with her.
“Maybe
what you need to do is be outrageous. Do some sexy dancing in a skimpy outfit
and see the men drool. I’d love to see you showing this body off.” Dan had
played some music while she’d stood with nothing on but his shirt.
“Dance
for me, Mandy.”
The
music had brought her to life. Her body a conduit of energy. She’d danced, and
they’d made love. He’d held her against the wall as he pounded her body into
completion.
“What
are you thinking?” Rick brought her out of her thoughts.
“Nothing.”
Never would she tell her brother that her feelings for Dan had changed so
drastically from Friday night through Saturday and Sunday and by Monday, she
was in love with him.
She’d
survive the humiliation she would feel in front of her family. She didn’t know
if she’d survive the pain.
Chapter Seven
He couldn’t think. He couldn’t sleep. Dan was being
driven mad by the image of a little brown-haired vixen. She avoided him around
town and didn’t answer his calls. Dan had never had to work at getting a woman
before.
Mandy meant so much more to him than a shag. When Rick
had closed the door, he’d watched them pull away from the street. Disgusted
with himself, he found the black book and burned every page. Why did he ever
think keeping a book of conquests would be a good thing?
It had been three weeks since he’d seen Mandy. Every week
worse than the last.
He ordered a strong coffee at the diner and winced as the
bright lights hurt his eyes. The only way of dulling the pain had been to drown
his sorrows in a whisky bottle.
The waitress came back swaying her hips and showing an
absurd amount of cleavage as she handed him his coffee.
“Hi, Dan,” she said in a smoky voice.
Shit. He couldn’t deal with this now.
“Go away.”
“But…”
“Sweetheart, I don’t care and I don’t want to know. I
want to drink my coffee in peace.”
The woman walked away in a huff.
“Wow, I never thought I’d see the day you’d turn down a
woman,” Rick said, sitting down opposite him.
“If you’re here to gloat or whatever, save it,” Dan
picked up his drink and took a gulp, not caring about the burn.
“Mandy is miserable.”
“She won’t take any of my calls, so I imagine she’s getting
over it,” Dan winced.
“You’re being an asshole. The bad boy biker strikes again
and all that shit. But I’ve been thinking. You never gave me back those letters
I left with you. Mandy means more to you than those other women?” Rick asked.
Dan didn’t bother answering. Rick knew the answer.
“Open your wallet.”
Frowning, Dan glanced over at his friend. “What?”
“Open your wallet and let me see the picture you keep
there.”
He growled at his friend. Rick had a point, and he wasn’t
going to listen.
“You’ve got the picture of Mandy there. I didn’t know you
felt anything more than friendship with her. I know you enjoyed the letters she
sent. You love her, so why aren’t you fighting for her?”
Dan didn’t
answer and after a while Rick left. He finished his coffee and went back home,
where nothing waited for him only the memory of Mandy being with him.
Chapter Eight
Several
weeks had passed since the last time she’d seen Dan. Rick tried to console her
as much as possible. She was caught between the ache of wanting him and the
pain of what he’d done. All she wanted to do was drive over to his place and
put all the horrible shit behind her so they could move on together.
Another
part of her was scared. Was the pain she’d seen in his eyes false?
As
the days passed, Rick became more and more insistent that she forgive his
friend. Strange, considering he had been the one to cause the problem. The
rumours surrounding Dan Sawyer had reduced, and she wondered if it had
something to do with her.
“Sometimes
we have to fight for the person we love,” Rick said.
“What
do you want me to do? He doesn’t care