Coming Home (33 page)

As Leah and Danny walked up her father’s driveway, she bit the corner of her lip, glancing over at him. She couldn’t understand how he could be so calm; her stomach rolled incessantly the entire drive to her father’s, and now that they were nearing his front door, she felt like she might be sick.

Danny noticed her looking at him, and he gave her a tiny smile, squeezing her hand as they walked up the steps. They stopped in front of the door, and Leah looked up at him.

“Last chance to back out,” she said, and he smiled.

“I’m all in,” he said, placing a reassuring hand on the small of her back, and she took a deep breath before she turned and opened the front door.

The sounds of talking and laughing instantly greeted them, immediately followed by the smell of Sarah’s lasagna.

Here we go
, she thought just as her brother’s voice boomed through the house.

“Oh, you’ve got to be fucking kidding me! Somebody paid this ref off!”

She flinched and shook her head, looking up at Danny.

“Does he have a swear jar?” he asked.

Before she could answer, Sarah and Alexis came out of the kitchen.

“Hey guys!” Sarah said excitedly, taking the bottle of wine out of Leah’s hands. “Danny, I’m so glad you decided to come.” She went up on her toes and kissed his cheek, and he smiled his dimpled smile at her.

“Here, let me take that,” she said, reaching for the dessert box with the Giovanni’s logo scrawled across the top. “Whatever’s in here needs to be hidden before my brother sees it.”

She turned and walked back toward the kitchen, and Alexis stepped forward, holding out her hand. “Hi, Danny. I’m Alexis, Chris’s wife.”

Danny took her hand and leaned down, planting a kiss on her cheek. “Nice to meet you,” he said, and she blushed slightly.

Leah removed her coat and Danny followed suit. As Leah reached for it, Alexis intercepted it. “No, let me take those. You guys go inside. Danny, the boys are all drinking beer. Do you want one? Or a glass of wine?”

“A beer would be great, thanks,” he said, handing her his coat. Alexis smiled with a nod, turning toward Leah to take her coat. She made eye contact with her, raising one eyebrow before she continued toward the hall closet.

Leah turned to Danny, looking up at him as she took a breath. “Ready?”

He nodded. “If you are.”

She forced a smile and turned to walk toward the family room. Goddamn him, he was still the epitome of calm and collected. Meanwhile, her pulse was rushing in her ears as they approached the room.

As they reached the doorway, three heads turned to look at them simultaneously. Her father was sitting in his usual place in the recliner, and her brother was laid out across the couch, one hand behind his head. Kyle was on the love seat, one arm draped across the back and the other holding a bottle of beer on his knee.

“Hey, look who’s here!” Chris said, swinging his legs over the couch as he sat up, and her father shifted in his chair, gripping the sides as he pushed himself up to stand.

He walked toward them, glancing at Danny before he brought his eyes to Leah. “Princess,” he said, reaching out to give her a hug. He ran his hand up and down her back as he whispered, “Relax,” in her ear.

She nodded, taking a deep breath before he released her.

Chris and Danny were already shaking hands; her brother looked amiable enough, but Leah knew him well enough to see that he was assessing Danny as he looked at him.

“Danny, this is my dad.”

Danny smiled, extending his hand. “Nice to meet you, Mr. Marino.”

Leah watched her father carefully as he reached forward and clasped Danny’s hand, and she exhaled in relief when she saw that Danny was meeting her father’s gaze. For as long as she could remember, her father had always said that he never trusted the intentions of a man who couldn’t look him in the eye when they shook hands.

“Good to meet you, Danny.”

“Here you go,” Alexis said from behind them, and Leah turned to see her handing Danny a beer.

“Where’s mine?” Chris said, and Alexis shrugged.

“My guess would be in the fridge.”

Danny pressed his lips together and looked down, only allowing himself to laugh when everyone else did.

Her father turned and walked back to the recliner. “Have a seat, Danny.”

He took a few steps into the room, and Leah was about to follow just as Alexis said, “Hey, Leah? Sarah said she needs you in the kitchen.”

