She turned to Tristan now, took hold of his hand as he had done hers so many times when they talked. She met his gaze. “You know how much I wanted a child. The last time Marc and I were together, I mean really together, was around eight months before he died. That night Marc promised that he would slow down his travels and take time to start the family he knew I wanted.”
He felt her tighten her hold on his hand, and he squeezed back. “And you know what hurts, Tris? What really hurts?”
“No, what really hurts, Dani?”
He met her gaze and wished he hadn’t. There were tears there, big tears, and he felt his heart stop. He wanted nothing more than to pull her into his arms, hold her and whisper how much he loved her and tell her that from now on he would not let anything or anyone hurt her again. But at this moment, she didn’t need to hear what he had to say. She needed for him to listen.
“What really hurts, Tris, is knowing Marc never intended to keep that promise. He lied about that like he’d lied about so many other things.”
And then she broke down and began crying in earnest, and he reached out and pulled her into his arms. He held her and told her not to cry, that things would work out fine, and that one day she would get the baby she wanted. The family she desired.
An inner part of Tristan broke, as well. The tears Danielle had refused to shed earlier were pouring like torrential rain. He could actually feel her pain.
And he knew at that moment that he would be the one to fulfill the promise Marc had broken, the one her dead husband had never intended to keep, the one that kept tearing her up inside. He would become her husband one day and give her the love and respect she deserved. He would cherish her, protect her.
She didn’t know it yet, but one day she would.
Chapter 2
Danielle glanced over at Tristan. She knew at this point it would be a complete waste of her time to try to convince him she didn’t need to get away, since they were on the plane, buckled in and waiting for takeoff. The only good thing was that he was coming with her and had agreed that on their way back from San Francisco they would make a stop in Alabama to attend Chris and Renée’s wedding.
She had to admit she was excited about going to San Francisco. She had spent a month in the Bay Area a few years back while doing a photo shoot, and looked forward to going just for fun and relaxation.
She watched Tristan key something into his BlackBerry. She hadn’t wanted him to bring anything work related, but…that was the one concession she had ultimately agreed to when he had taken her up on her offer to come along: that he be allowed to check on things in the office periodically.
“How are things on the home front?” she decided to ask.
He looked up at her and smiled and not for the first time lately, his smile seemed to reach out and touch her in a way it hadn’t before. She found the sensation odd, but was determined not to make a big deal out of it.
“Everything is fine. We should feel good that we have such a great work crew.”
She knew that was true, but there was one thing she felt she needed to say. “Yes, but I see that Karin Stokes likes spending a lot of time in your office.” She could tell by the look that suddenly appeared in his eyes that her observation surprised him.
“Don’t you think that’s rather comical for you to say since she’s my administrative assistant?”
She gave him a pointed look. “She’s also a woman trying to hit on her boss. Trust me, I know. When is Madeline returning from her foot surgery, anyway?”
A part of Tristan wondered if Dani knew she was sounding like a jealous woman. He found it interesting. A slow, easy smile curved his lips when he said, “Madeline will be back in the office by the time we return.”
He looked deep into her eyes. “Does that make you happy?” The same part of him dared her to deny it.
She didn’t. “Yes, it makes me happy.”
And as if that was that, she lay her head back and closed her eyes. Tristan couldn’t stop the chuckle that formed deep in his throat. He wanted to ask her to explain herself, but halted the impulse. Why had she gotten possessive all of a sudden? Not that he was complaining. Still, he couldn’t help but be curious.
Feeling rather smug, he put his head back and closed his eyes, too, remembering the past week. She’d spent the whole week in his guest room and hadn’t returned home. He hadn’t asked when she was leaving and she hadn’t volunteered any information. They simply lived under the same roof in harmony as if it was nothing unusual for him to wake up each morning and find her there and to say good-night to her when he turned in for bed.
He figured it was something about spending so much time at her house—the one she’d shared with Marc—that bothered her, and he was more than satisfied with going to bed at night knowing she was down the hall.
It had been downright difficult to get her to take a trip, but finally he’d managed to work out a deal with her. She was hell-bent on finding this fourth woman, so he had agreed to help her do so if she would get away for a while. So now here they were on a plane in the middle of the week, flying to San Francisco for a few days. He had even tried to get her to agree to a full week, but she had refused, saying that she wouldn’t be able to rest until she found the fourth woman.
Chris had a few leads but had agreed not to do anything until they met with him. As Tristan had explained to Marc’s brother, there was something driving Danielle to be the one to bring closure to what had happened. Somehow he knew it would only be then that she got some kind of emotional relief.
Danielle slowly opened her eyes, tilted her head and looked over at Tristan. His eyes were closed. She wondered what he was thinking about. Was he beginning to think she was a pain in the behind? Was he wondering when she would finally pack up her stuff and leave his house?
She knew she probably should do so soon, but the thought of going home dampened her already low spirits. She couldn’t deal with the anger she felt each and every time she thought about Marc and all the things he’d done.
Deciding to read a book, she reached into her carry-on to grab the mystery novel she had started yesterday.
“You okay?” Tristan asked.
She glanced over at him again. His dark eyes were studying her intently. “Yes. Sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you.”
“I wasn’t asleep. Just resting.”
“Oh.”
“So, what do you have planned for us when we get to San Francisco?” he asked.
“I thought we’d do some sightseeing and a little shopping.”
His eyes widened, as if she’d said a bad word. “Shopping?”
“Yes. You’ve been shopping with me before.”
“I know. Don’t remind me.”
She chuckled. “Was it that bad?”
“No, to be honest, it was worse.
She playfully punched him in the shoulder.
“Hey, take it easy on me, will you? That hurt,” he said, rubbing the spot.
“You’re a strong man. You can take it.”
“Yeah, but it’s getting harder and harder for me to take you, Dani.”
She stared at him, wondering what he meant by that. She parted her lips to ask, and as if he knew what her question would be, he placed his finger to her lips, smiled and said, “Remind me to tell you later.”
Danielle felt the elegance of the