“Why?”
“I’m going. Send Harrison the address.” He doesn’t leave any room for disagreement as he walks back toward his office. His door clicks shut, leaving me grappling with questions I’ll never get any answers to.
“Iris.” Something nudges my shoulder.
“Go away. I’m sleeping.” I throw my hand out to shove the noise away.
“We need to get going.”
“Ugh. Now you’re bothering me in my dreams too? Will I ever catch a break?”
A deep chuckle in my ear has me bolting upright. My foggy vision clears to find Declan standing beside my desk, wearing the smallest smile known to man.
“We’re late.” He reaches out and pulls a sticky note off my forehead.
“Late? What for?” I rasp.
“The cake tasting.”
“Oh no!” I stand on wobbly legs. “What time is it?” I open my bottom drawer and pull out my purse. I’m quick to shove my heels on despite my swollen toes protesting.
“Ten.”
“Ten?! We were supposed to be there at nine!”
He shrugs. “I called and told them we would be late.”
I freeze. “You called?”
“It took me two seconds.”
“Why not just wake me up?”
Silence.
“How long have I been asleep?”
“Two hours.”
“Two hours!”
Oh no. The revisions. “Declan, I’m so sor—”
He holds up his hand. “Just send them tomorrow morning.”
My mouth falls open. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep—”
“Drop it.”
“But—”
“You want me to get angry?” His voice sounds far more agitated now.
“Honestly? Yes.”
“I’m not a total asshole. I know you have a lot going on,” he snaps.
“Stop it.”
“What?”
“Stop being so…understanding. It’s weirding me out.” An irritated Declan I can work with. A nice Declan who doesn’t mind me falling asleep on the job and missing deadlines? That kind of unpredictability gives me crippling anxiety.
His jaw ticks. “Let’s go. I don’t have time for your shit.”
Now that reply makes me smile. “Ahh. There’s the big, grumpy man I know and like.”
“One day that mouth is going to get you in trouble.” His voice lowers.
I’m not sure what’s more dangerous—his unspoken promise or the way something flutters to life in my stomach from the one sentence.
“I’m in heaven.” I sigh before taking in another deep inhale. The different aromas surrounding us have my mouth watering in anticipation.
A bell chimes as Declan enters the dimly lit bakery behind me.
A back door swings open, basking us in bright light as a blonde woman about my age comes out. “Welcome! I’m so happy you actually made it!”
“I’m sorry we’re late.” I wince.
“Oh, please! It’s no problem at all. Why don’t you have a seat over there and I’ll get you some samples?” She gestures toward a small candlelit table for two before disappearing back into the kitchen.
“Isn’t this cozy?” I try to break the awkward silence, only to be cut off by romantic music playing softly through hidden speakers.
Declan pulls out one of the chairs for me. The exchange between us is fluid, practiced hundreds of times. Something I realize I have grossly overlooked over the years.
“Thank you.”
The wooden chair groans under the pressure of his grip. “For?”
“Always doing that. You know—with my chair.” I stumble over the words.
He doesn’t say anything as he takes the seat across from me.
…And now I remember why I stopped saying thank you in the first place when he does something nice.
“Here we go!” The baker brings out a platter covered in mini cakes. “I’ll leave you both to try everything out in private. If you need anything, feel free to give me a shout.” She scurries away again.
My mouth waters as I scan the tray. “Do you have a preference for what kind of cake you want to try first?”
“Whatever you like is fine.” He pulls out his phone and starts scrolling through emails.
“Seriously? Do you ever take the night off?”
“No.”
“Then why bother coming in the first place?”
More silence. I’m starting to hate how he closes up whenever I ask anything that requires more than a basic one-sentence answer.
Instead of pulling back, I push harder. “You know what I think?”
“I’m sure you plan on telling me regardless of what I say.”
I kick the leg of his chair. While it doesn’t move a centimeter, it does draw his attention back to my face. “I think you didn’t want Cal to come with me tonight because you are jealous.”
He scoffs. “There’s no reason for me to be jealous of my brother.”
“Really? No reason at all?” I raise a brow in a silent taunt as I dangle my missed call notification in his face.
“Nope.” He grabs a mini cake off the tray and stabs it with a spoon.
“Great. Then let me FaceTime Cal and have him weigh in on this debate. If you wanted to be friends with us, all you needed to do was ask—”
He steals my phone straight from my hand. “I already told you I don’t want to be your friend.” His right eye twitches, giving his nerves away.
“Oh my God. You totally do!”
“Stop talking.”
But I can’t. Not with this precious gem of information at my disposal. “Cal might be opposed to welcoming you into our duo, but I’m sure he would be willing if—”
My eyes bulge as he shoves a spoon full of cake into my open mouth. “I finally found the perfect way to shut you up.”
I glare at him as I taste the most delicious dessert I’ve ever had.
His gaze remains glued to my lips as he drags the clean spoon past them. “All I need to do is keep your mouth permanently occupied.”
I graciously proceed to choke.
7
DECLAN
I might have jumped the gun when I announced Iris and I would be getting married in two weeks rather than a month. In retrospect, I wanted to make sure she didn’t find the first opportunity to back out of our engagement. But now, I have to face the consequences of my actions.
“I expect you to be moved into my home by the end of the weekend.” I walk past Iris’s desk and toward the door of my private office.
She looks up from her computer screen. “What?”
“You can charge the moving company to my card.”
“You want me to move in this weekend?”
“Yes.”
“But tomorrow is Saturday.”
I take a deep breath as I lean against the doorframe. “Your point being?”
She runs her hands down her face and groans. “There’s no moving company that is going to be available at the last minute like that.”