Chapter 45
SADIE
Monday morning after the attack was strange.
Lots of staring and gossiping. By Tuesday, no one gave a crap that I almost became another blonde casualty in a horror movie.
Gwen is still behind bars. It’s likely her lawyer will plead insanity.
As long as she’s locked up, I don’t care where she winds up.
Prison, psych ward—it’s all the same to me.
I’m finishing a paper in the library when Danny finds me. He drops into the seat next to mine and kisses me soundly on the cheek.
“Hey, sugarplum. Are you done?” he asks.
“Nearly. I need another minute.”
“What’s the paper about?”
“An analysis of the lyrics of ‘Julia’ by The Beatles.”
“I don’t think I know that one.”
“It’s less popular for sure. It’s the only one in their entire catalog recorded by John Lennon alone. It’s supposed to be an ode to his mother.”
“Ah, gotcha.”
I’m just about to hit the Save button when Danny’s phone pings. A few seconds later, I see from my periphery the sudden tension on his face.
“What’s wrong?” I turn to him.
“I just got the test results from the lab.” He looks up. “I’m not a match.”
Hell. With everything that happened, I forgot about the bloody test. Judging by the stunned glint in Danny’s eyes, the results were not what he was expecting.
“We knew it was a long shot,” I say. “How do you feel about it though?”
“I’m not sure.” He runs his fingers through his hair and looks away. “He’s a piece of shit for what he’s done to my mother and his wife, but after meeting my half brother, hearing his plea, I feel bad that I can’t help the douche.”
I cover Danny’s hand with mine. “At least you tried. Maybe they’ll be able to find another donor.”
“Yeah, maybe.” He stands suddenly. “I need to see my mother.”
“Isn’t she working today?”
He shakes his head. “She has Tuesdays off.”
“Do you want me to come with you?”
His forehead crinkles. “Don’t you have class after lunch?”
I close my laptop and get up too. “Eh, I’m still too traumatized. I can’t be arsed.”
Danny’s furrow deepens, and I guess he didn’t get my joke.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake. I was taking the piss. What I meant to say is that you’re more important than some stupid lecture.”
He cracks a tiny smile. “Oh, okay, then. And yes, of course I want you to come.”
I collect my things, and we leave the library together. His arm is around my shoulders, possessively, and I confess it feels so bloody nice. I don’t care about feminism when it comes to him. I love being claimed by Danny.
He texts his mother as we walk to the car, getting an immediate reply.
“She’s asking what you’d like to eat for lunch.”
“Anything, really. I’m not that picky, but ask if she has cookies.”
He chuckles. “Don’t worry. She’ll have cookies.”
“Oh, I almost forgot to tell you. I spoke to my mother before class this morning. She and Dominic are coming to visit me at the end of the month.”
“That’s great. You must miss them a lot.”
I bob my head up and down. “I do. You know Mum was frantic when she learned about Saturday’s incident. It was hell convincing her that she didn’t need to drop everything to come see me.”
“I think you’ve told me that story a few times, babe.”
I hit his chest with the back of my hand playfully. “Bellend.”
He laughs, making it hard to pretend to be angry at him.
“Who will be hardest to impress, your mother or your brother?”
I snort. “You’ll have Mum wrapped around your finger in a second. Dom will be a bit trickier, but the worst of the lot is definitely Dad.”
“Hopefully I’ll return to his good graces once we give him grandkids.”
A fuzzy and warm feeling spreads through my chest. I love hearing Danny talk about our future. Getting married and having kids were never part of my vision board. It’s crazy how one person can make you see the world in a different light. Now I can’t imagine my life where he’s not in it.
I glance at him and notice that, despite our easy banter, there’s tension around his mouth.
His arsehole father must be still weighing heavily on him.
To take his mind off the wanker during the ride, I purposely keep the chat light.
We talk about our favorite shows, movies, and songs.
We rank Will Ferrell’s movies from best to worst, then disagree about Hermione and Ron’s pairing in Harry Potter .
He thinks she should have ended up with Harry, and I’m a total shipper of Hermione and Draco.
I earn an “are you mad?” look from him for that one.
In fact, the discussion lasts until we arrive at his mother’s.
The delicious scent of freshly baked cookies reaches us out in the hallway. My stomach grumbles loudly in appreciation. It’s already past one, and I only had an apple for breakfast.
“You’re not going to judge me if I go straight for dessert, right?” I ask.
“Are you kidding? I’ll totally judge you.”
He opens the door and calls for his mother. She appears in the living room, holding a tray of cookies.
“Hello, darlings. I hope you’re hungry.”
“Famished,” I say, following the tray with greedy eyes.
She sets them on the coffee table and says, “Lunch is ready. Go wash your hands.”
“What are we having, Mom?” Danny asks.
“Pasta carbonara. I hope it’s okay, Sadie.”
I grin. “Oh yeah. I love Italian food.”
She beams and then heads to the kitchen.
Danny veers off the corridor, and no sooner does he give me his back, I step closer to the cookies.
“Don’t even think about it. Wash your filthy hands first, piggy,” he says without looking over his shoulder.
“Joy killer,” I mumble.
