When Dani returned to the hotel, she was exhausted, anxious, and upset. Her mind felt like it was spinning in a million directions all at once. Alyssa's story was her version of events. She didn't believe much her sister said but the facts were that some things added up.

"It's easier to vilify you than face his feelings," Dani repeated what Alyssa had said out loud. That was exactly what happened in that office.

He accused her of being like Katherine and Alyssa. He alluded to her benefitting from him... he made her the villain and then decided to push her away.

Why? She was up and pacing once again.

Did Alyssa bringing it up really trigger that strong of a reaction from him? Or was she missing something?

He can be downright cruel... Alyssa's words popped into her head. She'd never have believed that until today.

It wasn't just the things he said but how he told them. They'd replay in her mind all night, forever, probably.

How could she even consider staying now? What would happen when he found her still here? She shuddered at the thought of another confrontation like that with Rocco. She didn't think her heart could take it.

But...Alyssa was right; Gavin was going to need her. His life was about to get so shaky, and she could be his rock. If not her, who would be? Could she find a way to forget about Rocco to just be there for Gavin? She could easily avoid him since he'd just pick up and drop Gavin off. 

Her cell rang, breaking up her thoughts, and she sighed, seeing it was Lexi. Someone else she was wrong about.

"Hello?" She answered, doing her best to keep her voice impassive.

"Hey, Dani. I just wanted to check in," she said softly. "You doing okay?"

"Dante told you about the meeting?" Dani assumed.

"Yeah... how did it go?"

"Lexi, why did you tell Rocco about the mountain?" She was too tired to beat around it.

"I'm sorry. I didn't want you to get hurt. So I just -"

"What? You did what?"

There was a long pause, and then finally, she spoke up.

"If there was anything or if he thought there ever could be anything. I wanted to know. So, you'd know if it was worth waiting for him." Lexi confessed.

Dani knew she shouldn't ask this next question. After what happened today, she knew better but couldn't ignore it. She just couldn't.

"What did he say?"

"I'm sorry, Dani," Lexi said slowly and softly. "He doesn't want to be with you, and I'm not sure he ever will."

Dani felt like the entire world ceased to exist the second she said it.

"Dani... are you okay?"

"Goodnight, Lexi." She clicked the phone off. Her tears were starting to fall again.

She was a mix of angry and sad. She wasn't sure exactly what was going on, but she knew what happened on that mountain was real. Nothing in her life felt more real than that moment.

Maybe it scared him so bad he just had no choice but to push her away now. She considered calling Kara for advice, but she knew she'd both tell her to forget Rocco and come home.

"He told you to leave. His good friend told you he doesn't want you. Go home," Dani told herself too.

The trouble was her heart didn't want to listen to her mind.

**

"Daddy!" Gavin was all smiles and ran to the door as Rocco got back to the beach house.

"Gavi!" Rocco picked him up and gave him a huge hug. "I missed you so much, buddy!"

"I missed you, Daddy!" Gavin's little arms tightened around his neck.

Rocco swirled him around, and he giggled happily before setting him up on the counter island.

"Did you eat dinner yet?" Rocco asked.

"Yeah. I had a taco." Gavin bobbed his head. "With yak on it."

"With what?" Rocco asked as Lexi popped in with some dirty plates from the porch.

"Yak," Gavin said louder. "It's green and slimy!"

"Oh, guac!" Rocco laughed out loud for what was probably the first time all day. It was much needed.

"I just reheated the tacos you brought home earlier. I hope that's okay." Lexi said. "Dante and I don't do the whole grocery thing."

"Yeah, I noticed the mold on the bread," Rocco said dryly. "It's alright. Gavi and I can take a trip to the store."

"Yeah, I wanna go!" He said happily.

Rocco lifted him down. "Alright, go get your shoes on."

"Is my Auntie Dani coming?" Gavin asked.

"Not tonight, buddy." Rocco managed to get out. He had a hard conversation coming up with Gavin about that, damn it.

Gavin ran over to get his shoes, and Rocco avoided Lexi's gaze. The last thing he wanted to do was rehash today. He'd take this day and strike the whole thing from his memory forever if possible.

"Ready!" With his shoes on his feet and his Kiki bear in his arms, Gavin ran back into the room.

"Race you to the car?" Rocco barely finished the sentence before Gavin went racing out the door.

"Do you want me to pick you up anything?" He asked Lexi, who shook her head.

"No, I'm eating with Bobby tonight."

"Speaking of, he's waiting for me." She grabbed her purse, and they started walking out together.

"Sorry if I kept you," Rocco apologized.

"Oh, it's fine. I have my ways to make it up to him."

"I don't want to hear about that."

"Bye, Rocco!" She waved to Gavin before dashing off to her car.

In all honesty, he was a little worried. If she did get serious with someone, he wasn't sure how well Dante would handle that.

**

They made the shopping trip pretty quick. Rocco didn't want to buy too much. He didn't plan to stay at the beach house for too long. Dante was prioritizing finding him a house or apartment to rent soon. He was still at the office going through some expenses and stuff. Rocco appreciated all his hard work and hours towards this, but it was a lot, having your little brother tell you what to do every second.

