“When have I ever stuck around?” Yeah. That was bitterness in his voice, all right. He heard it loud and clear.
Tag shook his head. “Get in fast, get out quicker. Yeah. I know how we worked in the service. You could choose to do something different this time. You know that, right? If you wanted, you could choose to stay.”
Daeg shoved to his feet. He was too restless to sit still, and the phone number scrawled on the paper glared at him, requiring an answer he didn’t have. Stay. Go. Re-up or sign on with Deep Dive and put down some roots.
He jammed his hands in his pockets and his fingers met paper. He’d left the notepad behind, but he’d taken Dani’s list with him. She’d penned one incredible, sensual bucket list, and he’d only just gotten started on making all of her fantasies come true.
Maybe he should have told her he’d found the list. It did gave him an unfair advantage. But she was so sure she knew everything about odds and probability, he liked having this small edge.
Still, the inside knowledge hadn’t helped him that much. She’d shown him the door fast enough this morning. He told himself that was okay. That it was a good thing she’d turned his offer of long-term down flat; he knew empty words when he heard them.
“Think about it,” Tag encouraged when Daeg headed toward the door. “Our offer still stands. You want a place here, you got it.”
* * *
SWEET MOON WAS almost cleaned up.
Unfortunately, days spent slinging a shovel and filling trash bags hadn’t helped clear her mind any. Nor had she been able to sleep when she’d finally tumbled into bed. So much for thinking of an honest day’s labor as the ultimate sleep aid.
All she had to show for her efforts were two fresh blisters on her palm and purple circles under her eyes.
She replayed Daeg’s parting words over and over. When had he decided he was in the market for commitment? She wanted to go back outside with a shovel—or better yet, the chain saw—but there was nothing left out there to fix. Daeg Ross was supposedly hot summer sex. Nothing more. And yet somehow, Mr. All Wrong had almost become Mr. All Right.
Maybe she should tidy the office. Organize a few filing cabinets.
Hard labor would eventually have to distract her from how much she already missed him. Less than two days and she was already thinking about going after him. And she really didn’t want to do that. There was nothing safe about chasing a relationship with Daeg. He always needed to be first into the water and he took risks that scared her. She was not ready to love a man like that.
Love.
Was that really the word she wanted to use here? Sure, she had feelings for Daeg, feelings that his parting shot about risks couldn’t erase. He was right about that much. She didn’t like taking risks. He was the biggest chance she’d ever taken, and she wouldn’t forget those times, especially the night she’d been wrapped up in his arms while the storm had thundered overhead. So the question was: Even if she wanted to be brave enough to do this, how did she overcome a lifetime of caution?
When the bell tinkled over the office door, her head came up and her heart started a pathetically hopeful dance. Maybe Daeg had done some rethinking? And maybe she needed to move on and get a life.
The couple standing in the doorway, however, was not who she’d expected—or hoped—to see. Her grandparents looked tanned and relaxed. The next few minutes were all hugs and kisses and exclamations. Maybe a few tears, too. Happy ones.
“But how did you get here?” Dani asked, bewildered. The cruise ship wasn’t due to dock in Los Angeles for another day. And she’d heard rumors of a special present from her father, who was presently riding a real estate wave and flush—the honeymoon suite at the Beverly Hills Hotel. No, her grandparents shouldn’t have been home for at least three more days.
“Took a taxi.” Her grandfather waved a vague hand toward the driveway. “From town.”
“Is something wrong?” Surely she would have heard, or at least merited a phone call. “I didn’t expect you back so soon.” She had the itinerary printed out and taped by her desk. She knew the dates without double-checking.
“Of course not.” Her grandmother’s lips twitched, and then she looked at Dani’s grandfather and sighed. “He said there was no point in finishing the sail to Los Angeles, that we’d just have to turn around and drive right back.”
“The ship brought us to our own front yard.” That particular twinkle in her grandfather’s eyes had always heralded mischief. “What else was I supposed to do?”