Page 172

real.”

Dani’s eyes widened and Emily winced at herself. She was

supposed to not be scaring Dani. There she was talking about

taking things slow, and then she was going for broke in the

next breath.

“I mean, I’ve never been connected with anyone the way I

am with you,” Emily said, trying to explain. “I know you’re

busy and you have your own life. I’m busy too. There are

things I want as well. But that doesn’t mean we have to give

this up or that it couldn’t grow.”

“You don’t know anything about me,” Dani blurted. “I

didn’t grow up like you.”

“You’ve said that, that we come from different places, but

that doesn’t matter to me. I would always accept you for who

you are.”

Dani swallowed convulsively, but then her jaw set at a

determined angle. She looked so unhappy, but strangely

determined, and that scared Emily. “You’ll forget all about

this. You’re too young to understand. This is the first real thing

you’ve had and you’re mistaking it for something that it’s not.

You’re too inexperienced to know the difference.” Dani wasn’t

rude or unkind, and that made it even harder to hear.

Emily had nothing to respond to that, no matter how hard

she fought for words. Forget? How could Dani think she’d just

forget? Too young? She might be younger than Dani, but that

didn’t mean she was too naïve to understand what a real

connection felt like. It wasn’t just infatuation. It wasn’t just

sex. She was inexperienced when it came to relationships, but

that’s why she was asking Dani for time.

Emily had heard somewhere that your head and your heart