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“Excuse them. They must be suffering from a carbon monoxide leak or something. They’re not usually like this.”
Nana pops her head out of the kitchen. “Why lie to him? We’realwayslike this.”
I give Declan a reassuring pat on his thigh. “Welcome to my family.”
I pull my hand away, but Declan sweeps in and holds onto it. The warmth of his palm makes my handburn.
Mom wags a finger at me. “Not yet. He needs to pass the Landry test before he’s officially inducted.”
Declan raises a brow.
“I hope you like spicy food.” Nana makes an appearance, sipping on her wine.
The three of us break out into laughter at the puzzled expression on Declan’s face.
Maybe tonight won’t be so bad after all.
* * *
“Are you okay?” I refill Declan’s water cup for the third time in twenty minutes. A damp layer of sweat covers his forehead, and his usually slicked-back hair sticks out in all different directions. He even removed his suit jacket.
The manneverso much as removes his jacket, let alone rolls up his sleeves. I’ve tried my hardest to keep my eyes focused on everything above his neck, but the amount of vein porn happening has my eyes glued to his forearm like a homing beacon.
It should be illegal to hide arms like those beneath suits.
Hell, it should be illegal to have arms like those in the first place. They’re distracting to the general population.
The scrape of Declan’s fork against his plate fills the silence. He glares at the piece of spicy chicken like he wishes he could go back in time and wring the animal’s neck himself.
“So, Declan, when did you realize you were in love with my daughter?”
Declan releases the knife in his hand, and it clatters to the floor.
“Aw. You’re making him nervous.” Nana sips her wine to hide her smile.
These two and their interrogation skills. I’m lucky Declan has understanding people down to a science because I never withstood my family’s inquisitions growing up.
“I think part of me always knew she would be the one. It just took a while for the rest of my brain to catch up.” His eyes don’t meet mine.
I bite down on my tongue to keep myself from laughing. The way he can lie his way through anything is something to be admired. Although it does come off a bit jarring, it seems to do the trick. Mom’s entire body melts from his statement.
“Why did you hold back for so long?” Nana asks, not looking as enamored as my mom.
“It wasn’t the right time.”
Elusive as always. It will help him keep up with his web of lies.
Mom smiles. “Well, I’m surprised she gave you a chance. I’ve been trying to set her up with one of the teachers at my school but she always declines—”
“Because I wasn’t interested, obviously.” I nod my head in Declan’s direction.
He doesn’t so much as look at me. We will need to practice more of these interactions later because his delivery could use some work.
“Iris leaves a trail of broken hearts wherever she goes.” Nana raises her glass toward me like I unlocked some achievement.
“No, I don’t.” I grind my teeth together.
Nana feeds off my embarrassment. “Did you know her last boyfriend proposed to her and she rejected him?”