She glanced at Alexis before she turned to Danny, biting her lip.

“Beat it, mother hen,” Chris said casually, and she shot him a dirty look before turning her eyes to Danny.

“
You okay in here
?” she mouthed, and he nodded encouragingly.

“He’ll be fine,” Alexis said softly, wrapping her arm around Leah and guiding her to the kitchen.

As soon as they entered, Sarah handed her a glass of wine.

“Thanks,” she said, taking a long sip as she leaned up against the counter.

Alexis held up her hands. “Okay, I’m just gonna say it. Gor…geous,” she said, making it sound like two separate words.

“You should see him shirtless,” Sarah said, smirking at Leah over her wine glass before taking a sip.

“No way,” Alexis said as she fanned herself. “I couldn’t handle it. Pregnancy hormones are a force to be reckoned with.”

“I hate both of you,” Leah said, blushing crimson, and the girls laughed.

The three of them continued working on dinner, and at one point, Christopher came into the kitchen to get another round of beers. As he turned from the fridge, he made eye contact with Leah, and she raised her brow at him. He smiled softly before he winked, and then he made his way back out to the family room.

At that small token of approval, Leah felt some of the tension leave her shoulders, and she smiled to herself as she chopped up the vegetables for the salad.

A little while later, Alexis and Leah were dishing out the lasagna while Sarah called the boys in for dinner. Kyle came through the kitchen first, kissing Sarah’s temple before he continued through to the dining room.

The sound of laughing caught her attention, and Leah turned as Chris and Danny entered the kitchen together. Chris smirked at her, tousling her hair roughly as he passed, and she swatted at him, jerking out of his reach. Before she could fix it, Danny came over to her, running his hands through her hair and detangling it.

“Hi,” she said.

“Hi,” he said, tucking her hair behind her ear.

“Are you having fun?”

“I am. They’re great. And you look much better,” he said, wrapping his arms around her waist.

She brought her arms up, interlocking her fingers behind his neck. “I look better?”

“Yeah. You don’t look like you’re about to shit yourself anymore.”

She unlocked her hands from behind his neck and pushed him, and he laughed, pulling her into a hug. Leah rested her cheek against his chest and closed her eyes.

“Was I that obvious?” she mumbled.

“Just a little,” he said against the top of her head, kissing her there before letting her go.

Her father walked into the kitchen then, clapping Danny on the back as he passed. “Brees better come through next week.”

“It’ll happen,” Danny said, and Leah looked up at him, her brow furrowed.

“What was that about?”

“We got a bet going on next week’s game. Me and your dad against Kyle and your brother.”

“Okay, but what does that have to do with the weather?”

“
What
?” he said through a laugh. “What are you talking about?”

“My dad just said a breeze better come through next week.”

Danny stared at her for several seconds before he burst out laughing. “Oh my God,” he said, taking her face in his hands. “Do you have any idea how adorable you are?”

He leaned down and planted a soft kiss on her lips before he turned into the dining room, and she heard his laughter start back up again.

She shook her head, still confused as she finished cutting up the last of the garlic bread, and then she brought the tray into the dining room. As soon as she sat, she heard Chris chuckle softly before clearing his throat.

“So, Leah,” he said, “Do you want to get in on this wind bet? I’m gonna see if I can find my anemometer.”

The boys disintegrated into laughter, her father included, and the girls were looking at her with equal parts sympathy and amusement. She turned to Danny, who was trying to get control of his laughter as he looked at her apologetically.

Chris laughed. “Drew Brees is the quarterback for the New Orleans Saints, you asshole. Brees. B-R-E-E-S. Aren’t you supposed to be an English teacher?”

She looked at Danny. “You ratted me out?”

“I had to,” he said, trying not to smile. “Your dad asked me what was so funny.”

She pursed her lips and nodded slowly. “Okay, I see how it is,” she said, picking up her fork and turning to her brother. “And Chris, for your information,
Brees
and
breeze
would be considered homophones—words that sound the same but are spelled differently and have different meanings. They’re easy to confuse if you don’t see them written down, in case you were interested.”

