Her heart instantly started dancing in her chest. The rest of her body sighed in appreciation, as if every cell had always been waiting for him.
She ignored the biological betrayal and raised her chin. 'I'm not afraid.'
'Sure you are. You've been fighting your whole life and time and time again you got slapped down. All those years fighting Gloria.' He glanced at the older woman. 'No offense.'
'I'll decide if I'm offended when I see where this is going.'
Alex turned back to Dani. 'You gave everything you had to Hugh and he dumped on you. Ryan was worse because he planned it. Gary was…' He shrugged. 'I don't know what Gary was.'
'Biblical humor,' Dani murmured, not sure what she thought of Alex's words.
'You've been burned so many times, you're afraid to get near the fire. So when you and I got together, you were terrified. Maybe not consciously, but somewhere deep inside. Then you found out you were hurting Katherine, which you hated. You respect her and didn't want to make things harder. You were totally out of your comfort zone. Throw in a political campaign and the attack on Bailey and you reached your breaking point. It makes sense.'
'Thanks for the recap,' she murmured, knowing he might be right. 'Now what are you doing here?'
He stepped into her bedroom. 'Fighting for you. I'm making sure you don't do something you'll regret for the rest of your life.'
'Which would be?'
'Walking away from me.'
'You've never lacked confidence.'
'Not really. But I've never been as sure of something as I am of knowing we belong together. You can't leave, Dani. This is where you belong.'
If only, she thought again, wishing it were possible. She loved him, needed him, wanted him. Only him. Being with Alex had taught her to understand Katherine's devotion to Mark. 'There are complications.'
'Not as many as you think,' Katherine said as she and Mark walked into the bedroom, followed by Dani's brothers.
Dani found herself backed into a corner-literally. 'What's going on?'
'We're holding an intervention,' Alex told her. 'It was my idea. You can thank me later.'
'I don't understand.'
'We're not letting you go' Cal said, then grinned. 'I don't mean that in a scary stalker way.'
'Good to know,' she murmured.
'You belong here,' Walker said. 'With all of us. Maybe with that guy.' He jerked his head toward Alex. 'He seems okay.'
'I like him,' Reid said. 'He's got good taste.'
'But what about how much I've hurt you?' Dani looked at Katherine, then at Mark. 'I'm hurting the campaign.'
Mark, as handsome and smooth as ever, put his arm around his wife's shoulders. 'I'm pulling out of the race. This isn't a good time. My press office is issuing a statement-' he checked his watch '-right about now.'
Dani felt the need to sit down. Everything was happening too fast. 'But you want to be president. It's your dream.'
'Some things cost too much.' He looked at Alex. 'I got a little carried away before. With the charges. We'll talk later?'
'Okay. Yeah.' Alex turned back to Dani. 'You're running out of excuses.'
Dani's mind went into a free fall. If Mark wasn't running for president, then the press wouldn't care about her, or anyone in the family. If there weren't any watchful eyes around, then life could be normal.
Alex reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a velvet box. Dani's body froze.
Her first thought was that he was going to propose. Her second was that proposing probably meant that he loved her, which made her want to do the happy dance. Her third was how much he was putting on the line by doing this in front of both their families.
Her last thought was that she couldn't wait to say yes.
'Oh, dear,' Katherine said, putting a hand on Alex's arm. 'I should have gotten to you sooner. I have something to tell you.'
He looked at her. 'Mom, this isn't the time.'
'I know, but I have to say it. I'll talk fast.' She reached into her pocket and pulled out a diamond ring. 'If you'd prefer the one you bought, I'll completely understand. But in case you want something different…' She handed him the ring. 'This belonged to my grandmother. I don't know why I didn't think of it before, with Fi-' She cleared her throat 'Anyway, I saw it this morning and hoped…'
Alex stared at the ring. Dani knew exactly what he was thinking. That the ring should stay in the family and until that moment, he'd never been totally one of them. She recognized the emotions chasing across his face because she'd felt them herself when she'd been with her brothers. That sense of belonging and not belonging.
Was that the connection she had with Alex? That they shared a basic knowledge of what it was like to be on the outside? That they were both looking for a place to belong?
She moved toward him. 'I want to be the one,' she told him, not caring who else was in the room. 'I want to be the only one. I want to be that safe place where you can go no matter what.'
'You're stealing my speech.'
'You had a speech?'
'I was going to tell you I loved you more than I've ever loved anyone. That you're the only one I want to be with. That I belong when I'm with you.'
Belong. There was that word again. Those on the inside would never know how much it meant to feel it.
'I love you, Dani,' he continued.
'Move back,' Gloria whispered. 'Everyone move back and give the boy room to kneel. You were going to kneel, weren't you?'
Alex grinned. 'Is it always going to be like this?'
Dani glanced around at the people who loved her, then looked at the one man who would always make things right. 'I have a feeling we're not getting away from that.'
'Is that okay?”
'It's the best.'
EPILOGUE
The summer evening was warm, with a perfectly clear sky. It was after seven and the sun was hours from setting. After all, this was Seattle and the city was known for endless summer nights.
Over three hundred people sat in white chairs on a lush, green lawn. The scent of roses and jasmine filled the air. On the left, a small orchestra played softly as the groom's grandmother was seated.
'Arthur seems nice,' Reid said as he walked Gloria down the aisle.
'Don't be smart with me,' Gloria snapped, a little embarrassed to be her age and dating. She'd been seeing Arthur for three months now and had brought him to the wedding.
'I'm not. Just don't ever tell us if you're having sex. It would be too weird.'
'I had to read about your sexual abilities in the paper. I think a little payback is in order.'
Reid grinned at her. 'Okay, but I won't like it.'
'I can live with that.'
They reached her seat and he handed her into the care of Arthur, a local entrepreneur who was eight years younger than Gloria. Then Reid bent down and kissed her cheek.
'You look hot.'
Gloria swatted his arm, but smiled.
Dani stood inside the Canfield's family room and stared out through the blinds.
“I’m thinking Elissa is going to be disappointed by the twinkle lights. It's too bright out. They're not showing up