Rocco was letting Gavin "help" him put the food away when Dante came home and started looking through the bags.

"Fruit snacks!" Dante exclaimed, making quick work of opening the box. "I love these!"

"They are good." Gavin agreed.

"Only one!" He exclaimed when Dante grabbed a small handful of packets.

"What are you, the food police?" Dante asked.

"Yeah!" Gavin cheered. "I am!"

"Don't arrest me!" Dante cried.

"Well, don't eat all his fruit snacks and he won't," Rocco said.

"Yeah." Gavin bobbed his head in agreement. He started pulling more items from the bags and handing them to Rocco to put away.

"Did you know the photo studio Alyssa rents is also a two-bedroom apartment?" Dante asked Rocco.

"Really" Rocco's eyes widened. "I had no idea."

"Well, she doesn't need an entire apartment to take pictures of herself," Dante suggested. "Why don't you move in there for now?"

"I mean, if my names is on the lease, yeah, I'll just move in." Rocco shrugged. "For now. I'd still rather we have a house."

"Better to talk to her first. So that we're showing the attempt to be reasonable and all that."

"Yeah, fine," Rocco groaned.

"Is it normal for a model to rent a photo studio?" Dante asked suddenly. "It seems weird."

"I guess... I don't know. I never questioned it, but she's had it forever." they met each other's eyes.

"Interesting, we get you in there maybe the neighbors have some secrets to spill..." Dante slowly, and Rocco nodded along.

"Whoa, we better catch up to little man!" Dante laughed seeing Gavin had emptied the last bag into the counter.

"Now you and Lexi can have food," Gavin told him. He held out his arms for Rocco to lift him down, and Rocco easily obliged. He started walking towards the door where he'd taken off his shoes.

"Where are you going, Gavi?" Rocco asked.

"Time to go home. Gavi tired," Gavin yawned.

Rocco walked over and knelt to talk to him.

"Daddy and Gavi are going to stay here tonight."

"No, I need to go home." Gavin's lip started to quiver.

"Daddy's going to bring you home tomorrow, Buddy," Rocco said in a soothing voice.

"Not 'morrow." Gavin was already starting to cry. Rocco knew this could turn into a meltdown and prepared himself for it.

"I want my Auntie Dani to tell me and Kiki a story!"

"You know I tell pretty good stories, too," Rocco promised.

"I want my Auntie Dani!" Gavin screamed, his little face turning red. "I want to go home!"

"Gavin." Rocco remained calm and gently placed his hands on his shoulders.

"I know you want to go home, and it's okay if you feel mad. But we are staying here tonight." He remained calm but firm.

Gavin continued to cry, but his sobs lessened a lot. "I miss my Auntie Dani cuz I didn't see her today."

"I know you do." A lump formed in Rocco's throat.

"Can we see my Auntie Dani morrow?" Gavin asked.

"Maybe," Rocco knew he'd regret that. Gavin would bug him all day tomorrow. But he couldn't send his boy to bed with a broken heart. Bad enough, he'd already broken hers and his own.

Dante shot him a sympathetic look as he picked up Gavin to get him to bed.

Once he'd finally got Gavin settled. He stepped outside to take a walk on the beach. The night was cool and windy.

He'd spent every second of this day trying to forget that confrontation. He worked so hard pushing his feelings down all day that he was tense from head to toe.

Now he stood in solitude and let it all hit him. He'd never forget the look on her face, the hurt in her eyes. It would haunt him forever. He wished he could step back into that moment and take it all back. Sweep her into his arms and assure her he didn't mean anything. Beg her to forgive him and never let her go.

"If only."

It was Lexi's idea to force Dani to hate him so she'd leave. Rocco knew even now it was the right thing to do, but he'd never felt like a bigger jerk in all his life. Two days ago, he was elated with the idea of her on the other side of all this, waiting for him. He didn't stop for a second to think about how incredibly selfish that was. Not until he saw Alyssa circling her like a shark.

He stood silently for a long moment staring at the waves ahead of him. He didn't even realize he was crying until he noticed the tears dripping down his shirt.

He sat down in the sand and just let himself cry.

**

The hotel room was too quiet. Dani had become accustomed to the noise and activity of a three-year-old. She missed it. She missed Gavin. He'd have just had his bath, and Dani would normally be telling him a story. She could picture his little sleepy eyes and how he'd struggle to keep them open.

She realized suddenly she hadn't even eaten today. She wasn't sure she could but figured she probably should try. She headed downstairs to the hotel lobby. The restaurant smelled like spaghetti, reminding her of Rocco yet again and she lost her appetite. Instead, she walked outside, hoping the air would clear her head.

She could see the beach across the street and decided to walk over. She'd delay returning to the quiet, empty room for as long as possible. She walked briskly across the street and walked over to the sand. Dante's beach house was several miles down from here.

She couldn't help but wonder what Rocco was doing right now. Did he think about her at all? Did he regret any of that confrontation today?

She sat in the sand and pulled her knees up to her chest. She released a long and sad sigh and let the hurt wash over her as she sat and watched the waves.