A smile curled her lips. “Am I really hearing you call me ‘Dani’ now and again?”
“So what if I do?”
The smile that took over her lips made my chest swell with pride. This was the girl I saw behind those eyes. She was more powerful and much stronger than she recognized. And I had a feeling that had to do with how she was raised. Raised as a girl to keep her head down and her nose in books. To speak when spoken to, and nothing else. To follow the commands of others instead of the beat of her own drum. And while I was guilty of playing on that with her in the past, I made a promise to myself as my smile slowly grew to match hers.
I’ll help you find yourself, Bambi.
“I like the jeans.” Her voice broke my trance.
“I figured you might.”
Dani swatted my chest. “Yeah, after tossing me seventeen different pairs.”
I paused. “You counted?”
“There are a lot of things I do that you don’t realize.”
My hands slid to her lower back. “Well then, I can’t wait to figure out what the rest of them are.”
“I really do like these jeans, though. How much are th
ey?”
I shrugged. “Why does that matter?”
“Well, I was hoping to get myself another pair. Maybe in… black?”
I growled softly. “What makes you think I’m letting you pay for anything?”
“You don’t have to pay for everything. I do have some money to throw around.”
“And I promised you I’d make things up to you. Let me do this. Just go with it.”
She sighed. “Fine. But I buy food next time.”
“Oh, no. Not a fucking chance.”
“Hey, I’m serious now.”
“So am I. When you’re with me, I pay.”
“When do I get to pay, then?”
I shrugged. “When we’re ordering takeout. But I’m still the one tipping the driver.”
She giggled. “Oh. Oh, yeah. Right. Of course. Totally.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Are you mocking me?”
She smiled. “If you have to ask…”
I swatted her ass cheek. “Bad.”
Her cheeks flushed that beautiful color I never could ignore. “Max.”
“Too far?”
“No. I mean, I don’t know. Just--well…?”