Take What You Want (70 page)

Chase sat up beside her.
“How so?” Their gaze met and held. He watched her
blink, but he didn't dare look away and neither did she. Maybe he
hadn't been as obscure with his inner feelings as he had thought. He
did his best to tamp down the panic wanting to rush through his
veins.

“
Don't
you think he should be part of it?” she asked.

“
Part
of the wedding?” he asked.

Danni
shook her head. “No, part of us.”

“
I'm
sorry, but I'm not following,” Chase said.

“
I
think we work better with Alex,” she said. “And, don't
bother trying to pretend you don't feel it, too. I can see it in
your eyes. I thought it might get better the longer we weren't with
him, but it isn't. Is it, Chase?”

Chase
swung his legs off the couch and set his feet to the floor. He bent
forward, resting his head in his hands. His thoughts began to
jumble, swirling around inside his brain and making him dizzy. He
swallowed hard, doing his best to ignore the urge to throw up.

Danni touched his back and
set her head to his shoulder. “I can still feel him between
us,” she said.

“
I'm
so sorry,” he said. “I've been trying really hard to
keep him … out of my head.”

She
draped her arm around his shoulders. “Don't be sorry, Chase.
Having him between us wasn't completely a bad thing.”

He looked at her, unsure if
he was hearing the meaning behind her words correctly. “You
miss him, too?”

Danni nodded. “I do,”
she said. “More importantly, I miss him for what he can give
you that I can't – beyond the sex, Chase. I'm talking
emotionally.”

Chase pulled her in for a
tight embrace, one hand stroking her hair, the other rubbing at her
back. This woman – his woman, never failed to amaze him.

“
It's
like you said: you're not whole without him,” she said. “And,
watching you two together sure did wonderful things for me.”

“
But,
you were upset with the emotion behind it,” Chase said.

Danni nodded. “I was,
but I've come to terms with it,” she said. “It was
obvious how you two felt about each other long before you admitted
it, but hearing you say it out loud that day, did throw me for a
loop. Looking back at it now, though, I think hearing the words
wasn't what threw me, it was how hearing it made me feel. I was
jealous I wasn't a part of it and felt left out – or left
behind. I realize now that isn't what was happening. You being open
to loving each other made me love you more; it was what would have
brought us all closer together – if I had been open to allowing
myself to feel it. I regret what I did, Chase. I reacted before I
had a chance to think about it and I was wrong.”

“
What
are you saying, Danni? Did you fall in love with Alex, too?”

“
Once
I stopped being jealous and angry, I realized what I was feeling deep
down inside was love – for both of you.”

Chase flopped back against
the couch cushions, pulling Danni down with him. His smile was
endless. The relief washing over him was a complete rush, but the
uncertainty of where this was going weighed heavy on him.

“
What
are you suggesting we do about all of this?” he asked, doing
his best to keep the reluctance from his voice.

“
I
think you should call him,” she said. “Or, at the very
least, send him a text message and see how he's doing; if he's with
anyone.”

Chase shook his head. “Are
you thinking we should consider trying it again with him? Because,
I'm willing to bet he's moved on, Danni. It's been weeks – six
weeks to be exact, since we were with him.”

“
Yes,
there's a chance he's moved on,” she said. “Probably a
big chance he's moved on, and if that's the case, we'll have to find
a way to accept it and be happy for him, but, we'll never know unless
you contact him.”

Chase was silent; assessing
Danni's suggestion from every angle, and none of them came without
potential problems.

“
Say
something,” Danni said.

“
I'm
not sure it can work,” he finally said. “And, I don't
wanna drag him back into something, only to have it blow to pieces
again. I don't think any of us could handle that a second time.”

Danni
twisted her hands in her lap. “Chase, there's never any
guarantees a relationship will work – you know that. But,
don't you think it should be Alex's decision on whether or not he
wants to become involved with us again?”

Chase
looked at her, saw the hopeful resolve in her eyes, and although he
still wasn't convinced a relationship with Alex could have a happy
ending for them, he knew his heart wanted to give it one more try.

“
I
think we should probably think about it for a while, Danni, and make
sure it's what we really want before we contact Alex. That's all I'm
saying.”

Danni
nodded and wiped away a tear from her cheek, then stood up from the
couch and walked toward the bathroom. She was adjusting the
temperature of the shower water when Chase came up behind her. His
arms circled her waist and his face nuzzled into the warm bend of her
neck.

“
You
really think we should give it another try?” he asked.

“
If
you had asked me that question six weeks ago, I would have said a
resounding no,” Danni said and paused. “I didn't think
it was possible to love two people at the same time. I've had a
lot
of time to think about this, and I realize now it
is
possible to love more than one person, because we both do.”

Chase
pressed his lips to Danni's temple. “Hearing you say that
melts my heart.”

She nodded and squeezed his
forearms. “Never in a million years would I have thought we'd
be experiencing this,” she said.

