Page 39 of One Night Only
“Fast?” I have to laugh at that. “Annie, you’ve been dating for three years. You’ve been engaged for two of them.”
“But the only reason we got engaged was because he was moving to London and we wanted to commit to each other. I mean, we’re sodifferent.”
“Now you’re just being ridiculous. You’re basically the same person.”
“I should have had sex with more people,” she says. “I should have had sex with lots of different men so I know exactly what I want. Then I would know for sure. Then I could—” She cuts off as her eyes flick behind me. “Oh no,” she wails, hiding her head in her hands.
I turn, alarmed to find Declan standing at the entrance to the balcony.
He’s clearly come straight from the pub. The top buttons of his shirt are undone, his tie loose around his throat. His eyes are bright and focused on Annie.
“A private party and I’m not invited?”
“What are you doing here?” I ask.
“Paul sent me to make sure you got back alright. What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. Go away.”
“I wasn’t talking to you,” he says shortly and before I can stop him, he comes right up beside me, his legs brushing mine as he crouches.
“I told you to go easy on the stout,” he tells her.
“I know.”
“You’re not having doubts, are you?
“Of course not,” she lies, outraged. She looks at me, panicked, but before I can tell Declan to get lost, he smiles at her.
“Because if you are,” he continues, “you should listen to your conscience.”
“What are you doing?” I hiss.
He ignores me. “If your conscience is telling you not to marry Paul, then that’s that. We’ll call it off. You haven’t signed anything yet, have you?”
Her brow creases. “No.”
“Paul will understand. He only wants you to be happy.”
“But all theguests.”
“Nah,” he says dismissively. “They’re only here for the party. And there’s no need to cancel that bit of the day.”
“But I want to marry Paul,” she insists, leaning toward him.
“You do?” he asks with exaggerated confusion. “Then what’s the problem?”
She pouts and collapses back against the wall. “You’re right,” she says, looking accusingly at me. “He is annoying.”
Declan takes her hand between both of his, moving his head so she’s forced to look at him. “Annie, Paul is my only brother. And despite all his attempts to persuade me otherwise, I love him very much. And I have never seen him happier than when he’s with you. To tell you the truth, I don’t think I even saw him smile before you came along.”
“Shut up.”
“It’s true. Do you know what he did after your first date? He rang our mother and told her he was going to marry you one day. Now granted, that’s because she was trying to set him up with a friend’s daughter from her bridge group but that’s still a very romantic thing to say. Or how about how he stayed in New York for three months after his job finished so he could be with you. That’s an expensive city, I don’t know if you noticed. He was almost broke when he came to London. I had to lend him money so he could take you to dinner.”
“That’s not true.”
“Oh yes, it is. Annie Dunmore, he couldn’t believe his luck when he found you. He loves you more than I’ve seen anyone love anyone. And no matter where you choose to live or what you chose to do, I know you two will make it work.”