I follow him into the bathroom in the hallway. He washes his hands first, then watches me with keen attention as I wash mine. I glare at him through the reflection.
“You’ll pay for this, Potter ,” I say in my best Draco impression.
He spins me around before I get the chance to dry my hands and kisses me so passionately that I forget why I was annoyed with him in the first place. The temperature is rising at alarming speed, and if we don’t stop, we’ll both need a cold shower before we can face his mum.
As if I summoned her with my thoughts, she calls us from the living room. Danny ignores her and deepens the kiss, pressing his erection against my belly.
Bloody hell. What is he trying to do here? With regret, I push him back.
“Danny, stop it.”
His eyes are at half-mast, eating me up. “Sorry, I couldn’t resist.”
“Please don’t say my Draco impression caused this.”
Twisting his face into a scowl, he steps back. “You had to ruin the moment.”
With a smug grin, I walk out of the bathroom and quickly make my way back into the living room. I can smell the pasta now, but I still throw a longing glance at the cookie tray.
“Come on now, Cookie Monster.” Danny throws his arm over my shoulders and steers me to the kitchen.
The apartment is small and doesn’t have a formal dining room. The table is tucked into a corner, and the food is served on the kitchen counter. There’s a big bowl of steaming pasta, plus garlic bread and salad.
“Go on. Grab a plate. It’s self-service here,” she tells me.
We all fill our plates and head to the table. I moan loudly after the first bite. Danny’s mum smiles proudly while Danny raises an eyebrow.
“That good, huh?” he asks.
“It’s so, so good.”
He smirks. “Aren’t you glad you didn’t stuff your face with cookies?”
I nod, since I just took a huge bite of garlic bread. Not ideal for kissing later though. Oh well.
We eat in silence for a few minutes, and only when Danny is about done does his mum speak.
“What’s on your mind, Danny?”
He sets his utensils down and glances at her. “I’m not a match.”
Her brows shoot up, and then sadness sweeps over her eyes. “Oh, honey. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry. It is what it is.”
“Don’t try to downplay how the news is affecting you, Danny. You’re my son. I know you better than yourself.”
“Yeah, yeah.” He picks his piece of garlic bread apart.
“At least you’ve met your half brother,” I chime in, trying to be helpful.
“I don’t think he wants to get to know me.”
I shrug. “His bloody loss, innit?”
“I didn’t expect the news to affect me so much. I mean, I was resigned that he would die, and I didn’t care. Then my brother showed up, and it changed my perspective of things. Now that I can’t really do anything, I feel helpless.”
“Why do you feel helpless, honey?” his mum asks. “We knew the chances you’d be a match weren’t great.”
Eyes downcast, he replies, “I know.”
“Maybe he’ll find another donor and you can develop some kind of relationship with him,” his mother adds.
Danny’s spine goes rigid. “I still don’t want anything to do with him. I haven’t changed my mind about that.”
“All right.” She gets up and turns to me. “Are you all done?”
“Oh, I can take my plate to the sink,” I protest.
“Nonsense, sweetie. You’re a guest. You go get your cookie while I clean up and take Danny with you. He needs something sweet to wash off that sourness.”
“I’m not sour,” he retorts.
I nudge his arm with my elbow. “Come on, sourpuss. Let’s get some well-deserved sugar.”
Danny trudges behind me, and he doesn’t crack a smile even when I feed him a cookie.
“I thought coming here was supposed to make you feel better,” I say.
“Yeah. I guess not even my mother’s cooking can get me out of my funk.”
“Anything I can do?”
There’s a slight upturn of his lips. “Yeah.” He steps closer, invading my personal space. “We can go wash our hands again.”
“Danny Hudson, you’re horrible. Your mum is right there.” I point at the kitchen.
He kisses me below my ear, sending shivers down my spine. “She knows I’m not a virgin anymore.”
I shake my head despite the desire that’s weakening my resolve. “I’m not going to shag you in your mother’s bathroom,” I grit out.
“Fine. Wanna come see my old room?”
I narrow my eyes. “Is that a trick?”
He widens his eyes, playing the innocence card. “I’d never trick you, babe.”
He’s definitely up to something, but I am curious about his bedroom. “Okay.”
His face splits into a radiant smile that could light up an entire stadium. He glances over my shoulder and hollers, “Mom, I’m showing Sadie my room.”
“Okay.”
He takes my hand, looking too pleased with himself.
Yeah, super dodgy behavior there, mate.
I expect him to jump on me as soon as we’re alone, but he doesn’t. Instead, he watches me as I take his room in.
When I don’t say anything for a whole minute, he asks, “What? No comment?”
I look at him, smiling. “You’ve always been a hopeless romantic, haven’t you?”
“What makes you say that?”
I point at the Howl’s Moving Castle poster on the wall. “Dead giveaway.”
He reaches for my hair and tucks a strand behind my ear. “I’m not ashamed of that.”
I throw my arms around his neck. “You shouldn’t be. It’s sexy as hell.”
His eyes twinkle with delight as he curls his lips into a crooked smile. “I’d like to point out that you’re the one who’s starting it this time.”
“I know. Does your door lock?”