“Well, this is it.” Danny parked the U-Haul in the parking lot of O’Brian’s, inhaled, and turned to his friend. “I know there’re no good-byes among us, but…” His throat tightened as he swallowed back emotions he’d kept at bay for weeks. “You’ve been a friend…a brother.” He swallowed again and cleared his throat. “No words to thank you for what you’ve been and all you’ve given.”
“No words needed, Dan,” Chris replied. “You and Julie are two of the finest people I’ve ever known. Sheila and I were blessed when you entered our lives.”
Danny’s nostrils stung with tears. Fuck, you’re moving, not dying, Marcus. Keep your shit tight.
“Bro, I bet Sheila twenty bucks that I wouldn’t get—her words—all emotional. My words—pussied up. So let’s end this here.” Wiping the wet from his eyes, Chris grinned. “You’re only a few hours away, my man. That’s it, no big deal. And with cell phones…holy shit, I’ll probably talk to you too often.”
“Yeah, that would sound stalkerish coming from a chick. Coming from a man…shit’s just creepy.” Danny forced a shiver and a guffaw before hopping out of the truck. Chris’s laugh echoed in the afternoon air. “Let’s get in there and separate the women. Can’t imagine it’s gonna be pretty.”
“Nope, got fifty and an office blow job riding on that,” Chris muttered.
“Ha, why’d she take that bet? Those two cry over Hallmark commercials.”
That was one of the things Danny loved about his wife. She was stronger than any man he’d ever met, but since dealing with the loss of their baby and her infertility, she was no longer afraid of her emotions. They were her badges of survival, and only those close to her got to see them. He was proud to witness everything she had to share.
“Sheila swears she has no more tears left. All these years together, and she has no clue how well I know her. Silly woman.” Chris shrugged, opened the glass door to the pub, and walked in.
Danny followed. Sure enough, the women were hugging hard behind the bar while the staff poured drinks as if the two women didn’t exist.
“Oh shit,” Sheila gasped, turning her head to face Julie. “They’re here. I need to run to the bathroom.”
“Oh, no, you don’t, woman.” A deep laugh rolled from Chris’s chest. “Get your sweet ass over here. Hands to your sides. Don’t try to get rid of the evidence.”
Julie’s giggles grabbed Danny’s attention away from Sheila’s tear-streaked face. Julie’s watery eyes were filled with much more than sadness as she ran to him and wrapped her arms around his neck, touching her lips to his.
“I know you’re gonna miss them, babe,” she whispered. “I can see it all over your face, but it’s going to be okay. We’re going to be okay. I just know it.”
His heart pounded. “No, honey, we’re going to be amazing.”
“Not to be a dick, but the lunch rush is over and, judging by the current state of my wife”—Chris winked—“looks like we have important business to tend to in the back office.”
Sheila elbowed her husband in the gut, making the four of them laugh. After one last round of hugs, Danny led his woman to the U-Haul and drove to their new life in Charistown, PA.
Chapter Twenty
Danny’s On Main
“THE SIGN LOOKS fantastic,” Julie called from across Main Street.
Her husband and Chester were directing the employees of Hang Around, the local sign company, on where exactly to hang the handcrafted, white cedar sign that was relaxed and classy rather than pretentious or tacky. After a full year of business, that same description fit Danny’s on Main to a tee.
Danny’s on Main. Just thinking of the name brought a smile to Julie’s face.
She and Danny had been in Charistown for two weeks when they finally decided on the location. They ended up not choosing Chester’s friend’s space due to the structural damage that said friend had never disclosed but was found during inspection. Chester himself flew up for a visit that week. Within days of Chester’s leaving, that pub was closed down by the health inspector and his friend moved to places unknown. The spot Danny and Julie chose was on the corner of Main Street. It was larger than they had originally expected, but the location couldn’t be beat. With the property owner recently deceased and his family out of state and wanting to get rid of the building as soon as possible, the Marcuses could purchase the place for a steal and did so without hesitation.
Danny and Julie worked around the clock for months to make the dilapidated bar their dream bar and grill. The neighboring businesses stopped by with welcome baskets and friendly smiles, and she and Danny marveled at the good fortune that had finally come their way. The only thing they couldn’t decide on was a name for their dream. He kept choosing names that were “bad-ass” (her thought), and she leaned toward “cutesie-crap” (his thought).
Then it happened. She and Danny were sanding baseboards in what would be the billiards room once the bar was completed. She stood to stretch her torso at the same time Danny was drinking from his Thermos. He peeled off his tank top, tucked it into the waist band of his jeans, and took another long pull of water. Mmm. His broad, sculpted chest was a thing of beauty with the way each bead of sweat clung to his skin, as if it knew how lucky if was to be up close and personal with such muscled perfection. Her eyes drifted to his ink, to one tattoo in particular, and she realized it was time to add a little color to her canvas.
Danny didn’t flinch when she said she needed a break. He just told her to take all the time she needed. Turned out, she didn’t need much.
Ninety minutes later, she returned to the building with a bag of takeout in her hands and tingles in her tummy. While what she’d done might have felt spontaneous, she had discussed it in the past with her husband. Would he appreciate the sweet gesture?
“I’m back and brought lunch.” She heard the mischief in her own voice, so she knew Danny would question her mood.
“Hmm, if you’re lunch, I’ll definitely dig in.” His brows waggled as he closed the distance between them, cupped her head, and pressed their lips together.
Sweat, soap, and Danny’s distinct scent flooded her senses, melting her like always. She wanted more, and she got it when he pulled her tight against his hard body.
“Oww,” she hissed, breaking the kiss and putting slight space between them. Shit, how quickly I forgot.
“What’s wrong?” Danny’s eyes scanned her body like a gentle touch, looking for a problem… an answer. “Jules, talk to me.”
“Nothing’s wrong, I promise.” Squeezing his hand, Julie moved to place the food on the folding table before returning to face her man. The two vertical lines pressed deep between his brows screamed that he was far from reassured.
“Start talking,” he rumbled. “Make me believe that you’re okay.”
God, that low tone turned her to mush. The dominant side of Danny Marcus had always been her weakness. Even after all their years together, that hadn’t changed.
“Um,” she hedged, “I’ve been thinking about getting a tattoo—for a while now actually.”
“For real? In the past you said you liked them on me but not for you,” he recounted.
“True. But as you said, that was the past, and we’ve started fresh.” His hazel eyes twinkled as she explained. “You and I, we’ve been through so much. Happy, sad, joy, love, loss…all of it. And then we decided to start fresh.” Julie reached for Danny’s hands, laced her fingers with his, and continued. “Started fresh, baby, but not started over. You and I never needed a new beginning because what we have has always been amazing. And you were right all those years ago on our wedding night. No matter what happens, you will always be mine.” Julie brought Danny’s hands to her waist and guided them to the hem of her T-shirt.