Hot On Her Heels

“I don’t not want to be here.”

“What the hell does that mean?” he demanded. “Dammit, Dana, do you think this is easy for me? I started this. If someone gets hurt, it’s my fault. I didn’t care before. It was easy. Bring down the Titans. But now it’s different. Complicated. I have to worry about my sisters and you. Jed’s come after you. What if he hurts you? What if something happens?”

He sounded almost panicked, which was oddly comforting.

“We’ll deal,” she told him.

“That’s not good enough. And you’ve been mad.”

“I’m not mad. I was giving you space.” She sucked in a breath and risked a piece of the truth. “I thought you were upset about seeing Fawn again. That you had regrets about letting her go.”

He grabbed both her arms and stared into her eyes. “I was never in love with Fawn.”

“But she’s so beautiful.”

“Sure. If you don’t mind waiting a couple of hours for her to get ready, it’s a great show. But she also has a lot of problems and while I feel sorry for her, I’m not interested in spending the rest of my life worrying with her. I’m not that sensitive a guy. I’d screw it up. I need someone tough and strong and smart and determined. I need someone who can take me on and give as good as she gets.”

Hope filled Dana. Dangerous, growing hope that made her want to believe he was talking about her.

“Good luck with that,” she whispered.

“I don’t need luck. I have you.”

Maybe it was real or maybe it was just a line. She couldn’t be sure, but for now, hearing was enough. She reached up to hug him. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her hard against him.

They’d made love before, had kissed and touched and played in bed, but nothing they’d done had ever been this intimate. They hung on to each other for a very long time, as if neither wanted to be the first to let go. Finally she shifted back enough to be able to look into his eyes.

“I missed you,” she whispered, exposing her heart one word at a time.

“I missed you more,” he murmured, and then he kissed her.

“MAYBE NEXT TIME YOU could surprise me with something good,” Dana muttered as she followed Lexi back into the bridal boutique.

“Like an afternoon on the shooting range?” Lexi asked.

“That would work.”

Izzy was waiting for them inside, already sipping tea and looking both happy and beautiful. “Maybe I should have a big wedding,” she said. “Get all fancy. Invite people I barely know, get presents.”

Lexi patted her shoulder. “You’re not really a wedding kind of person.”

“I know, but every now and then I like to talk about a big ceremony. Just to watch Nick sweat.”

“You have a mean streak,” Dana murmured. “That makes me like you more.”

“Then you shouldn’t mind being here,” Izzy said. “Because you like Skye, too.”

“The things I do for my friends,” Dana grumbled.

The manager of the salon rushed over and greeted them. She smiled vaguely at Dana before fawning over Lexi and Izzy. Lexi was immediately shown to a plush chaise and urged to relax.

“Does she get another foot massage?” Izzy asked. “I’d love a foot massage.”

“You’re not pregnant,” Lexi said, relaxing into the soft cushions and sighing. “This is how I want to live my life.”

“It is how you are living your life,” Dana said.

“Lucky me.” Lexi turned to Izzy. “Why don’t you show her what we picked out? Then she can choose the least offensive one.”

“Don’t you want a say?” Dana asked, almost meaning it. She would actually prefer getting the final choice, but it seemed polite to offer the choice to Lexi.

Lexi put her hand on her belly. “All the ones she picked will do a great job covering this, so I’m good.” She smiled at the petite dark-haired woman who approached. “Eva, I’ve missed you. And my swollen ankles have missed you more.”

Izzy grabbed Dana’s arm. “Come look. You should be happy. I went with black rather than red or green. I know it’s a Christmas Eve wedding, but seriously, that color of green doesn’t flatter anyone over the age of eight.”

Although Skye had said no one had to dress up as her bridesmaid for her second wedding, all of them knew that she would love to have her sisters and Dana as part of the ceremony. Izzy had come up with the idea of surprising her at the wedding in matching dresses. Dana thought that idea was right up there with a root canal, but they were talking about Skye, whom she loved very much. Sacrifices would have to be made.

“Erin’s dress is adorable,” Izzy continued, leading Dana into a large dressing room and pointing at the dresses hanging along the wall. “I saw it earlier and chose elements for our dresses that would complement the style. I also picked what would look good with Skye’s gown.”

Dana pushed down a flash of guilt. The gown she hadn’t stayed to see. So she wasn’t really in a position to know which dress worked best.

Fortunately all the dresses Izzy had chosen looked pretty nice, considering they were bridesmaid dresses. They were long and simple. One had more ruffles than the other, one had lace, but none of them would make Dana gag.

Izzy pointed to the one on the left. “That one has the best shot at a second life,” she said. “Chop it off at the knees, shorten the sleeves and you have a fancy cocktail dress.”

Dana studied the dress in question. The black lace sleeves looked three-quarter. The top was beaded, but there wasn’t any lace and the skirt hung fairly straight. No ruffles, no flounces.

“Can Lexi get into that one? Where would her stomach go?”

Izzy crossed to the dress and held out the sides. “There’s a lot of material here and the empire waist means it’s more flattering than most.”

Dana would have agreed, had she known what an empire waist was. “Let’s try it on,” she said.

Five minutes later she stood in front of the big mirror in the main room. Lexi raised her herbal tea in salute. Eva had apparently worked her magic and left.

“You look nice. I like it. Can they get them here in time?”

Izzy nodded. “They’re not custom. It’s just a matter of calling other stores and getting them here. So what do you think?”

Dana stared at her reflection. Apparently an empire waist was one that sat up higher, just below her breasts. The dress was pretty and not so girly that it made her want to run screaming from the room.

“I like it. Are you sure Skye won’t mind us wearing black?”

“She’ll love it. Then we’re agreed?” Izzy asked. “We’ll get this and surprise Skye right before the wedding.”

“Uh-huh.” Lexi sipped her tea, her gaze intent. “Dana, are you all right?”

“Fine.”

“You don’t look fine. You look…tired. But not in a happy, I’ve-been-having-sex kind of way.”

“Maybe I need a new moisturizer,” Dana said. “Or highlights.”

Lexi wrinkled her nose. “Don’t toy with me. You’d never get highlights. But I think they’d look nice. Is something wrong?”

Dana glanced at Izzy, who shrugged. Dana didn’t know if that meant Izzy hadn’t told Lexi about their conversation the last time they’d been in the salon or if Izzy didn’t know how to distract Lexi.

“Not wrong, exactly,” Dana mumbled. “Just…confusing.”

“How?” Lexi asked, lowering her voice. “This is about Garth, right?”

Dana shrugged. “Mostly.”

“Because you’re not running this time?” Lexi asked.

“I don’t run.”

“You don’t stay,” Izzy said. “It’s practically the same thing. You pick guys who aren’t interesting to you, then leave when you get bored. You go safe. Garth is anything but safe. Of course it’s uncomfortable. You’re stepping into the unknown.”

“This is a good thing,” Izzy said, coming up next to her. “The other guys were never what you wanted.”