Page 47 of Holding You
“He did? Why?” I ask. They all like Declan. What would have changed his—oh.
“I asked, but he said it was nothing to worry about.”
“It’s not,” I agree and then wave as Max and I head out the door.
“Can I go say hi to Uncle Huddy?”
“Yes.”
I wait until he’s heading off to Hudson’s before I smile.
All these years later, he still calls him Uncle Huddy.
We enter through Sadie’s bookstore, the one connected to Hudson’s bar. Hudson excuses himself quickly from the couple he is talking to and makes a beeline for his nephew.
They do some fancy handshake that they made up last summer, and my heart swells.
It’s the little moments like this that remind me why we came back.
As I wait for them to finish talking about the next time Max can go to hockey practice with Hudson, my gaze drifts out beyond the bar’s seating area and to the floor-to-ceiling windows on the other side. Declan and Susie are walking down the street.
They get stopped by a woman who instantly laughs and then brushes her hand on Declan’s chest. He steps back, nods to whatever she said, and then steps around her, but the woman keeps talking.
When he finally manages to escape, he turns onto Main Street, and within seconds he and Susie enter the bookstore.
“Max!” Susie hollers and then runs to her friend.
Declan walks in slowly, his hand stuffed into his pockets and his gaze on me.
After moving yesterday, he and Susie ordered pizza and kept to themselves in the basement, despite the kids’ arguments.
It’s for the best though. With the way he’s looking at me right now, I’m not sure there wouldn’t have been a repeat of what happened in the kitchen.
And that can’t happen again.
From what I know, I have no doubts that Declan is a good man, but I learned my lesson about dating someone who has money, and I’m not about to repeat the past.
Declan and Susiecome up the stairs just as Max and I sit down to eat dinner.
“Oh, um, we …” he starts, but Susie just sits down at the table as if she’s simply waiting for someone to put a plate down in front of her.
Declan’s gaze flashes between her and me.
“Susie and I were just headed out to dinner. Come on, Susie.”
“But they are having spaghetti and garlic bread, Dad. It smells so good. And” —she lowers her voice, facing her dad—“you know Ruby is a good cook—you talk about it all the time— so you know this is going to be super yummy.”
I tilt my head to look at Declan, holding back my smile as I wait for him to reply.
He thinks I’m a good cook and talks about it with Susie. Words I’m sure he never wanted me to know but are nice to hear.
Declan clears his throat. “I …we …”
“Should sit down because it is good,” Max says with a mouth full of noodles.
“Max,” I scold.
“What?” He shrugs. “They live here now. They can’t go out to eat every night just because we are using the table.”
