The next day Marnie awoke to angry voices crashing against her dream. She padded down the penthouse's hallway. Danny and Robert were in the living room having a heated discussion. When he spotted her, she shivered. The dark look in his eyes promised trouble.
“Did you know?” Danny thwacked the newspaper in his hand.
She shook her head, glancing at Robert.
“Don't you dare look away from me.” He stalked toward her.
“Enough,” Robert said. “I didn't tell her.”
Danny turned his back to her. “Fuck you, old man. I'm going.”
“This isn't going to go well for you. Her mother will be there.”
Danny threw the newspaper on the coffee table.
He pointed at Marnie. “Put it on my calendar.”
He pushed past her. She walked forward and picked up the newspaper. A candlelight vigil would be held in central park for Emily Lowell. A picture of the woman, who resembled the girl posing with Danny on a yacht, smiled broadly.
Robert fell back on the sofa with a sigh. “I tried so hard to keep this from him. He's not ready to face them. To deal with her memories.”
Dinner had been exhausting. A smarter man would've taken Marnie up on her ham sandwich offer. The evening had been thick with Nia's flirtations. Fortunately, he'd received a call that gave him an excuse to end the night early.
The next morning he'd opened the newspaper and spit out his coffee. A large picture of Emily stretched across the front page. Her mother was having a vigil in her honor. No wonder she'd freaked on him yesterday. Rage boiled within. He should've known about this. But when Robert had arrived at the penthouse, he faked no apology. The sonfabitch had the nerve to look smug about keeping him in the dark. He'd known for weeks about the vigil.
Danny deserved to be there. Nothing was going to keep him from honoring her memory. But what had hurt worse, was the possibility that Marnie had betrayed him. If she'd had a hand in keeping him in the dark, the pain would've been something he couldn't recover from. The shake of her head had brought him more comfort than she would ever know. Until this morning he hadn't realized how much he'd come to depend on her.
A knock sounded on his door and he told the person to enter.
“Hi.” She gave him a shy smile.
After the way he'd yelled at her, he wasn't surprised at her hesitance.
He wiped a hand across his face, trying to wipe off the shame. How could he have mistrusted her?
“I'm sorry about earlier. I was just so angry to find out he's been lying to me.”
“He's worried the vigil will push you into a relapse.”
“Fuck that.” He started to say something more, but caught himself. She thought Robert was doing this out of concern for him. But Danny knew the real reason. Robert tried to keep a tight leash on him to make sure he never spilled the beans about what really happened in Peru. The things Robert had done, or thought he'd needed to do, could easily land him in jail.
“Running away from things is not going to keep me sober. He's treating me like I'm an eggshell. I don't look like an eggshell, do I?” He quirked his lips into a goofy grin.
Her small titter of laughter washed away the gloom of the morning.
“Grab your calendar. I'm guessing there's an interview we'll have to cut today, if I'm going to make it to the vigil.”
Fur‐lined parkas were turned up, the moon was half a crescent, making the night nearly pitch black. A group holding various sized lighted candles, hovered around a shrine.
The same picture of Emily that was used as the cover of the newspaper sat against a white board. Scrawls of handwriting in different colored markers framed her picture.
Her mother spoke to the crowd. “My daughter had a sweet nature. She always had a kind word for her fellow stranger. When she entered the modeling world, I felt sure her attitude would change, but it didn't. She used the money she earned to go school and before she died, she was working on creating a nonprofit organization for young girls. I don't know what happened the night she died, and it kills me. I don't believe she died of a heart attack. At twenty‐five years old? Come on.”
She may have been young, but the coke had aged her body. What she'd died from, that was the truth. But how she died had been a lie. No one knew about the needle in her arm. Robert had cleared the paraphernalia before calling the police, to save Danny, and save Emily from disgrace. He'd paid a price anyway with the rumors that rose up, and swirled around him, calling him a murderer. But even through his grief, Danny saw that Robert had done the right thing. She didn't deserve to die with addiction hanging over her memory. If the public had known she'd died of a drug overdose, everything she'd ever done would be sullied and suspect.
