Page 75 of Only You

Two days later,Eileen was finally home. The doctors had been worried about the concussion, which was worse than they’d first thought. It sucked that she was stuck at the hospital and not interviewing Bryan. But thankfully, she was allowed to sleep for however long she wanted to.

When she and Declan walked into the kitchen, she stopped. The entire island was covered with cookies, muffins, and breads.

“That’s nothing. You should see what you have in the fridge.”

She glanced at him, her heart turning over in her chest. The fact that he had stood by her, taken care of her, and run interference when friends and family got to be too much had meant more to her than anything else. She wasn’t usually so antisocial, but all the noise still hurt her head.

When she opened the fridge, she found it stocked with all kinds of food.

“Your family, mine, my kitchen, and the Santinis all brought food. We’ll need to put some in the freezer, or they will go to waste.”

She nodded and shut the door.

“Want to tell me about it? Can you?”

Eddie had stopped by the hospital before she was discharged. Bryan had come prepared that night. He’d come with weapons and a cell jammer.

“Simon was always a problem. I never met him, but I heard he never made it up the chain because there was always something off about him. Never married. He was engaged once,but she broke it off. Simon liked to slap her around when he was drunk.”

She sighed.

“We don’t have to go over this.”

“No. I’m just trying to wrap my head around it. Six months ago, Simon died, and Bryan got the bulk of his uncle’s belongings, which included a storage locker.”

She swallowed, thinking about the pictures Eddie had shown her. “Simon was evil, and, apparently, when Bryan found all the proof that his uncle was a killer, he decided to go that route. It’s hard to believe, but now that I think back, there had to be a reason I never slept with him.”

“That killer lurking beneath the surface?”

Eileen nodded. “I know that when Bryan found out about his uncle, it was a trigger moment, but that instinct had to be there beneath the surface.”

She wondered if he would even end up in prison. He was on suicide watch at the moment. That was her past. She looked up at Declan. This man, he was her future. He was her everything.

“What?”

“I was just thinking that we haven’t discussed what would happen after all this.”

“Do you have to? I mean, do we have to decide?”

She shook her head, a smile curving her lips. “As long as you want to stick around.”

He snorted. “Try to get rid of me, O’Reilly.”

This man. He let her be tough, but he also let her show her soft side. He accepted her just as she was. Taking his hand, she led him out of the kitchen.

“Where are we going?”

She tossed a smile over her shoulder. His eyes turned darker, his need easy for her to see. It was the same desire sparking through her blood. She needed this, needed him.

He let out a whoop and picked her up bridal style. “Don’t ever let it be said that I didn’t do everything in my power to please you.”

She wrapped her arms around his neck. “I love you.”

“I love you,” he said, then he carried her up the stairs and into the rest of their lives.

Epilogue

“Ican’t believe you made me burn my muffins,” Eileen groused at him.

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