Chapter 10
Declan took a long swig of beer. He should kiss Sadie for interrupting his impromptu massage. He didn’t know what was going on. He’d been friends with plenty of women over the years. He knew how to be platonic. And this was Renee. He shook his head and set his bottle back on the table.
He picked up her ereader and swiped the screen. He started reading and two pages in, he was engrossed. He didn’t know what the hell the story was about, but he knew when a couple was circling each other when they were hot and bothered. Lady Whoever she was had spent the better part of the first page checking out this Duke dude. When he asked her to dance, though, she got all snarky. Sure sign she was into him.
After a glare from her aunt, however, the lady conceded. No matter how stiff she tried to be, she liked being in his arms.
“What are you doing?”
Renee’s voice startled him and he nearly dropped the ereader. “Hey. Sadie asleep?”
“She will be in a minute. What are you doing with my ereader?” She reached out as if to take it from him.
He lifted a shoulder. “It was sitting here and I wanted to see what you were reading.”
“My book club book.”
“Your book club reads porn?”
“It is not porn.” Now she did snatch it back. “It’s historical romance.”
“And the difference is?”
“This is a story with complex characters who learn to fall in love with each other. It’s not just about sex. It’s not a pool boy coming to service the pipes.”
He snickered. “But they do get it on, don’t they?”
“I suppose they will. Could you imagine spending your life with someone and not having sex? I didn’t think so.” She huffed and plopped back onto the corner in the opposite corner, as far from him as possible.
“I was just teasing. It’s really good. Tell me about it.”
“No.”
She pulled her feet up on the cushion and swiped the screen.
“I want to know. I didn’t know what was going on, but Lady What’s-Her-Face was playing games with the duke. She’s got the hots for him but doesn’t want him to know.”
She looked over at him with an arched brow. “How much of this did you read?”
“I don’t know. It was good. Explain it to me.”
“Seriously? You’re not asking just so you can make fun of it?”
“No. I want to know what Lady Whatever has against the duke.”
She paused a minute and stared at him, probably waiting to see if he was joking. “Fine.”
Putting the ereader on the couch between them, she launched into an explanation that was so detailed, he felt as though he’d read the book himself.
“They had a tentative deal to get married to gain freedom from their families, but they couldn’t agree on terms.”
“What terms?”
“He wants an heir. And she doesn’t.”
“I thought you said they were gonna have sex.”
“I’m assuming they will, but she doesn’t want to have a child that she’ll be saddled with while he gallivants around living his life. Defeats the purpose of her gaining freedom, you know?”
“How are they going to fix that? If they’re set up as the couple, they have to get together, right? Otherwise, the reader will be pissed.”
Renee chuckled. “Read a lot of romance, do you?”
He grinned. “I don’t have to read it. I live it.”
She snorted and rolled her eyes again. “Yes, they’ll get together. That’s the whole point of the story. To be able to watch them fall in love.”
He pushed the reader toward her. “Okay. So read.”
“You want me to read to you?”
“Sure. Why not?”
Again with the staring. He wasn’t being that weird, was he?
She picked up the reader again and began to read. He sat back and nursed his beer as she read the story. Sadie was right; she was really good at this. He closed his eyes and it was almost like watching a movie. Except Renee didn’t do different voices.
“Alone in the study, he touched her cheek with his bare hand. Scandal be damned. He wanted her as his wife and he would get her one way or another. Her breath hitched as her bosom rose. Her tongue darted out and wet her lower lip.”
Renee stopped. Declan’s eyes popped open and watched Renee stretch.
“Why the hell’d you stop?”
“Because you looked like you were sleeping and I’m going to go to bed.”
“I wasn’t sleeping and you can’t just stop there.”
“Why not?”
“They were about to get it on!”
“Lower your voice. Sadie’s asleep. And no, they weren’t. This is historical. They don’t rush to sex. Sometimes it doesn’t even happen until after the marriage of convenience.”
“Not this time, babe. My boy the duke is not waiting that long.”
“Maybe not. But I’m still going to bed.” She stood and cleaned up the table where Sadie had been snacking.
“Can I at least take the book and read it?”
“No. I read before bed.”
“You’re going to read without me?”
“What are you, six?” Her eyes were wide. “Give me your phone.”
“Why?” he asked, as he pulled it from his pocket.
She tapped away on his phone. “Download the app. I’ll send you a copy of the book and you can read it yourself.”
He put in his passcode and she took the phone back. A few more taps and then she returned it. “Enjoy.”
“Hey, if I read it, does it mean I get to join your book club?”
She laughed as she walked away. “Yeah, sure. You’re gonna want to spend your Tuesday night with a bunch of married or divorced women like me.”
“You’d be surprised,” he mumbled. She had no idea how much he liked hanging out with her.
He finished his beer and settled back on the couch to read the book. He scrolled through until he found the spot where Renee stopped reading. The story grabbed him again and he tore through the pages until he found the proof of what he’d known was coming. “They are so horny for each other.”
He jumped off the couch to go laugh at Renee because he was right. He opened his mouth to yell for her but then remembered Sadie was sleeping. Slowing his pace, he crept up to Renee’s bedroom door and raised a hand to knock, but he heard a quiet buzzing followed by a low moan.
Oh, shit. He knew what those sounds meant. With a smile, he had the brief thought of knocking anyway, just to interrupt her. But then he had a flash in his mind of Renee writhing in pleasure and he wasn’t sure he could handle seeing it in the flesh.
Quietly backing away from the door, he headed to the opposite side of the house. He retreated to his room to continue reading the book and forget about what he’d just heard.
