A/N: To everyone who has left comments and given this story support: Every single kind word is appreciated beyond measure. Your encouragement keeps me going! Thank you all SO MUCH.

Chapter 10 - Entertaining and Other Covert Maneuvers

Saturday, June 1st, 2013 - Days Married: 152

"Are you sure you brought enough stuff?"

"No," Mindy says, out of breath and struggling to clear the door. "But this is all I could carry. The rest is still in the cab." The straps on her left shoulder are slipping. "Help!"

Danny grabs the two canvas bags before they can hit the floor. "Is there seriously more stuff downstairs?"

"Yes," she huffs a lock of hair out of her eyes. "You mind getting it?"

"Don't you think this is going a little overboard? Even for you?"

"Listen, you are the one who got me into this, and you agreed to my terms, so. . . shush."

"Fair enough." He sets everything down by the sofa and grabs his keys on the way to the door.

"Oh, you should take your wallet too." Mindy's got her thumbnail shoved in her mouth. "I may have forgotten to pay the driver."

It doesn't take long. But even in the short amount of time it takes Danny to make it back upstairs, twenty dollars poorer and with all the rest of her things, his apartment looks noticeably different. There are colorful throw pillows and magazines placed haphazardly. And Mindy's nowhere to be seen.

He leaves everything by the door, unsure what all there is and what she intends to do with it, and goes back to what he was doing in the kitchen before she got here. After five days of debating what to make, Danny decided to go with a recipe he's perfected recently. Roman-style chicken with orzo and a spring salad. There was a moment where he considered making the homemade bolognese that takes all day to simmer. It was Christina's favorite. That idea was obviously dismissed immediately with a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach.

Danny's julienning bell peppers when Mindy reappears. She's smiling and nearly bouncing on her toes, having way too much fun cluttering his home. Still. It's infectious and he can't help smiling back when she peers around him to see what he's doing. "You want wine?" he asks.

"Mm, yes please." She pushes herself up onto the counter.

There are five bottles of the Malbec he knows she likes best tucked into the wine rack of the bar. Clearly they're not all for tonight, but he's learned spending time with Mindy these last few months it's a good idea to have at least one bottle of red on hand just in case.

He pours them both a healthy glass, and when he rounds the counter he notices for the first time how she looks. Mindy's ankles are crossed, and she's gently swinging her bare feet, her heel bouncing off the base-cabinet. The dress she's wearing has flowers on it and hugs every curve in a distractingly perfect way. She looks effortlessly sexy and completely comfortable.

Mindy looks at home here, and it does something to relax the dread that's slowly been building in his chest all day.

Her fingers brush his when she takes the glass from him, and he has to suppress the completely irrational urge to kiss her cheek. "So what all do you have left?" He gestures to the stack of things still by the door.

"Ah! That would be shoes, some photos, the rest of my clothes, and some bathroom stuff."

Danny takes a long sip of his wine before picking up the chef's knife again. "You are actually planning on leaving, right?"

"We'll see. Depends on if you play your cards right tonight, hubby." His head shoots in her direction in time to see her burying a cheeky smile in her glass. "You have to think these things through, Danny."

"What things?"

"Christina's intentions while she's here."

"She said. It's for closure. Which isn't actually a thing, but if it ends this for good then it's worth it."

"That may be part of it. I won't say it isn't. But you get that isn't the main reason she wants to come here, right?" He shrugs. "She's coming here to scope out her replacement. She wants to see if this is real. If you're happy. So that's what we're going to give her."

There's a part of him that's afraid to ask. He does anyway. "How do we do that?"

"I'm glad you asked!" She hops down off the counter. "First, we set the scene. A happy, combined home, right? Christina will never believe it if she came in here and this place looked like it normally does."

"What's wrong with how my apartment looks?"

"Nothing. You actually have surprisingly good taste."

"You mean that to sound nice, but you get how it's an insult, right?"

The correction doesn't even slow her down. "It's just too masculine. No way would she believe a woman lives here. That's where the pillows and things come in. It isn't much, but if she questions it we'll just say it's because we haven't been married long."

"Okay." He hadn't really thought past what they were going to eat. Guess it's a good thing she did.

"Which actually brings me to the most important part of making this work." She hesitates and with his back to her he can hear her take a drink and then set her glass down on the counter, taking a step closer to him. "Christina is never going to believe we're together if there isn't at least a little bit of . . . affection."

The knife falters in Danny's hand. He doesn't look at her. "Affection. Yeah."

"Hey." Her hand slips over his wrist and he places the knife on the cutting board. He can't ignore facing her anymore. "Are you going to be okay with this?"

