Another tear slipped over her lash line, but she was quicker this time, swiping at it before it had a chance to fall.

“So one night my father and I got in a huge fight over Scott, and I told him I wasn’t going to let him control my life anymore. I left, and that was that. I wouldn’t answer his calls or his texts. I wouldn’t go see him. Almost a whole year went by, and I refused every attempt he made at reconciling with me. My whole life was centered around Scott, the one person I thought really cared about me and wanted what was best for me. And he had me all to himself, just the way he wanted.”

She turned to Danny, her cheeks heating with embarrassment. “The night of my father’s heart attack was the first time I’d seen him in months. And when I saw him in that hospital bed, with all the wires and machines, all I wanted to do was apologize to him.” She shook her head. “But he was unconscious. They didn’t even know if he would make it.”

Leah shrugged as she said, “After I left the hospital that night, I went to Scott’s apartment and found him in bed with another girl.”

Danny’s head whipped up, and the initial shock on his face transitioned into sympathy before settling on anger.

She nodded slowly. “So there it is. I threw my family away for a controlling, manipulative liar. If my father had died that night, he would have died thinking I resented him, after everything he’d done to try to hold my family together, after how hard he worked to take care of us all.”

He stared at her, his eyes swimming with pain and something else Leah couldn’t quite place.

She used the end of her sleeve to wipe her nose. “I’m pretty awful, huh?”

Danny didn’t say a word. Instead he unclasped their hands and wrapped his arm around her, pulling her against his chest. She stilled for only a second before she relaxed against him, her face buried in the crook of his neck. He brought his lips to the top of her head, leaving them pressed there as he gently played with the ends of her hair.

Leah closed her eyes and exhaled. She would relive that story again and again if it ended with being in his arms, because the way he was holding her made her feel like she was someone worthy of forgiveness.

It was some time before Danny finally spoke, and when he did, she could feel the gentle vibrations in his chest.

“Leah?”

“Hmm?” she said, her eyes still closed.

“The guy who killed your mother. Do you hate him?”

Leah’s eyes opened as she sat up, looking at him. It seemed like such a strange thing to ask, but his expression was smooth as he waited for her answer.

“Um…I don’t know. I mean, I never really think about him. He died on impact.”

He looked down and nodded. “Do you think he got what he deserved?”

Leah chewed on the inside of her lip. Did she think he got what was coming to him when he lost his life? She looked up sheepishly as she asked, “Would it make me a terrible person if I said yes?”

Danny looked down before closing his eyes. “No. It wouldn’t.”

She sat there staring at him, trying to comprehend what he was really asking her. His questions seemed completely irrelevant to their discussion, and yet she knew there must have been some connection she was missing.

“I will tell you, Leah,” Danny said after a long silence. When he finally looked back up at her, his expression was a mix of sincerity and fear. “I have to tell you, because I don’t want to stop spending time with you.” He rubbed his hands over his eyes as he said, “It’s just…I don’t even know what I’m up against right now. I need just a little more time.”

“Okay,” she said softly, and his eyes met hers.

“Really?”

She nodded. “You can take whatever time you need. I just can’t be lied to. I don’t ever want to be lied to.”

“I won’t ever lie to you, I promise you that.”

She smiled softly. “That’s all I ask.”

They sat there for a moment, looking at each other, and then Danny closed his eyes as he brought his fingertips to his temples, massaging slow circles.

“You’re feeling it, huh?” Leah asked.

“I think I’m gonna be feeling this shit for days,” he said, wincing slightly as he continued to rub.

She laughed as she stood from the couch, and his eyes flew open. “Where are you going?”

“You need aspirin,” she said. “Bathroom?”

He nodded, closing his eyes again. “Medicine chest above the sink. On the bottom shelf.”

Leah got him the aspirin and stopped in his bedroom to get him the bottle of water she’d left there earlier before returning to the couch and handing them both to him. After he had swallowed the pills and about half the bottle of water, he looked over at her.

“Thanks. I’m still not cleaning up those coffee grounds.”

She laughed and he smiled up at her, revealing the dimples that made her chest flutter. Danny grabbed the pillow and positioned it behind his head as he lay back onto the couch.

And then he lifted his arm, inviting her into the space beside him.

She probably should have shown some hesitation, just to maintain some semblance of dignity, but instead she immediately crawled over to him, laying her head on his chest. He exhaled contentedly as his hand came to the back of her hair, lazily running his fingers through it, and Leah closed her eyes.

It felt so perfect to be lying with him this way, like they had done it a million times before. And she knew she would crave it now, like an addiction that weakened her until it was fed.

Leah sighed softly as she curled her fingers into his shirt, and she felt him kiss the top of her head as he continued playing with her hair.

She didn’t have all her answers yet, but she would. And it was enough to know that for now—to believe that whatever he had to tell her wouldn’t be significant enough to change what was happening between them.

Because she didn’t want to have to walk away from him now.

“How’s that working out for you?”

Danny kept the wad of food tucked in the side of his cheek as he glanced over to where Leah was leaning against his counter, her arms crossed over her chest, fighting a smile.

He brought his fist to his mouth. “S’good,” he mumbled.

Leah chuckled as she pushed off the counter and reached above the refrigerator for the bread, and Danny slid his plate away with a sigh. “Alright. You can say it.”

Her smile broadened as she turned and took the dish from him. “Say what? I told you so?” she asked, dumping the contents in the trash. “I would never.”

He brought his fist back to his mouth and closed his eyes, and she laughed again, giving him a gentle nudge. “Go lie down. Give me five minutes to work my magic,” she said, coming back to the counter and pulling a slice of bread from the bag.

Danny stood quickly and walked toward his bedroom, thankful to get away from the smell of his attempted breakfast. It had been a tried and true hangover cure that he and Bryan accidentally discovered when they were teenagers after drinking themselves sick off a bottle of rum they’d found in the back of Gram’s cabinet. The following morning, Bryan made them each a bacon, egg, and cheese Hot Pocket, figuring if they could get themselves to vomit, they would feel better. Instead, they were miraculously cured after eating them. It was a trick they’d used for years after that.

Danny crawled into his bed and dropped onto his stomach with a huff. He knew it wasn’t going to work, even before he pulled one out of the freezer and Leah looked at him like he’d lost his mind. He’d barely even touched alcohol in the past twelve months, and it had been years since he’d been as drunk as he was last night, so he knew it was going to take more than a Hot Pocket to get him straight again. But he was really hoping it might work. And not just because he felt like shit.