Page 52 of V is for Valentine
“Anything else?” she asked Danny.
“Nope,” he said easily, and for once he didn’t seem to be keyed into her thoughts.
Probably best for both.
He cast a glance around the room. “Making good progress. I think we will be done by deadline.”
“We will,” she agreed.
“Want to do something to celebrate?”
A frisson of alarm went through her. Why? After all, she had this. “Let’s wait and see how this goes.”
“This” meaning more than just the job.
“You got it, boss.” He gave her a wry salute and disappeared down the hall. That was when Felicity realized she was holding her breath.
She let it out in a low, slow flow.
Seven days. You can do this without messing anything up.
You’ve got this.
Chapter Nine
“Sorry to abandonyou guys tomorrow,” Tess said as she and Stevie headed for the door. “That day job, you know.”
“We’re in good shape,” Felicity said, straightening her bandanna. “Dad will be pleased when he stops by in the morning.”
“I’ll be able to start texturing upstairs tomorrow while Felix finishes down here, thanks to you guys,” Danny said.
If he was aware that he’d used the nickname in an almost affectionate way, he gave no sign, but Felicity sensed that her sisters had noticed. She took care not to look at them. What she and Danny did, or did not do, was not their business. When had she ever poked her nose into their affairs?
Two weeks ago.
Fine. But someone had needed to talk sense into Stevie. The situation with Danny was different,andher talk with Stevie had resulted in a happy ending for her middle sis, so yay for poking her nose in.
After Tess and Stevie headed out the door, she turned to Danny, who surprised her by saying, “I’m going to finish up the last office on this side of the hall. That way you have a fighting chance to get the taping done before I need to start texturing down here.”
“You can take off, you know. We’re on schedule.” And he had his own deadline with his warehouse.
Danny gave her his patented crooked smile. “Maybe finishing on time will help erase your V-Day PTSD.” His voice was low, almost intimate. Or maybe that was just the way he sounded to her now.
“Maybe,” she agreed with a tight smile. She was not going to encourage him by protesting that he was wrong; that it was going to take more than a successful Valentine’s Day deadline to get over the vicious sting of the consequences brought on by breaking her own rules.
“Perhaps I can help.” He took her by the shoulders and pulled her closer, letting his hands slide down to her upper arms as she clenched her fingers into light fists to keep from touching him. And oh how she wanted to touch him. But they were on the worksite.
“Do not break the rules,” she said, her gaze locking with his. He smiled in a way that warmed her to her toes and made her seriously consider breaking rules herself.
“Wouldn’t dream of it. But I would like to replace your bad Valentine’s memories, whatever those might be, with good ones.” bandanna She shook her head and pressed her lips together as a swell of emotion filled her, threatening to burst out if she didn’t get it under control pronto.
“What?” he asked gently.
It was the gentleness that made her take a step back. He didn’t object, instead letting his hands fall loosely back to his sides. She was the one who had to fight to keep from walking into his embrace and resting her head against his chest, which would be too much of a show of vulnerability. She needed to keep things where they were. Friends might comfort one another, but her gut was screaming at her not to give in if she wanted to keep things as they were. Light and easygoing. Easy to walk away from with no bad feelings.
But instead of drawing into herself, which really wasn’t her thing, she gave him an honest look. “Can we leave things as they are?” Her voice was husky, and might have held an uncharacteristic pleading note, but she didn’t care.
“Some things.”