Mindy's regarding him in a way that makes him feel like she thinks he's too damaged to handle this - and maybe he is - but it irritates him enough to want to prove her wrong.

He turns, flipping his hand over so he's holding her wrist too, and brings his free hand up to cup her face. Danny brushes his thumb up her cheekbone, and speaks low, looking deep into her brown eyes. "You know, I can be affectionate, Mindy."

It isn't his imagination that her breath hitches. He can feel the muscles in her jaw clench as she swallows. Danny sweeps his thumb back down, and her eyes follow that lead. She's staring at his mouth, and it spreads satisfaction warmly through him. It's nice to know he has the ability to affect her the same way she does him.

"See?" He buries his fingers a little further into her hair. Leaning forward, Danny pecks a light kiss on her forehead before releasing her altogether and turning his attention back to the colorful peppers in front of him. "That won't be a problem. What else?"

"Hmm?"

"You said there were several things we had to do to sell this. What else is there?"

"Oh. Personal items. If she has the opportunity, Christina will definitely check out as much of that as possible. There has to be stuff of mine in your closet, things on the nightstand, and the bathroom is especially important."

"Why the bathroom?"

"Because the bathroom is where this whole thing can fall apart. If you have a woman living with you the bathroom will hold the most evidence. There has to be an extra toothbrush, makeup, a blow dryer, brushes, tampons, lotion-"

"You stocked my bathroom with tampons?"

"Yes. And I'm actually planning on leaving those here. You never know when you might have a guest start her period, Danny. It's considerate to have supplies."

Danny scrapes the last pepper from the cutting board into a bowl and grabs the pancetta to begin cubing it. "I don't like that. But it isn't a bad point."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. What does it matter what my bathroom looks like? There's no reason for her to go in there."

"You're right! And that's what makes it brilliant!"

She's doing that bouncy thing on her toes again, and it's ridiculous how pleased she is with the amount of nonsensical planning she's put into this.

"Because there isn't any reason for her to go in there," she continues. "And yet she will find a way. Which is why us leading with there being an issue with the guest bath is a stroke of genius! It's the most confidant move possible. We're giving her permission to snoop!"

"Or we could just be normal and have her use the perfectly operational guest bathroom."

"I seriously feel like you haven't understood anything I've just said to you. Trust me, Danny. I know women. And I know being a jealous ex. This is the way to go if you want to get this woman back out of your life for good."

"Fine. I'll trust that you know what you're doing. But you may want to hurry doing it. She'll be here in about a half an hour."

"Oh, you're right." Mindy takes another quick gulp of wine before scurrying over to the collection of things she's deemed necessary to move in.

Danny finishes with the pancetta and throws it into the bowl with the peppers. He pulls out the chicken and everything he needs from the refrigerator to deglaze the pan and make the sauce, then starts the water for the orzo. As he works, he can hear her moving around his personal space. She's humming something, and singing bits of it in spurts as she comes to lyrics she remembers. It's efficiently diverting, taking Danny's mind off the oncoming storm. Mindy's noise is somehow quieting his mind to where he can focus on what he's doing, making sure everything will come out right.

It takes her less time to place everything than she thought it would. Danny has a huge and gorgeous master bathroom, with a shameful amount of unused cabinet space. By the time she's stuffed everything into its temporary home, the place still doesn't even look cluttered.

Mindy takes a moment to freshen up, which is incredibly convenient since all of her makeup and toiletries are already there. Her hair is pinned back loosely on the sides, leaving the length of it to fall down her back in a few softly-looping curls. It's messy on the left side from where Danny's fingers had threaded in her hair, and she sweeps it back into place and smooths down any flyaways. She's pleased he's committed to this. Even if him touching her freely and like he means it is more distracting than she anticipated. Still, it's better than him being wooden and uncomfortable once Christina gets here.

She isn't sure why, but sticking the point that he's happy and that there's no longer a place for Danny's ex-wife in his life, feels like a task of the utmost importance. This night will be a success if it's the last thing Mindy ever does.

Touching up her brazenly red lipstick, she finishes in the bathroom. Which leaves only the small, framed stack of photos to place.

"Hey. Pick a record to put on, will you?" Danny asks, never turning from whatever heavenly smelling thing it is he's attending to on the stove.

"Oh, that's a good idea! It will really help set the atmosphere." Mindy walks over and opens the drop-front door to the record cabinet, squatting to be able to see the rows of albums to choose from. Despite there being quite a collection, it doesn't take her long to flip through it. Mostly it's bad '70's rock or surprisingly current hipster-folk bands. The few she's familiar with are the older ones. "Tapestry, Danny? Seriously?"

"What's wrong with Carole King?" He actually sounds offended.

