Page 68 of Only You

“Easy. I love you.”

“No, you don’t. You said you were falling in love.”

“I did not.” He shook his head as he smiled at her. Again, her terror at having him love her shouldn’t amuse him, but it did. Maybe it was the knowledge that she seemed to be as knocked off kilter as much as he was by her. “I said I love you, but we’ll go with it. I’m falling in love with you if it makes you feel better.”

“Fine.”

“Pack enough for a couple of days. That way, you don’t have to come back here unless you want to.”

She nodded, then looked up at him. “You’re not always going to get your way.”

“As long as I have you, that’s all that matters.”

Her eyes softened, and she leaned up on her tiptoes to kiss him. “Thanks.”

“I’ll always be in your corner.”

Someone called for her. She sighed. When she looked up at him again, regret filled her gaze. She moved away from him, and he let her go. She knew he had her back, and that was all that mattered at that moment.

Fourteen

Over an hour later, Eileen stomped into Declan’s apartment. “This is stupid.”

The man said nothing. Instead, he hummed as he headed over to his kitchen.

“Declan!”

“Yes, my love?”

“Don’t you ‘my love’ me.”

“I like calling you that.”

She wanted to scream. The man was driving her batty. Worse, the captain had gotten wind of the situation and told her she was not to come in tomorrow. Or today, seeing how it was past midnight.

“This is stupid. I shouldn’t stay with you. I should stay far away from you.”

He pulled out what looked like the makings of an omelet. “You’re right.”

Her heart sank a little. He agreed with her. “Oh.”

“Don’t look like that, love. Do you want any kind of meat or veggies in your omelet?”

“If you are making an omelet, why didn’t we stay at my house?”

Again, he was watching her in that way of his. It was like he had her all figured out. How did the man look so good? She was sure she was a mess, her hair was probably all over the place, and he was standing there with perfect hair.

He stepped around the counter and pulled her into his arms.

“Which thing do you want me to address first? The staying with me or the omelet thing?” She didn’t respond. “First, you had eggs and cheese, but I have more choice of ingredients. Otherwise, you would end up at a safe house or with a guard.”

“A guard?”

He nodded. “I heard that Bryan guy offer to guard you.”

“No thanks.”

“Yeah, that asshole wasn’t getting near you.”

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