AllFreeNovel
Share Us
A short walk to the main barn where breakfast was being held didn’t take long enough for her brain to recall the reason she’d been drinking in the first place—Ethan and Haileigh.
So when she walked in and was practically smacked upside the head by the sight of them together, she wasn’t fully prepared.
She stopped dead in the doorway. As if accentuating her misfortune, the wind decided to howl at her back, sending a low noise through the entire barn.
Dozens of people turned to look at her standing frozen in the entrance.
Including her ex and his fiancée.
Tossing her hair over her shoulder, she quickly stepped inside and shut the door. Why was her ex here anyway? She couldn’t think of any reason why Ethan would choose a charity for special needs kids—unless of course he was trying to look good in somebody else’s eyes. Maybe he even had a bastard child somewhere and this was his way of getting karma on his good side.
The ugly thought flitted through her head with a wild gust of remorse. She’d never wish such a horrible thing on an innocent child.
She made her way toward the buffet, her gaze locked on the coffee. Haileigh and Ethan tracked her every step across the room.
Suddenly, a familiar scent of man, pine and something spicy flooded her head.
This scent didn’t worsen her hangover. Actually, it had the opposite effect, energizing her.
And heating her insides.
Declan’s teeth flashed white against the winter tan he sported from being outdoors. Or maybe it was a leftover tan from summer. She still didn’t know what he did for a living, but that body only came from hard work, and lots of it.
“Hi, baby.” He looked over her head. She followed his gaze to her enemies watching them.
Swooping in, he kissed her square on the mouth, a soft, firm brush of lips simmering with tension and all the promise they’d parted ways with the previous night.
Oh god, this man really was a diamond in an oilskin barn jacket and broken-in jeans.
When he drew away, he smiled down into her eyes. More shocking than his perfect white teeth was that she found herself smiling back.
Okay, I can do this. I like this.
With a hand on her spine, he led her straight to the coffee as though he knew how real her struggle was to be up at this early time, let alone while sporting a mild hangover.
“Coffee?”
“Yes, please.”
“Sure, darling.” He pitched his voice a little louder than she needed to hear him. When she glanced out of the corner of her eye, she saw why—her ex was approaching.
“Cream and sugar, like always?” Declan asked.
Her lips popped open in surprise. How did he know? She couldn’t recall telling him that, though she did have a faint memory of blabbering about Ethan and Haileigh last night—right before Declan laid her down, spread her legs and blew her damn mind.
She nodded stupidly.
Declan poured the black brew into a white ceramic mug with a bigWon it and then added the extras. He turned to her just as Ethan barged up to pour his own coffee.
Her ex looked down his nose at Declan—or he would if he could have looked down. Declan had at least three inches of height on him.
And three inches in other places too. Damn, she remembered every single moment ofthat.
Ethan looked to her. “Belle.”
“Ethan.”
“Ethan,” Declan echoed with a sharp edge.
