Page 107 of The Road to Ruined

I reach into my dress and pull my knife out, leaving it folded in my palm. "I just feel better if I carry it anyway," I say.

"You still have that?" he asks. He takes my free hand when I step down from the barstool.

"Sebastian got it back for me."

"Hmm…and you're sure he doesn't love you?"

"Yeah," I tell him as we round the corner of the building. "I'm sure."

"Okay, kitten," he says, kissing the top of my head. "If you say so."

"I do say so. You weren't there."

"I know, Teag. You don't have to remind me."

I stop and turn to him, shaking my head. "That's not what I meant, I just—"

He cuts me off, cupping my cheeks in his hands and pressing his lips to mine. "You don't owe me any explanation. You look really pretty; I bet you heard that all night, though, didn't you?"

I shake my head again. "No, Declan. No one talks to me like that."

"Idiots," he says against my lips. He leans in and kisses me again, deeper this time. His hands run down my back to the swell of my ass before he bites my lip and pulls away.

"We need to get upstairs, Teagan," he says, moving his mouth to my ear. "Or I'm going to bend you over this staircase, and you'll end up screaming my name and everyone will know I'm here."

NINETEEN

We walk hand-in-hand up a dark side staircase to my room on the third floor. Luca sits on the bed shirtless with the television on and a few empty mini liquor bottles on the side table.

"Hey, baby," he says when I walk through the door. "Look, I made it to your bitch sister's wedding after all. Do you think she'll be happy to see me? I wrote a song about her, too, but I don't think she'll like it."

I cover my face with my hands and laugh. "Oh, god. Yeah, Luca, I think she'd love that."

"All of the other songs I've written are about you, angel," he says.

"Don't hurt yourself," I tell Luca when he climbs out of bed.

"You don't tell me what to do. I'll fuck that bossy mouth of yours and teach you that lesson again if I have to," he says. He kisses me on the forehead and then throws me over his shoulder.

"Luca, stop!"

"What'd I tell you?"

Smack.

"Ow!" I shout. "Damn it, Luca!"

"Dude, seriously," Declan says. "You're going to fucking hurt yourself. Put the baby down."

"Fine." He sits on the edge of the bed and pulls me into his lap, holding me tightly against his body with my back to his chest. "You look really pretty, baby," he says, kissing my neck. "I missed you so much. You know what I did when we had to leave you in Vegas?"

I shake my head. "No, what?"

"I fucking cried."

"He threw a whole ass tantrum," Declan says. "I should have roofied his ass, too."

"That was rude," I tell him. "Where have you been anyway?"

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