“
Me,
too, babe,” Chase whispered. “Alex is an amazing man.”

Danni's hands lifted to
cover her eyes. “I loved the way he made me feel – the
way he made you feel. We were both so alive when he was with us –
and I don't mean only while we were in bed.”

Chase spun her around to
face him and held her by the shoulders; his head dropping to fully
see her eyes. “And, if he's moved on or doesn't want to open
himself to this again?”

“
I
hope that's not the case, but I guess we'll have to handle it if it
happens.” She opened her mouth to speak again, then stopped.

“
Whatever
it is, Danni, just say it,” he said.

“
Okay.
Okay,” she said, her eyes downcast. “If he doesn't want
to try again, I worry you'll always blame me, because we both know it
was me that ruined what we had before.”

Chase
quickly pulled her to his chest and embraced her tightly. “I
swear to you, I will never fault you for what happened,” he
said. “Ever.”

Danni ran her fingers up his
back and pressed her face to his chest. “Will you call him?”

“
How
about we sleep on it and we'll talk about it again tomorrow,”
he said. “If we both still want the same thing, I'll give him
a call. Agreed?”

“
Agreed,”
she said.

Chase's
cell phone broke through the nighttime silence in their bedroom. He
rolled away from Danni and glanced at the digital readout for the
time. It was nearly two o'clock in the morning. Who the fuck was
calling him at this time of the night, he thought, and reached for
his phone.

“
Hello,”
Chase said in a sleepy voice.

“
Chase.
It's Wheland.”

“
What's
going on?” Chase asked.

“
Look,
I know it's late and, by the sounds of it, I woke you, but it's
important,” Wheland said.

Chase slid into an upright
position in bed. Goose bumps broke out on his flesh. “Has
something happened to Alex?”

Danni stirred beside him,
rising up onto her elbows at the mention of Alex's name.

“
Alex
was hit by a car while he was out running,” Wheland said, his
own voice cracking with emotion.

“
Christ!
I warned him about running along the side of the road when he was
here,” Chase said. “How bad is it.”

Wheland cleared his throat,
then cursed. “It's bad, Chase. Multiple broken bones and …”

“
Multiple
broken bones and what? Say it, Wheland!” Chase said.

“
There's
also a head injury,” Wheland said.

“
Fucking
Jesus!” Chase said, and threw his legs over the side of the bed
to stand up.

Danni slid to the edge of
the mattress and watched Chase walk a rut into their hardwood floor
as he listened to Wheland speak. Her eyes began to fill with tears.
Whatever was going on was serious. That much was obvious.

“
Listen,
I know things ended for you guys,” Wheland said. “But,
Alex kept saying your names in the E.R. He's in surgery now, and
then they'll move him into recovery, but I think he'd want you here
when he finally wakes up.”

“
Say
no more,” Chase said. “We're on our way.”

“
If
you're sure you want to come out here, I'll have a charter service
fly you,” Wheland said. “And, a car will be waiting for
you at airport. They'll bring you directly to the hospital. How
soon can you be ready to leave?”

“
Half
hour or less,” Chase said.

“
Okay.
Good. I'll make a few calls and get a plane there soon as I can,”
Wheland said.

“
Okay,
thanks,” Chase said.

“
I'll
text you updates as I get them,” Wheland said. “Chase?”

“
Yes.”

“
Thanks
for coming,” Wheland said.

“
No
need to thank me, Wheland. This is Alex we're talking about.”

Chase ended the call and
tugged Danni from the bed. “Come on, we need to pack a bag,”
he said. He walked to the closet and pulled out a backpack, then
threw it on the bed.

“
Is
it bad?” she asked.

“
Yes,
I, ah … fuck, baby it sounds really bad,” he said.
“Toss some clothes into that bag,” he said.

A few minutes later Wheland
called back. Chase answered his phone on the first ring, fear
gripping his heart to the point it felt like it might burst.

“
Please
don't tell me he didn't make it,” Chase said.

“
The
surgeon just came out,” Wheland said. “Alex is holding
his own. They have him in a medically-induced coma to try and
control the brain swelling.”

“
Ah,
Christ,” Chase sighed.

“
He's
holding his own, Chase. Focus on that,” Wheland said.

Chase
sighed with relief. “I will. Thank you, Wheland. We'll see
you in a few hours.”

Forty-five minutes later,
Chase and Danni buckled their seat belts on the private jet Wheland
had reserved for them. Under different circumstances, this would be
an experience of a life time; to be the lone occupants of a private
jet. Leather seats, chrome and mirrored accents on every piece of
furniture, and real crystal stemware filled with what appeared to be
Champagne waited for them inside. A fruit and cheese platter sat on
the table in front of their plush seats, but sadly neither of them
had the stomach to eat or drink a thing. The one thought on their
minds was whether or not Alex would pull through this.