Page 12 of Only You

She tore her gaze from her crush. “No, thank God. I hope it holds out for the night.”

“So no one was killed tonight.”

“No. It means they have enough personnel to handle it.”

She tried to keep her attention off Declan but found her gaze wandering back to the chef. He was holding the little Santini boy. In all her thirty-two years, she had never really thought about things like kids. She was sure she did as a young girl, but when she zeroed in on being a cop, she left those thoughts behind. She never thought she would be one of those women who could juggle a career and marriage with kids. But seeing Declan with that little boy made her…yearn. Jesus, she had never used that word associated with a man and a happily-ever-after.

“What’s with that guy Bryan? I mean, you guys dated like five years ago.”

Thankful that her cousin pulled her out of her fugue, she shrugged.

“From what I heard, he and his girlfriend just broke up.”

“And what? He decided to try and get the woman back that stomped on his heart.”

She turned to face her cousin. “I did not stomp on his heart. It was his ego.”

That was all it was. He’d never truly loved her. She suspected that Bryan was a sociopath who would never love the woman he was with if she wasn’t one hundred percent committed to him.As in, no friends, no career, only Bryan. Why he thought she would be the one for him, she had no idea.

“He looked like a puppy dog looking at you today.”

“He did not. Besides, if he was kissing up to me, it was to help his career.”

“Another ego killer. You graduated from the academy together, didn’t you?”

She nodded. Rowan opened his mouth to ask another annoying question, and she was thankful that a shout from one of the Santinis pulled his attention away.

“Be right back.”

“Don’t rush,” she said with a laugh. She really loved her cousin. He annoyed her because he had always been like that. Always asking questions, his mind bouncing from one subject to the other. But it was good to see him.

“Your cousin seems to know the Santinis well,” a deep voice whispered in her ear. She fought the shiver that worked down her spine.

How Declan could sneak up behind her, she had no idea. He was a big man, but he always seemed to move around, making no sound.

She glanced at him. “He trained with Marco, Joey’s son who lives in Hawaii.”

“Hmm, so that makes him a SEAL.”

She shrugged and sipped her water.

“Not drinking, detective?”

She shook her head. “I’m on call.”

He nodded. “I didn’t get to tell you just how nice you look tonight.”

She would not preen, but damn, it was hard. He looked at her as if she were the only person in the room. She couldn’t remember a man ever looking at her like that.

“Thank you.”

A slow song started, and she glanced at the makeshift dance floor that Declan had set up. Her gaze was caught on Wendy and Aeden. Those two were so close so in tune with each other. When she had first met the two of them, it struck her how they seemed to understand each other so well.

All of a sudden, Declan grabbed her glass.

“Hey!”

He took her hand and dragged her to the dance floor, setting the glass on a table as she stumbled behind him.

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