Page 40 of Only You
He munched on them as she asked, ‘So, how lucky do you think you are?’
‘Pretty damn lucky,’ he answered, not having to think twice about it.
‘Even the studio session?’
He groaned. ‘Sometimes, you have to pay for it.’
‘Even with…’
The unspoken words lingered in the air and their eyes met. He could see so much of Sabine in them, the worry and the care. But like him, the stakes weren’t hypothetical this time. Yet, his breath still caught as he looked at her, wondering not for the first time what would have happened if they didn’t remember.
As the more sensible of the two, Dani looked away first, sliding off the trunk.
‘I should go and try to salvage some kind of sleep before practice,’ she said. ‘Want me to walk you to your car?’ he offered.
‘Nah, it’s just over there.’ She pointed at a car a few parking spaces away, the space between them empty so he could see her climb in. Yet, she didn’t step away. Instead, she looked at him, curious and worried as she tended to be around him. ‘What caused you to remember?’
The question made him shift uncomfortably under her gaze. There was an easy side to that story, one perfect for the conversation. But there was more to that summer than just some bad headache and he wasn’t ready to tell her that; he already felt like he was lying.
So, he shrugged. ‘That’s a question for another day.’
Something in her expression shuttered close and she nodded slowly. ‘Or another life. Good night, Jones.’
The words felt final but in a much different way than the day they met at the cafe. That was fear but this was logic. The right thing to do.
He got down from his hood and went back into his own car, checking on Dani from the corner of his eye. She was gone within minutes, and only then did he feel comfortable enough to drive home, the adrenaline of seeing her wearing off even as the tenderness stayed.
A week later, Jones was deep in slumber, no dreams visiting him. It was a rare break for him, one that he would appreciate when he woke up. Except today, that would be interrupted by his phone suddenly ringing. He squinted before looking at the clock on his bedside table. 4:25 a.m.I swear if Jair is calling about a studio session I’m blocking him, he thought as he scrambled for his ringing phone.
‘Hello,’ he answered, his voice deep and groggy.
‘Hey.’ He paused at the sound of a woman’s voice. He checked the caller ID and his heartbeat picked up, waking him up. ‘Jones? You there?’
‘Yeah,’ he answered, clearing his throat. ‘Hey, Dani. I didn’t expect you to call.’
‘I’m unpredictable,’ she said. ‘You should know that by now.’
‘Should I now?’
Silence. In person, one of them would have laughed but they both sounded too tired to hit their usual social cues. He blinked a couple of times, almost falling back asleep, when he heard her sigh.
‘I can’t sleep,’ she admitted. ‘You said artists rule the night so… do you mind staying up with me?’
Jones didn’t have to look at his calendar to know that his day was packed tomorrow. He had a doctor’s appointment, needed to email ten different people, co-ordinate with Ross about a project he was working on, and clean his apartment. It was one of those mundane adult errand days that needed him to be well-rested.
And yet, he sat up, getting comfy against his headboard and said, ‘I’ve got all night.’
Chapter Sixteen
Paris
August 1896
‘Where’s Damien?’
Captain Cadieux closed his eyes and breathed out slowly, reining in his frustration.
‘I don’t know no more than what he said in his last letter,’ he said.
