Suddenly realizing that they were still standing in the rain, Zach motioned for Danielle to follow him over to the awning of the mini doughnut stand.
They stood there, watching the rain trickle down outside. The smell of fried food mixed with cinnamon sugar filled the air. Zach took in a deep breath and then let it out slowly as the previous events rolled around in his mind.
Something was going on with Danielle. Something that was keeping her from him and he needed to figure out what that was.
He was pretty sure it wasn’t as big as she was making it out to be. Once he got her to see that, then she’d be his. And the one thing he was sure of was, she was meant to be his. This was a fight he wasn’t going to lose.
He was made to be with Danielle, he just needed her to see that.
Chapter Twelve
No amount of hot water thrumming down on Danielle could remove the feeling of Zach’s arms around her or the sensation of his lips pressed to hers. Even now, hours later, standing in the shower couldn’t get rid of the pure joy she had felt when he leaned down and kissed her.
It was like all the broken pieces of her life were brought back together to make her whole again. A feeling she’d forgotten how to feel.
And now, she was pretty sure that every heartbreak, every moment of their lives, was to bring them closer together. Things with Isaac had been great. But her fate with Zach was written in the stars.
He was meant to be hers, and she his.
Except…she had this secret. This life-altering secret.
Jesse.
She’d kept the one link to Isaac from the Stedman family. How was she ever going to explain to them that she’d robbed them of eight years with Isaac’s son?
Isaac’s parents would never forgive—they still hadn’t. And Zach? She was sure he cared about her, but would he still wantanything to do with her when he found out about the truth she’d been keeping secret?
The hot water beat down on her as she leaned against the wall and sobbed.
What a giant mess she’d made of her life. Of Jesse’s life. Of Isaac’s memory. What had started out as an act of self-preservation didn’t seem like that anymore.
Looking back, she realized how selfish she’d been. How keeping Jesse away from a family that would have loved him was wrong.
But she’d made a choice and how was she supposed to change it now? Was it worth it for Zach and the Stedman’s to hate her more? Would telling the truth put Jesse in the middle of the lie she started? That was the last thing she wanted for her son.
There was a soft knock on the door, pulling Danielle’s attention over to the door. Realizing she was probably draining the building’s meager hot water tank, she turned off the water and grabbed a towel, wrapping it around her body.
“Hang on,” she called toward the door as she toweled off.
“Hey, Danielle? There’s a realtor here.” Sunny’s voice was muffled by the closed door.
Confused, Danielle threw on her robe and pulled open the door as she wrapped her hair up into the towel. “A what?”
Sunny shrugged. “A realtor? Said she has a meeting with you.”
Not sure how to even respond, Danielle made her way into the kitchen where she found an extremely well-dressed woman sitting at her table. She was glancing around with a wrinkled nose as she clasped her hands together in her lap.
“Hello?” Danielle asked as she approached.
The woman jumped and stood. Her eyebrows went up as her gaze ran over Danielle but then she extended her hand. “Joy Thorpe,” she said.
Danielle shook her hand and then dropped it to hold the opening of her robe closed. “I think there’s been a mistake. I’m not—I can’t move.”
Joy shook her head. “Oh, I’m here at the request of Mr. Stedman.”
“Zach?”
Joy parted her lips as her cheeks flushed. “That’s right. Zach.”
