arms wrapped around her, letting her cry against her until her
tears turned into wrenching sobs, until the sobs turned into
shuddery breaths.
“It’s okay,” she said again, even though it was probably the
lamest thing ever. “It’s alright. You only did what he wanted.
You did it because you can’t lose the store. You can’t be
homeless. You did it because you were trying to save me too.
My dad isn’t a stupid man. He knew exactly how to frame that
/> deal. I don’t know what it’s like to have nowhere to go and no
one in your corner because when I needed it most, I had you.
You gave me a place to stay. You fought for me when I needed
it most. I’m going to fix this. If the building is in my name,
then there isn’t anything he can do to stop us from seeing each
other. Even if they cut me off, I doubt he can undo that
because it’s legal now, but who knows. Even if they can take
that away too, I’m not giving up. I’ll figure out a way to make
this work. Us. The art thing. School too.”
Dani let out a long sigh as she trembled in Emily’s arms.
Emily wondered if anyone had ever done this for her before.
Just held her. Been there for her. She couldn’t imagine how
someone could turn out so wonderful after such a shitty start to
life, but there Dani was. She would have sacrificed everything
for Emily, and she never would have said a word.
“I’ll fix this,” Emily promised. She cupped Dani’s face and
kissed away the tear tracks. She rained kisses down on her
forehead, her nose, her cheeks, her lips. Dani was still
trembling, but she kissed Emily back, gently and sweetly, with
a new level of intimacy and trust.
Emily was reluctant to let Dani go, but she knew she had to.
She glanced over at the oven. “Save a few cookies for me. I’ll