25
HAWK
I’m staringat my phone, thumb hovering over her name, about to hit call when the screen lights up.
Daniela.
I can’t help the grin that pulls at my mouth.Kismet.The timing’s too perfect to be coincidence.
“Dani,” I say.
For a few seconds there’s only the sound of her breathing.
“Are you okay?”I ask.
“I’m… worried about Belinda,” she says finally.Her voice wavers, the way it does when she’s trying not to show she’s scared.“I can’t stop thinking about what might be happening to her right now.”
“Of course you can’t,” I say softly.“You’ve got the biggest heart of anyone I know.”I pause, dragging a hand through my hair.“I should’ve been there through all this.I had some fires to put out on my end, but that’s over now.I’m all yours.”
A pause.Then, quietly, “Good.Because there’s nowhere on earth I’d rather be tonight than with you.”
That line…
The way she says it…
It knocks something loose inside me.“You have no idea how much I needed to hear that,” I admit.“Because I’ve got something planned for us.A surprise.”
“A surprise?”she repeats.“I want to be with you.But I thought we were kind of in a rough patch.”
“Yeah, we were.”I smile faintly.“Still are, maybe.But that’s exactly why I want to do this.You deserve more than waiting for me to get my shit together.”
She exhales.“I just…got the impression you didn’t want to see me until all the other crap was handled.Like… Like I was one more thing on the list.”
“That’s the problem,” I say.“My whole life, I’ve been the Bellamy fixer.The guy who keeps everything and everyone stitched together.When something breaks, people hand it to me.And I thought that’s what love was, too—patching things, solving things, managing things until they behave.”I pause, watching the road ahead of me.“But the one thing in my life that doesn’t need to be fixed is you, Dani.You’re the only part that makes sense just as it is.”
She doesn’t answer for a beat, and I can picture her face perfectly—her brows knit, lips parted, trying to decide if she believes me.“Then what’s the surprise?”
I glance at the GPS glowing on my dash.“After the blood test, we’re going out to an amazing dinner.”
“Hawk…”
“I know you haven’t felt like eating,” I say, “but let me do this for you.Please.Ineedto do this for you.”
That’s a crock.Sure, I want to do this for her.But I’m doing this for me just as much.I miss her, damn it.I love her.I know she’s going through hell, but I need to be with her tonight.
She sighs.“Oh, Hawk.I want to be with you tonight more than anything.”
My heart skips.She sounds sincere, so why the reticence at first?Easy enough to answer.Belinda.She’s worried.I am too.
“Good,” I say, voice low.“I’ll be there in thirty minutes to pick you up for the appointment.”
* * *
I pullup to Vinnie and Raven’s, put the truck in park, and walk to the door.
Daniela opens it before I can even knock.
She looks gorgeous in black leggings and sandals and a white oversized tunic.Her hair is pulled back in a ponytail, and her lips are painted a glossy red.Other than that, no makeup.She doesn’t need it.
