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“I almost lost everything that ever mattered to me because I was chasing a ghost.” When he looked away, Lauren knew she’d hurt him with that. “And what about you? How are you, Danny?”
“I’m so confused. I love Heather. I mean, she’s my wife, the mother of my children. She’s kind. Generous. Forgiving. She makes a dynamite lasagna.” His chuckle was soft. “But I love you, too. And I don’t know how I can do both.”
It was Lauren’s turn to glance away as he continued.
“You’re everything I’m not, Lauren. You’re free. You’re open. Everything about you is an adventure. We have this connection—we always have. And you know me better than anyone else. We’re soulmates, I guess, even though that sounds like weird New Age crap. But our lives are so different… you’d have been better off never having known me.”
“That’s not true,” she said, resting a gentle hand on his cheek. “You helped make me who I am.”
He took her hand and kissed her palm. Lauren’s heart stuttered and her resolve faltered as Danny laced his fingers through hers.
“Kiss me,” he whispered.
“Danny…”
“Please.”
She couldn’t say no. Lauren gave him a soft, lingering kiss and felt Danny respond. Passionately. Desperately. The emotions surged through her blood. Lauren knew they didn’t have a future together, but they could have one last night.
The sex was powerful and carnal, but it was tender and sad as well. After, as they lay in Lauren’s bed, exhausted, she knew that it was the last time. She looked at his face, taking in the details and burning them into her memory.
“Part of me will always love you,” he said. “You know that, right?”
“I know,” she answered. “This—thing—between us. A little piece of it will always be there. But it can’t ever be what it was.”
“Lauren—”
“—Work it out with Heather,” she said.
“What?” Danny tensed beneath her hand.
“You fell in love with her once. Do it again.”
Danny didn’t answer. Instead, he rolled up on his elbow and looked down at her. He shook his head. “I don’t know.”
“Don’t know what?” Lauren asked. The way he looked at her gave her pause.
He didn’t answer. Instead, he toyed with some of her dark hair where it spilled across the pillow. Then he glanced at the clock.
“I’m sorry I screwed everything up for you,” Lauren said.
“No, I’m the one who screwed it up. It’s on me to fix it, or at least try to.”
Lauren didn’t say much as she helped him gather his things. They walked to the door, and Lauren gave him a once-over. He didn’t look too rumpled and out of sorts. She looked into his eyes, trying to read his thoughts. He leaned in and kissed her.
“I’ll see you soon,” he said.
Lauren knew that wasn’t going to happen. In fact, there was a good chance that she would never see Danny again. But she couldn’t bring herself to say it. It seemed too callous.
“Bye, Danny.”
She opened the door for him and watched until he reached the elevator. Looking back at her, he gave her a smile that never reached his eyes. After the doors slid shut, Lauren closed the apartment door. With an unhappy sigh, she turned the lock. It sounded very loud—and extraordinarily final—as it clicked into place.
ChapterForty-Seven
Lauren was lying on the floor in Studio B like a little kid, chin propped in one hand as she looked down at her ever-present notebook. She chewed on the end of the pen. The previous week had been spent on shoots for the music videos that would be released along with the singles. It was exhausting and she’d slept like she was dead the night before.
Augie knocked on the doorframe. “We’re going to do a final listen to ‘Sinners & Saints’ before we call it a wrap. Gonna join us?”