Her mother was right. She had wanted to open a nonprofit. Growing up without a father had made her long for the strength that only the bond of women could bring. Her mother had been her rock and she had wanted to share that experience with other girls. But the drugs had clouded her mind, turning it into a dream that she only mentioned during lucid states. In the end those were far and few.
Robert gripped his bicep. “Whatever you do, don't speak. They'll think you're trying to get media attention at Emily's memorial.”
He nodded. He had no intentions of stealing her light tonight.
Emily's mother finished speaking and he rounded the crowd to speak with her.
“Ms. Lowell, I want you to know I loved Emily. Not a day goes by that I don't wish God had chosen me instead.”
“Not a day goes by that I don't wish it either.”
She pushed past him and blended into the crowd.
“Next up. Danny Roland's going to say a few words.”
The organizer turned to him and beckoned him forward. He shook his head. She walked toward him. “Please Mr. Roland. Besides her mother, no one has stepped up to speak on her behalf. We want to know what she was like.”
Danny stepped forward and stood beside her picture. A flurry of whispers erupted amongst the crowd. Sorry Robert, but this is for Emily.
“I didn't plan on speaking tonight. I just wanted to be here and share in the love everyone had for Emily. She has passed, but she's not gone. I feel her presence every morning just before I wake. And then I turn, looking for her and remember. She was my best friend. Bossy as hell, but I needed it. I don't think I knew how to live until she came along.” And then he couldn't breathe without her. Every decision he made required a consulting glance in her direction.
“My career was just taking off and I was slammed with work. Movies deals, endorsement requests, and new songs were being pushed on me. I remember one day we were sitting in my agent's office waiting for him to return with a stack of paperwork about yea high.” He framed the height with his hands. “She turns to me and says we should go for a drive. I'd just turned seventeen and had got my license. If anyone, especially a beautiful girl, mentioned the word drive, I was ready. So, my mom, being the good mother she is, decided not to give me a brand new car. She gave me my father's 1989 Buick. Oh, yeah, now that was a sexy car.” A few females chuckled and the guys in the audience whooped.
“I got in the car and I said ‘where to' and she just said ‘drive'. We hit the highway and we were gone for a week. No hotels, we slept in the car and just goofed off. It was the best time I ever had since my father had passed. For a moment life felt like magic.” Partly because they were high. They'd run into a group at a café and discovered ecstasy together. Making love with her on the hood of the car, not caring who saw them, made him believe in life again. Before Emily he had been a zombie going through the motions and getting high just to feel anything.
Emotion bubbled in his throat. He turned and walked away, fearing his voice would break. The crowd clapped as he made his way back to Robert and Marnie.
“Have you lost your mind? You were just supposed to be present,” Robert said.
“You need to relax.” He started walking toward the limousine.
“You have to start listening to me. I'm the one who's got this under control,” Robert said.
Danny whirled around. His nose inches from Robert's. “No, you don't.”
“Guys.” He glanced at Marnie. Her arms were crossed against her chest. “I'm getting cold. Are we ready to leave?”
Robert turned a warm smile on her and step toward her. “Would you like my jacket?” He took his white sports coat and draped it over her shoulders.
“Thank you. That's so kind of you.” She beamed.
Robert glanced at Danny. He nodded. An unspoken truce formed. Marnie's subtle diversion had cooled the tempers for tonight. They made their way to the limo and Kevon hopped out to hold the door open for them.
Once inside, Danny opened the liquor cabinet and poured himself a glass of champagne.
“Marnie?” He held the glass toward her and she accepted with a thank you.
He tilted his chin toward Robert. He held up his hand to shield himself from the offending bottle and said no.
“You shouldn't either.”
He poured the glass for himself as if Robert hadn't protested.
“What you fail to understand is that I am no longer the boy you once knew.” He put his hand up to silence Robert's retort. “You were there for me at a precarious time. But I've crossed the threshold and I'm a man now.” Robert's eyes widened, but Danny ignored him. “You need to start treating me as such.”
