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looked like it cost as much as her rent payment. “I know what you’re thinking. I felt the same way my first time here, but it’s really not as scary as it looks. Vincent and Seraphim aren’t as uptight as the furniture suggests. They’re actually really down to earth.” She waved her over and, against her better judgment, Dani kicked off her shoes, crossed her fingers, and cautiously stepped down onto carpet that felt like cushiony clouds of heaven beneath her bare toes.
    “I hope you don’t mind, but I need to feed these two before they start squawking.”
    Cradling Rosemary in her arms, Dani shook her head as she eased down onto a tufted arm chair. “By all means. Do what you gotta do.”
    “I promise not to flash you.” Draping a scrap of giraffe covered fabric over her shoulder, she began tugging at her blouse, and Dani turned her gaze toward the many shelves that housed a number of thick books and colorful baubles made of glass, porcelain, plastic, and polished metals.
    “So, how long have you and Ransom been dating?”
    Rosemary shifted, her head craning toward her mother’s voice. Adjusting her hold, Dani said, “We’re not technically dating.”
    “Friends with benefits?”
    “Not exactly.” Though, that might be nice. She’d never had one, but many of her friends had. No strings could be interesting, but Dani wasn’t sure she was the type that could handle that. She had a habit of getting attached. Catching Joe’s curious expression, she was compelled to explain.
    “We’re just…friends. Kind of. I’m not really sure what we are exactly.”
    “Do you like him?”
    “What’s not to like?” He was a successful teacher, good-looking, honest, and nice.
    Josephine just smiled, as if she approved of her answer. “Where did you two meet?”
    Oh great, just the kind of question she didn’t want to answer. Her lips tightened. “In a bar.”
    “Don’t look so ashamed,” Joe admonished. “That’s innocent compared to where I met my husband.” That piqued Dani’s interest, and she knew it. Twisting around to make sure no one was within earshot, she whispered, “A strip club.”
    Oh. My. Dani’s eyes widened in shock. “Were you…?”
    “A dancer? Yes. And he was one of my customers.” Tugging a corner of the blanket to preserve her modesty, she continued on as if they were merely talking about the weather. “We didn’t have a traditional relationship by any means, and it started off rocky. Did Ransom tell you about any of this?”
    “I don’t think so, no.” Unless…No. Joe couldn’t be the woman he was talking about, could she? The one he’d loved but lost to his brother?
    Hell. Of course she was. Rebel was married to Joe. It didn’t leave much room for error.
    Josephine confirmed as much. “I met Ransom in class. I was one of his students. Unfortunately for both of us, I didn’t realize he had a twin brother, and neither of us could have known that I was already seeing Rebel at the time. Needless to say, there was a lot of confusion. But things worked out how they were supposed to.”
    Except that Ransom had been hurt in the process. Dani wanted to be angry at Joe and Rebel on his behalf. The end result of their triangle had broken him, but she couldn’t seem to find it in herself to be mad. After all, it had brought him into her life.
    But her heart still ached for him and what he must have gone through. Was still going through. The only thing that kept her from lashing out was that Ransom needed her now, and she wanted to be needed by him. Now that she’d learned the truth of his past, the source of his pain, it felt imperative that she help him. That she be the one to fix him, make him whole, help him to see that he could love and be loved the way he was meant to be.
    More than anything, she wanted to be his safe place.
    The baby fussed in her arms, and Dani realized with a start that it could sense her emotional distress. With a soft hand, she petted its downy