Page 11 of Taking His Heart

Daniella is sitting on the bed, a laptop open in front of her. Her head turns towards me and then a confused look crosses her face. I’m sure I’m the last person she’d be expecting to appear in her room.

Stepping farther over the threshold, I close the door behind me.

“What? Are you okay?” She looks me up and down.

“I heard you were planning on going out on a date tonight. Who is he?” I ask, doing nothing to hide the anger in my tone.

Daniella’s brows draw down. “Whoever told you that is bullshitting you, CJ. I don’t date.” She turns her attention back to her computer and starts tapping away at the keyboard.

“You don’t date?” Now I’m more curious than I should be.

“No. What’s the point? I’d only hurt whoever I dated anyway.” She shrugs.

“Why?”

When she left, I came to terms with the fact I wasn’t enough for her, that it was something about me she didn’t want. I never once questioned why I wasn’t enough. I didn’t get the chance to. But what if she didn’t leave because of me? What if there’s something else stuck in her head that gave her a reason to go?

Fuck, now I’m looking for a reason to break her down. I don’t want to do that, but I also can’t seem to shake her from my thoughts, from my fucking soul.

“The why doesn’t matter, CJ. You came here to ask a question. You got your answer. You can leave now,” she says dismissively.

“I’m not the one here who leaves, Dani.” I walk into the room and sit on the bed, leaning my back against the headboard. Next to her. The moment my eyes flick to her computer screen, she shuts the lid. Interesting. “Watching porn?” I ask with a smirk on my face.

“No!” Daniella gasps. “Besides, this house is full of hot men walking around. I don’t need to watch porn to get turned on. I’ll just go for a stroll.”

I choose to ignore that statement, because if I don’t, I’m going to turn my mother’s home into a slaughterhouse and that’s probably not going to end too well for me. Especially since she said she was making lasagna tonight. I really want that lasagna.

“Why don’t you date, Dani?” I press her.

“Why are you asking me? We’re not friends, CJ. We don’t have conversations like this, and why are you on my bed?”

“You never used to complain about me being in your bed,” I remind her. “But I overdid it coming up the stairs. I need to sit for a bit.” It’s a lie. I could stand, but I know by the look on her face she buys it.

“Do you need something? Want me to get your mom?”

“And have her find me in your room?” I raise a curious brow.

“No, she hates me enough already,” Daniella says.

“She doesn’t hate you.” I don’t think she hates Daniella. She hates what she did. That’s not the same thing.

“Your entire family hates me. Well, maybe except for your dad and Aiden,” Daniella says. “But I get it. I deserve it.”

“You’re avoiding the question. Why?”

“Because it’s not something I’m going to answer honestly, and I don’t want to lie to you,” she says.

“Okay, let me ask something else.” I take a breath. “Why wasn’t I enough?” I don’t shift my gaze from hers, and when she frowns in confusion, I have my answer.

“My leaving had nothing to do with you, CJ. It’s me, not you.”

I laugh. “You leaving had everything to do with me. Why wasn’t I enough to keep you here?”

“I have a life. I have a family. I live in Australia.” She repeats the same words she told me all those years ago. The only difference is… now I have enough time between the shock of hearing them, having my heart tearing in two, and trying to process the pain I was feeling that I can see them for what they are. Bullshit.

“Okay, what if I said I was moving to Melbourne next month? Would that change your mind? About giving us a go?”

“I left, CJ. Why on earth would you even want to try again?”