My daughter rolled her eyes. “I can’t believe you’re still dating someone who is using you for your money.”
“Can we not do this here?” I implored.
“Why not? I’m sure Patrick and Mary don’t want you being taken advantage of,” she argued.
Patrick’s brow furrowed. “Morgan, I don’t know why you think Declan has ulterior motives?—”
“I’m sure Fallon told you about Declan’s background, because Faye knows all about it.”
Declan’s head whipped over to Fallon. “What is she talking about?”
It was Faye who responded, “My brother told me about you being some trailer park kid attending Hawkins Law on a scholarship because you couldn’t afford it on your own. Hell, you could barely pay for your drink at Fallon’s bachelor party.”
“Faye!” Fallon shouted. “You’re making it sound like something bad. All I ever said was how much I admired Declan because of how hard he had to work to make his dreams of attending law school a reality. I was in awe of him, not judging him.”
“I gotta say, I’m disappointed in you, Faye,” Patrick stated. “We didn’t raise you to act like this or to look down on people who didn’t have the same advantages as you.”
“Morgan, you owe Declan an apology,” I added. “He’s the person I want to be with, and your accusations aren’t going to change that.”
“But—”
“No. I love him, and you need to figure out how to accept that.” It killed me to take such a hard stance with her, but Declan didn’t deserve to be disrespected.
“Well, I can’t do that.” Morgan turned to her friend. “Let’s go.”
The two of them spun around and headed for the door. As soon as we heard it slam behind them, everyone began speaking at once.
I wrapped my arm around Declan and kissed his temple. “I’m so sorry. I can’t believe how horrible Morgan is still acting toward you. Are you okay?”
He nodded. “It sucks having her toss out those accusations again, but I’m fine. What about you?”
I shrugged. “I’ll be all right. It’s just a shitty situation.”
“Declan, I don’t even know what to say.” Mary looked horrified by what had just happened. “Faye was out of line, plain and simple.”
“Please know we don’t share our daughter’s opinion,” Patrick stated.
“I know. It definitely doesn’t feel good to hear them speak that way. But I know why I’m in a relationship with Sean, and I’m confident he knows why as well.” Declan smiled at me.
“I do.” I squeezed his knee.
The Donnelleys’ chef came in, and judging by the sheepish look on her face, she’d heard everything. “Dinner is ready.”
“Thank you, Cynthia.” Patrick stood, and we all followed.
“Declan.” Fallon reached out and placed his hand on his friend’s shoulder. “I hope you know I said nothing bad about you. Faye totally twisted my words.”
Declan gave him a side hug. “I know.”
“Let’s go eat and put this conversation behind us,” I offered.
“Sounds like a good plan to me.” Rhett grabbed Fallon’s hand and pulled him toward the dining room.
I started to walk in the same direction, but Declan stopped me.
“You said you loved me in front of everyone.” He beamed.
I couldn’t stop the smile that spread across my face. “And I meant it.”
