Falling From Grace (Leverage 3.5)

She looked to Miles. “Did you know she’d bought the book for me?”

He chuckled. “No, but I figured she would.”

“I hope you don’t mind,” Lindy said.

Dani hugged the book to her chest and shook her head. “Oh no! Not at all. I was just telling Miles I wanted to buy a copy. Thank you!”

“Now, here’s your homework: I want you to pull up a chair, slather on the sunscreen and then take some time to read it. I hope I’m not exaggerating when I say it’ll change your life. The part of Hattie was written for you but you need to know how Hattie thinks and there’s no better way than to read the words the author crafted for the character.”

Dani stared at the book, a little intimidated by the sheer number of pages of Falling From Grace but she realized if she wanted to change, she had to start somewhere. “I’ve never read a book in the hopes of understanding a character before,” she admitted. “It feels so legit. I mean, this is the real deal, you know?”

Lindy nodded. “Yeah, I know. But that’s how you’ll rise above this noise that’s surrounding you right now. You’re young and your resume isn’t long but you’ve got talent and it’s time to start using it. Immerse yourself in this book and you’ll get what I mean.”

“Thank you,” Dani murmured, tears tingling behind her ducts. This felt so monumental; as if the change were already happening and she didn’t know how to feel about it. Part of her was scared, the other exhilarated. Change was hard. Even if the change was for the better.

“If you can stay out of the tabloids for three months, I can get you insured. Okay?”

Dani nodded. “I’ll try.”

“No,” Lindy shook her head, saying firmly. “You have to take control and make sure that it doesn’t happen. No more clubbing, more hanging out with dubious people. Got it?”

“Okay,” Dani agreed, but a tiny voice in the back of her mind questioned if she could really stay away from the scene for that long. She’d come to crave the wild nights and crazy people, even if it was terrible for her and her career. Raina had a way of convincing her to do a lot of things she shouldn’t. She looked to Miles, knowing he was the key to her salvation. “Will you help me?” she asked in a small voice, knowing she really had no right to ask but she needed him desperately.

“I’ll do what I can,” he answered, not quite giving her the whole-hearted dedication she’d been hoping for. “I can’t put my life on hold forever.”

“Of course not,” Lindy said. “And I appreciate everything you’ve done so far. I know I kinda crashed into your life with my plea for help but,” she glanced at Dani “I think she’s worth it, don’t you?”

Dani held her breath as she awaited his answer. Finally, he offered a small smile and said, “Yeah, she’s worth it” and Dani realized, not for the first time, the biggest mistake she’d ever made was pushing this man from her life. Was there any way to fix it between them? As in, really fix things? Not just a quick bandage fix, but a real healing? She made a promise to try and find out. If not for her, but for Miles because he was a good guy — one of the best.

#

After dinner, Dani went back to the room while Miles hung back for a few minute at Lindy’s request. He knew what was coming and he wasn’t sure how to answer.

“She looks good…sober at least. How are things going? The tension between you is hard to decipher. It almost feels as if you’re still in love with her.”

Should he lie? He couldn’t, not to Lindy. “I do love her,” he admitted, but it didn’t solve anything. No, actually, loving Dani only complicated things. “But you know, we live different lives and I have no interest in following her around in Hollywood to be her arm candy and she has no interest in living elsewhere so loving her only makes things harder.”

“Until she gets some solid footing underneath her, she really should stay away from L.A. The people who put her in this mess will only be waiting for her when she returns and it’ll start all over,” Lindy warned. “And I’m serious about the three-month sobriety. The insurance company needs to know that she’s not going end up costing them too much money.”

“I understand but I can’t force her to do anything. She has to come to that realization on her own.”

“I know. I hope she realizes how much is at stake.”

“Me too.”

Lindy smiled, rubbing his shoulder in sympathy. “She’s gorgeous and stubborn — probably the two worst traits to work against but I think you’ve got an ace up your sleeve.”

“Yeah? Want to clue me in?”

Lindy’s smile grew. “She loves you, too.”

His heart tripled in beat but he shook his head. “Even if what you say is true…she loves her career far more than she ever loved me. And that hasn’t changed.”

“Give it time. She’s young and still consumed with the idea of fame. Sooner or later the shine will wear off and she’ll discover that there’s nothing but tin underneath that fool’s gold veneer.”

“Maybe. But I can’t wait around for her to figure that out. I have to live my life, too.”

She nodded. “I get it, buddy. You’re in a sucky position. Just don’t give up prematurely, okay? I guess that’s all I can ask — and I’m not asking for my movie…I’m asking for you. You’re a good guy and you deserve to be with the woman you love, not the woman that comes along as a replacement, got it?”

His cheeks burned because he knew she was referencing his friend, Julianna — a woman he met a few months ago at the clinic who was in love with the biggest asshole he’d ever met. When he realized that his feelings for Julianna were never on the same level as what he’d felt for Dani, he stepped out of the way for Boston and the two went off and got married. Well, to be fair, Julianna was also pregnant with Boston’s kid so the scales were pretty tilted in Boston’s favor but still… “I hear you, loud and clear. No one can replace Dani.”

“Then don’t you dare walk away unless you know for a fact there’s no turning back. Otherwise, you’ll spend a lifetime always looking for her in another woman’s face.”

Miles nodded at the profound wisdom. “Thanks for dinner,” he told her as he hugged her goodnight. “Get some sleep.”

“Right after I call the hubbo and the kiddo,” she said, breaking away with a yawn. “The jet lag is setting in but I’ll never hear the end of it if I don’t.”

“You’re probably an epic stepmom,” he said, smiling. “And an awesome wife.”

Lindy beamed, not the least bit modest or shy, and agreed. “I am!”

Miles laughed and let himself out, heading for the bungalow to join the woman he couldn’t exactly have but would never be able to forget. There were no easy answers, not that he’d been expecting any, b

ut he wished he could go back in time and when Dani tried to break it off, instead of walking away without a question, he found a way to hold onto her because losing her only to find her again temporarily is a special kind of hell.

-10-

The following day Dani and Miles were buying fresh mango smoothies from a street vendor when someone yelled out, “Danielle!” causing them both to turn. Paparazzi began snapping pictures while another had a palm-sized video camera. They rushed toward them and Miles, unaccustomed to such an intrusion began telling them off, which as Dani already knew, would only encourage them. “Miles,” she grabbed his arm and began leading him away toward the car “ignore them.”

“How am I supposed to ignore them? They’re practically up my ass!”

She sent a glower at the intruding photographers and hustled to the car, irritated and angry that her paradise with Miles had been invaded by the scum-sucking parasites. They climbed into the Jeep and took off, leaving the trailing photographers in their wake. They went straight to Larimar, warned Lilah that they might try to follow and gave strict instructions to give no one information as to their whereabouts.

Once inside the safety of the bungalow, Dani flounced into the sofa and groaned. “I think I was lulled into a false sense of security that they wouldn’t find me here,” she said. “They’re like locusts. Or cockroaches. Basically, paparazzi are the worst of human kind.”