“Thank you for trusting me with this,” Declan says, his voice rough.
Tell him you love him!
“I do trust you,” I say instead and point to his own ink. “What does yours mean?”
“I was a young musician in college,” he says with a sly grin. “You do the math.”
Chapter Thirteen
~Callie~
“I don’t know,” I murmur, walking from room to room in the unusual farm-style house that my new realtor, Peggy Lewis, has found to show me. I thought, and Declan agreed, that it was a good idea to find a new realtor, given that Pete didn’t seem to understand that help me find a house didn’t also mean let me take my pants off for you.
“This house has everything you asked for,” Peggy reminds me, following close behind me with her hands clenched at her waist. “Actually, each of the three homes I showed you today do.”
“Mm hmm,” I hum and ignore her. In the two weeks since we returned home from Seattle, I’ve been even more anxious to find my house and begin renovations. Maybe it was seeing how Sam and Leo decorated their house, and all of the ideas it inspired in me, or maybe it’s that, despite being thankful that Adam’s given me a place to stay, I’m tired of finding a different strange woman in the kitchen each morning, and it’s just time to have my own space.
“It’s nice,” Declan says from across the room, giving me space to pace and think. Unlike Peggy, Declan gets me. “High ceilings, big rooms.”
I nod, staring out of a window so big it practically spills out into the spacious back yard. I do like the space, and with a minimal amount of work, it would be gorgeous in no time.
But I can’t picture myself living here. No matter how I try, I can’t envision how I’d decorate it, what color of paints I’d use, which walls I’d knock down.
None of the three we’ve seen today speak to me, and it’s frustrating me. Even if I’m not looking for a house for me to live in, I can usually picture how the house should be rehabbed in my head.
But today? Nada.
“Maybe I’m just not in the right mood,” I say with a shrug and a sigh, then turn to Peggy. “I appreciate your time.”
“So, did these just not fit what you had in mind?” Peggy asks, and I know she’s just trying to do her job. She wants to find the right property for me, but damn it, I’m irritable, and I don’t even know why.
“No, you did a great job. I’ll definitely think about it.”
“Well, just give me a call if you have any questions, or if you’d like to see more.”
She ushers us out of the house and locks the door as we walk to Declan’s car. Peggy waves as we pull away.
“Talk to me, baby,” Declan says and takes my hand, squeezing three times.
“I don’t know what to say,” I reply.
“You’re out of sorts today.”
I nod and look out the passenger window. Geez, I’m moody. Hormones? Probably. Or, I’m just a girl.
That’s usually reason enough to get teary, but I don’t like to cry, so that just makes me even crabbier.
“I liked the last house,” I say after I clear my throat.
“But you didn’t love it,” he guesses correctly. “It’s okay, you’ll find it. You’re not in a huge rush.”
“Right.” Except I am in a rush. I want my space. I want to get elbow-deep in a project and make something ordinary beautiful. I want that.
Soon, Declan pulls into his driveway, but rather than get out of the car, I turn to him.
“Dec, I’m not great company tonight. You can just take me home.”
He frowns, his hazel eyes seeing too much as he cups my cheek and lightly brushes his thumb over my jaw. “I don’t want to be without you tonight.”
I lean into his touch, turn my face to kiss his palm, and nod. “Okay. Let’s be lazy tonight.”
“Do you know the definition of lazy?” he asks with a laugh and unlocks the house, gesturing for me to go ahead of him.
“The bar has been slow enough for me to take a couple of days off a week,” I remind him. “I can be lazy.” Kind of. “Why aren’t you working tonight?”
“Broken sewer line,” he says with a cringe. “Happens in buildings more than a hundred years old.”
“Yuck.” I shudder and glance to the empty room on my right. It’s between the library and music room. I’d open it up with wide windows and make it a sunroom, and spend every morning with my coffee in there.
And my imagination chooses now to wake up. Great.
Once in the kitchen, Declan says, “What would you like for dinner?”
“A big burger and Tavern Tots from Highland Tavern.” I sit in a stool and brace my chin in my hand on the island.
“I don’t know where that is.”
“It’s in Denver. I’ve been craving it like crazy.” I shrug. “Really good burger joint.”
“Huh, well, I can go grab burgers here, but it’s going to take time to get your Highland Tavern, and I’m hungry now.”
“I don’t want to go anywhere, and I don’t want you to go anywhere. Let’s just order pizza.”
He nods and circles the island, then just hugs me. “Sure you’re okay?”
“Yeah, I’m just thinking about the houses we saw today. I think I’ll pass on all three.”
“We’ll find you something.”
I nod and smile, tired of moping, and being a Debbie-downer. I do my best to shake off my mood and playfully grab Declan’s ass.
“I’m hungry too. Are you gonna feed me, or what?”
“I’ll feed you,” he says after kissing my chin. He pulls his phone out and dials the pizza place we both like, places our order, and reaches out for my hand. “Let’s eat and lounge upstairs. We can watch Netflix and be lazy.”
“Perfect. I’m gonna take my pants off.”
“That is an excellent plan,” he says with a laugh. The main stairway in this house is grand and dramatic. I’d refinish the banister and hang a more modern chandelier over the landing.
There are four empty bedrooms upstairs, and I’d love to knock down a couple of walls, make the spaces bigger.
Stop it! This is not my house!
I have to stop renovating Declan’s house in my head. I don’t live here, and I probably never will.
Declan’s right; I’ll find my place.
The pizza arrives faster than we expected, so he fetches it while I shimmy out of my jeans and climb in bed, under the covers and everything. I grab his pillow and bury my face in it, breathing him in.
I fucking love the way he smells.
“Okay, despite my better judgment, I had them add mushrooms because I know you like them,” Declan announces as he returns to the room. He stops on a dime, in the middle of the space, holding a big box of pizza, sodas and a bag of bread and just stares at me.
“What?”
“I—” He takes a deep breath and shakes his head, then walks the rest of the way to me. “You’re just beautiful. Sometimes you take my breath away.”
I blink at him, completely thrown. Declan is a mellow man, but he’s also an artist, and with his artist's heart comes a romantic side. He has a sweet habit of knocking me back a step with it because I never know when it’s going to show up.
“Thank you.”
***
“The show comes on in fifteen,” Adam announces and changes the channel on the big TV in the back of the bar to the Travel Channel.
“I can’t believe they were here only a month ago, and it’s already going to air.” The Odyssey isn’t packed this evening, and that’s okay with me. It’s a Monday, after all, and deep into autumn. I’m nervous about the show, how I’ll look, how the bar will look. Having a huge crowd here would only make it worse.
I grin down the bar at Declan. Of course he came to watch it with me. He calms me. I’ve never told him that, but I’m pretty sure he knows.
He checks an incoming text on his phone and frowns, replies, and lays the phone face-down on the bar. I cock a brow when he looks at me, but he shakes his head, as if it’s no big deal.