Chapter 11
Chapter Eleven
DANNY
As Danny filed the last document in a pre-trial bundle ready for court, someone knocked on his office door.
He assumed it would be Elena—massage oil in hand, ready to pummel his body into submission.
It was a strangely arousing thought, and highly disturbing.
Elena Romero was not his type, not in the least. She was too exuberant.
Too volatile. Too much of … well, everything.
Tectonic plates shifted when she was in the building, like her aura had its own galaxy and she defied the laws of astronomy. Being in her presence was not restful.
So opening the door to discover Connor standing in the lobby gave him a pleasant bolt of surprise.
Connor hovered slightly, still unsure of himself. ‘Hey, how’s it going?’
It broke Danny’s heart to witness such lack of self-confidence, and he pulled his brother in for a hug. ‘This is a nice surprise, I wasn’t expecting you.’ He kissed the side of Connor’s head.
Unlike Hugh, Danny wasn’t great with words, and he wasn’t emotionally intuitive or able to offer insights and verbal comfort. All he could do was demonstrate his love for Connor with actions.
He held onto the hug, needing the physical contact as much as his brother did, before letting go and holding him at arm’s length. ‘Everything okay?’
‘Uncle Hugh’s invited me out for pizza. I’m meeting him here after work. Can you join us?’
Relief swamped him. There was no drama, just the need to socialise and eat. Normal stuff. Good stuff, healthy stuff … well, aside from the pizza, but everyone had to live a little.
‘I’d love to,’ he said, genuinely disappointed. ‘But I have an appointment booked for five-thirty. I’ll meet you afterwards though, where are you going?’
‘Cinquecento on Portobello Road.’
‘Fancy. Save me some pizza, okay?’
‘Will do.’ Connor smiled, the hint of angst still evident in his dark eyes. He looked pale, but less haunted, which was enough of a lifeline for Danny to cling onto. Would the joyful innocence of the old Connor ever return? He hoped so.
Danny beckoned him through the door. ‘Come inside, there’s something I want to talk to you about.’
Connor followed him into the office, hands shoved deep inside his jacket pockets. ‘Should I be worried?’
‘Of course not.’ Danny hesitated, unsure how to tackle what had been plaguing him.
‘I keep thinking back to that conversation we had the other night at basketball, about relationships and stuff.’ The discomfort had been keeping him awake at night—not that he slept much, but now he had the guilt of destroying his brother’s belief in the whole ‘happy ever after’ to add to the long list of things he felt inadequate about.
‘I’m sad you have such a negative view of love.
Dating should be fun and exciting, not something to steer clear of. ’
Connor frowned. ‘And yet you have?’
Boy, the past was coming back to haunt him.
‘I know, and maybe I was wrong to do that. Please don’t punish yourself by missing out on something just because it might not work out.
Love is a dice-roll, it’s a chance you take.
Better to try and fail than avoid it altogether.
’ He clocked the incredulous expression on Connor’s face.
‘You’re right, I’m a hypocrite. I had a bad experience, and I’ve let it destroy any chance of trying again.
I’ve actively steered clear of relationships, and that probably wasn’t in my best interests, or yours.
You mean the world to me, Connor. I want you to be happy, and I hate the idea of you walking away from something because of one shitty experience. ’
Connor raised an eyebrow. ‘You’re saying I should believe in love?’
‘Exactly.’ Danny smiled, hoping to appear encouraging and a supportive older brother, rather than a tale of doom and gloom. ‘Be open to it. Don’t deny yourself the chance of seeing where something might lead.’
‘Okay.’
Danny stilled. ‘Okay? … That was easy.’
Connor shrugged, his shoulders already hunched from the padded hood of his jacket. ‘I mean, I will if you will.’
He might have expected a catch. ‘Excuse me?’
Connor walked over to the visitor’s chair and flopped down, his demeanour uncharacteristically defiant. ‘I’ll stop avoiding the possibility of a relationship—if you do.’
Danny silently cursed, his brother was too smart for his own good. ‘It’s different for me, I’m fine being single.’
‘So am I.’ Connor’s innocent expression didn’t fool Danny for one second, but he was prevented from challenging his brother by a tap on the door.
‘Hello? Sorry, didn’t mean to interrupt.’ Elena stood in the doorway wearing her navy physio tunic and carrying a holdall. She looked tentatively between the brothers. ‘Do you need to reschedule our appointment?’
‘No, it’s fine. I was just finishing up.’ Unsettled, Danny ran his hands through his hair, feeling cornered from all sides. ‘This is my brother, Connor.’
Elena waved. ‘Hi, nice to meet you. I’m Elena.’
