I lifted my glass and took a long sip of champagne. “It’s delicious.”
Xander nodded. “My favorite.”
I snickered. We might not have been poor, but we weren’t exactly billionaires like Declan. We had our share of fine wines, but champagne rarely made its way into our apartment. And for good reason, apparently. Xander seemed to be enjoying it a lot.
Declan turned his attention to Xander. “Thank you for joining us for dinner.”
“Are you kidding? I’ve been wanting to come here since it opened.” Xander looked around, his gaze passing over the cute waiter again. “It’s been a little difficult getting a table.”
Declan only grinned. “So I’ve heard.”
I reached out and connected my hand with his under the table, drawing strength from it. Also, appreciating that he’d included my best friend in the dinner and wasn’t trying to flaunt his money too much.
“Let's order,” Declan said. He squeezed my hand. “And then you can tell me all about Royal.”
Xander’s grin mirrored Declan’s. “Be prepared to be appalled.”
I kicked Xander’s foot under the table, but I knew he was just joking. Mostly. I wasn’t the same person I used to be in college when we met. Back then, I was more reckless, more impetuous, and a lot more naïve. Now, my walls were carefully constructed and stood there for a reason.
“Before I forget,” Xander said, buttering a piece of bread, “your dad called earlier.”
My stomach jumped. I automatically reached for my purse, worried that I’d missed a call from him.
Xander shook his head. “No, he didn’t call your cell phone. He didn’t want to bother you on your first day back to work.”
“How did he know I was at work?”
“Because he called the house and I told him that’s where you were.” Xander paused with the bread halfway to his mouth. “Was that a mistake?”
I glanced at Declan, who seemed to want to know the answer just as much as Xander. “No—no, not a mistake. He just doesn’t know that I’m working at—I mean, for—”
I broke off, flustered. I’d told my dad this when he was in his coma. After that, the conversation hadn’t come up. Particularly because I hadn’t brought it up. I hadn’t wanted him to worry about anything but getting better.
And secretly, I hadn’t wanted him to find out about me and Declan before I had the chance to explain things to him.
Declan’s fingers flexed on mine. I could tell he wanted to know more—tell that he wanted to know why I hadn’t said anything.
I smiled at Declan and said to Xander, “Why was he calling?”
Xander finished off his piece of bread. He dusted his hands over the plate. “He said the doctor was planning on releasing him tomorrow. He just wanted to let you know.”
I opened my mouth in surprise. I hadn’t expected that he would be let out so soon and I knew he’d insist on going home. He was an independent man who was used to his own space. But I didn’t want him to be alone.
What if something happened to him again? What if he was still in danger?
Declan cleared his throat. “We’ll stop by the hospital tonight and figure out a plan.”
I looked over at him, filled with a sense of relief not for the first time that day. If I didn’t have Declan right now, I didn’t know what I would do.
Our dinner was served, and once the waiter was gone again, Declan gave a wicked grin. “Now, I want to know about Royal.”
I shook my head. “No, you don’t. I’m a boring person.”
“Not entirely true,” Xander said. “You used to be the life of the party. When I met you, you were with those guys, you know those ones who were streaking through the em–”
I laughed a little too loudly, making him stop talking. “Okay, we definitely don’t need to talk about that.”
Declan released my hand to squeeze my thigh gently, making it clear he definitely did want to talk about that—and more. “I think we do. The life of the party? I have so many questions.”
Neither of them seemed to be deterred, so I gritted my teeth and let Declan hear Xander’s stories about my wild youth, the entire time hoping that Xander wouldn’t talk too much about my ex or whatever he was to me. On my end, Tate had been everything, but on his end, there wasn’t a relationship. There was just the occasional booty call in the middle of the night and his endless suggestions on what I could do to give him what he wanted.
Xander, being a person who desperately liked to laugh, but who also knew how badly I’d been hurt by love in the past, kept his stories light and upbeat.
But I could tell by the end of dinner Declan had even more questions than before. He wasn’t the only one. For every question he asked about my past, I had the same for his.
We stood from the table, and I hugged Xander. “I’m going to be at the hospital for a little bit, but then I’ll be home later.”
He gave me a curious look but only nodded. Then he shook Declan’s hand and thanked him for dinner.
“I’ll have one of my drivers take you home,” Declan told Xander.
We walked as a group to the front of the building, then outside, where the air was still warm, and the sun had only just set.
“Stay close, okay?” Declan whispered in my ear as we arrived on the sidewalk.
His words sent a shiver