But as he read about the lady and the duke, he kept hearing Renee’s moans while his hands were on her, and that didn’t bode well for him.
Renee woke the following morning, a little sleepy but refreshed. She had a bagel in the toaster for Sadie and was enjoying her first cup of coffee in the quiet of the morning. At least until Declan came into the room.
“Morning,” he said as he reached around her for a coffee cup.
“Hey.”
“Sleep well?” he asked as he poured.
“Yes. Much better than having my daughter kick me all night.”
“I bet.” He added sugar to his cup and smiled at her over the rim as he drank.
The toaster popped and she buttered the bagel for Sadie. “Sadie, breakfast!”
“I kept reading last night after you went to bed.”
“Yeah? Have I turned you into a romance reader?”
“Maybe. It was pretty hot. I called it.”
“You called what, exactly?”
“I told you they were getting?—”
“Hi, Declan,” Sadie said as she came into the room.
“Morning, Sadie.”
Renee handed Sadie her bagel wrapped in paper towel, and she took off to the dining room table. “You were saying?”
“The book was totally horny and you know it.”
She smiled. “I never said it wasn’t.”
“But you didn’t want to keep reading to me last night because it was hot and you didn’t want me to know you get turned on. Because it is like porn. But better.”
“What?”
He stepped closer, looked over her shoulder to spot Sadie, and in a quiet voice, said, “I came to gloat last night. I was about to knock on your door, and I heard you.”
She swallowed hard. “Do you think you’re going to embarrass me by saying that?”
“Hell, no.” He leaned closer and whispered in her ear, “It was hot.”
Then he stepped back, picked up his cup, and walked away toward the dining room.
What the fuck was that? She had no idea how to respond. She’d assumed he was being like her annoying brother and then he pulled that out? She cleared her throat. “You want something for breakfast?” she called from the kitchen.
“Nope. I’m good with coffee.”
She puttered around the kitchen for a few minutes as she gathered her thoughts. He was still teasing her. That’s what it had to be. When he figured he wouldn’t be able to embarrass her, he was simply trying a new tactic. She topped off her cup and went to join them.
“When is book club?” Declan asked as soon as she sat.
“Tomorrow night. Why?”
“I was serious when I asked if I could join. I’ll finish the book tonight.”
“It’s not a place to pick up women.”
“Rennie. There is more to me than...that.”
She chuckled at his pause because Sadie was at the table.
“What’s it mean to pick up women?” Sadie asked.
It was Declan’s turn to laugh.
Renee looked at her daughter. “It means to find someone to date.”
“If Declan wants someone to date, why don’t you date him, Mommy?”
Declan froze with his coffee mug halfway to his mouth. Renee blinked a few times. Sadie’s gaze jumped back and forth between them.
“Declan and I are friends.”
“You can’t date your friend?”
Ah, shit. “Well, you could, but you have to like that person in a different way. Declan doesn’t like me like that.”
“Why not?” Sadie asked.
Declan shot Renee a look with his head angled. “I think what your mom means is that sometimes, even when you like someone enough to want to date them, you decide not to because being their friend is more important.”
“Hm.” Sadie took a bite of her bagel.
Renee stared at Declan. Did he just say he’d want to date her? That put a whole new spin on what he’d said in the kitchen. No. She couldn’t go there. This was crazy.
“But why can’t you date and still be friends?”
“Because sometimes grown-up relationships are complicated. Like you know Dad and I are friends, but we weren’t good at being married.”
Declan snorted. Renee glared at him, then she continued, “And even if you really like someone, dating them can make things super complicated.”
Sadie turned to Declan. “Complicated is bad?”
He looked at Renee and held her gaze before answering. “Sometimes. But not always.”
“I don’t get it,” Sadie responded. “People who like each other should just date.”
Renee smiled. She never knew what to say to her kid when she asked difficult questions like this. No kid wanted to hear, “One day you’ll understand,” but that was exactly what Renee wanted to say.
“I agree, little lady,” Declan said. Then he rose with his cup. “You have a good day at school.”
“It’s not school until after lunch,” Sadie said with a side of sarcasm.
“I know. But I’m going out for a bit.”
In the kitchen, he rinsed his cup. Sadie finished her bagel and took off to play, so Renee opened her laptop and started her daily search for a full-time job. After being at home with Sadie for years, she’d decided to be particular about the jobs she looked at. She wanted a good-paying job, but not one that would eat up all of her time. What she really wanted was to find some sort of work-life balance. It had been sorely lacking for as long as she had her laptop staring at her every moment of every day.
Declan came in with the coffee pot and topped off her cup.
“Doing something interesting today?”
“My brother Ronan needs an extra pair of hands on a job.”
“Oh. You need a ride?”
“Nah. I’m good.”
“It’s no problem.” She reached out and touched his arm as he turned to walk away with the coffeepot. “If you need some money, I can pay you. I have money set aside for the work. You haven’t given me a price or anything. I don’t know how to navigate this part.”
“I’m fine. I’m doing him a favor and in exchange, he’s going to get me some leftover material. It’s all good. I’ll be back this afternoon. And I should have the rest of this wallpaper down by the end of the week, so think about what color you want these rooms to be.”
“What do you want for dinner?”
“I’m good with whatever you make.”
“You always say that. Liver and onions?”
“Why do moms always go there?”
“Because that’s punishment for pretty much everyone.”
“Yeah, but we both know you don’t want to punish me. You like me too much.” He winked, picked up his toolbelt, and headed out the door.
“Yeah, I do,” she murmured to herself. And it wasn’t necessarily a good thing.