Chapter 43
DANNY
Anya’s childhood home is very different to mine. Mine was a mansion in Beverly Hills and a townhouse in West London. Cold and empty and lonely. Anya’s is a terraced house on a quiet street, coats piled on the banister and photos hanging on the walls. Anya barely acknowledges me as she toes her shoes off and leaves them in a neat pile by the door. I follow her lead and leave my sneakers next to hers. It feels domestic and I can’t stop the hope that rises in my chest. Has she forgiven me?
She wanders down the hallway and I follow, still dutifully holding the bag she handed me. My gaze snags on the pictures on the wall. I recognize small Anya immediately, her big hazel eyes and smattering of freckles hidden behind a goofy looking full fringe.
Anya pushes open the door at the end of the hallway, the scent of onions filling the small space.
“There you are. Can you butter the bread, petit chou?” Anya’s mum has her back to us, stirring a pot on the stove.
Anya glances at me out of the corner of her eye, her pretty cheeks turning pink. I can’t help the grin that pulls at my mouth.
“Uh,” Anya clears her throat. “So Danny’s here?”
Her mum whirls around, wooden spoon in hand. “Oh!”
She pierces me with an assessing glare. I change the bag to my left hand and extend my right for her to shake. “It’s lovely to finally meet you, I’ve heard so much about you.”
Sabine shakes herself and rushes forward, ignoring my hand and pulling me into an awkward hug. Anya gently pulls the shopping from my hand, freeing my arms up to return Sabine’s embrace. The top of her curly hair barely reaches my shoulder but I feel strangely comfortable.
She releases me and steps back. “It’s lovely to meet you.” She beams at me, her smile so similar to Anya’s. “Sit, sit.” She bustles me into a chair.
“Anya, get the wine.” She commands her daughter without taking her eyes off me. “The nice one.”
Anya rolls her eyes at me and pulls a bottle out of the rickety wine rack near the fridge.
“So Danny, what are you doing here?” I pull my eyes away from Anya as she opens the bottle with a corkscrew.
I clear my throat and look directly in her mother’s eyes. “I came to ask Anya to give me another chance.”
The bottle in Anya’s hand pops like punctuation. She gapes at me. If she was expecting me to be more coy around her mother, she must think I’m a fool.
“Oh! Well that’s just lovely.” Sabine shoots her daughter a knowing grin.
Anya pours us all a glass and sits down next to me at the kitchen table. She gulps her wine quickly. She’s close enough that I can brush her thigh with my knee.
Sabine peppers me with questions as she dishes up and doesn’t let up until our bowls are clean and the wine is half empty. Anya’s long fingers play with the stem of the glass and it takes all my willpower not to take her hands in mine.
I chance a glance at her and see she’s already looking at me.
She clears her throat. “Devon offered me that job, mum. I start on Monday.”
“Oh!” Sabine exclaims and I wonder if it’s a word she says often or if we’re just continuously overwhelming her. “Cabbage, that’s amazing. Isn’t that amazing, Danny?”
The smile that overtakes my face is effortless. “It is.” I can’t help but feel this is a good sign, one of the obstacles we faced at the beginning that’s now resolved. Anya could still turn me down but at least she’ll know that she can make her own way regardless.
“I told her, I said it wouldn’t matter either way for you to be together and her to work in the industry. Who cares, that’s what I say!”
“Mum,” Anya hisses.
“She’s always wanted to work in film. She used to get the old camcorder and make home movies. Starring herself of course, I still have them all on the old computer. I’ll show you—”
Anya pushes to her feet before her mother can. “I’m going to show Danny my room.”
Sabine settles and raises her hands. “Of course, of course. Ignore me.”
Anya nudges my shoulder until I’m out of my seat and following her up the narrow stairs. The small hallway has three doors, one propped open to reveal a family bathroom. She leads me to the first door.
Anya’s room is lived in. A faded desk chair sits up against a small desk, her bed is pushed to one wall and twinkling lights stream from corner to corner. I put my hands in my pockets as she collapses against the bed. I don’t want to assume and sit next to her, so instead, I wander the small space. Jewelry hangs on a small tree on her dresser and little bottles of her skin care that used to be in Chez Claudette are lined up neatly on her bedside table.
“I love your house,” I say, gently flopping in the desk chair.
She waves a hand. “It is what it is.”
I roll the chair towards her, getting caught on the pink rug poking underneath her bed. Eventually I’m close enough that our knees are touching. She doesn’t move. I lean forward, hands dangling between my thighs,
“What are you thinking, freckles?” I ask softly.
She takes a deep breath and the hands that were neatly folded in her lap edge towards mine.
“I didn’t expect this. For you to show up here . How did you even find this address?”
I wince. “Not my finest moment. I told Devon I wanted to send you a thank you gift.”
She huffs a laugh and bites her bottom lip. I want to tug it free with my thumb but resist.
“I love you, freckles,” I say again. I will say it every day for the rest of my life if she’ll let me.
Anya’s fingers hook around mine. I hold my breath as she twines our fingers together. “How do I know you won’t just leave me again?”
I nod. “I know, I messed up. I made the biggest mistake of my life. I’m so sorry Anya. I promise I won’t ever do it again.”
My thumb rubs against her knuckles, soaking her in. If this is the last time I get to touch her I want to be able to remember this feeling.
“Even if—” I take a deep breath. “Even if this is too much, and we can’t find a way to do this, you must know being with you has been the best time of my life.”
Her tongue peeks out and wets her lips. “You have to promise to let me in. No storming off when things get complicated, we have to talk through it.”
I nod, barely able to comprehend her words.
“And I’ll be working this new job in London, but I don’t want to be a secret anymore. If we’re doing this we’re done keeping it just us. I don’t want to have to hide you.”
“I don’t want to hide you either. I’ll hire some billboards and put your face on them so everyone can know.”
She laughs, the sound piercing my heart and causing it to beat again. “Well, maybe we don’t need to go that far.”
I place my hands on her thigh. “I’ll never keep us a secret again, I promise.”
She raises her hands and runs her fingers through my hair. It takes everything in me not to rub into her palm like a cat.
“I love you too, Danny. I have since you gave me your shoe to open a corked bottle of wine.”
I rest my forehead on hers. “Say it again?”
“I love you.”
My mouth crashes onto hers, tugging her to me until she’s crowded on my lap and where she belongs. Finally.