Normally the drive from Atlanta to Gainesville—northeast of the city—took an hour to an hour and half, depending upon time of day. Today, the traffic crawled. All lanes of the interstate were clear, but stranded vehicles on the side of the road created hazards. Not only that, but the people who hadn’t been able to travel Saturday and Sunday were out in full force, clogging the roads.
When they finally made it to the outskirts of Dani’s hometown, she had a tension headache and an empty stomach. Peaches had slept the first hour and cried on and off the rest of the trip. Nathaniel pointed out a popular steak house. “Do you want to stop for dinner before we check in?”
The thought of juggling a cranky baby was daunting. “Would you mind if we ordered pizza and had it delivered to the room?”
“Not at all. I should have thought of that.”
The all-suite hotel Dani had chosen was part of a chain, but a nice one. A friendly bellman helped them wrangle all their stuff upstairs and beamed when Nathaniel tipped him generously. The young man wanted to linger and discuss the Hummer’s unique features. Dani eased him out the door. “We need to feed the baby. Thanks again for all your help.”
Nathaniel collapsed in an armchair and rubbed his temples. “I never want to make that drive again.”
“Me, either,” Dani said, feeling guilty. “I had no idea it would be so bad. I’m sorry I dragged you into this.”
He gave her a tired smile that still had enough wattage to curl her toes. “I came along of my own free will. Besides, this may be the only time in my life I can justify the Hummer.”
“Was it worth the price?”
“Every penny.” He kicked off his shoes. “Let me have the baby, and you order our pizza. I’ll eat anything but anchovies. And onions.”
“Sounds good.”
Often, when Nathaniel decided to work through lunch at NCT, Dani was the one who ordered meals brought in. It wasn’t unusual for the two of them to sit together in Nathaniel’s office and eat while he kept working and she took notes or sent emails at his request.
Never once in those situations had she ever felt self-conscious or weird. Tonight, every moment felt like new territory.
Fortunately, the local pizza place was close by. Delivery was prompt and efficient. While Dani handled the meal order, Nathaniel gave Peaches a bottle. He was an old pro at it already. Soon, Peaches was asleep. They spread a blanket on the rug near them and put the baby on her tummy. She scrunched her cute little face and drew her knees under her, her bottom tilted upward in her favorite sleep position.
While they consumed the hot, extra cheesy ham-and-pineapple pizza, silence reigned. Dani knew she should come right out and tell Nathaniel she was looking for another job. He would probably be pleased. It would be impossible for things to go back to the way they were at the office. After this bizarre Christmas weekend that was both wonderful and challenging in equal parts, life was going to be very different.
Dani wasn’t scheduled to go back to work until January 3. She’d banked the last of her vacation time to give herself a nice, long holiday at the end of the year. Her plans for the remainder of this week were modest: clean out her closet, see a couple of movies she had missed and stock up on groceries to cook healthy, yummy meals for January.
She didn’t always make New Year’s resolutions, but this time around was different. In the spirit of being proactive, she would schedule herself an appointment on Nathaniel’s calendar for that first day back, sit down with him and quit her job face-to-face.
Just thinking of it made her hands clammy and her stomach queasy. The boss was a holy terror when he was mad. Woe to the person who became the focus of his icy cold displeasure. Still, only a coward ended a job or a relationship with a note, online or otherwise.
Nathaniel tapped the edge of the box. “You want to share the last piece?”
“It’s all yours,” she said.
If Nathaniel had even once offered a single shred of evidence that he was thinking about a future for the two of them, she might have found the courage to tell him she loved him. After all, nothing dictated that the man had to be first to lay his heart on the line.
Unfortunately, Nathaniel had done nothing to indicate a desire for permanence.
Which meant that tonight and tomorrow were it.
Without saying a word, he gathered up the empty pizza box and the paper plates and napkins, and carried them out to the trash chute in the hall. When he returned, he lifted an eyebrow. “What’s wrong, Christmas elf? I’ve never seen you bite your fingernails.”
She jerked her hand away from her mouth. “Nothing’s wrong,” she lied. “I might be a tiny bit nervous about tomorrow, that’s all.”
They had been sitting on the floor with their backs against the sofa. He dropped down beside her and put a hand on her knee. “Peaches and I can always stay here. Your brother could pick you up and bring you back.”
“I want you to come,” she said slowly. “I just don’t want anybody getting stupid ideas about you and me.”
It was the perfect opening for him to make a suggestive remark, or even admit he wouldn’t think that was a terrible idea if it happened.
Nathaniel did neither.
Instead, he picked up his phone and began looking at emails. “I thought I would hear something from the investigator by now.”
Dani swallowed her disappointment and hurt. It wasn’t Nathaniel’s fault she’d been weaving fantasies. She stood and crossed the room to put some distance between them. “Did he say how he would start his search?”
“I imagine he’ll follow the credit card trail. That seems to be the easiest route.”
“Except if Ophelia got stuck in one place like we were, there might be no credit card activity to find.”
“True. But even if that were so, I’m betting today is different. As soon as transactions start popping up, he’ll find her.”
“I hope so.” She crouched beside the baby, already half in love with Peaches herself. “She’s so sweet and good-natured. I hope that means Ophelia is a good mother most of the time.”
Nathaniel’s expression darkened. “I didn’t have much of a mother at all, but I turned out okay, didn’t I?”
“Of course,” Dani said lightly. If you don’t count the fact that you’re distrustful of women in general and emotionally closed off to a clinical degree. “I think there are a couple of bowl games on. If you want to watch them, I’ll read for a while. I grabbed a book when I ran up to the apartment.”
“You don’t mind?”
“Not at all.”
The tension between them was impossible to ignore. Big emotions were at stake, but Nathaniel wouldn’t talk about them, and Dani couldn’t. The result was an uneasy truce.
Peaches woke up after an hour. The atmosphere in the hotel room eased after that. The baby provided not only a center point for conversation, but plenty of hands-on work to keep them busy.
At almost ten, Nathaniel’s cell phone dinged. His expression was triumphant as he read the text. He looked up at Dani with a grim smile. “She bought gas and groceries in Decatur.”
“That’s good, then—right? She’s still in town?”
“Unless she’s headed north to run away.”
“Don’t think like that,” Dani said. “Being the mother of an infant is stressful and emotionally draining. I’ll bet Ophelia had a freak-out moment for some reason, and she brought the baby to you. Once she gets her head on straight, she’ll want Peaches back again.”
“Let’s