apart. She didn’t want to subject him to the disapproval and she didn’t want to put herself through the hell that would surely follow. For now, it was best to keep her parents in the dark and not let them realize that their daughter was finally starting to live her life on her own terms.
Chapter Five
At lunch, Ella put her hands over her ears as Beth squealed at the top of her lungs, “Yesss! I knew Declan would come around. I thought it might take a few more dates, but I knew it would happen. Of course, I also had a little insider tip from Nick.”
Suzy slammed her glass of iced tea down on the table and demanded, “Why am I just hearing about this?”
Ella’s glass landed next to Suzy’s as she asked, “Shouldn’t that be my line?”
Claire held up a hand for silence and said, “Alright everyone, let’s give Beth a chance to explain what she knows and why she held out on us and then we will go after her!”
Cringing Beth said, “Thanks, Claire . . . I think. I didn’t find out till last night and it was too late to call everyone.”
Suzy interrupted saying, “Haven’t I talked to you at least three times today?”
“I’m pregnant,” Beth defended. “You know I have a lot of issues right now. First there is—”
Rolling her eyes, Suzy said, “Okay, okay, no need to start with all of the bodily function things you’ve got going on, just tell us what you know.”
Ella squirmed as Beth took an unusually long time to settle back in her seat before she began. “Well, Declan came by Nick’s office yesterday and was pissed off that I helped Ella sign up for the dating service. Nick was surprised since they aren’t really buddies. He said Declan was furious and wanted him to tell me to talk Ella out of it. Apparently, his sister was attacked by some guy that she was dating and he is afraid the same thing will happen to Ella.”
“Wow,” Claire murmured, “I had no idea that something like that had happened to Ava. It does explain why she seems so reserved, though. And why Declan is protective toward the women in his life, which is a good quality to have.”
Suzy slung an arm around Ella’s shoulders and said, “So you’ve at least got the man on loan, now what do you plan to do with him?”
“Well, he says he will try the dating thing before we . . . you know.”
Claire chimed in, “That’s a good thing, right?”
“Ella,” Suzy began, “I’m just going to ask what everyone else is wondering—you do know how all of the other stuff works, don’t you? Eventually, you will get down to having no clothes on and then the good stuff begins.”
Ella wanted to crawl under the table especially when the woman at the next table gave her a look of sympathy. “I know. I’m a little nervous about it, but I’m ready.”
“I’m sure Declan has a lot of experience,” Beth offered, “You can just follow his lead. Everyone at this table has been where you are, so don’t be embarrassed.”
Suzy burst out laughing. “No one at this table has been where you are, kid. Yeah, we were all the big V at one time, but none of us were initiated by a stud like Declan. I wanted to cry after my first time. Not because it hurt or anything, but because I was so damn depressed that sex was such a letdown. Of course, now that I’m with Gray, it’s like winning the orgasm lottery every single day of my life . . . sometimes, several times a day.”
Beth groaned, Claire chuckled and Ella tried tapping her feet together under the table and telling herself,
“Don’t sweat it,” Suzy continued, “You have us and we won’t let you suck in bed. Well . . .”
“Stop!” Beth and Claire both begged.
“Please don’t go any further with that statement.” Claire shifted toward Ella and said, “What Suzy is trying to say is that we’re all here for you if you need advice on anything. You shouldn’t worry about it though because it just comes naturally when you’re ready. But Suzy is right, you are very lucky that it’s a man like Declan. That’s bound to make it much more memorable than my first time.”
Ella looked gratefully at each of her friends in turn, even Suzy. “Thanks so much, you guys. I never really had many close friends growing up. My parents scared most of them away.”
“Yeah,” Beth laughed, “We know where you’re coming from there. By the way, speaking of friends, have any of you met Emma Davis? She’s Brant’s assistant.”
“Ugh,” Suzy groaned, “That must be a rough gig. Gray invited him over for drinks a few weeks ago and I thought my eyes would glaze over before he left. You would just expect someone that hot to be more interesting. He might look like Declan, but the man is a bore. I tried to inject some humor a few times to liven things up, and he looked at me like I was from another planet.”
“That’s pretty much what Emma says about him,” Beth nodded. “Anyway, I thought we could ask her to lunch one day. We talked a few times, and she doesn’t know anyone else at the office. The poor girl probably needs some comic relief to get through the day.”
“Come on, guys,” Claire said, “He’s not that bad. I admit, he seems to be all business, but Jason and Gray both like him.”
Continuing with her theory that sex solved everything, Suzy deadpanned, “Maybe he just needs to get laid. He could be going through a dry spell since he relocated here. He probably put his last few dates in a coma before dinner was over. If Emma wants a better boss, she should hire him a hooker or something.”
Ella giggled. Leave it to Suzy to think you could solve any problem by hiring a hooker. As uncomfortable as the conversations could get sometimes, especially when she was in the hot seat, she still loved her time with the girls. She had no doubt that the women at that table could take over the world if they set their minds to it.
Declan was nervous, and it was a feeling he hadn’t had in a long time. Even with hell breaking loose all around him in Afghanistan, he had never been nervous. He always lived his life by the motto,
Ella though, deserved better. A better man would have never started this with her, but now that he had, he intended to see where it went. If that meant feeling like a damn teenager on his first date, then so be it. He had been in meetings out of the office all day and hadn’t seen her since the night before. He had called briefly to confirm their plans for the evening, half afraid that she had changed her mind, but the happiness in her voice had reassured him that she wasn’t having second thoughts.
He still didn’t know how the hell he had ended up at her door. After talking to Nick at the office, the idea had taken root. Why should he give Ella the green light to date another man when he wanted her and she wanted him? If she was that determined to get some experience, then shouldn’t it be from someone who actually cared about her? The thought of another man putting his hands on her had been more than he could stomach. She was wildly eager and responsive for someone so innocent and he had no idea how he was going to control himself with her. Dating was probably the only thing that would save him because if they were alone for any time at all, he would have his hands all over her feminine curves.
Declan tensed as a knock sounded at the door of his apartment. Glancing at his watch in impatience, he noted that he only had about fifteen minutes before he had to leave to pick up Ella. When he saw Brant standing on the other side, he cursed silently. His older brother was constantly trying to bring what was left of their family together. He wished he would save all of his attention for their sister and leave him for the lost cause that he was.
Swinging the door open, Declan motioned him inside before shutting it behind him.
It was ironic that even though Declan had turned down a position working in the family business, he still