He downed the champagne. “Let's hit up a club.” He pressed the window down and gave the driver directions.
“Well, man, count me out of this foolishness. Drop me off first,” Robert said.
When they pulled into his home, Marnie handed Robert his jacket.
Once they arrived at the club, they were ushered to the VIP lounge. It was a large crescent‐shaped leather booth with a red velvet rope barring entrance. He guided Marnie behind the rope and quickly gave their waitress their drink orders. Marnie had chosen to sit at the opening of the booth a good foot away from him. He hated the distance. Perhaps tonight things could change. He scooted over to her.
“Would you like to dance?”
She shook her head, engrossed in something on her cellphone. He wished he could chuck it across the room. Maybe then she would look at him. A techno pop ballad started vibrating through the club. He bobbed his head to the beat. Looking out into the crowd, he spotted a redhead. She was eyeing him as her hips swayed to the music. He grinned and she returned a sexy one of her own.
He tapped Marnie on the shoulder and pointed to the woman. “I'm going to hit the dance floor.” Maybe if she saw what she was missing out on, she'd join him.
He took the lady's hand, kissing the back of it. He placed his hand on her hip and swayed along with her. A snarky R&B song came on and she turned, interest in him evident by the way she ground her ass against his cock. He ran his hands past her full breast and down her flat stomach as they stepped in time to the music. He glanced up. Marnie still had her head down, buried in her cellphone. Dammit. Look at me.
She twirled in his arms and then captured his chin and enveloped him in a kiss. He might as well have been kissing a fish. The tingle didn't spread past his lips. It was too bad. With her willingness, he could easily see them having fun sweating up the sheets tonight, taking her as her legs rested on his shoulders. But she wasn't the one who could sate his sorrow over Emily. He needed Marnie.
When the song was over he thanked the woman, shaking her hand. Bewildered, she returned the shake. “Have a goodnight,” Danny said
She frowned, but tried to gloss over her confusion. “You too.”
He rejoined Marnie at the VIP lounge.
“Will you do a shot with me?”
She agreed and he ordered two from the waitress that passed by. She picked her glass up and tipped her head back, revealing a long graceful neck. He ran his finger across it. She swallowed and jerked away from his fingers.
A laugh escaped her as she looked at him in surprise. He smiled and downed his drink. He ordered two more, but she declined. It was no fun drinking alone. After downing them, he asked her if she wanted to leave.
He stood up to take her hand, and nearly fell on top of her. She braced a hand against his chest and he was able to regain his balance. It had been a long time since he'd drank like this. His resolve was weaker than he remembered.
He pulled her into his chest, and draped an arm around her shoulder. She guided him out of the club. Their limo was parked a block away. A raised concrete tile almost did him in as he tripped and pitch forward. Marnie caught him, hauling him backwards. The fabric of his shirt cracked and he suspected the material was stretching under his weight.
“I've got you,” Marnie whispered into his ear.
Yes, he agreed, she did have him, and for that he was grateful.
They made their way to the limo without further incident.
He rested his head on her shoulder and waited for the world to stop spinning around. Had that kiss been a dream? The more time passed between them, the more he wondered if he'd imagined all of it. There was only one way to find out. He tilted his chin toward her, intent on tasting her one more time. He ached to feel her lips against his once more. His kiss landed in the crook of her neck. He swirled his tongue across the skin, savoring her taste. His body sung her praises.
She pushed him back until he was lying against the seat cushion. She leaned over him. Yes, please. He longed to have her breaking beneath him. In his bed as their desire rolled through them. Touch me. His request was granted. A cool hand smoothed back the hair covering his forehead.
“Danny, it's okay. Relax.” He stopped trying to feel her. She moved back into her seat, away from him. He sat up slowly. Maybe it was a dream.
He laid his head in her lap. “I'm sorry, I must be drunk.” She buried her fingers in his hair, massaging his scalp. He sighed, fighting the temptation to moan.
A bubble of her laughter floated over him. “Yes, sir, you are.”