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“Harley? Nah. He’s a vault.” Duncan made a dismissive gesture with the croissant. “But I have eyes. I couldn’t understand why Danny was so freaked yesterday and figured his obsession with your injury was a massive case of hero-worship, but then I saw how you looked at each other like there was no one else on the planet.”
“You didn’t say anything.” I blinked because that wasn’t like him at all to let something drop.
“I know you, Money.” He shrugged, but then his tone turned somewhere between resigned and pissed. “I knew you’d come to me, and right then wasn’t exactly the time to light into you.”
“You’re mad?” I was trying to follow his train of thought, but my mind was still reeling from him figuring it out on his own.
“Well, I’m not pleased.” Duncan sighed heavily and tore his croissant in half. “You’re a risk to each other, and I can’t decide who I’m more worried about.”
I frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Like I said, I know you. You’ve mentioned your folks here and there. From what little you’ve said, things weren’t great at home. I only hope this isn’t some sort of rescue complex of yours.”
“Danny rescued himself. He doesn’t need me saving him. Maybe all he needs is someone to love him.” I hadn’t managed to say the L-word to Danny the night before, but somehow the word rolled right off my tongue, no hesitation with Duncan. This thing with Danny truly was lightning fast, and yet somehow, I simply knew, in a way I hadn’t known much in my life.
“And you think you’re the right person for the job?” Duncan raised an eyebrow, expression remaining hard to judge exactly how upset he was, features firm
“Yeah. Probably don’t deserve him, but if he wants to put up with my cranky ass, I’m not gonna object.” I tried for some humor, but Duncan didn’t laugh.
“What happened to not wanting to settle down? Refusing to commit to staying in LA? Your big road trip plans?”
I held up my hands to show I didn’t have all the answers, but I struggled to find the words to explain nonetheless. “Perhaps I was the one who needed rescuing, not him. I was…it’s hard to describe, but I was sleepwalking through my own life. Deliberately not seeing stuff.”
“Like the fact that, apparently, you dig dudes now?” He gave me a pointed look before taking a bite of his roll.
“That.” I wasn’t going to apologize for not telling him sooner what I hadn’t figured out for myself. “How much being alone was costing me. How unhappy I was.”
“And Danny makes you happy?” He continued to sound frustrated, but there was a curiosity there that gave me hope.
“He does.” I met his gaze, held it, tried to let him see even more than I could voice.
“Fuck.” He groaned and looked away, pacing back to where he’d set the coffees. “I feel stupid that I didn’t see it sooner. Or realize you weren’t happy. Feels like I should have known that much, at least.”
“Someday, you’re going to realize you’re not in control of everything.” Shaking my head, I laughed. He joked about me having a rescuer complex, but he was actually the one out here trying to save everyone from themselves. “I didn’t know most of this either, not really. But now I’ve seen what I want. That direction you were so keen on me finding.”
“I didn’t mean for you to…” He trailed off, making a vague gesture with his coffee that was probably supposed to encompass Danny and me getting together. “Hell. Maybe I should have known this would happen.”
“Nah.” I duffed his shoulder. “Hang it up, control freak. None of us could have predicted this. But I’m not going to apologize or pretend I regret it happening.”
“I don’t want either of you hurt.” He slumped against the pantry door. “You change your mind, decide coming out is something you don’t want to deal with or that you really do want that road trip, that could be a huge setback for him. He’s vulnerable.”
“He’s stronger than you think.” I’d thought like Duncan at first, but then I’d seen Danny’s iron core, his sunny soul, the optimism that seemed to pulse in his veins. “And I’m not changing my mind. When have you ever known me to not keep my word?”
“Never. You’re as good as they come.” He nodded at me before tipping his head back against the door, closing his eyes. “My family is so fucked up. I haven’t been the best big brother for him, but he’s pretty much the only family member I can stand. Danny’s the best thing my dad did, that’s for sure.”
“You might try telling Danny that.” I kept my suggestion gentle, even though it frustrated me how Duncan, like the rest of the world, seemed to want to keep Danny locked at fifteen, a perpetual problem child. “He thinks you see him as a screwup.”
