That he thought me capable of so many big decisions made my breath catch. “I’m not sure anyone’s ever trusted me with a pet.”
“I trust you, Danny.” Cupping my chin, he didn’t let me break his gaze. The emotion in his eyes, the way these weren’t simply words to him but rather a vow of some sort, was too much for me. A strangled sound made its way past my clenched lips.
“I…I trust you too.”
“Good. Then trust me to give you a good birthday.” He smiled at me, sweet and tentative like there was even a remote chance of me turning him down. My heart was likely not going to survive Cash, but hell if I could do anything other than hope I was worthy of all the goodness he brought to my life. Trust was hard, but hope? Hope was all too easy, welling up until I had no choice but to smile back.
“It’s a plan.”
Chapter Thirty-Six
Cash
I didn't really do birthdays. I wasn't that guy. As far as I was usually concerned, holidays were days I could work so the guys with families could fight over who got leave. And I would have said I was happy with that arrangement. Before Danny.
After Danny?
Apparently, I did birthdays. Ever since Duncan had mentioned Danny’s birthday, I’d been on a mission to make it a good one for Danny. Making him happy fed something deep inside me, some missing part I hadn't known about until he filled the space. It probably said something about my limited social circle as well that my first thought for a present was to call in a favor from another former SEAL.
Danny being Danny, he was happy for the field trip after a couple of days of hanging around his place bored, and I was glad I’d been able to set this visit up with Jase.
“I’m starting to see the appeal of the suburbs.” He gazed out the window of the SUV as the landscape flattened and the denser buildings gave way to spread-out shopping complexes and sprawling neighborhoods. We were back in my own car, which felt good, not stuck in the temporary loaner from Harley. Little by little, things returned to some sort of normal, and it felt more like this was my real life, with a possible future with Danny possible, not simply playing house in the mountains.
“Something tells me you’ll still be swayed by an ocean view or swank address,” I teased. I was trying to stay out of his house hunt other than offering up security advice, but no way was Danny Love ending up in a cookie-cutter house on a cul-de-sac.
Danny frowned, clearly not sharing my amusement. “Maybe I’d do better in some average neighborhood. Be a normal guy at last.”
“Screw normal. Be you.” Someday I was going to convince him that he was perfect, or at least perfect for me. “Also, you’ve earned a nice place. All that money is yours. You put in the work. Might as well enjoy what it lets you get.”
To me, he’d sacrificed so much, doing a job he hadn’t signed up for and didn’t like. The least he deserved was to enjoy his hard-earned fortune guilt-free.
“I guess that makes sense.” He sighed as I stopped for a red light, and I patted his leg.
“Quit beating yourself up for mistakes you made as a kid.” My voice was stern, but my brain flitted back to Duncan’s worry about me having some sort of rescuer complex. I understood his concern, but Danny was the polar opposite of my folks. He’d seen the path he was on, changed his ways, and I truly believed his changes would stick.
“I’m trying to be nicer to me.” He laughed lightly, then straightened in his seat, voice going more serious again. “My lawyer says the stalker case will likely be settled with a plea bargain. I guess I can chalk that whole thing up to bad luck, not my own poor decisions, but it’s hard not to feel like I must have done something wrong.”
“You didn’t.” I gave him a sharp nod before the GPS on my phone told me where to turn for Jase’s neighborhood.
“Well, I got you out of the ordeal, so I must have done at least one thing right.” His tentative smile held enough hope to make my breath catch. Every time he trusted me with his optimism, my heart beat that much freer, the chains I’d locked down my emotions with for years falling away in the face of an overwhelming need to prove myself worthy of those smiles.
“More than one.” I smiled back before parking in front of an older ranch-style home on a corner lot, same seventies vibe as its neighbors.
“Good.” Danny glanced around the sleepy street, midday sun beating down. “I suppose I can’t kiss you here.”