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Declan let me go, but before I could wobble away, he grabbed the sides of my face in his large hands and kissed me again. Then again. “I missed you,” he said gruffly before finally letting me go. My heart skipped at his words. I wanted to remind him he’d been the one to leave, but since he’d given me such a warm welcome, I wondered if the point was moot.
My head spun with excitement and a fair amount of confusion, but I definitely knew I wanted to meet the friend of his who’d come to stay with him.
I took a minute to catch my breath and will my dick to deflate before stepping around Declan and introducing myself to the couple in the living room. A timer went off in the kitchen, and Declan muttered a quick apology before rushing after it.
The woman was beautiful, but in a natural kind of girl-next-door way. She had her blonde hair back in a ponytail, and her face was bare of any makeup. Her blue eyes watched me intently as I came closer.
“I’ve heard so much about you, Finn,” she began with a genuine smile. “I’m Declan’s friend Tessa.”
I was almost positive she’d dropped the f-word in there to send me a message that she was no threat to whatever designs I had on the handsome sheriff. While I appreciated it, I also felt deep in my bones Declan’s own sense of honor would keep him from ever being unfaithful to anyone he was with. Assuming, of course, he was with someone. Which of course he wasn’t.
“Nice to meet you.” I glanced at the deputy I’d already met. “Deputy Graham. Nice to see you again.”
He reached out a hand to shake. “Call me Shawn, please. It’s nice to see you, too. Glad you’re doing okay.”
“I should say the same to you since you’re the one who was injured that night at the Stanners’ place.”
Shawn’s hand came up to feel for the cut that was already healing. “No big deal. Tess fixed me right up.” He shot a smile at Tessa that suddenly clued me in to the situation at hand. These two were interested in each other. I wondered how that would play out when Declan’s friend was at least eight months pregnant with another man’s baby. Hopefully Shawn wasn’t an asshole.
Tess glanced at the deputy. “Would you mind grabbing the bag I packed? It’s on my bed.”
He jogged off immediately to do her bidding, and she looked after him for a beat with a goofy look on her face before turning to me. “I won’t be back until late tomorrow morning. Meanwhile, ask Declan about mountain biking and magic tricks.”
I opened my mouth to ask her what she meant, but Declan came in, wiping his hands on a kitchen towel. “Sorry about that. I forgot I’d left the oil heating in the pan. Would you like some wine?”
Suddenly, I was nervous again. “What are you having?”
Tessa clasped her hands together in front of her chest and made a little sound of contentment. “Have so much fun. I’ll get out of your hair. Call me if you accidentally set the house on fire. Shawn can probably hook us up with some hot firefighters.”
Shawn entered the room with a bag over his shoulder. “Hey. No need for all that. I’ll fight your fire.”
Tess and Declan exchanged an eye roll before Tess leaned up to peck Dec’s cheek. “Night.”
She gave me a quick hug before following Shawn out the door. When they were gone, I followed Declan into the kitchen. It was cozy and clean, modern and updated but not too fancy. Something about it put me at ease. I took a seat on one of the stools at the kitchen island. “She seems great,” I began.
Declan opened a bottle of wine and poured two glasses before sliding one over to me. “Yeah. She is. I’ve known her since we were five. We went to school together the whole way through, then she lived in the apartment next door to me the last few years in LA. That’s how she met Nick.”
I sensed a story there, but I wasn’t in the mood to talk about his ex-partner right now. “What’s with her and the cute deputy?”
“You think he’s cute?” Declan didn’t look at me when he asked the question, but I could tell he cared about the answer.
“I meant cute as in puppy dog cute. He’s goofy for her. And just so we’re clear, earnest young do-gooder isn’t my type.”
He finally met my eyes. “Then what is?”
Part of me wondered if my answer would change the direction of our evening from one path to another. I chose my words carefully.
“Calm, mature do-gooder with a tendency to get bossy in the bedroom.”
Heavy heat filled the air between us like a muggy summer evening on a bayou. It was hard to take in a full breath, and the air felt both alive and oppressive.
