Page 25

M ost of the time, times like now, Dani felt like she was walking on air.

Others, she felt far too suspicious of her newfound happiness, and found herself waiting for the other shoe to drop.

She hated that insecurity, but knew it wasn’t going to disappear overnight. All she could do was give it time, and she really was trying.

"What time is your lunch?" Zack asked, clearing their plates.

"One o'clock," Dani replied, stretching languidly. "I should probably start getting ready soon."

Zack nodded and threw her a captivating smile. God he was pretty! “Any special plans?”

"Just catching up. Sadie's been holding out on us, and it’s time for her to spill the tea!” Dani paused, pursing her lips. "You know, it's funny. I used to dread these lunches. Now I'm actually looking forward to them."

"Oh?" Zack raised an eyebrow, curiosity lighting his expression.

Dani shrugged, a soft smile playing on her lips.

"Before, I felt like I was putting on an act. Pretending everything was fine when it wasn't. Side stepping the girls when they’d encourage me to go to Iniquity or hook up with a guest. I haven’t confided in them about you and me yet.

I guess I needed time to know things really were going to work out.

But now..." She met his gaze, her eyes shining.

"Now I actually have something good to share, too.”

Warmth bloomed in Zack's eyes. He crossed the room, pulling her into his arms. His lips brushed her forehead as he murmured, "I'm glad I can be that something good for you."

Dani melted into his embrace, breathing in his familiar scent. For a moment, she let herself bask in the contentment that washed over her. But that nagging voice of doubt crept in, whispering that it was all too perfect. She pushed the thought away, determined to enjoy this moment.

"I should get going," she said reluctantly, pulling back slightly. "Don't want to be late."

Zack nodded, releasing her with a gentle squeeze. "Have fun. And Dani?" He caught her hand as she turned to leave. "Remember, you deserve this happiness. We both do."

His words buoyed her as she made her way to the resort's beachfront restaurant, Bahamian Rhapsody. The familiar faces of her friends greeted her, and for once, Dani felt genuinely excited to join them.

"There she is!" Sadie exclaimed, waving her over. "We were starting to think you'd gotten lost."

Dani grinned and slid into the vacant seat. "Sorry, I lost track of time."

"Now from Sadie or Mia, I’d immediately think they’d gotten lucky,” Natalie teased. “But from you it probably means you were working on a Saturday morning.”

Dani side-eyed her assistant. “Well, maybe it didn’t, this time.”

Silence engulfed the table as her friend all looked at her, stunned.

“What?” Dani asked, raising her hands in askance.

“Did you hit the club?” Natalie asked, her mouth hanging open.

Dani frowned. “Of course not.” Why would they think that?

“Ohmygod!” Mia exclaimed. “Did you and Zack Kincaid…”

She trailed off and Dani felt her cheeks heat despite her tanned complexion. The others didn’t miss it, either.

“You did!” Natalie squealed, loud enough to have heads turning.

“Hush!” Dani admonished, looking around, self-consciously.

Natalie bit her lip and subsided slightly, but she was still almost bouncing in her chair.

It was Sadie who reached over and squeezed her hand. “Oh Dani, I’m so happy for you. When I found out Zack was here to help Saul and that whole thing with the mainframe was just a cover, I was sure you’d never give him another chance. I’m so glad you got past all that.”

There was a low buzz in Dani’s ears and the background noise of the restaurant seemed to fade into nothing as she tried to make sense of what Sadie was saying.

Her heart lurched and her stomach twisted into knots while her mind raced, trying to process this new information.

Zack hadn't come to update the mainframe, like he said. He'd been here to help Saul. Which meant... Zack hadn't been honest with her. All this time, he’d been lying to her, telling her what she wanted to hear. Making her think he was here to win her back.

Deceiving her.

Again.

She felt a sharpness in her gut, a jagged feeling that spread painfully through her veins at the revelation.

Pieces started to fall into place, fragments of conversations and little omissions.

Her own goddamned gut feeling. Did he think she would shrug and say, ‘oh well?’ That she was too desperate to care?

Dani swallowed hard, the lump in her throat almost choking her.

Panic crept in, whispering cold truths about how na?ve she’d been to believe in him again.

Her breath caught, and she struggled to keep her composure in front of the others.

Maybe the nagging voice in her head wasn’t just insecurity.

Maybe she’d been right to be suspicious of this happiness all along; right to wait for it to all come crashing down.

Her cheeks burned with a mix of humiliation and anger. She felt exposed, laid bare in front of her friends who were now staring at her with wide, expectant eyes, unaware of the storm surging inside her. Was it all some kind of sick joke? Was she the joke?

