I hadn’t even realized I was holding on to it with a death grip like my life depended on it.
I slowly uncurled my fingers.
“Good girl.” He pulled me upright and then swept me up in his arms bridal-style.
“Where are we going?” I asked, leaning my head against his chest.
“Our room. That was just the appetizer, wife. I’m nowhere near done with you.”
TWENTY-FIVE
Hayden
Something was wrong.I didn’t know what, and Danielle insisted everything was fine whenever I tried to ask, but I wasn’t a complete idiot. I knew there was something bothering her. And I couldn’t fix it if she wouldn’t tell me what it was.
She was still taking her class and spent hours studying old-as-shit-looking books in her old bedroom, but I didn’t think that was what was bothering her. She no longer read at a frenzied rate like she was racing a clock. The dark circles were gone from under her eyes, even with all the late nights we spent not sleeping.
This was different than a few weeks ago.
It wasn’t as obvious. Most of the time she was normal—the girl I’d known since I first woke up to her face in the hospital over two years ago. But there were moments when she’d stare at me like she was waiting for me to disappear. Sometimes she’d reach for me in her sleepand hold on like she needed to physically keep me with her. And then there were the times her mind was somewhere else entirely. She’d get lost in her own head and didn’t see or hear anything.
I’d never imagined how terrifying it could be to watch the woman you love turn into a shell, to call her name and get no recognition whatsoever.
I wanted to climb inside her and battle whatever demons she was fighting. But I couldn’t. Not when she refused to tell me anything.
I slipped my arms around her from behind as she stared out the window at the Charles River. The view was stunning, but I didn’t think she saw it.
“Danielle.”
No response.
I lowered my mouth to the side of her neck, kissing and nibbling. “Come back to me, baby,” I begged against her skin.
It took a couple of agonizingly long seconds, but she gave a slight jolt and then she was tilting her head to offer me better access to her neck.
“Are you about ready to go?” I asked, pretending everything was fine and she hadn’t been unreachable a few seconds ago.
“Yep.”
“We don’t have to go if you don’t want to. My brother and sister will understand.”
She turned to face me with a frown. “Why wouldn’t I want to go?”
I tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “I don’t want to add to your stress.”
“I’m fine,” she said with a wide and very fake smile.
“Please don’t hide from me. Whatever it is, I want to help or at least be here to listen.”
Her gaze dropped, hiding her eyes from me. “You can’t help.”
“Dani, please talk to me. You’re starting to scare me.”
“I tried to warn you,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. “I knew my secrets were going to hurt us.”
“Hey.” I tipped her chin up, forcing her to look at me. “I stand by what I said. I don’t care what your secrets are—they aren’t going to change how I feel about you—but I want to be here for you, to understand.”
“You will. I promise, I’ll tell you everything. Soon.”
