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“That some insider knowledge?” I ask, hoping I don’t sound too desperate.
“It’s an instinct. They’re getting a little stronger each day.” She rubs her belly, and it’s now that I notice the small bump. I’m so stunned it takes me a minute to react properly.
“Are you—are you pregnant?”
Haley nods, a glow illuminating her entire expression.
I pop out of my chair and pull my sister into my arms. Before I can get out the word congratulations, I see her.
Cassidy peeks in through the sliver of glass on the office door, and my heart leaps into my throat. Haley must sense it too, because she pulls free of my hug and looks behind her. “I’ll expect you at the gender reveal.”
At this moment, I would agree to damn near anything. “Done.”
“Don’t forget to lock up. I’ll let you two…talk.” She pauses with her hand on the doorknob. “Remember, Declan. She was the scared one.”
11
CASSIDY
My hands tremble at my sides, even after Haley gives me an encouraging smile. I wait until I hear the front door latch before I take a step into the office and dare to close the door behind me. It’s more to keep me inside than to keep Declan from escaping. “Hey,” I manage to say without choking on the word.
“Hey,” he says, warmer than I expect. A slight smile forming on his lips that gives me hope I’m not too late. Because the last two weeks have been absolute hell. I’ve spent every spare second searching for Declan, hoping to spot him down the street, in the grocery store, or in my bar.
He’s been a ghost.
Not that I can blame him. I’m the chicken shit who hid from her feelings. Feelings I have to find the courage to confess, even if it’s too late to matter. Because until this moment, even if I’d run into him in town, I would’ve been too scared to be honest.
I grip the back of the chair facing the desk, mostly to keep my knees from giving out. I thought I was scared the night of the fire. But that feeling is nothing compared to the fear I feel now. “I have something I need to tell you.”
“I’m listening.” He doesn’t get up from his chair, and that puts me at ease. Or maybe it’s that twinkle in his eyes that suggests he knows I’m not wearing panties. The washer is fixed now, but what fun would that have been if everything actually works out in my favor?
“I was scared.”
“I know.”
“You do?”
“I wasn’t fair to you,” he admits.
“You were more than fair,” I argue. “You never once pretended to be someone you weren’t. Never once lied to me about what you wanted. I’m the one who stupidly thought I could get in and out without getting hurt. Without hurting you.” I force myself to let go of the back of the chair so I can walk around the side of the desk.
Am I imagining the bulge in his jeans? Focus, Cassidy. Not yet!
“I’ve never been with anyone I could trust not to hurt me. So, I put up an iron wall around my heart and started doing the leaving myself.” That’s definitely a bulge. Is the man hard already? Wetness trickles down the inside of my thigh, forcing me to stop beating around the bush before I have an orgasm just standing here. “I love you, Declan. I think I’ve known that for a while, but it took—”
He reaches for my hand and tugs me into his lap. I end up sitting on my knees, my calves pressed to his thighs. “It’s about time, sweetheart.”
“I’m not running scared this time.” I cup his cheek. “So if you break my heart, you’re going to have to break it all the way.”
“I’ll never break your heart, Cassidy. I’d rather be burned alive.”
“Well, let’s not be rash.”
He pushes up my skirt, his eyes turning a shade darker when he discovers what I’m missing. “You were planning to seduce me if I said no?” he growls, sliding both hands up my thighs, his thumbs stopping just short of my folds.
“I was planning to seduce you either way.”
Declan laughs as he presses both thumbs against my clit. “So fucking wet.”
