Her laughter cut off when Daniel took her hand, then steered her off the street into a park. She looked at him questioningly.
Daniel shot a quick look at their joined hands and shrugged. “This is nice. Just a little longer, okay?”
Swallowing the lump in her throat, Story nodded. “It was a Monday. My mom always made French toast on Mondays, which is how I remember. Jack had forgotten their five-year wedding anniversary.” Her heart skipped when Daniel linked their fingers and squeezed. “My dad came home to find my mother outside, passing out his very rare,
very
expensive Cuban cigars to the entire neighborhood. The pool boy, mailman, and dog walker included…some of them had already started smoking them, including my mother. It was like a giant community smoke-out.”
His head fell back as he laughed. “I’d have given anything to see his face. He treats those cigars like they hold the meaning of life. You know he’s never once let me have one?”
“Really?” She pulled him to a stop underneath a shady tree. “Well, he’s not home right now and I know where he keeps them.”
“Story…” He’d become distracted by the string of her bathing suit once more, worrying the red material between his fingers. “This is a red bikini, isn’t it? It’s the only thing you’re wearing underneath those clothes.”
“Uh-huh.” She ran her hands up the front of his shirt. “I’m not meeting Hayden for another hour. Let’s go home. I’ll let you take it off me.”
Looking utterly conflicted, he raked his bottom lip through his teeth. “Baby, please don’t do this to me.”
“We want each other, Daniel.” Her mouth hovered over his, lips brushing gently. “Why are you being stubborn?”
“You know why.” He gave in to the moment, growling as he took her mouth in a quick, searing kiss. “Being with you in that way is… Sunshine, it’s incredible. But it’s not everything. I need more with you.”
She ran her fingers through his hair and urged him down to meet her for another hot kiss. Lips, tongues, and teeth mated frantically, licking and tugging until Daniel broke away with a groan. “Ah, God. Look at you.” His eyes pinched shut. “I have to go.”
“Why? This is crazy.”
As he backed away, the look on his face said
I can’t believe I’m doing this
. Story was pretty sure her own expression mimicked his. For the second time, she watched him walk away from her, looking seriously turned on and sexy as hell. Maybe even
more
so for denying her. She didn’t want to admit it, but his plan was starting to have the desired effect. Every time they were together, she wanted to give in just a bit more. She saw a little more of him each time, the part that no one else could see but her.
He was proving to her that he was capable of being more than a woman’s plaything. And in turn, Story realized, he was proving it to himself.