Dani was surprised to find herself feeling refreshed the next day. She had been afraid bringing it all up would have sent her back into a depression, but instead, talking about things had helped. She wasn't sure if it was because Rocco had been through a loss with his parents, or maybe it was the way he listened with an open mind and didn't try and offer unwanted advice.

She could tell Rocco was worried. He seemed to be tip-toeing around her at breakfast. He was quieter than usual, and he looked tired. She stopped him before he took Gavin upstairs to get him dressed.

"Rocco, you, okay?" She asked quietly; Gavin was busy chatting with Kiki and not paying attention.

He looked at her like she was crazy, "Me? Are you? Reliving that trauma had to be so hard."

"I am; it felt kind of freeing to let it all out," she assured him.

"Really, Dani?"

"Really," she offered a reassuring smile, and he relaxed. "Go get ready. I'll get the dishes."

"Thanks." He turned to Gavin, "Let's get you dressed, bud."

It didn't take long to do the dishes, but Gavin had caused quite a mess with the peanut butter when he was helping.

"I want to go with Daddy!" She heard Gavin's voice as the boys headed back downstairs. Rocco must have told him he would need to leave for a while.

"Not this time, buddy. I'll be back in a few hours, and we're going to see a movie, remember?" Rocco said in that calming voice of his.

"But Daddy..." Gavin whined.

"Auntie Dani will be here. She'll be more fun than me and my boring errands." Rocco cut him off.

"Hey, Gavi," she took that cue and walked into the living room, "wow, look at that cool shirt!"

Gavin was wearing a black tee shirt with a tiger printed across it and a pair of cargo shorts. Rocco had combed his wet wavy hair to the side, but it was quickly starting to fall over his eyes again.

"Yeah, it's a tiger!" Gavin looked down at his shirt proudly. Rocco winked a thank you at her and grabbed his shoes while Gavin was distracted.

She gulped when she noticed Rocco had also changed into cargo shorts. She was quick to peel her eyes away, but she wasn't going to be getting those perfectly shaped calves of his out of her mind anytime soon.

Damn summer, she thought with a shake of the head.

She glanced out the window to see the sun shining brightly outside. It was probably going to be hot today. She would need to go shopping soon; she only had a few pairs of jean shorts and hadn't even bought a new swimsuit yet. She had thumbed through Alyssa's closet a little, but most of the clothes were just too far out of her comfort zone, too flashy, too skimpy and with Dani being curvier then Alyssa, they'd fit tight at that.

" I'll be back later." Rocco slipped out the door quickly; Gavin didn't notice until it closed.

Gavin frowned then and ran towards the door, "Daddy!"

"Hold on, Tiger," Dani caught up to him and knelt to his level. "If you leave, you'll miss the dance party."

"Dance party?" He quizzed her.

"Yup," Dani stood up and walked over to the stereo; she turned it on and started flipping through the stations while Gavin watched her curiously. She stopped when Miley Cyrus's Party in the USA; came blaring through the speakers.

"If this doesn't fit," she muttered before turning it up and smiling at Gavin.

"Ready? Dance party!" She exclaimed and started dancing to the music; the little
boy laughed loudly and stared at her with wide but amused eyes.

Girly country-pop was a guilty pleasure for her, and she was pretty sure her secret was safe with Gavin.

 She started moving faster and singing badly and loudly as she got more into it, and soon Gavin was dancing and singing with her.

Gavin sang the USA part with her a huge beam on his face as he mimicked her moves.

She grabbed his hands and swung him around, singing louder and sillier on purpose, which made Gavin laugh even more. Soon they were just laughing and being silly. She couldn't remember the last time she had so much simple, pure fun.

"Yeah!" Gavin cheered when she twirled him around again.

A low chuckle from the corner stunned her, she turned around with a gasp. Rocco was leaning against the door frame, watching them. He had smirk on his face and an amused gleam in those damn emerald eyes of his.

She opened and closed her stunned mouth as her cheeks flamed red.

"Dance party, Dad!" Gavin cheered as he jumped up.

"Very nice," Rocco winked at her.

"What are you doing back?" Dani awkwardly stumbled to her feet.

"Forgot my phone," he explained, walking back inside. "They'll need the memory card and stuff from my broken one."

"Right," she said as casually as possible; her heart was thumping in her chest. He breezed past her towards the stairs.

Get it together, Dani, she screamed at herself mentally.

