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“I have an early morning,” he explains. “Unfortunately.”

Get a grip, Dani.

“Okay.”

“What are the chances I could see you tomorrow night?”

“Slim,” I tell him honestly. “I have dinner with my boss and the other partners.”

“Sounds like a fun time.”

“Mm-hmm.”

Another long beat of silence before, “I guess I’ll see you in court Friday?”

“I guess so.”

I can’t even tell if the long silences are awkward or not at this point.

“Okay,” Ezra says. “Well—”

“Ezra,” I blurt out, my voice tight.

His tone is expectant, eager again. “Yeah?”

“Me too,” I fumble before clearing my throat to try again. “You’re…in my head too.”

This time the pause is a pregnant one, and I hold my breath waiting for an answer.

“Don’t worry,” he says, his voice warm and light. “I won’t tell anyone.”

I smile in spite of myself. “You’d better not.”

“Good night, Dani.”

“Night, Ezra.”

I hang up first, before I say anything else that I might regret tomorrow. I wait for the embarrassment of my admission to come, but strangely, even several minutes after hanging up, it never does. Even stranger, the feeling that lingers long after I’ve tucked myself into bed, having replayed Ezra’s and my conversation over and over in my head before succumbing to exhaustion—is dangerously close to anticipation.

And I have no idea what to do with that.

Seventeen

Dani

I tell myselfthat the nerves that have taken up residency in my belly are because of our first session in court this morning andnotbecause it’s the first time I will see Ezra since I fell asleep in his arms. It’s not as true as I’d like it to be, but it keeps me from actively dry heaving into the umbrella holder outside the courtroom.

“Are you all right?”

I give Bianca a tight nod. “I’m fine.”

“It does not inspire confidence for my attorney to appear more nervous than I am,” she chuckles.

“I’m not nervous,” I assure her, inserting false confidence into my voice. “I just want to make sure I have all my ducks in a row.”

Her brow quirks with amusement as I flip through my notes. “I have faith in you, Danica.” She peers into the open double doors to the courtroom where a few people are starting to shuffle in. “I think I will take my seat. Come inside when you have sorted your ducks.”

Cool as a cucumber, Bianca Casiraghi. I could take several leaves out of her book. She breezes into the courtroom like the queen she is, and I watch her glide to her seat at our table at the front and sink into it with infallible grace. Despite the fluttering in my stomach, I can’t help but smile.