Page 43 of Bond Strength

I sucked in a deep breath. Maybe I’d needed someone to give me the brazen truth years ago. “Actually, Declan’s taking me out tonight,” I said, even though my nerves pinged. “Could we do dinner another time?”

Mom and Olivia both stopped midargument and stared at me. Olivia lifted her brows, and a grin spread on her lips. To my surprise, Mom smiled as well.

“Oh, I don’t want to interrupt your date,” she said. “Maybe sometime this week?”

“Just don’t break an appliance to make the plans,” Dad called out and returned his attention to his book.

“I’d love that.” Relief settled in my bones. Fuck, that had gone far easier than anticipated. Really? All these years and I could’ve just…said something? I needed to start doing the same with work as well. Maybe my life would get a little less stressful there if I started speaking up, started setting boundaries.

And this change was because of Declan. Because he’d cared enough to deliver the truth to me rather than letting me keep driving in cruise control. There’d be times I’d falter—patterns weren’t broken so easily—but right now, I’d coaston this win.

“Mom, we’ll take your kindly extended dinner invite,” Olivia teased. “Lauren and I didn’t have plans tonight.”

Mom brightened. It grew clearer than ever that she had all these wants percolating inside her, but she didn’t know how to ask for them. The familiarity swept over me, helping me understand her even more.

I slipped out my phone and typed out a quick text to Declan.

I can’t wait to see you tonight.

Tonight, and if I had it my way, every night for the rest of our lives.

Chapter seventeen

Declan

My date plans were atrocious.

I’d spent the morning neck-deep in something I hadn’t dealt with in years—updating my résumé. I’d started looking at job listings this week, seeing what positions were in the area, where I could focus more on aerospace. As much as I’d known other options might be out there, I’d assumed they were all far away. To my surprise, a large number of listings were local to me, even if the companies were involved in advancing aircrafts or other types of flight.

Except I’d gotten so fixated that the morning flew by and most of the afternoon.

A knock sounded at my door.

I glanced at the time on my laptop. Noah wasn’t due here for another few hours.

“Declan, open the goddamn door,” Cor boomed.

Oh, crap. He needed to pick up his wet/dry vac. I’d borrowed it after the whole basement flooding debacle, and I’d forgotten he’d beswinging by today to grab it. Well, I hadn’t forgotten. Time had just gotten away from me.

I peeled myself from my chair, my back stiff. The nerves had been fluttering with more intensity over the last hour in preparation for my date with Noah, and while my plan felt sensible for what he liked, I worried I’d pulled a me and misinterpreted what normal folks did on dates again. Was he expecting a dinner and a movie? The movies out right now were garbage—big dramatic pieces where people stared at each other for long spans of time.

I opened the door. “I could’ve brought it tomorrow.”

“I need it today for a project I’m working on in my basement,” Cor said. “Besides, you live five minutes away. It’s not like dropping by is a major hardship.”

“For you maybe.”

He rolled his eyes, but a grin lingered on his lips. “I gave you the forewarning. Not my fault you were in the middle of whatever project grabbed your fancy.”

“Is my date plan bad?” I asked.

Cor stopped on his way to my basement and glanced back at me. “You mean your typical meeting with a date at a restaurant? Public space is a good way to meet online dates, so I don’t think it’s a bad option.”

“No, my date tonight with my boyfriend.” My mind was still spinning on the concern that Noah would disappointed. After all the effort he’d gone through to make me feel comfortable and happy, I wanted to do the same for him.

Cor blinked and blinked again. “Give me a second to unpack all that.”

Ah, right. I wrinkled my nose. Did I need to go through the hassle of explaining this to everyone I knew? I figured I’d show up with Noahat Mom and Dad’s tomorrow, and my family could infer the rest. I sucked in a breath. “Noah and I are dating.”

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