Chapter Seventeen
Wren
I woke in a strange bed, coming to slowly, wondering what my hair looked like and expecting Daniel to be off somewhere. Except he was lying next to me, his eyes open and focused on my formerly sleeping body.
“Morning,” I grumbled.
His hand shifted over my hip. “Morning to you.”
“Today’s my last full day here,” I announced. I wasn’t sure if it was a warning or a proclamation, but the memory of the night before, imprinted in my brain, and the reality of my living in Boston converged, making today feel ominous.
“Sadly.” He leaned close and ran his lips across my forehead.
“Back to reality.” It was a whisper but loomed large like an elephant in the savanna.
“Let’s not spoil today over it. I have a small surprise…”
“You do?” I said it as tauntingly as I could make out, and it came out somewhat garbled and partly sexy.
This version of Daniel was as playful as the younger one; it was refreshing. I’d had plenty of dates with stiff doctors and other professionals. There were never any surprises and very few laughs.
“Well, I do want to spend a good amount of time in bed. But Ryan is on set, and he invited you to visit. He thought you might like a tour of the back lot and his trailer, and he wanted to introduce you to the cast. They’re putting the finishing touches on the movie he was shooting in New Hampshire.”
“Really?” I sat up and felt my eyes widen. “That’s so cool. My God.” I took a pause and ran a hand through my hair. I hadn’t slept with a cap on, and it felt a mess. “I sound like a teenager, but when does a girl from Boston get to be on a movie set?”
“Today,” Daniel answered matter-of-factly.
“This is so exciting. One sec.” I jumped out of bed, holding up my pointer finger. “Nature, and my breath.” I hinted to my adventure.
All Daniel did was nod and say, “Hurry back.”
I did make it quickly, right back into Daniel’s arms for round two of the night before. His lips made their way down my neck and over my clavicle, traversing over my breasts and down to my navel until he hit farther south. My soft moans rang in my ears as Daniel brought me to climax not once but twice, slithering his way back up my body and seating himself deep within me.
For two people who hadn’t seen one another in the longest of times and not known one another as full-blown adults, we had found an unparalleled rhythm with one another.
After the crescendo and the cleanup, Daniel held me tightly, kissing the top of my head. “You know, this is offseason for me. I can visit anytime if I’m invited. Actually, I can retire…for a second time,” he said through a quick laugh. “I’ve been out of professional golf for a while, but this golf pro thing was to keep me busy,” he added, solidifying his case.
I felt my head bobbing yes but couldn’t form the word or make an invitation in the moment. The entire situation was so overwhelming.
“When you’re ready,” he said.
“I’m ready for coffee,” was what I came up with.
“That I can do,” Daniel said, slithering out of bed.
I followed, snatching a robe from the guest room and making my way to the kitchen.
“Mmm,” I purred, taking my first sip.
“I may not cook, but I can make you moan from my coffee.”
“You can,” I stated, slipping onto a stool at the bar and savoring my cup of joe.
“Hi, I’m Wren.” I squealed like a schoolgirl later upon meeting Ryan Strauss.
I made a small attempt at schooling my face until Ryan said, “Danny’s Birdie, nice to meet you.”
I couldn’t help taking a quick look at Daniel, raising an eyebrow.
“It’s true,” Daniel admitted. “I told him all about you.”
“Imagine my surprise, Mister Never Serious About Anyone gets a single dose of pain meds and he’s spouting off about this chick from way back when—”
“I never used the word chick,” Daniel interrupted Ryan as we stood outside his trailer.
“This is my story. I’m allowed to take some liberties, and I also want to thank the beautiful doctor.” Ryan cast his baby blues on me, and had I not been so smitten with Daniel, I might have melted. But right now I only radiated excitement.
“No thanks are needed. Seems you took care to make it worth the hospital and my department’s time.”
He ran a tanned hand through his dirty blond hair and I snuck a peek at Daniel, whose eyes were firmly planted on me. Was he jealous? My gorgeous golfing Scot?
When Daniel slipped his hand through mine, I knew he wanted to make sure I was his—giving his fingers a quick squeeze, I let him know.
“And for keeping my secret. I mean, if a man doesn’t have a vice or two, what kind of man is he? As for me, I love the thrill of backcountry skiing, water-skiing taking a quick second.”
“Do you golf? That may be the safer alternative. And with Danny over here, you could pick up some skills.”
“I do, but mostly to do business. The course is my office,” he answered and then turned to Daniel. “You said she had wit and an ego, but you didn’t mention her snark.”
Daniel started to laugh.
“Hey,” I said, my gaze ping-ponging between the two.
“A good kind of snark. How many women come onto set and take me on? None. Speaking of, come on. I’ll show you my trailer and then the set.”
Ryan bent to fit inside the door of his trailer, and I put him at about six foot two. His smile was as bright as on the big screen, and his warm personality definitely shone all around him.
“Wow!” I couldn’t help my wonder building inside the trailer. It was seriously fit with everything. Noting a small gourmet kitchen, I couldn’t resist asking, “Do you cook?”
“No way. I have someone who comes in and cooks what my trainer prescribes.”
Tying my hair at the nape of my neck, I shook my head. “You Hollywooders live a good life.”
“We sure do,” Ryan said with a wink. “Come on, meet my costars.”
Which was how I ended up spending the afternoon sitting in Jennifer’s trailer. You know, the Jennifer. Apparently, she’d recently twisted her ankle and wanted to show me, and one thing led to another, and we were fast friends, trading collagen and protein shake stories, of which I didn’t have many. But I guessed this was how she related to my being a doctor…
“Sella is going to be so jealous,” I later told Daniel.
“That you got to spend time with me? Heck yeah.”
As usual, an enormous smile spread across my face. “Of my new bestie, Jennifer.”
“Are you going to rub it in?”
He held me close in the kitchen. We’d opted for sushi takeout and a Jennifer movie for my last night. I had to head back early in the morning; I was on call the day after.
“Never, but she will drag every last detail out of me.”
“Well, I hope you keep your descriptions G-rated.”
“Of course,” I said, my lips now brushing his cheek.
“I’m going to miss you.”
“Same,” I told Daniel. “Not me, you. Ugh, being with you, I get all my words twisted.”
“That’s how my insides feel when I’m with you.”
His words had me blushing, so I tucked my face into his neck and breathed in. I wasn’t sure how long we stayed in that moment, but we did eventually have sushi, watch a movie, and stay up half the night in Daniel’s bedroom.
When we parted ways the following morning, our hands lingered on one another an extra beat as we broke from our embrace in the light of day, outside the Departures door. I wanted to tell Daniel to come with me. Fuck it all, and just get on the plane and be with me. Yet I couldn’t do it.
Fear was a bitch I kept tucked inside me for special occasions, and this was one of them apparently.