Page 2 of Only You

She said nothing else, which was odd. For a librarian, she was always very chatty. He had always thought they would be quiet since they shushed everyone all day, but maybe because she had to be quiet at work, she exploded with chatter when she got home. So, her pause worried him.

“What?”

“I heard Eileen O’Reilly is going to be there.”

When his mother said the Baltimore Police Detective’s name, his entire body reacted. It was disconcerting that as a man in his thirties, his dick twitched while on the phone with his mother. It had been that way since the moment he’d met her. Eileen hadbeen oblivious of him, not for his lack of trying. The detective always had something on her mind, and it wasn’t him.

“Yes. And she has a plus one.” Which irritated him, but it wasn’t like he had asked her out. Ever.

“Hmm, probably one of her brothers.”

“Listen, Ma, I need to get a little more rest before heading to the restaurant.”

“Of course. I’ll see you tonight.”

“Love you.”

“Love you, Declan.”

He hung up the phone. Of course, he didn’t go back to sleep. His mind and body were now wholly focused on the woman he had been infatuated with for nearly six months.

It wasn’t something he was used to. He wasn’t a womanizer but rarely had trouble closing the deal with women. If they weren’t interested, Declan had no problem moving on. His mother had raised him right. But he hadn’t even worked up the nerve to ask her out.

It was those eyes. They were somewhere between blue and green. When she showed up at his restaurant, he always ensured she had what she needed. Eileen had a lot of late nights as a homicide detective in Baltimore, and more than one night, she showed up at his place after a long shift. There was something about how she hummed when she ate whatever he put in front of her.

Dammit. Now he was fully aroused.

Knowing that he wouldn’t get back to sleep, he slipped out of bed to jump into a cold shower. By the time he was done, he was shivering, but at least he had his need under control.

He grabbed his phone again and decided to check in with his sister. They were the two in charge of the menu for the party.

“Hey, shouldn’t you be sleeping?”

“I should, but Ma called. She wanted to complain that you wouldn’t let her do anything.”

She chuckled. “Yeah, well, she can just stuff it. This is a party for her and Dad. She needs to take a backseat.”

“Good luck with that.”

Another laugh. A male murmur was in the background, and he knew it was his brother-in-law, Brando Santini.

“Yeah, well, she keeps bugging me about the guest list. I told her we had RSVPs from everyone.”

In his head, he told himself not to ask. He had been cautious about how he responded to Eileen around his family. He didn’t need any of them getting in his way or causing problems. The Fitzpatricks were very good at causing drama.

“Ma mentioned Eileen was coming.”

Silence. He could practically feel his sister’s curiosity pulse over the telephone.

“She is. The plus one is her brother, Zane. No. It’s Zach. Dang, I can’t remember what Wendy told me. I guess it doesn’t matter which one since they’re twins.”

He let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding.

“Well, since Ma woke me up, I’m getting up. I’ll be down at the restaurant around noon.”

“I’ll see you there.”

After they hung up, he stared at the ceiling, his thoughts lingering on the delectable detective. She was no-nonsense, a bit abrupt, and she knew how to handle herself. He’d seen her take care of a few rowdy frat boys one night in his restaurant. She’d scared the shit out of them with whatever she’d said. He smiled at the memory. Then it faded.

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