Coming Home(75)

It was quiet for a beat before Holly said, “You also thought Scott was genuine.”

“Holly!” Robyn barked, and Leah dropped her eyes as Holly covered her face with both hands.

“I’m sorry, Leah. I just meant that—”

“No, it’s okay,” Leah said, her eyes still trained on her lap. “You’re right. I know you’re right. But this time…everything just feels different. I can’t explain it.”

And she couldn’t explain it. All she knew was that she felt oddly connected to Danny. There was something about him that spoke to a long-forgotten part of her—that awakened something dormant in her soul and made her want things again.

Ever since that first day at the Cheesecake Factory, something had changed for her. It was as if letting her guard down with him had somehow shaken her foundation, and every layer of resistance and detachment she’d built up for the past two years had crumbled in on itself. And instead of panicking—instead of scrambling to pick up the pieces and rebuild—she found herself wanting to kick the debris away and breathe in everything around her.

Every conversation, every interaction with him, freed her a little more.

It was there even in the little things, like the way her body reacted to the timbre of his voice, or the simplest of his touches. The way seeing him in pain caused a lump in her throat, like she was the one hurting. Her connection to him felt mature, as if it was something that had existed long before she had felt it or acknowledged it.

What happened between them that morning only reinforced it; she had confessed her biggest disgrace, her most humiliating regret, only to have him wrap her in his arms without even flinching at her offense. Like he had known all along and had already forgiven her.

She could try to explain it to Holly and Robyn, but Leah knew they wouldn’t understand. Hell, she didn’t even really understand. But that didn’t make it any less real for her.

Holly moved from her spot on the floor, crawling over to where Leah sat on the couch before she rested her head in her lap. “I’m sorry. You know me and my big mouth love you and are just looking out for you.”

Leah smiled, running her hand over the back of Holly’s hair. “I know. And I will go slow. I promise.”

Holly lifted her head, smiling at Leah before she hopped to her feet. “Okay, should we put the movie in now? Ryan Gosling is shirtless in this, so like seriously, what the f*ck are we waiting for?”

Leah and Robyn laughed as Holly walked over to the DVD player with the movie. She’d brought it over, along with some takeout from the girls’ favorite sushi restaurant, in honor of their last girls’ night before Robyn got married. But as soon as they’d walked into Leah’s apartment, the relentless third-degree interrogation took precedence over the food and entertainment. She’d known them too long, and they could see all over her face that something had changed for her. Within ten minutes of their arrival, Leah had told them everything, beginning with Danny’s drunken phone call and ending with her bringing him to his car earlier that afternoon.

“Oh, here,” Robyn said, reaching into her bag and pulling out a small stack of envelopes before tossing them to Leah. “We got your mail on the way in.”

“Thanks,” Leah said, quickly sifting through the stack as Robyn started taking the containers of sushi out of the bag. There were two bills and a magazine subscription renewal.

And one other.

Leah laughed humorlessly as soon as she saw it.

“What?” Holly asked, coming back to the couch with the remote.