"Nothing's wrong with Carole King. This is a great album. My mom loves Carole King, too. Which is why it's kind of weird."

"It's not weird. It's good music."

"It is. Perfect for a breakup or if you need a little female empowerment." An image pops into Mindy's head and it makes her laugh hard enough to almost lose her balance.

"What?!"

"Nothing," she croaks, trying to catch her breath. "I just very clearly pictured you singing along to Natural Woman." She snorts and has to cover her mouth with her hand to keep it from happening again.

Danny throws a grin over his shoulder. "I'm a better dancer than a singer. But if you really want to hear it..."

He gets the first line out, and she can't take it. "No, don't. Stop." Mindy topples, her butt hitting the floor with a thump, but she's laughing too hard to care. "Danny, you've got to stop or I'm going pee!"

"Come on. It wasn't that bad." He's laughing too as he returns a few things to the fridge. "Why don't you put it on then, and leave the singing to the professional."

"Mm, I would. But this is the wrong kind of music for this dinner."

"What's wrong with it?"

"It's too intense. We need something a little more peppy."

"Whatever makes you happy, sweetheart."

"Ohh, that's very good, Danny. You are making an excellent pretend husband." Mindy goes back to leafing through the rack and almost immediately finds the perfect one. She pulls herself up, album in hand.

Lifting the lid to the mid-century modern teak cabinet, she finds it housing not a relic, but a new and brightly shining Audio-Technica turntable. He may not have great taste in music, but Danny's taste in vintage furniture and high-end electronics is impressive. She seats the record and places the needle in the furthest groove, then flips the on switch. Immediately warm soul begins emanating from some hidden surround sound speakers.

"Al Green?! How is this more 'dinner with the ex' appropriate?"

Mindy rounds the island and picks up the wine glass she left there earlier. "It's cheerful."

"It's romantic." Danny gestures with the wooden spoon in his hand before he realizes it's dripping.

"Yes. And we're very much in love. Remember?"

He cuts his eyes to her before going back to intently stirring, the argument dying on his lips. "Right."

She takes the last sip of wine left in her glass and scans the scene before her with a critical eye. Everything looks warm, and not too terribly out of place. Danny looks nice; casual and as relaxed as he can be in this situation. He's wearing blue jeans and a soft looking blue-grey button-down with the cuffs rolled up. From the best she can tell dinner looks nearly ready and smells divine, and there really isn't anything else for her to do but wait.

Mindy grabs the open wine bottle and refills her glass before topping Danny's off without asking.

"Thanks." He picks up the glass with his left hand while he is still stirring the sauce. She stands by his elbow, starting to feel antsy with nothing to do.

"Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Um." He taps the utensil against the edge of the pan before placing it on a metal spoon-rest and looking around him. "Yes, actually."

Grabbing a dishtowel, he pulls a small colander filled with freshly rinsed strawberries from the sink and sets them on the counter. From a drawer he pulls out a cutting board and a small paring knife, and places them in front of her. "Will you slice these for the salad?"

"Sure." She delicately severs the green top off of one before stopping to turn back around to him. "You're putting strawberries in the salad?"

Using tongs, he's nestling golden brown pieces of chicken back into the pan. "Trust me. Spinach salad, strawberries, toasted walnuts, goat cheese, and a homemade honey vinaigrette. It's delicious."

"Okay. That does sound pretty good." She's slicing the top off the second strawberry when there's a knock at the door. They turn to each other, Danny's eyes wide, and it's time to get this show on the road. He takes one step toward the entryway and she stops him, grabbing his hand. "Wait."

"What?" He looks slightly panicked, and it forces her to be calm.

"We've got this," she says, before wrapping her arm around his neck and pulling him down slightly to hug him. When she pulls away there's a smudge of her red lipstick at his jaw. She rubs her fingertips against the hard line of tendon and bone before stopping abruptly. The mark of her lips on him is one perfect addition Mindy wishes she would have thought of on her own. "Finish what you were doing. I'll get the door."

She takes a deep breath and opens Danny's front door with an unwavering hand. Christina is standing tall and ramrod straight on the other side, clutching a bottle of wine and looking just ill at ease enough to make Mindy feel better about having to be gracious.

"Christina." Placing the warmest smile on her face she can force, she reaches out and lays a light hand on the woman's elbow, ushering her inside. "Welcome to our home. Please come in."

"Thank you. It's nice to see you again."

"May I take your-" Christina's wearing a white, tuxedo-pleated shirt, with the buttons fastened all the way to her neck, crisp black trousers, and a pair of very expensive looking knock-off stilettos. No jacket. No purse. Who the fuck doesn't carry a purse? "-your wine?"

