Before I can stop him, he turns and hurries out of the shop. The door bangs closed behind him, and then it’s quiet –tooquiet.
I look up at Declan and there’s a look on his face I haven’t seen before. It’s predatory, almost. Possessive.Hungry.
Instinct has me taking a step back, but I bump into the table behind me. Declan, seeing an opportunity, closes the distance between us and plants his hands on the table on either side of me, effectively caging me in. My heart skips a beat, then takes off to the races. He’s soclose.
Declan leans down so I don’t have to tip my head back to meet his eyes. “Are you dating him?”
The question is so out of left field, all I can do is blink for a few seconds. “What?”
“Fucking him?” he taunts.
The wordfuckingout of Declan’s mouth like that has me blushing. “Who?”
“Mister clean cut with the fucking khakis,” Declan practically growls. So he’d been watching us last week, too. “Are. You. Fucking. Him?”
Maybe I’d laugh, if my nerves weren’t strung tight like a bow and my heart was thumping at a normal pace. This kind of proximity to Declan is like a drug. One hit and my senses are gone. I want to reach out and grab him by the shirt, pull him close and finally find out what he tastes like.
“Answer me, Elsie,” he commands, his voice low and lethal.
Right, he’d been questioning me about Noah.
As if he has the right.
I want to taunt him, to tell him it’s none of his business if we are hooking up, but something stops me. Maybe it’s the hard set to his jaw, or the glaring eyes that have barely left mine since he stepped foot into my shop.
God, he’s hot.
“No, Declan,” I say softly. “We’re friends.”
“That’s it?” he asks, his jaw working to the side again.
“We did go on a date once,” I admit. Declan sucks in a breath through his nose and from the corner of my eye, I see the tendons in his arms flex as he grips the tabletop. “It was months ago. We realized we were better off as friends and left it at that.”
Jesus, why am I even explaining this to him? “Are you jealous?” I ask. I’d meant for it to be a challenge, an accusation, but my tone is more incredulous than anything.
“That’s one way to put it,” he says, and his honesty nearly knocks the wind out of me. I still don’t know what’s happening between us, but I think I’m equal parts terrified and excited about the possibilities.
“We hardly know each other,” I point out. It’s a lame effort to pump the breaks on whatever this is. He can’t just storm in here, act like he has some kind of claim over me and scare Noah off. Rationally, I know that’s insane behavior – even if my traitorous heart is doing a happy dance inside my chest.
He leans in closer, so close that I think –hope?– he might actually kiss me. Instead, he leans to the side and tucks a strand of hair behind my ear. His warm breath on the sensitive skin of my neck makes me shiver, and I know he notices.
Declan chuckles and leans closer. He inhales, like he’s breathing me in, trying to consume me the way my body is screaming,beggingfor him to do.
“Neither one of us stands a chance against this,” Declan says, his low voice so close I feel it like a caress. “We’re inevitable, Elsie.”
With that, he takes a step back, winks at me and leaves.
CHAPTER 17
Declan
It smells a little bit like wet dog in here, but we’re back open for business. It had taken all Sunday afternoon for Sean, Matt and I to clean up the water, and another day for things to dry out. Luckily we’re closed Sunday and Monday anyway, so we didn’t have to cancel any appointments.
Matt had outsourced the plumbing work during renovations – it’s the one thing he doesn’t do – but he’s still holding himself personally responsible for the leak. He’s tried countless times to give us the money to make up for it, but we refused. So when a stack of pizzas arrives midday on Wednesday, I already know who it’s from.
“You can put them over here,” Frankie tells the delivery guy, directing him to the counter she’s sitting behind. She works in the shop a few days per week, helping us schedule appointments, order supplies, pay any bills that need paying. She works part-time as a graphic designer for a company out in California, so the schedule works out well for her.
“That is an insane amount of pizza,” Eddie calls from the other side of the shop. He glances at his client and I know he’s itching to come over and snag a slice, or five.