‘Elena’s my physiotherapist,’ Danny added, feeling the need to explain the appearance of a gorgeous woman standing in his doorway, especially as Connor’s eyes were flitting between Danny and Elena in a ‘what’s happening here?’ kind of way.
Connor couldn’t have looked more surprised if Danny had introduced her as his private escort. ‘I didn’t know you were getting treatment?’
Danny suddenly felt self-conscious. ‘It’s a recent thing.’
‘Your brother’s very stubborn,’ Elena said, leaning against the doorframe. ‘It took some persuading.’
Connor’s eyes widened. ‘I’ve been at him for months to get treatment. How did you convince him?’
‘Coercion, mostly. I’m stubborn too.’ Her smile was like a weapon, fast and wide, and able to shift dimensions and space. Danny took a step back, the woman scared him.
In contrast, Connor appeared relaxed and totally unfazed, as though she was just a woman and not the human equivalent of a lightsaber with the ability to disarm her enemies. ‘I hope you know what you’re dealing with. He’s not good at accepting help.’
Danny blinked in surprise. Connor was teasing him? That was a new development.
‘I’d gathered that.’ Elena directed her smile at Danny, like a sniper about to unclip the safety mechanism on her Glock. ‘To be honest, he’s the one who should be worried.’ She came into the office and dumped her holdall on the floor. ‘I inflict pain.’
Did she have to sound so thrilled about it?
Danny loosened his shirt collar. ‘If you’ve both finished assassinating my character—’
‘This looks cosy.’
Danny turned to see his best mate standing in the doorway. Great, more witnesses. Would anyone else like to join them? Maybe he should sell tickets.
‘Uncle Hugh.’ Connor shot over and hugged him. ‘This is Elena, Dad’s physiotherapist.’ He nodded conspiratorially towards Elena as though everyone except Danny knew what was going on. ‘Can you believe it?’
Hugh looked amused. ‘Stranger things have happened. I would tell him it’s about time, but he hates it when I gloat.’ He slung his arm over Connor’s shoulder. ‘Ready for pizza?’
‘Yes, Dad’s joining us after his pain-fest.’
Elena looked confused, no doubt wondering why Connor had called him Dad.
Before he could explain, Hugh burst out laughing, a big amused sound that made Connor grin and Danny take another step back. ‘I’m almost tempted to stay and watch.’
Danny was done being goaded. ‘You can leave now. Thanks for dropping by. Good night.’ He gave Hugh a playful shove out of the door and clumsily kissed Connor’s head before shutting the door behind them.
‘Nice meeting you, Elena!’ Connor shouted from the lobby.
‘You too!’ Elena called back, before turning to Danny. ‘Ready for some fun?’ She gestured for him to lock the office door.
A host of emotions flooded his brain as he snatched at the lock. Confusion at what was happening, relief at hearing Connor laugh, but most of all, annoyance at being caught with his guard down.
‘Don’t even attempt to intimidate me,’ he barked, storming over to his desk, unable to hide the rage bubbling inside him.
Feeling insecure had always been a trigger, making him angry and unreasonable, but he didn’t care if his behaviour wasn’t rational, he was sick of playing Mr Nice.
‘I know your game and I won’t be toyed with. ’
Elena looked stunned. ‘I have no idea what you mean.’
‘Turn around,’ he said, unzipping his fly. ‘I’m changing into joggers, and they’re not coming off.’
With eyebrows raised so high they almost disappeared into her hairline, she turned away and rested her hands on her hips. ‘I think you have the wrong impression of me.’
‘No, I don’t think I do.’ He stepped out of his suit trousers, his agitation levels rising when he realised he’d forgotten to remove his shoes.
‘This is about revenge for you, isn’t it?
A way of paying me back for not swapping offices.
Oh, for fuc—’ He kicked off his shoes, yanking the trousers from his feet.
A beat passed before she spoke. ‘Is that what you think?’
‘Delighting in inflicting pain? Making me undress? Locking the door? I’m not dumb,’ he said, evidence suggesting otherwise when he nearly pulled on his joggers back-to-front. ‘You obviously get a kick out of trying to embarrass me. Well, I’m not having it. Pack it in. I’m not playing your games.’
There was another long, drawn-out pause. ‘Are you done?’
He unbuttoned his shirt, hot from wrestling with his clothing. ‘Yes.’
She turned to face him, her expression more tentative than he’d seen before. Good, she deserved to be on the back foot. ‘May I address your accusations?’
‘Go for it. I’m sure you have an answer for everything,’ he muttered sarcastically, fumbling over his sleeve buttons.