Coming Home(158)

Leah chewed her lip as she listened to Danny’s voice, asking her to leave a message, and when it beeped, she told him she was done for the day and to come up whenever he was finished. She ended the call and tossed her phone into her purse with a frustrated sigh. If he was in the garage, more likely than not, he hadn’t heard her call. It was always so noisy in there, with people talking and tools and machines running nonstop—unless he had his phone set to vibrate in his pocket, he probably wouldn’t even see she had called until he was already leaving.

She sent up a silent prayer that it would be soon.

But by the time she pulled into the parking space in front of her apartment, a gnawing impatience was beginning to mix with the anxiety already swirling in her gut.

He still hadn’t returned her call.

Leah put the car in park and gathered her things quickly, as if her rushing could somehow make him do the same.

She hoisted her bags onto her shoulder as she approached the front door, promising herself that if she didn’t hear back from him in the next ten minutes, she would call the shop and have him paged. The idea of wasting any more time without him tonight was making her want to crawl out of her skin.

Leah fumbled with her keys for a moment before she opened the door to her apartment, immediately stopping in her tracks.

It was dark inside, save for the faint flickering of candlelight.

After a stunned second, she walked in, closing the door softly behind her. There were candles on her kitchen table, along with wine glasses and place settings and a vase of red roses.

“Danny?” she called, her eyes roving the scene before her.

A second later he came out from the kitchen with a bottle of wine in his hand.

“Welcome home,” he said.

Leah blinked at him before she put her bags down by the door. “What are you doing?” she asked, walking toward the table. “What is this?”

“An early birthday celebration.”

She stopped short. “You remembered?”

“Of course I did,” he said matter-of-factly, placing the bottle on the table as he began to uncork it.

Leah stared at him, completely floored. With everything he had going on the next day, celebrating her birthday should have been the last thing on his mind.

“I even bought you a birthday cake that I’m going to pretend I made. And you’re going to pretend to believe it, just like you promised.”

She looked up at him with a tiny laugh as she watched him pour her a glass of wine, and then he smiled as he held it out for her. “I hope you’re hungry,” he said. “I got us something from Il Bardona.”

Leah’s mouth dropped. Il Bardona was one of her favorite restaurants, but it certainly wasn’t an establishment that dealt in takeout.

She reached for the glass he handed her. “That’s not the type of place that makes food to go.”

“I know,” he said. “I called in a favor.”

She stared at him for a moment before shaking her head. “Danny…”

“Leah,” he said, mimicking her tone as he poured himself a glass of wine.

She tried to stifle a smile as he placed his glass on the table, and then he pulled her chair out and gestured for her to sit down. “Your meal will be out shortly, miss,” he said with a bow.

As he disappeared into the kitchen, Leah turned to look at the table.

He’d remembered her birthday. He’d gone out of his way for her tonight. Sneaking up to her place while she was stuck at work, making arrangements with her favorite restaurant, setting the table with stemware and flowers, getting her a birthday cake so she could make her wish.