“Yeah, but I beat you back. Therefore, he would’ve gotten you, not me.”
I balk. “Because I stayed behind you for protection.”
“Your first mistake,” she clarifies.
Unable to resist anymore, I grab her face between my hands, planting a deep kiss on her lips. I don’t want to let her go, but when I do, she raises her fingers to her lips, as if committing the feel of my lips on hers to memory.
Glad I’m not the only one affected.
We wait for Yara to get back with the groceries and then we drink hot chocolate by the fireplace in our room.
I open the window so we can watch the night sky, too.
“Life’s little moments,” I whisper.
She looks up at me, grin as wide as can be. “Life’s little moments.”
Her phone pings and when she leans over to check it, her whole body goes stiff.
“Storm? You okay?”
Her hand was warm moments ago, but now it’s slick with sweat.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” she lies.
I know by now when she’s truly fine and when she’s holding everything inside. “Dani. You don’t have to be fine with me.”
Her eyes search for something in mine. I face her stare head-on to convey to her that I’ll do anything to give her whatever she’s looking for.
She scoots her back and grabs my hand. “That ping was someone sending me an article about a man I used to know.”
“Okay,” I say, void of any emotion for fear of fucking up.
“His name is Nigel Pierce. He owns a modeling agency. He’s not a good guy.”
“I figured that.” My fist clenches involuntarily.
“When I was younger, he demanded things of me. Things I didn’t want to give him, but he told me it was the only way to secure my future. I was scared after my first agent had screwed me over and taken all my money. I couldn’t start over. I thought it would kill me. And he held all the realms of possibility in the palm of his hand.” She looks as though she might be sick all over again, but she pushes it down.
“You did what you thought you had to.” It’s not a question. It’s an escape. I’m trying to release her from the prison she’s undeservedly put herself in.
She shakes her head. “I didn’t do it. He got a phone call, and I took that as a sign to run like hell. I think I’m more embarrassed at the fact that I would’ve done it. I was so desperate I would’ve given up such a large part of myself to hold on to an industry that didn’t give a fuck about me. I spent the rest of my time in New York constantly looking over myshoulder, worried that he’d corner me again or that I’d run into someone else like him. Even when I became a big name, that fear still kept a grip on me.”
“Men like him should be embarrassed, not you. He took advantage of someone he was supposed to look out for. That makes him weak.”
“But I didn’t say anything,” she croaks. “Nothing happened, so I didn’t think there was anything I could say that would stop him. How many other girls suffered because of my silence? That article? It was about him and a newer model he’s taken under his wing. What does that even mean? He doesn’t have wings, he has talons and they are deadly. My silence left him free to continue abusing his power.”
“That’s not on you. That’s on him being a predator.” Although I would like to find a way to get whoever this new model is far away from him.
Once I get Dani settled to sleep, I hit up Rome asking him to help me locate a certain Nigel Pierce.
“I’m thinking we should put those snowsuits to use,” Dani says as we look out the window at the row of cabins that are much clearer to see than they were yesterday. She seems clearer as well. Her confession about Nigel last night left her bone-tired, but she seems to be in better spirits.
“What do you wanna do?” I ask.
“Let’s go skiing.”
“Do you know how?” I ask, genuinely curious.
