Page 182 of Huckleberry Hill
I closed the door and watched from behind my hands, closing my eyes whenever one of them got in a particularly nasty punch.
The front door opened, and Muddy called out, “There’s an expensive rental car parked outside.”
“Gianni,” I replied.
Muddy came into the kitchen, her eyes widening when she stood next to me and witnessed the public display of masculinity going on outside.
“And they say nothing happens in Huckleberry Hill,” Muddy murmured.
“We have to stop them,” I said.
“Why?”
“Well, because . . .”
“Better to let them get it out of their systems,” she said. “Declan’s defending you. We should let him do it.”
Despite the violence, my heart tripped with appreciation at Declan’s action.
“So, should we make popcorn or . . .”
“Muddy, you’re shameless.”
“Are you going to give me the rundown of what happened?”
“Gianni showed up and was in the middle of proposing to me again when Declan walked in.”
“He what?”
“Yeah.” I looked behind me and down at the floor. “I think he might’ve dropped the ring when Declan socked him in the eye.”
I looked outside and saw that the two of them had moved to opposite sides of the porch and were attempting to regain their breath.
“Oh, so Declan started the fight?”
“No, Gianni started the fight when he accused me of running home and jumping in bed with the first guy I saw and getting pregnant.”
Muddy raised her brows.
I rolled my eyes. “Fine, so he wasn’t wrong.”
“And how did Gianni find out you were pregnant? Did you tell him when you refused his proposal?”
“Nope. Declan decided to drop that little piece of news for me,” I said. “After he announced that he was my boyfriend.”
“Someone was feeling a little territorial.”
“Is it wrong that I liked it?” I asked. “Help me find the ring, would you? I think the fight is over.”
“Yep, I think you’re right.”
I found the engagement ring underneath the china hutch. I was just pulling it out and dusting it off when the sliding glass door opened.
Gianni and Declan came inside. Declan’s lip was busted and he had a lump on his jaw. But Gianni’s nose was crooked and bleeding bad, and one of his eyes was beginning to swell shut.
“Gianni, is it?” Muddy asked.
He nodded.
