Chapter 4

CHAPTER FOUR

Dani tested the softness of the mattress by sitting down on the edge and bouncing a few times. She wouldn't consider herself a snob when it came to where she slept, but after spending the night on the uncomfortable cot, she looked forward to something softer. This one felt like heaven.

She had assumed it would be after just one glance. Everything about the bedroom screamed farmhouse chic. Every piece of furniture was whitewashed. The comforter was lacey white with big fluffy pillows placed strategically about. A pink chenille blanket with tassels hung decoratively across the bottom and the room even had sheer curtains.

Next to the window was an adorable accent chair that looked far more decorative than comfy but still made her want to sit in it and stare into the woods that consumed the back half of the property.

The room was straight out of a home magazine. Gage said this house belonged to his boss, but from the looks of it, no one ever used it. Either that or the housekeeper did a phenomenal job keeping the place clean. There wasn't a speck of dust in sight and forget looking lived in. There hadn't even been mail sitting on the counter when she walked through the kitchen. A day didn't go by that the junk mail didn't accumulate on her kitchen island. She thought that was a staple in all homes.

Dani was still in the same position at the end of the bed when Gage softly knocked on the open door. His large presence consumed the doorway.

Gage looked nothing like the boy she knew in high school. Sure, he was one of the few guys who was lucky enough to grow facial hair by the time he was fifteen, but now his full beard hung past his shoulders. She assumed he still kept the hair on the top of his head short but he had worn a backwards baseball cap since picking her up and not once had he repositioned it like the men in her romance novels often did.

His arms and hands were covered in tattoos. And despite his thirty-four years, he had a little gray mixed in with his black beard. It made him look far more handsome than she liked to admit.

Especially right now. With both hands firmly placed on the top threshold of the door, he reminded her of all those videos authors used to advertise their books. She could watch them on an endless loop, that was how sexy those videos were.

Probably why the authors used them.

"Is this the room you settled on?"

Dani didn't need to look around to guess what he was thinking. Nothing about this overly white room spoke to the girl he used to know.

"Yeah," she answered without looking at him. "I like the theme the designer chose. It's calming."

"Calming, huh?" Gage mocked. "Since when do you know the meaning of calming?"

She let out a heavy breath. They were never going to get past things if Gage was stuck on who she used to be.

"Since a year and a half ago when I decided it was time I spoke to someone about my parents and all the shit I went through growing up. She helped me realize I was acting out, and if I wanted my life to change, then I needed to start viewing it differently. It took me a while but I found a version of me that I liked. This new me sees the beauty in these different shades of white rather than finding them sterile and repressing."

The house—if one could call it that—she grew up in had been community housing. All the walls were dingy white from years of smoke damage and they were never allowed to paint anything. As a child, she hated white. She and Gage would spend hours talking about the colors they would eventually paint each room of their house when they moved out, how everything in their lives would suddenly be bright and full of color to counteract the boringness of their childhood.

Teenage her would've cringed in a room like this. But adult Dani loved the look and wanted to take a million pictures so she could recreate it after this mess was taken care of.

When Gage didn't respond immediately, she looked to where he was still leaning on the door. He appeared to be contemplating something. She just wished she knew what it was.

However, she had no right to ask. She lost that privilege when she walked away from him and it would take more than a few words before he would forgive her. She knew this going in. She just wished he didn't have to look so good. It was hell on her patience.

"How did the conversation with your co-worker go?"

"Interesting, but then again it always is. Bree doesn't know the meaning of ordinary."

Another woman's name on his lips sent a jolt through her stomach. She had no reason to be jealous. His parents had insisted there wasn't a woman in his life when she spoke to them last, but it was clear he held some affection for whoever this Bree person was.

"Did she find anything?"

Gage pushed off the frame and prowled in her direction. It was the only way she could describe his movements. He was a man on a mission and she was his target.

"She'll need more than the five minutes she had on the phone with me. Not much longer though. Don't worry, she'll put a rush on it."

Dani deflated at his assurance. Gage was pushing so they didn't have to spend as much time together. She wanted the complete opposite.

"I'm curious about something." Gage leaned back on the cute little desk and crossed one ankle over the other. Then proceeded to show off his incredible biceps by folding his arms so that his tight t-shirt strained to contain his muscles.

The whole package scrambled her brain and Gage didn't miss it. He even had the nerve to comment about it. "Your jaw is hanging open."

That snapped her out of her stupor. "Was there something you wanted to ask me?" She didn't bother to keep the irritation out of her voice.

Gage chuckled. "Actually, there was. How did you get my number? I'm not exactly listed and it's not like I had a cell phone when we were together."

Damn. She thought she would have more time before she had to confess her secret. Gage was always too smart for his own good.

"Ah nope, definitely not listed."

Evasion.

Dani was going to hold out as long as she could because she had a feeling Gage was going to flip his lid when he got his answer.

"You're avoiding answering the question."

She chewed on her cheek.

"Am I?"

"You know you are, Dani. Coy was never something you were good at, so stop trying. Tell me how you got my number." He growled.

Double damn. It sucked how well he knew her.

"Fine," she huffed. "I got it from your mother."

If she didn't know what was coming, Dani would laugh at the shocked slack of his jaw. But she did know. And like a switch being flipped, Gage went from surprised to pissed off in a nanosecond.

There went any progress she hoped she was making.

"You talked to my fucking mother ?"

Dani cleared her throat. "Correction, talk. As in more than once. Several times actually. One of the things my therapist suggested working on was what happened between us. Since I couldn't get in touch with you, I reached out to your mother. We've gotten close."

The last sentence was nothing more than a whisper. She wasn't ashamed of her relationship with Gage's parents. She just assumed admitting it wouldn't help her current situation with him.

"How long?" Gage ground the question out.

"A little over a year?" She had no idea why it came out like a question. She knew exactly how long it had been. It was all in her journal; another thing her therapist recommended she start doing.

She didn't like the sound of his humorless laugh or the words that followed. "Of course they wouldn't tell me. Why tell their son that they’re speaking with the woman who ripped his heart out of his chest and stomped all over it?"

Gage stormed out of the bedroom and slammed the door in his wake causing her to jump at the sudden loud noise.

That was exactly how she feared it would go when she told him about his parents. Any hope she had about making up just went up in smoke.