“Relax. He’s fine. They knew you were busy.” She took a sip from her water glass. “Curtis says if he does it again he might need surgery. But he was in good spirits when I left today, and Tyler was keeping him company. They were playing baseball on Xbox.”

That made Ed laugh, and he relaxed back into his seat. “That’s the second time he’s done that. The first one cost him his chance at major league.”

“I think he’s upset about it, but he seems to be taking it in stride.”

Ed nodded. “You seem to have spent more time with my family in the past week than I have in weeks.”

“That’s not my fault.”

Ed held his free hand up in defense. “I know. I’m sorry.”

“I was at first, too. But now I’m not. I love your family, and it’s given me some peace.”

“My family gives you peace?”

“Yes.” She grinned. “I was so mad when I found out I was adopted that I almost didn’t even speak to my parents for a year. Then when my mother got sick, I was mad that she was sick. Don’t get me wrong. I took care of her, but I was mad.”

“I remember being mad. I was mad because it wasn’t fair to me that she was sick.”

Darcy dropped her shoulders. “Exactly.” They did have a lot in common. “Anyway, I never had anything like you do. I had mom and dad, and that was it. You have this enormous family who cares for each other and takes in strays. I feel like I belong there.”

Ed rubbed his thumb over her knuckles. “You do belong there.”

The sentiment was true and from his heart. He wasn’t thinking marriage and the longevity of their relationship, but it was there, tucked in the back of his mind. He’d seen how his family took to her.

Sure, they were kind to strangers, and they took care of each other. That was a fact. But there had been something about her that had drawn them all to her. A comfort none of them had ever had with anyone he brought home.

That was probably why Christian was drawn to her, too. She was comfortable to be around. She was familiar.

They enjoyed their dinner and then sat at the bar and had a drink. Or to be more specific, Ed had a drink and Darcy had water.

“I’ve seen you drink a beer. But not tonight?” he asked.

“I need to keep my head screwed on tight, as my father would say.”

He thought maybe he’d need a few more to keep his from reeling about taking her upstairs.

Ed looked at his watch, and it was inching toward eleven o’clock. “I suppose we should finish our drinks and turn in. We have an insurance meeting in the morning at seven-thirty.”

Darcy cleared her throat and set down her glass. “That’s mighty early.”

“Oh, that’s just the first meeting.” He smiled.

“Sounds like a delightful day.”

The band was still playing, and the song had slowed. “What do you say we take this night out with a spin on the dance floor?”

“I think that sounds perfect.”

Ed took her hand and led her to the small dance floor. The room was empty except for a few couples in booths sharing drinks and a few business men talking business. But as he took her in his arms, the rest of the world faded away.

He stood a head taller than she did, and she was so small in his arms. But this woman wasn’t fragile. She was strong, both in body and mind. Whatever it took, he was going to keep her in his grasp for the rest of his life.

Darcy draped her arms around his neck and pressed her body close to his.

“You haven’t taken any of your other assistants on business trips and then danced with them all night, have you?”

“Just once.” He saw the flash of disappointment in her eyes. “I’m kidding. I swear. I’m kidding.”

“Are you sure we can work together and be…us?”

Ed stopped moving and just held her there. “Let’s try. Please.”

Darcy nodded. “The last relationship I was in was during my first year in college. I thought it was love, and I was so sadly mistaken. I’m not very good at trusting people.”

He knew that about her just by the things she’d said about her own family. It wasn’t that she didn’t love them, but she was a little gun shy when it came to accepting things.

“Darcy, I’m not going to hurt you. My last three relationships weren’t love either. I thought they were, but when I’m with you, I know I had no idea what I was thinking then.”

She pushed away. “Are you saying you love me?”

Well, he hadn’t said it in those words, but that was very much what he’d just said.

“If I said it to you, would you believe me?”

She quickly shook her head. “No. You can’t think you love me already. So no.”

“Then I won’t say it.”

She nodded nervously. “Thank you. I think I should get to bed.”

“I’ll walk you up.”

“No. I don’t trust this right now. I don’t trust me. I’ll meet you in the lobby at seven in the morning.”

“Okay.”

She turned to leave.

“Darcy.” She turned back to him. “Sleep well.”

Chapter Twelve

When the elevator doors began to close and she was headed to her room, alone, she knew things were slipping away from her.

She already knew she was in love with Ed Keller. Oh, who was she kidding? She was in love with the entire Keller family.

But she was living a huge lie. She hadn’t meant to, but she was.

She’d come to Tennessee to find her birth parents. Her intention was to work her way into Benson, Benson, and Hart and do what she needed to do to find the people who gave her life.

It had been an honest coincidence to have fallen into the job. How much better could a plan work than to fall right into the arms of the man who could get her all the information she needed?

It had been a completely dishonest move to sit with Candy and look into the records. It had even been more wrong to have put in her own mind the thought that Zach and Mary Ellen had an affair.

Worse was, she’d believed it until Candy showed her that Mary Ellen didn’t have her baby until Darcy was nine months old.

She stepped off the elevator and walked to her room. It had been wrong to dishonor her mother’s memory by searching for her birth mother.