Still amused, I squeezed his hand. “Should I call you after I’m finished there?”
He nodded. The elevator doors dinged and let us out. My heels clicked as we crossed the lobby. I instinctively squeezed my purse against my body, aware that I had sensitive information inside. Information that could get us into this even deeper than we already were.
“Let me know what time, and I’ll be ready by then.”
“I figured I would just stay for an hour or two, make sure he has something ready for dinner, and keep him company for a bit. See if he can make any sense of this.” I pointed to my purse.
Declan opened the door for us, and we walked outside under clouds filled with rain. “It should hold off until later tonight,” he murmured, almost as if to himself.
“Is everything okay?” I asked, turning to face him.
He looked around before leading us directly to the car. “I don’t like this. I’d prefer if I were going with you.”
“Time apart makes the heart grow fonder,” I told him with a smile, trying to lighten the situation.
His eyes narrowed on mine as he opened the door. “I’m already fond enough. I don’t need time away from you to cement that.”
To my surprise, he got into the car with me after instructing Parker to give us a minute.
“Declan,” I said, surprised.
“Just assure me you’ll be careful.”
I’d already assured him, already promised him, but he looked so worried that I squeezed his hand. “I promise.”
“And if anything is off or anything feels wrong, let me know. And stay close to Parker. As I said, he’s switching out with one of my other guys, so he’ll be close.”
“I will.”
He tipped my chin up and kissed me softly. “Good.”
I squeezed his hand again. “You can talk to me, you know. Like if something else is bothering you or…”
His eyes scanned my features like he was trying to figure out what was behind the question. “I know.”
But he didn’t say anything more, just kissed me again, taking it from chaste to steamy in a split second. By the time I was almost panting and I’d completely forgotten about what I’d been saying, he pulled back and set his hand on the door.
“What was that for?” I asked.
He gave a small smile. “Something to ensure you won’t stay away long.”
“As if I could.”
He stepped out of the car and leaned back in to meet my eyes. “Good. I hope that means for the entire weekend because I have plans.”
“Plans?”
“Plans,” he affirmed. “Call me when you’re done.”
He shut the door, and I watched him speak to Parker for a moment. Parker nodded several times before he finally got in with me and gave me a warm greeting.
“Afternoon, Miss Patterson.”
“Good afternoon, Parker.”
Declan waited by the car until we’d driven out of sight. As always, leaving him created an almost physical ache inside of me. I placed my hand over that spot on my chest, worry creeping into my mind.
The last time I had felt this way had been in college, and I had wanted every free moment I had with Tate. He would text me during class and ask me to come over, convince me with sweet words and promises, and I would drop everything and go to him. I felt wanted.
At least until he hadn’t reciprocated. I’d always go to him at the drop of a hat, but it was only when he wanted something. When I tried to text him or ask him to spend time with me, he either declined or ignored me.
It took until after the relationship was over to see how unhealthy it was. And how one-sided.
But that wasn’t what I had here, was it? I mean, Declan was there for me and I reciprocated. We communicated well. But when I was away from him, I felt it. That same feeling when I was longing to spend time with Tate.
Feeling the same feeling gave me pause. Made me worry I was heading into another unhealthy relationship.
Not that I knew what a healthy one looked like.
I laughed to myself. Actually, I did. My parents. They’d been in a healthy relationship and even then, didn’t seem to want to be apart. Maybe what I had with Declan was real.
I thought about this until we reached my father's house, where Parker got out and walked me to the door.
I called out for my dad when I got inside, worried when I didn’t hear him right away. But then he appeared from the kitchen, carrying a glass of water, his cheeks and forehead slightly red.
“What were you doing?” I asked.
“Gardening.”
“I thought you hated gardening.”
He made an irritated noise of agreement and walked out to the living room to sit on his favorite recliner. “I do. But someone has to get rid of those weeds—especially before it rains again. And since I haven’t been cleared for work yet…”
“I spoke with the doctor and he said it was okay to take your time.”
His gaze narrowed on mine. “I spoke with the doctor a few hours ago too. He said as long as I felt up to it, I could go back to work. I’m starting to think you might be influencing his decision a little.”
I grimaced. I had told the doctor that we didn’t need to rush things. And so had Declan. But that was it.
“Ah,” my dad said with a nod. He sipped his water. “You don’t want me to go back to work.”
“It’s not that I don’t think you’re capable or ready, I’m just worried about you being there. In that environment. Especially if it was someone there who had something to do with your accident.”
“Well, we might never know for sure,” he said
