“Summer,” Trent said carefully. “Honey, you’re upsetting yourself—”
“No, I’m telling a damn story,” she said, making Darcy smile because the woman wasn’t blond fluff at all, but had real grit.
She loved grit.
Summer smiled at him to soften her words and went on with her story. “We’d only dated a few times, Trent and I. We barely knew each other. And yet I woke up after two days in a coma and there he was at my side.” She stared at Trent, her eyes going shiny. “And he never left. From that moment on we were together, just like that. Before he even knew if I was any good in the sack.”
Trent winced.
Darcy laughed. Yeah, she liked this woman.
A lot.
“By the time I got out of the hospital,” Summer said, “I’d lost my job. I wasn’t well enough to get another.” She paused to swallow hard. “And the worst part was still to come. Physical therapy.”
Darcy nodded at this. It was true. The accident, the surgeries, the hospital visits … all pieces of cake compared to the sheer agony of physical therapy.
“If Trent hadn’t stepped in and covered my costs,” Summer went on, “I’d still be in bad shape. I’d never have gotten better.” She spoke fiercely, holding on to Trent’s hand.
Still looking at AJ, Darcy’s throat tightened so that she couldn’t speak. Same goes, she wanted to say.
AJ gave a small head shake and she could practically hear his words in her head. I didn’t save your life. You saved yourself.
“No way,” Trent said, voice husky. “You’re too stubborn to have not gotten better.”
Summer laughed and blew her nose. “And people wonder why I love you.”
“People wonder?” Trent asked, smiling.
Summer smiled, too, through her unshed tears. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to get emotional. But I worry—how many people don’t have a man like you in their lives when they need one?”
Trent slipped an arm around her and gave her a hug. “You flatter me, sweetheart.”
“I don’t flatter anyone,” Summer said. “I tell the truth.” She met AJ’s gaze across the table. “You treated a friend of mine, someone I met in the hospital after my accident. Michelle Barnes.”
AJ nodded. “I did. I still do.”
“When Trent told me about you,” Summer said, “I did my research. You take in new clients, whether they can pay or not. And when they can’t, you match them up to sponsors and get them grants. Like a scholarship.”“As much as I can,” AJ said.
Summer, looking visibly moved, nodded.
“And then you fell in love with your own Summer,” Trent said.
Darcy had been staring at AJ, but she broke the eye contact as Summer reached for her hand. “You found love in spite of what happened to you,” Summer said. “Real love. Can I ask … is there going to be a wedding anytime soon?”
Darcy opened her mouth and then shut it. She’d never felt like a bigger fraud. “We’re not in a hurry,” she managed.
“I guessed that,” Summer said. “Seeing as you’re not yet even wearing a ring.”
Darcy hid her hands beneath the table, feeling like she was a kid again and about to get in trouble. In the old days that had meant getting sent away. Now the only thing that could happen was that she would blow an incredible opportunity for AJ, a man who maybe drove her insane just by breathing but was also a man who’d given back her life.
If she screwed this up for him, she’d never forgive herself.
She’d lose their friendship for certain, and in that moment she was startled to realize that the friendship meant more to her than just about anything else in her life. She turned her head to find his gaze still on her.
He cocked his head in an unspoken question.
She shook hers. “Some things don’t require a ring,” she said to Summer. “Some things just are.”
AJ didn’t move or let his expression change but she sensed his surprise.
Did he think she didn’t understand love? Maybe she didn’t trust love, but she understood it just fine.
Summer smiled. “I know exactly what you mean. And I couldn’t help but notice that you’re still limping. Will you tell me about your accident?”
Darcy stilled. Damn. “I …” Damn.
AJ slid an arm around her. “We should really go check the roads and see if we can get out.”
Saving her. As he always had. She sent him a grateful smile. “Yes, you’re right.”
“Oh, but the roads are horrible,” Summer said. “And some are still closed. Please stay. I know you were hoping Trent would make his decision this weekend but he never makes hasty decisions. He’ll want to think on it and get back to you. So you might as well stay and enjoy yourselves, right?”
“I understand about not making any hasty decisions,” AJ said. “But—”
“Please?” Summer asked. “We made arrangements for the two of you to join us in our team-building trust exercise workshop.”
Darcy’s gut clenched. Some of her least favorite words were team, building, trust, and exercise. “That’s very … sweet,” she said. “Especially since I love trust exercises.” She slid a look at AJ when he choked on a sip of water. “But we really have to at least try to get home. Right, babe?”