Chapter 11
SADIE
I’m glad the cat is out of the bag, but at the same time, I’m peeved that Danny was so quick to defend my father. He acted exactly how I expected one of my dad’s players would, and it pissed me off. I can’t blame him though. He didn’t know what it was like for me when my entire life fell apart.
I can’t believe I told him we should be friends.
This has disaster written all over it. Despite what I told him, he is my type—or at least I think he is.
I’m not sure. I’ve never been so at ease with a guy before, and maybe that’s doing my head in.
The good thing is, he isn’t interested in dating me—or anyone—either.
We have that in common, so maybe this experiment of being friends with a bloke won’t blow up in my face.
After another fifteen minutes driving on the highway, which went better than I expected, the blue and yellow Ikea building finally looms on the horizon. The car park is half full, which makes me wonder if people don’t have any jobs. It’s the middle of the afternoon on a weekday, after all.
“You’d better pray it’s not a zoo inside,” I tell Danny once I park the car.
“Ah, where’s your sense of adventure?”
“Never had one.”
“Somehow, I don’t believe you.”
He gets out before I can offer him a retort.
For the sake of keeping the peace and also not revealing too much about myself, I let his remark go.
We take the escalator up to the showroom, but since we know exactly what we’re here for, I look for the sign pointing to the store area. Danny veers in the opposite direction.
“Where are you going?” I ask him.
“I don’t know what kind of bookshelf I need yet.”
I groan. “Great.”
To my surprise, he throws his beefy arm over my shoulders and pulls me against his side. “Come on, Sadie. It’ll be fun.”
Alarm bells sound in my head when a ripple of desire travels down my spine and butterflies I never felt in my tummy before spring awake. Being this close to him is wreaking havoc in my body, but I’m too stunned to do anything besides bask in his warmth.
“We’ll see,” I reply weakly.
He steps aside in the next moment, releasing me from his embrace. I let out a breath of relief, but at the same time, I miss his proximity.
Note to self: no more getting close and personal with Danny Hudson if I want to keep my sanity.
The problem is that now I’m too aware of his presence, and the damn insects in my belly are still throwing a rave.
To distract myself from my problematic reaction to Danny, I focus on the knickknacks on display. Maybe I should buy something for my dorm room after all. My bed could use some colorful pillows, and a pinboard would be nice.
I stray from Danny when I find something that catches my eye in the home office section. It’s a print of a picture of London in black and white with only the two-decker bus in color. I stare at it for a moment while I decide if it will work on my wall.
“Do you like that?” Danny stops next to me.
“Yeah. I know it’s cheesy, but it’s also cool.”
“You should buy it, then.”
“It might be too big.”
“If it doesn’t work, you can return it.”
Wrinkling my nose, I say, “That means coming back here. No thanks.”
I pivot around Danny and walk away from him and the picture. I should just stick to my original three items: a couple of pillows and a pinboard. I find one that will fit above my desk and promptly grab it. A second later, Danny pries the board from me.
“I’ll carry this.”
“There’s no need to be chivalrous. You’re not trying to get into my knickers, remember?”
He raises an eyebrow. “Do you think that’s the only reason a guy would do something nice for a girl?”
I shrug. “Basically.”
He laughs, shaking his head. “I don’t know if I should be offended or sad for you.”
“Hey! Don’t you dare feel sorry for me.”
“Fine, I’ll stick with feeling deeply hurt, then.”
I nod. “That’s better. I always prefer when I’m inflicting pain on blokes.”
“Even your friends?”
“Truth be told, I’ve never had a guy friend before. But if you ask any of my girlfriends back home, they’d tell you I’m not one to spare their feelings either. I’m too blunt for that.”
“I don’t mind brutal honesty as long as you can take as much as you can dish out.”
“I’ve got thick skin. Don’t worry.”
We spend the next ten minutes looking at various bookshelves in the showroom until we get to where they’re all displayed together.
Mercifully, Danny doesn’t take long to decide which one he wants.
He takes a note of their model number and where they’re located in the pickup area.
We head downstairs, and on the way to the big warehouse, I wind up grabbing more items for myself than I intended.
“I thought you weren’t one of those girls.” Danny chuckles.
“Shut up. These are all basic necessities.”
“Pillows are a basic necessity?”
“When they brighten my sleeping space, yes.”
“Maybe you should grab some succulents too.” Danny points at the miniature plants in cute vases.
“Oh God, no. They’d be dead in a week.”
He stops offering comments as we continue to the warehouse. Then I try not to ogle him too much as he loads the large boxes in our trolley. It’s pretty hard not to notice the muscles straining against his T-shirt though. The boy is damn gorgeous.
Curse football players and their top-shape physique.
“I think that’s it,” he declares as he turns and catches me staring. A broad smile splits his face. “Are you okay there, Sadie?”
I blink fast, trying to clear my mind of its lust-induced fog. “I’m hunky-dory.”
“Hunky-dory.” He chortles. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone our age say that before.”
“I like to be different.”
His eyes seem to shine with appreciation, making my face feel hot. “Okay, then.”
He pushes the trolley forward, but I lag behind, still pissed that I let him see me drooling over him and also confused about that loaded glance.
“What are you doing back there? Checking out my fine ass?” he teases.
I snort. “Your arse is not that fine.”
“So you were checking it, then?” He laughs.
I walk faster to catch up and, in retaliation, pinch his waist.
“Hey! What was that for?”
“Punishment for being a bellend.”
“A what?”
I sigh. “A dickhead.”
“How does stating the obvious make me a dickhead?”
“When it’s nothing but a bold lie.”
“Fine, Sadie. From now on, I’ll pretend you don’t find my tush appealing.”
“Good,” I say, then immediately realize my error.
Danny smirks but refrains from commenting.
When it’s time to pay, I try to cover the cost of everything since I owe him money, but he doesn’t let me pay for the bookshelves.
“What difference does it make how the money is spent?” I ask.
“Huge difference,” he replies, and that’s the end of it.
He then veers for the line where you can arrange for transportation.
“I think those will fit in my car, Danny.”
He eyes them with a frown. “I’m not so sure.”
“We should try anyway. If they don’t fit, we’ll come back.”
“Okay.”
We return to the garage, and after some maneuvering and a few cursed words, the boxes are in and the boot is closed.
“Told ya,” I say.
“You don’t need to gloat. I’m not a macho man who doesn’t believe women can be right. I know better.”
I snicker. “Your mother obviously trained you well.”
He grins while his eyes fill with pride. “She did.”
I’m not sure what it is about his look, but my chest feels warm and fuzzy all of a sudden.