“His name is Amsel,” I said. “Apparently, it means ‘blackbird’ in German.”
“Dane’s father was German.”
“Yes. He’s very proud of his heritage.”
Her gaze snapped from my child to me. Panic flashed through me. I’d just referred to Dane in present tense.
“Um, so, maybe I should take the baby,” I carefully insisted as I reached for Amsel. “Because I have more to tell you. In fact, you might want to sit down.”
Her gaze never left my face as she eased into a plush chair.
I pulled in a deep breath. Let it out slowly. Then plunged forward.
“Dane and I married last fall. The day after Thanksgiving, to be exact. Ethan, Amano, and Jackson were all present as witnesses. Guests. Whatever. We kept it covert because of the problems happening at the Lux and some complications with the original investors. Dane wanted to protect me. This was before I was pregnant and before the blast at the resort.”
Mikaela’s sculpted brows furrowed. “I can’t believe he didn’t tell me. He didn’t keep things from me as a rule. We were very close.”
“I understand. It was just a really tense time, a volatile time. It wasn’t a trust issue, Mikaela. It was survival tactics. Nothing personal.”
“Sure. Right.” Though she didn’t look convinced. And the hurt feelings were not only etched across her stunning features, they also laced her tone. I felt wretched.
“The thing is,” I forced myself to continue. “Life following the explosion has been insanely precarious. Dangerous, mostly.”
“I don’t understand. Why? The Lux was destroyed. Dane was killed. What more could possibly have happened?”
“A lot.” I didn’t have the heart to outline all of the insidiousness. As it was, I could see she struggled to make sense of what I shared with her. “Suffice it to say that Kyle—whom I’m sure you remember meeting when we visited your market in Old Town—has taken it upon himself to protect me and Amsel. As Amano did for Dane after Dane’s parents died.”
“Dio mio. That’s a horrible history to have repeated.”
“Yes. Except…” My stomach knotted. Here came the really tricky part of this tell-all. I squared my shoulders, looked her in the eye, and said, “There’s a bit of a difference in the scenarios. A twist, if you will. A fortunate one, even.”
From her mystified expression, I could tell she had absolutely no idea what I was getting at, even with my earlier slip when referring to Dane.
I licked my gloss-covered lips out of nervous habit. She wouldn’t strike me while holding a baby, I was sure of it. Yet I had no doubt she’d have an explosive reaction to my news. I wouldn’t blame her.
“You see,” I began. “There was a lot of debris and confusion and chaos that night the lobby of the Lux went up in flames. Thankfully, I was the only employee hospitalized. Others were injured, but not as badly as me. Or Dane and Amano. Dane especially.” My eyes squeezed shut as I tried to block out the sight of him with angry, fresh scars and a severe limp. Even the gunshot wound of late flashed in my mind, the sight of all that blood making me instantly queasy.
“Ari, darling. You don’t have to torture yourself by explaining the details. I know how devastating—”
“There’s more,” I interjected, my lids flying open. “And really, I’m not going to draw this out and torment you. I’m just going to rip the Band-Aid off. Quickly. Anything I can do to spare you more agony.”
“Please, whatever it is, I’m dying to hear. Without you suffering any more than you currently are.”
We were both suffering. I saw it clearly, painfully.
Our gazes locked and all I could think was that if I were in her shoes I wouldn’t want a lie to keep me from a relieving truth. A life-altering truth.
I took a deep breath.
“Ari,” she implored.
This was no easy revelation. But what choice did I have?
I gave her an unyielding look and blurted, “Dane’s alive!”
chapter 14
I gasped.