Plastering a smile across her face so big it made her cheeks hurt, Dani turned to Sadie.

“Don’t think you’re going to get out of telling us all about Saul Stevens after he stalked in here and stole you away at our last lunch,” she managed to say, proud of the way her voice sounded almost normal.

“It’s your turn first,” she insisted, breathing a sigh of relief when the others agreed.

For the next fifteen minutes, Dani managed to sit and listen to the usually reserved and sensible Sadie wax lyrical about the new love of her life.

Thankfully the others asked enough questions no one seemed to notice how quiet Dani was.

As Sadie gushed about Saul, Dani's mind whirled, struggling to process the bombshell she’d dropped.

She nodded and smiled at the appropriate moments, but inside she was seething.

How could Zack have lied to her like this?

After everything they'd been through, after all his pretty words about trust and honesty? It just proved what she’d always thought.

Words were meaningless. It was actions that mattered.

The way a person behaved. And what did Zack’s behavior say about him?

She’d been through this before with him. Did she really want to go down that road again?

Except… last time she’d run without hearing him out, and there had been reasons. Were there reasons now? And more importantly, did she want to make herself vulnerable enough to find out?

Loving someone means giving them the opportunity to explain when things look bad. Not running as soon as things get tough.

Damn, she hated that little voice inside her head sometimes. She was so freaking confused.

The waiter arrived to take their orders, providing a brief respite. Dani seized the opportunity to excuse herself to the restroom, needing a moment alone to collect herself.

Once inside, she gripped the edge of the sink, staring at her reflection in the mirror. Her carefully applied makeup couldn't hide the hurt and anger in her eyes. She took several deep breaths, trying to calm the storm of emotions threatening to overwhelm her.

"Get it together, Dani," she whispered to herself. "You can't fall apart here."

She splashed some cool water on her face, careful not to smudge her makeup.

As she dried off, a plan began to form in her mind.

She'd get through this lunch, keeping up appearances. Then she'd confront Zack and demand answers. No more lies, no more half-truths. Wasn’t that what he’d said?

She deserved the full story, and she was going to get it.

With renewed determination, Dani straightened her shoulders and exited the restroom. As she made her way back to the table, she caught snippets of excited chatter from her friends. They fell silent as she approached, guilty looks flashing across their faces.

"What?" Dani asked, sliding back into her seat.

Mia bit her lip, exchanging glances with Natalie before blurting out, "We were just saying how amazing it is that you and Zack worked things out. I mean, after everything that happened..."

Dani's stomach clenched. "What do you mean, 'everything that happened'?" she asked, her voice tight. Dear God, don’t tell her there was more. That really would be the last straw.

The others shifted uncomfortably. Sadie cleared her throat.

"Well, you know. You told us he had a wife and that’s why you walked away all those years ago.

Even though you haven’t explained yet, we just think it's great that you two were able to move past it. It takes a strong person to give someone a second chance after finding out something as huge as that.”

“So… are you going to tell us about it?" Mia asked, her expression intent. “I assume this other woman’s no longer in the picture if you’re getting back together.”

The other woman.

Mia’s words seemed to ping-pong around her head like the projectile in a pinball machine, and each time they hit, it bruised a little. Because whatever way she looked at it, whatever the circumstances, she was the other woman.

Maybe the first blow, finding out Zack’s true reasons for being on the island, had left her too vulnerable, but Dani felt the blood drain from her face as the realization hit her as if she’d never known it.

She was the other woman. The very thing she despised and had sworn she would never become.

Her chest tightened, making it hard to breathe.

"I... I need some air," she managed to choke out, pushing back her chair abruptly. She stumbled away from the table, ignoring the concerned calls of her friends.

Once outside, she gulped in deep breaths of the salty sea air, trying to quell the nausea rising in her throat. How had she let this happen? How had she allowed herself to be so blinded by her feelings for Zack that she'd forgotten everything she stood for?

She leaned against the railing, her knuckles turning white as she gripped it tightly.

The waves crashed against the shore, mirroring the turmoil in her mind.

She had been so quick to judge others in the past, so certain of her moral high ground.

And now here she was, no better than those she had looked down upon.

She had turned into her mother.

A gentle hand on her shoulder made her jump. She turned to see Sadie standing there, concern etched on her face.

"Do you want to talk about it?” Sadie asked softly, her expression tentative.

Dani knew the other woman had been accused in the past of trying to head shrink her friends’ relationships because of her job as a psychologist and was a little cautious about offering help as a result.

But Dani knew Sadie was only trying to help.

And honestly? Perhaps a second opinion would help. God knew Dani was struggling to make sense of everything.