It was probably all he would have done.The journalists she knew never took responsibility for what they’d written, they were only interested in what they could get out of it—the front-page story, the glory, the name.
A car turned into the parking space in front of her car.It was Caitlin.Dana grabbed her bag and got out quickly.
*
David was standingwith his back to the office door, talking to one of their clients on the phone, his thoughts not on what his client was saying but on the weekend ahead.For the moment, he was alone in the big office his brothers and he normally shared.
He was going to Hermanus tomorrow.He was going to see Dana, and he couldn’t wait.While he wasn’t looking forward to telling her about his involvement with the story about her dad, hopefully he would be able to explain what had really happened.
Ever since Don had inherited a house from their uncle in Hermanus, the four of them tried to visit the beautiful seaside village regularly.He loved Hermanus, loved Walker Bay, especially this time of the year when the whales were visiting.
But, lately, there never seemed to be time to spend there.He enjoyed working with his brothers, enjoyed the challenges they faced every day, the adrenaline rush when deals were finalized, but he hadn’t had a holiday in… Hell, he couldn’t remember the last time he took a few days off.
He would have to talk to his brothers about having a few days to himself.Don took leave for a whole month when he got married, and Dale would also be gone for about a month with his new wife.
Well, he wasn’t getting married, but he would like to be able to take a couple of weeks’ leave.
He blinked.Married?He waited for the usual panicky feeling he got when he heard the word, and lately the word had been used a lot in his family, but he wasn’t freaked out about it as he normally would have been.
Previously, the word would have called up images of husbands gasping for their freedom, hating their new lives, making crude jokes about wives and kids.But after two of his brothers had gotten hitched, although he would never willingly admit this to them, his usual grim view of matrimony was changing.
Both Don and Dale were better versions of themselves after they became involved with the loves of their lives.They were both besotted with their wives and didn’t bother to hide the fact.
David liked women but had never met one who had stirred more than a mild interest.And he wanted more.Simply put, he wanted what his parents had.
After nearly forty years of marriage, the spark they said brought them together hadn’t dimmed at all.Quite the contrary, actually.He loved the way his mom’s face simply lit up when she spotted her husband, and he adored the way his dad always found ways to touch his mother.
And without conscious thought, ever since he’d started dating, he’d been looking for that spark, that moment when eyes would meet and he’d know.That feeling that he simply had to touch the woman.There had been sparks all right.He’d touched his share of women but nothing that lasted.Usually, after one night he couldn’t wait to leave and the spark, or whatever it had been, was gone.
But then he’d kissed Dana Roux.When he’d seen her for the first time, he thought she was beautiful, and he was intrigued by her obvious dismissal of him, but that was it.He couldn’t remember a spark, didn’t remember his fingers tingling because they desperately wanted to touch her.
But after he kissed her, that had changed.He couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but he couldn’t stop thinking about the woman, and he wanted to be with her.He couldn’t wait to touch her again, to feel her soft skin, to taste her lips, to—
The office door flew open.David turned around.Don strolled in, a mocking smile on his face.
“You’re in trouble, my dear brother.To quote a line from one of my wife’s favorite rom-com movies, ‘the shit hath hitteth the fan.’”Don grinned and slapped David on the back.
“Why?What have I done?”David asked.
“Well, you remember the story about Hastings?About Dana’s dad?”
Frowning, David nodded.“What about it?”
“Turns out Dana saw a journalist this morning who told her you were the one who spilled the beans.I thought you were going to tell her?”
David stared at Don, struggling to make sense of his words.
“I was going to tell her, but… she fell asleep,” he ended lamely.He wasn’t ready to talk about what had really happened.“Anyway, I’m planning on going to Hermanus this weekend, partly to tell her the whole story.Who did she talk to?Do you know?”
“Sean… something…”
“Sean Murray.”David swore.“He could have told me he was discussing it with someone,” he muttered.“Why was she talking to him?”
“I’m not quite sure.”
“Where is she now?”
“It has been a bad morning for her.On top of hearing her friend’s brother-in-law is the one who spilled the story about her dad, her car also broke down.Caitlin is going to take her back to Hermanus.They’re just picking up Donato’s stuff; he’ll be staying with Mom until Caitlin gets back.”
