Nico cursed as he banged his head on something. He stood, throwing the wrench to the ground. Still mumbling, he dialed his phone and waited as it rang. He slammed it down when he got voicemail.
"Nico?"
He spun to see Dani, a bag hanging in her limp arm by her side.
"Your dishwasher's broken."
"I—okay?"
"Lindsey let me in."
"I…I still don't understand what…are you drunk?"
"I called someone, but he bailed. So I thought—"
"Nico!"
He paused, put his hands in his pockets and matched his bloodshot eyes to hers.
"Have you been drinking?" she asked slowly.
With a shrug, he said, "Just a couple beers."
She rolled her eyes and grabbed his sleeve, dragging him to a chair.
"You wanna talk about it?"
He sighed and rubbed his forehead. "I can't help you."
Dani smiled sympathetically. "You don't have to. Let me help you."
"That's the problem."
Dani glanced back to her half disassembled dishwasher. "You want to help."
He nodded.
"Well, I appreciate that, Mr. Fix-it, but—"
He ran a hand through his hair, avoiding her eyes.
"I make people go away, I get charges and lawsuits dropped, but you don't need any of that. And I can't even get someone over here to fix the damn dishwasher."
"Forget the dishwasher," Dani coaxed. "Just…is this about not being able to fix everything?"
"No, it's about not being able to fix you."
She squinted.
"What?"
"Nico, I don't need fixing."
"You know what I mean."
"No, Nico. I don't."
He didn't know how to say what he had been thinking: how Ray had broken her heart and then Matt…Matt just let her go, even though he seemed to be helping.
He placed a palm on each of his knees and pushed himself up. Dani stood in front of him and laid her palm on his arm.
"Look, Nico. I think—"
"I'm sorry."
"Nico…"
"I—"
She gripped his arm, anchoring him there.
"Nico…who got rid of Ray's P.I.? Who helped my kids out when they were in danger of serious trouble? Who's always helping me with my clients when it gets out of hand?"
He looked down into her eyes and, after what seemed much longer than it actually was, he leaned down and pressed his lips to hers.
In another moment that both took forever and ended in a second (and Nico finally understood what that meant), Dani pulled back. Pursing her lips, she looked up at him, eyes wide…no squinting.
"Nico, you are…drunk. And emotional. And I think you need to—"
She was cut off by a hand pressed to her cheek and his lips finding their way back to hers.
"Okay, Nico, I have not had much luck mixing alcohol and kissing lately, so if you could…"
The eyes that bore into hers did not seem the least bit confused or intoxicated. He backed up and nodded.
"Call me if you need anything. I'll make sure that dishwasher gets fixed tomorrow."
She grinned. "Thanks Nico. But feel free to call a professional."
He smiled back as he left, the wrench ignored.
He'd need it tomorrow anyway.