Page 53 of The Wish List
“I think I’m going to have sex with Declan Murphy.” Beth could hardly draw in a breath for the nerves and anticipation that pulsed through her.
“Wow.” Trinity grinned. “That’s awesome. Will you give us all the details?”
“No. Rude and not very classy.”
Trinity seemed to consider that. “You’re right. It would be disrespectful. Maybe we could ask questions, and you could blink once if the answer is yes or twice if it’s no. That way, you’re not giving anything away, but we’ll still know.”
“I don’t think so.” Beth grabbed a cookie out of the box.
“Chocolate chip pairs well with wine,” Freya told her. “Can I get you a glass?”
Beth shook her head. “I think I need all my faculties tonight.”
Freya made a face. “I think you need to loosen up a little.”
“I’m not sure I remember how to be loose if I ever knew.”
Trinity leaned forward like she was telling a great secret. “I bet Declan Murphy can show you.”
“I just bet he can,” Beth agreed and took a massive bite of the cookie.
ATEXACTLYTENFORTY, she walked into Champions, praying she didn’t see anyone she knew, especially not her ex-husband.
Apparently, avoiding people she knew was asking too much at the town’s most popular watering hole. She waved to a couple of familiar faces, relieved that at least Greg didn’t seem to be among the patrons tonight.
She also didn’t see Declan as she took a seat at the bar. Maybe he’d gotten off early and already left. Maybe he’d gone with a woman. He certainly didn’t owe Beth a thing.
She ordered a hard cider and tried not to look as out of place as she felt. Lots of people went to bars on their own.
“Last call in ten minutes,” the bartender told her. “Do you want anything else right now?”
Beth shook her head. “This is fine.”
He didn’t seem ready to call her out on how she didn’t belong, so Beth took a sip of her drink and tried to look normal instead of terrified. Just then, Declan appeared from the back of the bar with a keg hefted on one shoulder like it was no heavier than a sack of flour.
Even though Beth was bundled up in a quilted purple coat over her sweater, Declan wore only a T-shirt. The muscles of his arms bunched and bulged as he balanced the weight of the keg.
The bartender called out something to him, and Declan rolled his eyes. Suddenly, his gaze tracked to Beth, and his expression changed. His eyes, always wary like he was waiting for someone to hurt him, gentled. The grin he flashed lit up his whole face.
“Damn,” a woman standing nearby murmured then poked Beth gently in the back. “You’re a lucky girl. I might spontaneously combust if a man looked at me like that.”
Beth felt like she could go up in flames at any moment, but the word that struck her waslucky. When was the last time anyone had described her as lucky?
She couldn’t remember ever feeling like that word fit part of her life. But tonight it did. After finishing his work with the keg, Declan approached.
“I wasn’t sure you were going to make it.”
She didn’t bother trying to smile. Her lips felt far too stiff for that.
“Me neither.”
“I’m glad you did.”
“Me, too.”
Her voice sounded different, somewhere between a squeak and a growl. Declan had to hear the fear in her tone, but he was polite enough not to say anything.
“How’s the drink?”
