Chapter 58 Chapter Fifty-Eight

Chapter 58 Chapter Fifty-Eight
Vanessa POV 

Moving away from the door I put the phone to my ear and accepted the call

"Hey, Mom," I answered, feeling a pang of guilt that I hadn't called her all week.

"Vanessa! Finally!" my mother's voice came through, warm and slightly exasperated. 

"I was beginning to think you'd forgotten you had a family."

"Sorry, Mom. It's been a crazy week."

"Too crazy to call your mother?" she asked, but I could hear the smile in her voice.

"Yes, actually," I said, laughing. 

"Between my dissertation and... everything else."

"Everything else?" Mom pounced on that like a cat on a mouse. 

"What's everything else? Is there a boy?"

"Mom—"

"There is! I can hear it in your voice. Vanessa Williams, are you dating someone?"

Before I could answer, I heard scrambling on the other end of the line and then my twin brothers' voices.

"NESSA HAS A BOYFRIEND?" Bailey yelled.

"WHO IS HE?" Brook demanded. 

"IS HE COOL?"

"Give me back the phone," Mom said in the background, and I could hear the struggle for control.

"Boys, I swear—"

"NESSA, WHEN ARE YOU COMING HOME?" both twins yelled at the same time.

"Soon," I promised, laughing despite myself.

"I'll come home soon."

"For Thanksgiving?" Bailey asked hopefully.

"When can we meet your boyfriend?" Brook added.

"Boys, let your sister talk to me," Mom said firmly, and apparently she won the phone battle because the twins' voices faded into the background. 

"Sorry about that. They've been asking about you all week."

"It's okay," I said, feeling a wave of homesickness washing over me. 

"I miss them too. I miss all of you."

"So when are you coming home?" Mom asked.

"The boys are right about Thanksgiving. We'd love to have you."

I hesitated.

Thanksgiving was only two weeks away, and I'd originally planned to go home. But with the invitation from Danny's family I wasn't sure I would 

"Actually, Mom, I was thinking I'd come home for Christmas break instead," I said.

"I've got a lot of dissertation work to finish, and there's this... thing happening at school that I should probably be here for."

"A thing," Mom repeated.

"Does this thing involve the boy?"

I should have known I couldn't get anything past her.

"Maybe," I admitted.

"Vanessa, are you being safe? Are you taking care of yourself?" Mom asked, and I could hear the concern in her voice.

"Yes, Mom. I promise. I'm being safe, I'm taking care of myself, and the boy is... he's really great."

"Tell me about him," Mom said, settling in for what I knew would be a long conversation.

I told her about Danny—leaving out the complicated parts about our fathers and the fact that his family was worth hundreds of millions of dollars. I told her he was a hockey player, which made her pause.

"A hockey player?" she asked carefully.

"Nessa, I thought you hated hockey."

I paused 

"Turns out hockey is not that bad “ 

Mom laughed at that.

"Good. I'm glad you're moving past that. Your father's choices don't have to define your life."

We talked for another twenty minutes about school, my dissertation, the twins and their latest adventures. Finally, Mom said she should let me go.

"But Nessa? This dinner you mentioned—is it safe" she asked and I smiled, nothing got past Taylor Williams.

She knew I was hiding something, but I didn't want to tell her yet, the feeling I had now was all for me 

"Yes?" I said cautiously.

“ Do you like him that much” she asked and I shrugged 

"And you're nervous about it," Mom said. It wasn't a question.

"Terrified, actually."

"Why?" Mom asked gently. 

Because I'm having dinner with his parents, I wanted to say that–wamted to tell her about telling her about the Glover connection, about Jonathan and Trent's history, about the fact that I was walking into a dinner that could explode spectacularly if anyone said the wrong thing. But I couldn't burden her with that. Not yet.

"Just normal nerves," I said.

"Well, he's going to love you," Mom said confidently. 

“How could he not? You're brilliant, kind, beautiful, all the things a parent wants."

"Thanks, Mom," I said, feeling tears prick at my eyes.

"Call me after and tell me how it goes," Mom said. 

“And Vanessa?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm proud of you.”

"I love you, Mom," I said.

"I love you too, sweetheart. Now get some sleep. You sound exhausted."

After we said goodnight and hung up, Bean walked into the living room her bags packed.

I rose to help Bean gather her things and drove her to her parents' house.

“ Let me take you home” I mingled and she shook her head 

“ No, I ordered a car, it's late you should get some sleep”she replied taking the bag from my hand 

"You sure you don't want to take you ?" I asked one more time .

"I'm good," Bean said.

"Ok, but text me if you need anything."

"I will," Bean promised. 

She walked out the door and I closed it behind her feeling very alone all of a sudden. I showered, changed into my pajamas, and crawled into bed, exhausted.

I must have been more tired than I thought because I fell asleep almost immediately.

I woke up sometime in the middle of the night to the feeling of someone climbing into bed beside me for a second, I panicked, then I smelled sandalwood and spice and relaxed.

"Danny?" I mumbled, still half-asleep.

"Hey," he whispered, wrapping his arms around me and pulling me against his chest. 

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you."

"You're freezing," I complained, trying to pull away from his cold skin.

"Sorry," he said again, tightening his hold on me.

"It's cold out. I'll warm up in a minute."

"How did you even get in?" I asked, my brain slowly coming online.

"Your spare key" Danny said and I smiled suddenly, happy that I had given him the stupid thing all those days ago.

“I'm glad you're here” I muttered, but I was already relaxing into his embrace.

"Go back to sleep," Danny murmured, pressing a kiss to my hair.

I was drifting off again when I remembered something important.

"Danny?" I said sleepily.

"Yeah?"

"I talked to my mom tonight. About dinner with your parents."

I felt him tense slightly. 

"And?" he asked 

"I told her I'm staying to have dinner with a friend” I mumbled softly and he hummed 

“ I am glad you want to” 

"Your dad might have opinions about my last name," I pointed out.

"Then he'll have to deal with those opinions," Danny said firmly. 

"Because you're not going anywhere. Right?"

"Right," I agreed. Then, slurring and almost half asleep I whispered 

"Yes."

"Yes, what?" Danny asked, confused.

"Yes, I'll go with you to dinner at your parents' place," I said.

I felt Danny's chest expand with a deep breath, felt his arms tighten around me.

"Thank you," he whispered.

"I love you."

"Love you too," I mumbled, already falling back asleep.

"Even when you wake me up in the middle of the night with your freezing cold hands."

"I'll make it up to you," Danny promised.

"You better," I said.

The last thing I remembered before sleep claimed me completely was the steady rhythm of Danny's heartbeat against my back and the warmth of his body finally chasing away the cold.