"I'm glad I did." He turned and gave her a little smirk. "Or I would have missed the dance party."

Her heart was thumping in her chest as she watched him disappear up the stairs to retrieve his phone.

**

Gavin was still wound up when Rocco left the house the second time but, luckily, didn't throw any tantrums. The men Rocco hired for the basement carpet showed up and went to work. She decided to take Gavin out to the large backyard to play. She changed into a pair of jean shorts and a loosely fitted tank top. She put on her favorite Converse sneakers so she could run around and play with Gavin.

The pool was still covered. Dani guessed they'd be uncovering it soon as an image of Rocco in swim trunks flashed through her brain. She shut it out as quickly as possible and hoped summer would halt its tracks and not come at all.

They ran around and played tag and some catch for most of the morning. Dani realized how useless a gym was with this job and was grateful for that.

She opted for ham sandwiches for lunch, and they ate out on the patio overlooking the front yard.

"Lexi!" Gavin cheered as a red car pulled into the long driveway.

A petite curly haired blonde exited the car and smiled brightly at Gavin as she walked towards them. She was wearing basic blue jeans and a fitted Led Zeppelin tee shirt.

"Gavi!" She raced up to him and scooped him into a big hug before nodding at Dani.

"Who is this, Gavi?" Lexi put him down and walked with him to the porch.

"This is my Auntie Dani." He said with a proud little smile on his face. "She take good care of me."

Lexi smiled down at him. "That's good to hear."

"Yeah." Gavin nodded his blue eyes earnestly.

"I'm Lexi, Dante's roommate." Lexi held her hand out, and Dani shook it.

"Dani, Alyssa's sister. " Dani gave her a friendly smile.

"I heard," Lexi took a seat. "I also heard you're like the polar opposite of her, but me being nosy had to see for myself."

Dani flushed slightly, "I'm not, we didn't grow up together. I don't know that much about her, to be honest. The postcard updates is the most I get."

"The postcards," Lexi scoffed as she rolled her big blue eyes.

"Auntie Dani, I can have more juice?" Gavin asked; he was picking at his sandwich and his upper lip covered in red fruit juice.

"Think you can eat the rest of that sandwich by the time I get back?"

"Yeah, I can."

"Okay, be right back," she glanced at Lexi, who had a smile on her face. The earlier trepidation seemed to have faded.

"Go ahead; I'll hang with him." Lexi nodded.

Dani was in and back outside quickly. She brought the pitcher and a few extra glasses as well.

"Here you go, Gavi," Dani sat back down and handed him his juice after she refilled it.

"Gavin was just telling me all the fun things you guys have been doing," Lexi told her.

"We sure have." Dani ruffled his hair as she sat next to him.

"Yeah, and I forgot about we saw the animals at the zoo. The tiger too!" Gavin said with wide eyes.

"That sounds like so much fun, buddy. I love those tigers too," Lexi enthused.

"Yeah, the nice ones, though," Gavin told her.

"Oh, of course," Lexi agreed. "Only the nice ones."

"Auntie Dani, make yummy cookies." Gavin grinned at her.

"Is that a hint?" Dani laughed.

"I think we might have a few left over," she winked and went to retrieve them.

"These are good. I got to hand it to you. I can't bake to save my life." Lexi said as they sat on the porch and enjoyed the snack.

"Years of practice and a few special recipes got me by. Luckily, this little man's easy to impress." Dani ruffled his hair.

"So, did Breanna mention me?" Dani asked after a while.

"Breanna, no, why?" Lexi asked.

"You said you heard I was the polar opposite of Alyssa," Dani said, confused.

"Yeah, from Rocco," Lexi said, "I was at the office having lunch with Dante when he stopped by today. He mentioned Alyssa hiring you."

"Oh, I see."

"Dante was a bit concerned, so I stopped by," Lexi admitted. "I'm sorry. Rocco was right; you're nothing like her and great with Gavin. I'm sorry I came to spy; forgive me?"

"Of course," Dani said with a small smile; just how much did Rocco say about her?

"Thank god, I could never hate a girl in Converse sneakers." Lexi gestured to her shoes, and Dani grinned.

"Flip flops would be the second choice." Dani gestured to Lexi's shoes, and they exchanged a friendly grin.

Gavin was climbing up on Dani's lap. She shifted to make room for him. It was getting close to nap time; he yawned and rested his little head against her shoulder.

"I think it's animal show time," Dani said softly; she knew better than to call it nap time.