"Oh. Yes." She laughs a bit nervously. "It's for you. I wasn't sure what you like. I figure you can never go wrong with something French and red."

"That's true. And very considerate of you. We actually have a bottle of Malbec open if you'd like a glass. Or I think there's some white open in the fridge. We were just finishing up dinner."

"A glass of the Malbec would be lovely. Thank you." She can't help watching Danny closely as Christina follows her to the kitchen. He's very intently squeezing lemon juice over the colorful serving bowl of orzo.

Mindy grabs the appropriate stemware and empties the bottle into it.

"Hello, Danny. It's good to see you."

He takes a deep breath and finally looks up when she addresses him. "Hey."

It's all he can muster and even that sounds strained. Mindy tries not to cringe at the ever increasing awkwardness and hands Christina her glass. "Dinner smells wonderful. What are we having?"

"It's something new. You've never had it before." Danny takes a long drink before setting the glass down hard and turning back toward the stove.

"Oh, good. You didn't used to drink red wine very often, but I didn't think beer was appropriate." She's rambling. "I'd hoped Mindy would like it, but that's - that's good."

"It was very thoughtful," Mindy interjects, needing to change the current of this conversation. "I'm sure we'll enjoy it. Won't we, honey?"

"Yeah, sure," he answers. "You get that on one of your many trips abroad, changing the world one picture at a time?"

"Actually, no. Bordeaux isn't particularly war-torn at the moment. I got it at the Trader Joe's on the corner. It was buy one get one half off. I'm thinking now maybe I should have bought two."

Danny's ears are tingeing pink, and Mindy races to regain the reins on this before he blows up. "So, Christina. Where all do you travel for your photography?"

"I'm sorry," she says quietly. "Where's the restroom? I'd like to wash up before we eat."

Mindy breathes a tiny sigh of relief. "The powder room is unfortunately having some plumbing issues at the moment. You can use our bathroom. It's through the double-doors."

She waits until Christina is out of sight before saying anything, and when she does, Mindy's voice is a harsh whisper. "What the hell is the matter with you? You're supposed to be rubbing your happiness in her face, not acting like a sullen child. You're ruining this whole thing."

When Danny turns to her his face is still red, but his expression is one crumpled with defeat, and it twists her stomach in a knot. "I don't think I can do this, Min."

"Yes, you can." He starts to turn away and she can't help reaching out, grabbing his shoulder and making him look at her. "Yes, you can. But you don't have to. Say the word and I'll take pleasure in tossing her bony ass out as soon as she's done pilfering the bathroom."

Danny shifts on his feet and doesn't look any more relieved. She continues, "Or, or, you can pull it together and we'll get through this."

He's looking down at the floor, and it's a surprise when she feels his fingers lightly brush her waist. "What do you think I should do?"

"Whatever you feel comfortable doing. But Danny - Hey. Look at me." His eyes leap to hers at the command. "You can do this. You just have to remember you're not doing it alone."

"Yeah. I know."

"Do you?"

"Yes."

"Well then do something about it. Make her so jealous of how happy and in love you are, and what a great marriage you finally have, that she'll never darken your door again." The bluesy guitar and organ melody of Love and Happiness is bleeding through the sound system, and Mindy sways closer, into his touch.

He gets it when she slides her arm around his neck, and a reluctant smile pulls up his lips as he counters her halting dance moves with his own, much smoother ones. Danny grabs her right hand and spins her out toward the sink and back, and Mindy can't help the laugh that bubbles out. "See? Do this right, Danny, and you may end up having a really fun time tonight."

"Well it won't be dull, that's for sure." Mindy shrieks when he dips her, expertly bending her so low the ends of her hair brush the floor before pulling her back to him. She's breathless with it and the sudden lightness filling her chest.

It's so distracting that she didn't notice Christina walk out of the bedroom. Mindy can see her just barely out of the corner of her eye standing by the piano. Feeling the relaxed slope of his shoulders, she's sure Danny doesn't realize she's there.

Cinching her arm tighter, she presses against him, the friendly distance between them evaporating. She can feel the shocked puff of breath escape him as Mindy touches the hair at the back of his neck. Just as the hilariously apropos first lines of Let's Stay Together begin to play, she whispers in his ear, "We have an audience."

She's proud that despite how his body stiffens, he doesn't stop dancing. He draws their clasped hands to his chest, and rocks them in time with the music. They stay that way for a few seconds, and with every one the tension is returning more to his shoulders. She gives him an encouraging squeeze.

Then, very much to her surprise, Danny brushes her hair back and touches his lips to her skin. Starting just under her ear, he places a row of three lingering kisses down her neck. It makes her shiver.

"Thanks," he murmurs before pulling away. "Now finish slicing the strawberries."