“We still are, Dani.”
“At Thanksgiving, when you smiled across the table at me, it was like seeing the Alex of twenty years ago. I missedusso much,” I say, and now I’m crying again. “Why do you think we’re in this place now, Alex? Right here where we’ve landed, looking across at each other this way. In this room, finally talking and finally telling the truth?”
“I guess we had to get a little lost to find each other again. I know without a doubt that I am still in love with you, Dani, and I want to be with you more than anything. You are one of a kind and I don’t want to changeanythingabout you.” He looks thoughtful for a moment, and then laughs. “You are my Times New Roman. The original, bold and classic.”
I’m crying and laughing at the same time. I get up and walk toward Alex. “I don’t think I’ve ever loved you more than I do right now.”
We are kissing. Everything is right.
31
i’m here
Alexander
I roll over and see her sleeping next to me in the apartment bed. It’s been two months that she and I have been sneaking around like teenagers since the night she got arrested. There’s something sexy about meeting her at the apartment. In a way, it forces us to be present. There’s no life chaos swirling around us. We can bestillhere. There’s nowhere to go.
She opens her eyes and looks at me. “Morning,” she whispers.
I run my hand over her hip, caressing it. “Hi,” I say.
“Coffee?”
I shake my head no and then lean in to kiss her. “We’re not very good at being divorced, Dani.”
“Why didn’t we do this when we were married? Why didn’t we take our time?”
“I don’t know, but I do know we need to tell the boys what’s going on.”
I’m looking at Dani, thinking how beautiful she is. Her dark hair is draped over her bare shoulder.
“Have you told Brian?” she asks.
“He was poking around. I said I was dating someone.”
“Ooh, scandalous. What did he say?”
“He said what all guys say to each other, ‘Is she hot?’ ”
“What did you say?”
“I said ‘yes’ of course. Because it’s true.”
“Well, thank you for saying that. We need to tell him what’s going on. I see him on the lot sometimes. Alicia and Mirabel know. I think Lars does too. I’m sure Alicia told Mark.”
“Why do you think Alicia knows?” I ask.
“She said I seemed happy. It reminded her of our earlier years and I guess I reacted a certain way to that comment. She called me out specifically about you, but I ignored her.”
“You’re not very good at hiding your feelings.”
She laughs, then leans over, puts her hands to my cheeks, and kisses me. “Let’s tell the boys at dinner tonight. But can we keep the apartment for a while? I’ll make it my workspace and we can just write it off. I love it here.”
“I think that’s a good idea.” I lean in and kiss her again. “Let’s stay in bed for a little while.”
“Ow!” she yells. “Cramp, cramp.” She’s now bending forward and frantically massaging her calf. I can see her shoulder twitching as she’s rubbing her leg.
“Dani, what is wrong?”
