Very perceptive, as usual. In all honestly, she felt overwhelmed. Seeing her father had added another layer to the stress in her life. Between fighting with Cyrus, working on the business plan, and seeing her father, it was a wonder she hadn’t drunk more than one Bloody Mary at the party.
“Beaux-Arts Galleries is expanding to Manhattan, and I’m a little stressed, I guess. We’re growing so fast, and um…” She chewed on her upper lip. “I’m nervous about it,” she said quietly.
Embarrassed, she could feel his eyes on her but she refused to look at him. She’d said too much.
“The bigger you get, the more responsibility there will be,” Cyrus said.
“I suppose.”
“You sound doubtful,” he said.
“Sometimes I have my doubts.” She crossed her arms over her chest and stared out the window. She’d never admitted her fears to anyone, and since Cyrus was so confident in his abilities, he would only see her insecurities as weakness.
“I promise not to tell you what to do, but I’ll tell you a quick story.” In the dim interior, the pools of his dark brown eyes were thoughtful as he searched for the right words. “One day my father told me I would be responsible for the launch of our seasonal beer. I was fresh out of graduate school and it was the first time he’d ever given me complete control over a product launch. I was worried I’d fail, and I told him. At the time he told me something I’ll never forget. ‘If you’re not a little scared, then you’re not thinking big enough. Nothing, not even failure, should stop your progress.’ Remember that, Dani. You can do anything you put your mind to.”
Her throat constricted at his words of encouragement. “I didn’t know you felt that way.”
“I’ve always thought you were smart. That’s one of the traits that attracted me to you.”
Now she was confused. “But you were so adamant about having a child on a specific timeline, I thought…I thought you’d expect me to give up my gallery.”
“Why would you think that?” Cyrus frowned. “Having a baby and having a career are not mutually exclusive. I never asked you to stop working. I know how much you enjoy your work and how important it is to you. You wanted your gallery to be one of the best on the west coast, and it is. Now you’re on your way to make waves on the east coast. I’m proud of you.”
Her father had said the same thing, but for some reason Cyrus’s words held more value. She appreciated his words in a way she’d never expected.
With a tilt of her head she considered him. “You know what I want. What do you want, Cyrus?” she asked.
“Whatever my wife wants,” he quipped.
“That can’t be all,” she said, refusing to let him off the hook. Based on what Ivy had told her at the party, she expected him to say he wanted a child. She knew that had to be the most important thing to him.
“No, that’s not all I want,” he said quietly.
“Then what?” Disconcerted by the thought she might not really know him at all, Daniella desperately wanted an answer to get insight into his character.
His eyes didn’t leave hers. “I want you to be happy.”
The way he said it, she almost believed him.
Chapter Thirteen
Daniella took a deep breath. She looked calm enough in the bathroom mirror in her white silk dressing gown. She knotted the belt, unraveled it, and then knotted it again—tighter this time.