“That’s fine. I’ll drive you, then.”
“No, you don’t have to.”
“I don’t mind. There’s something I’d like to talk about.”
“Oh. Like what?”
“Bear with me this once, okay? It’s important.”
Danielle didn’t have the heart to say no. Brian was an important part of her past. Even though their relationship ended in a way she’d never imagined, she had plenty of beautiful memories with him. Hearing him out wouldn’t hurt.
Brian dropped the bomb not even five minutes after they drove on the busy street.
“I made the greatest mistake when I cancelled our engagement,” he said. “I was under a lot of pressure from my family. Especially my grandmother. I’ve never stopped thinking about you since we broke up. I’m not happy. I haven’t been happy until I saw you last night. It made me realize that being with you was the happiest time in my life. I wonder if you can find it in your heart to forgive me? I know I’m asking a lot, especially after I hurt you so badly. I wish we could get back to the way we were before.”
Danielle turned sharply in his direction.
“I…might speak too rashly,” he sobered. “At least, can we be friends again, for a start?”
She was speechless for a long moment.
She had fantasized this scenario since they broke up. Brian would realize his mistake and ask her to take him back. Her heart had been filled with anger and betrayal and hurt beyond any words could describe. She then would have her say by letting him have it, shove it right in his face that not in a million years would she take him back, and he could just go to hell.
Now that her scorned-filled wish had come true, she wasn’t angry like before. She didn’t fall apart; she wasn’t upset at all. She even found the whole thing amusing.
“What made you change your mind?” she asked.
“I guess I still love you, Danielle.” Brian coasted the car into the Starbuck’s parking lot and took the farthest spot from the building. “I mean, I’ve always been. And seeing you last night cleared doubt in my chest.”
“You just had this change of heart last night?”
“I’ve been thinking about it for a while,” he admitted with a guilty tone.
“So, if you hadn’t seen me last night, would you still have a change of heart?”
Brian killed the engine of the car and sighed. “Danielle, last night was the first time we’ve been face to face since…” he paused, seemed almost too embarrassed to continue, “that day.”
Well, she had avoided him because she couldn’t bear the humiliation Brian’s grandmother had put her through. Danielle pursed her lips. Really, what made him want to see her again? She wasn’t into him anymore.
For a long moment she kind of spaced out.
She felt like she was forgetting something important. Someone she should see in New York.
Christ. Dane and Collin.
She pinched herself in the arm. She must not forget.
They were her future.
The very thought of them turned her on. The way they touched her. Filled her. Pleased her. Making her addicted to them. One thing for sure, Dane and Collin restored her self-confidence. She was comfortable in her own skin again. She felt sexy and proud of her voluptuousness. Her size didn’t bother her anymore. She was what a real woman should look like—a woman who any man couldn’t wait to get their hands on.
Damn. Why didn’t I say I wanted to be their mate when they asked? A sliver of fear sneaked into her heart. What if I cannot see them anymore? What if I forget? God, I didn’t want to forget. No, please. Anything but that…
“Danielle, are you okay?”
She startled. “Sorry. I was…thinking.”
“I don’t want you to feel like I’m pressuring you.”