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Declan glances at me, I shiver slightly at the way his eyes scan my face, brown honey-colored eyes dipping to my lips and moving right back up.
"You're right."
"I know," I chuckle.
"They totally bought it, didn't they?"
I know that Declan was talking about dinner earlier.
"They totally did. You are a natural. Just how well did you do in drama classes?" I tease.
"I barely got a C."
"Oh, but you have gone ahead to show that grades don't really matter."
"But they do," Declan says, he leans back and once again moves his hands toward his cuff button.
I am once again, like I was that evening at the restaurant, drawn to the sight. He begins to undo the button with practiced ease, shoulders bulging with the slightest movement. When he pauses the movement of those deft fingers, I drag my eyes away from the appealing sight and into brown eyes, now darkened and filled with amusement.
"Since you're no longer in a state of panic, I think I should give you a tour of the place,"he says and begins to move away, leaving me with no choice but to follow.
I follow Declan dazedly, trying not to think too much about my growing intrigue for him.
"Even though there's really nothing much to see,"he mutters, leading me toward the ensuite bathroom and pushing the door open. "Well, it looks like Mother had the housekeeper keep the room clean."
"It sounds pretty much like she has imagined that a day like this would come."
"She is always prepared for the unexpected,"Declan beams and chuckles.
I scan the clean bathroom, eyeing the shower with longing. I would love to do nothing more than take a very hot shower, but this is the Gray Family home, even though I know he would have no problems with that, I still feel that would be crossing several boundaries.
"What? Would you like a shower?"Declan asks, and I blink.
"Is it that obvious?"
There's laughter in Declan's voice as he replies, "It's just that you have been staring at the shower like it's the serpent in the Garden of Eden or something."
"The Serpent? What? I didn't know you go to church."
"I did until the age of fifteen,"Declan says as he moves back toward his walk-in closet and then turns to run his gaze over my form. I try not to fidget during his apparent perusal. "I’m assuming you’d want to have a change of clothes," he says. I give a low nod, ignoring how warm I suddenly feel at his thoughtfulness.
Declan walks in, a minute later, comes right out with a large white button-down shirt.
"I'm sorry, but I didn't think you would feel comfortable in a sweatshirt since the heat is on."
"This will do. Thank you." I respond and then move toward him to grab the shirt before retreating to the bathroom to make a quick change.
This isn't how I had imagined that my evening with Declan would end. If anyone had told me that I would spend this Friday evening in Declan's former bedroom after dinner with his parents, I would have laughed in their faces.
I wash my face and make a funny attempt at wrapping my hair up like I've watched content creators do on YouTube, but I end up messing up my hair. With my face completely free of makeup, my little imperfections mock me; like the little acne close to my hairline that has refused to go away even though I have used every single treatment known to man, the little scar across my brow I'd gotten while playing in the house with Emma.
I sigh, deciding that there's nothing I can do about the scar and the acne tonight. And yes, I step out of my dress and put on the large shirt I'd been loaned. The hem of the fabric comes down mid-thigh, and the sleeves completely engulf my hands. I am reminded, by Declan's much larger shirt, how much bigger and taller he is.
He would make a great Cuddle Buddy.
No, I can't think about that. There'll definitely be no cuddling tonight. Declan and I aren't even friends. That can't happen.
I fold the sleeves as best as I can and make my way back to the room, looking away bashfully when Declan eyes me from head to toe.
