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Jesus. He loved his teammates, and it felt good that they were all in for him, but holy hell, these guys were a lot.

“Hold up. She rented the cabin from your brother? Just call him and get her info,” Marc, the only one of these idiots with some common sense, threw out.

“IknowI can get her number, you shitheads. But I don’t think she wants me to call. We said a few days, and she didn’t ask about me when Sean checked in with her.”

At that, chaos erupted, and Declan had to pull the phone away to avoid permanent damage to his eardrum.

“Enough,” Quinn, who was normally chill, yelled. “Dec, I’m going to say this one time, and then I’m hanging up. Don’t assume shit. Don’t let go of someone you have a massive connection with. You won’t ever find that again. No relationship after this will compare—you’ll always be settling. Trust me. You will regret it. Don’t let pride or the fear of rejection get in the way. Fuckingcall her. Merry Christmas, assholes.”

Whoa. The dude seemed happily married with kids, but there was clearly a story there.

“He hung up,” Ryan said. “But without the drama, I agree. Reach out to her.”

“I mean,” Corey cleared his throat, “I’m shocked that Quinn, of all people, just had that outburst. But yeah, call her.”

“Do it,” Marc confirmed. “Or better yet, show up at her door and tell her what you want. So, we good? I need to get back to daddy duty.”

“Yeah, I gotta get Chris ready for bed anyway. Thanks for having my back, guys.” He ended the call as Ryan and Corey continued to talk. As much as he wanted to call her right then, there was another conversation he had to have first. Because Declan wasn’t the only one whose life would change if he let Natalie in.

He walked into the great room, where his son was playing with his dinosaurs. “Hey, bud. I want to talk to you about something.”

19

“You didn’t needto stay last night.” Natalie moved around her kitchen. The ham was in the oven, and the potatoes were starting to boil. Her brother and sister-in-law had brought over Chinese takeout last night after Greg dropped her and Addy off. Normally they would have a big dinner on Christmas Day, but after the ER trip, no one felt like fussing over a meal. Today, though, they were having their traditional dinner. “Addy and I would have been fine.”

“But it was fun to do ‘Christmas morning’ with Addy. And since you don’t have a car, we wanted to be here in case her eye got worse,” her best friend assured her.

Natalie had been concerned that her eye might swell or become infected, but Addy had been fine. She’d been giddy about opening presents this morning, calling it a Christmas do-over.

“That is the tenth time you’ve checked your phone in, like, the last hour.” Melissa raised one eyebrow at Natalie as she put the final touches on the dinner salad.

“I keep hoping he’ll call.” Natalie blew out a breath and peered into the living room, where her daughter and TJ were watchingThe Grinch. The darn movie had been on repeat this week, and now just hearing it brought back endless memories of Declan and Chris. “It’s stupid, isn’t it?”

“Maybe he’s waiting for you to call him.” Melissa crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back against the counter. “Call his agent and ask for his number.”

“Do you know how many crazy ball bunnies probably do that every single week? I doubt he just hands out his clients’ numbers all willy nilly.” She’d considered it. But asking Sean for Declan’s number just felt…she didn’t know…like what hundreds of fangirls had probably done over the years.

“Yes. But the agent would know you’re not a ball bunny, wouldn’t he?” Melissa’s red hair bounced when she chuckled. “I feel like we’re teenage girls all over again. Wantmeto call the agent and ask if he knows if Declanlikesyou?”

“Oh my god.” Natalie laughed. “Don’t be ridiculous.”

“Then grow a set and call the guy.” Melissa grabbed Natalie’s arm and squeezed gently. “Seriously, Nat, if you’re this smitten, I’m sure your week together left a mark on Declan too.”

She ran through the week for the thousandth time. The warmth of Declan’s hands on her. The taste of his kiss. The way he looked at her on Christmas morning—like she was important. Precious.

Maybe Declanwaswaiting for her to make the move. He’d explained how challenging his life could be. Maybe he didn’t want to force her into that. But even seeing firsthand how difficult Lauren was didn’t deter her from wanting more from Declan. They could work out boundaries and deal with his ex together.

“Fine, you’re right. I’ll call his agent after you leave.”

“Good.” Melissa’s green eyes sparkled and she pressed her lips together. “I want you to be as happy as I am with TJ. On Christmas Eve, he—”

Natalie shook her head violently. “Oh no. Don’t start with that. I’m happy that you’re happy, but I donotwant to hear details. Ever.”

Melissa’s laugh was cut off by the sound of the doorbell ringing.

“Expecting someone?” she asked, a brow cocked.

“Maybe it’s Greg checking on Addy. He’s the only one who could get past the doorman. But, ugh, I don’t want to have to reassure him that this whole thing wasn’t his fault. A dozen times was more than enough.”

Source: www.allfreenovel.com
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