She lets out a sigh, and I press the accelerator a little harder. “It was made so much worse by the fact that he’d spent the whole dinner talking about investments and how well he was already doing and how he’s gonna be a multimillionaire by the age of thirty.” She scoffs. “Then he doesn’t offer to pay for dinner? He’s probably got way more money than I do.”
“Yeah, because he makes the girls he dates pay for his fucking meals!” I growl, slowing to negotiate the corner, then picking up my pace again and gunning it to Dani.
I arrive less than a minute later, my heart hurting the second I spot her.
She looks so small and vulnerable, standing on the corner with her arm wrapped around her waist and the phone pressed to her ear.
The second she hears me coming, she spins and hangs up the call.
“Hey, Ty.” She gives me a watery smile as she slips into the car.
“Hey.” I rest my hand lightly on the wheel, taking her in with a gentle smile. “You okay?”
“I feel better already.” She sucks in a breath. “Thanks for coming to get me.”
“Anytime. Where do you want to go now?”
“Can we just sit for a minute? Then I’ll get you to take me home.”
“Sure thing.” I cut the engine and settle back in my seat, angling my body to face her.
She brushes a tear off her cheek before digging a tissue out of her purse and blowing her nose. I let silence reign for a minute while she cleans herself up, dabbing her eyes and cheeks before finally looking at me.
“Am I pathetic?”
“No.” I shake my head. “You’re brave. For putting yourself out there. First date since Atlas. That’s huge.”
And surprising, to be honest. Atlas died years ago now. I figured she would have found her feet and moved on.
But she got stuck.
And now she’s trying to get out… and her first date was shit.
Damn, that’s so fucking unfair.
“I really wanted it to go well.” Her voice is croaky. “He seemed so nice when I met him at the bar last night. My expectations were obviously way too high. I just wanted this to be easy. But it’s not.” She shakes her head, her eyebrows wrinkling. “It’s not gonna be easy at all, and it’s tempting to crawl back into my cave and forget it.”
I brush my fingers lightly down her arm, trying to comfort her but having no idea what to say.
“But if I do that… I’m gonna die an old, lonely cat lady.”
A soft snicker punches out of me. “That is not gonna happen to you. You don’t even like cats, do you?”
She sniffs and nods, her eyes glassing over as she lets out a whimpering laugh. “Yeah. I mean, they’re not all bad, but cats can be assholes.”
I nod because they can, although my Rook is an angel, if you ask me. If you ask my mom, she’s a demon from the underworld.
“I guess I’ll die surrounded by parakeets or something. I don’t know.” Dani’s voice cracks.
“That’s not gonna happen to you,” I repeat. “You’ll meet someone, you’ll fall in love again, and it’ll be great.”
“You don’t sound like you believe that,” she murmurs.
I lean forward, hoping my expression is emphatic enough. “I do. You’re a great girl, Dani. Any guy would be lucky to have you.”
Her smile is sad, her brown gaze aching. “I only ever wanted him. I mean, I wasn’t even looking. I was fourteen… nearly fifteen. He came into my orbit and took over my entire world. And that’s exactly the way I wanted it. I loved him. I loved him with all I had.” She lets out a shuddering breath. “And then he was gone, and for the last couple of years, I’ve just been floating out in space, you know? Tethered to nothing. No one. And…” She shakes her head. “I don’t want to live like that anymore. I miss him.” Pressing the back of her hand to her mouth, she fights tears for a minute, and I just sit there, once again having no idea what to say.
Shit.