He paused for a second, looking up at the ceiling thoughtfully before he brought his eyes back to hers. “Yeah, I’m not interested at all, actually.”

The table broke into laughter again, and this time Leah joined them, shaking her head. Danny clasped her hand under the table, bringing it up to his mouth and giving it a quick kiss before he released it.

Dinner couldn’t have gone more perfectly if Leah had scripted it herself. Both Danny and Kyle were newcomers to the Marino Sunday dinner, but it felt as if they’d always been part of the tradition. The boys talked cars for a little while once they found out what Danny did for a living, and even though most of what they were saying went right over Leah’s head, she found herself listening intently to the conversation. Danny sounded so intelligent, so ardent, so confident, that she could have listened to him for hours, even if none of it made sense to her.

After dinner the girls brought dessert out to the table, and everyone sat around, sipping coffee and talking casually. At one point Kyle was telling a story, and Leah looked at Danny to find his gaze focused on the other side of the table. He looked almost wistful, and Leah followed his line of sight to where Chris and Alexis were sitting; they were looking at Kyle as he spoke, but Chris’s hand was on Alexis’s belly, rubbing it gently as he listened to Kyle’s story.

She reached under the table and took his hand, and Danny blinked quickly, snapping out of whatever spell he was under as he looked down at her. She gave his hand a tiny squeeze, and he smiled before he returned it.

Just as everyone was finishing up, Leah excused herself to the laundry room to sort her father’s laundry, and by the time she got back to the kitchen, only Sarah and Kyle were left. Sarah was putting the leftovers in plastic containers, and Kyle was loading the dishwasher.

Leah walked toward the family room and popped her head in. Chris and Alexis were sitting on the couch together, watching TV.

“Where are Daddy and Danny?” she asked.

“Outside,” Chris answered.

“What are they doing out there?”

Chris shrugged, his eyes on the television. “Don’t worry. Dad wouldn’t do anything out there. Too many witnesses.”

Leah rolled her eyes, walking to the window and pulling the curtains aside. The outside light was on, faintly illuminating the driveway, and it took her a second to find them. As soon as she did, her eyes stung with the threat of tears.

They stood at the top of the driveway behind the pickup Danny had borrowed from Jake. Danny was off to the side, his hands in his pockets and his head down. The truck bed was open, and Leah’s father leaned on it with both hands, staring tenderly at what lay inside.

After a minute he stood, turning to Danny, and Leah watched as Danny raised his head. They were too far away for her to see their expressions, or even if their mouths were moving, but they stood there for a moment, facing each other. And then her father walked toward him, putting his hand on Danny’s shoulder.

Leah stepped back and let the curtain fall closed, suddenly feeling as though she were eavesdropping. A wave of emotion crashed over her, and all at once, she wanted to laugh, or burst into tears, or both.

Sarah and Kyle joined them in the living room, and Leah curled up in her father’s recliner, attempting to watch TV with everyone else. About ten minutes later, she heard the garage door being opened, and she knew Danny and her father were carrying the slab of concrete into the house.

Eventually she heard the sounds of them coming up the basement stairs, and as the door opened, Leah turned to see her father standing at the top. His eyes met hers, and then he walked over to where she was sitting, bringing his hand to her cheek as he stared down at her. She smiled up at him, and his lips curved into a gentle smile in return before he dropped his eyes and took a tiny, quivering breath. He walked out of the room then, and she knew he must have needed a few minutes to himself.

Leah turned her attention back to the basement steps; Danny was leaning against the doorframe, his hands in his pockets and his eyes on her. Before she had even made the conscious decision to do it, she was out of the chair and crossing the room to him. He pushed off the wall as she approached, and Leah immediately wrapped her arms around his waist, hiding her face in his chest as she inhaled the scent that was quickly becoming vital to her. He brought his hand to her hair, holding her against his chest as he pressed his lips to the crown of her head.

And that was the moment she knew she had fallen in love with Danny DeLuca.