Once she had Gavin cleaned up settled on the couch with Kiki and the animal planet. She tucked a blanket around him; she was sure he'd be asleep in minutes. She joined Lexi in the kitchen, who was sitting at the table on her phone. She looked up and smiled at Dani as she came in.

"I can't believe how taken he is with you," Lexi remarked. "It usually takes him time to warm up; he can be shy."

"It's very mutual; he's such an amazing little boy," Dani said. "I honestly feel a little guilty now for not trying harder to get to know my sister and her family. I could have met my nephew so much sooner. "

"Did you ever meet Alyssa before now?" Lexi asked.

"Once, but I wasn't in the right frame of mind to be meeting her as it was, and she was so bitchy, and rude. It didn't leave me wanting to know her."

"She hasn't changed," Lexi said with a sigh.

Dani made her way to the fridge, "more juice or anything?"

"I'll take a coke; they're hidden in the veggie crisper drawer behind that bogus bag of broccoli," Lexi directed.

Dani chuckled and happily retrieved two cans of coke.

"Why are they hidden?" Dani asked, handing her one as she sat back down.

"Your sister doesn't allow coke in the house. She hates pop,' it's all sugar,'" Lexi mocked Alyssa's haughty tone and tossed her hair.

"Well, she doesn't have to drink it," Dani said, taking a long sip; she missed this, another guilty pleasure. She usually had a few cold glasses after work at the grill.

"That doesn't stop her from nagging at Rocco whenever he enjoys something she doesn't let herself have," Lexi said bitterly. "It's all about Queen Alyssa."

"You don't think much of her either?" Dani guessed. "I got the same impression from Breanna."

"She's not very popular in Rocco's circle," Lexi confirmed. "Not that she gives a damn."

"That's probably not easy though, your husband's friends all disliking you," Dani commented thoughtfully.

"We all tried with her though, she faked nice at first then, started acting bored and annoyed around any of us."

"I can picture that," Dani agreed, that's exactly how Alyssa was when Dani had met her but worse, she acted like being in Oaktown was pure torture.

"You should come to Dante's this weekend with Rocco and Gavin. He's having a barbecue; they're always really fun," Lexi offered.

"Yeah, as long as Dante won't mind," Dani said hesitantly, knowing Lexi had mentioned him being worried.

"Don't worry about Dante. I'll let him know how cool you are. The main concern here isn't you; it's Alyssa. Dante has major issues with her. It's all... old drama, don't worry about it. I'm scaring you off." Lexi smiled nervously.

Dani resisted the urge to dig further but knew it wasn't right. She repeated her; their marriage is none of your business, the mantra in her head.

"I don't scare off that easy." Dani glanced towards the doorway to the living room. "Not when family's involved. "

"Good because that boy needs a constant female presence in his life," Lexi said somberly.

"So, the barbeque?" Lexi changed the subject after a few moments of silence.

"You sure it'll be, okay?" Dani asked.

"I'm sure it will be fine," Lexi said. "Breanna will be there too with her wife and brother and maybe a few others."

"Sounds fun. I'm in."

"Great," Lexi took that for a yes and bounced up happily. Dani was reminded of Kara momentarily, and it felt nice, like home.

"I invited this guy I met at school and am a little nervous. It'll be nice having another girl there for moral support," Lexi admitted with a pleading expression.

"I'm there," Dani promised. 

"You and Dante are just good friends, then?" Dani had to ask.

"Yeah, best friends. I met him when I was young and new to the city. He's always watched out for me."

"That sounds sweet," Dani commented, noticing a slight flush on Lexi's cheek. "Ever get awkward bringing dates home?"

Lexi giggled, "Not too bad. He doesn't date much and works a lot too. Our place is so big if one of us brings a date in, it's comfortable."

" Is your house style like this, then?"

"No it's a beach house on the ocean. That's what makes the barbeques perfect. My favorite part is the large balcony overlooking the ocean." Lexi pulled out her phone to show her some pictures.

"Wow, I really like the styling," Dani murmured.

"That's all Dante. I would have just hung up some hand-me-down pictures." Lexi admitted.

"We have a lot in common; I won't even show you the pictures of the shabby apartment I called home before this."

"I'll never judge," Lexi promised; she glanced at her phone, "I should head out. I work at the coffee shop with Breanna, so I'll probably see you around there sometimes too."

"Great," Dani grinned, happy to have already made another friend.