5. Declan
DECLAN
"Look who's home in the middle of the day," she said. She was sitting on a chair with a Kindle in her hand.
"Had court today. I took time off afterward and sanded the floors in the attic."
She narrowed her eyes, looking me up and down. Her eyes lingered on my chest before she snapped them back up.
Looks like she liked what she saw. Nice.
"I'm trying to guess if it was a victory or not, but you're surprisingly hard to read."
I barked out a laugh. "It was a victory."
"Then why do you look like someone pissed in your coffee? Is it the sight of me?"
I frowned. "No, not at all. I had other issues pop up. How come you're home at this time?"
She held up her arm. "This thing here isn’t helpful in the kitchen. Slowed me down, so they sent me home.”
"See what you get for being so stubborn? If you had listened yesterday and taken the evening off, it would have improved."
“Yes, please. By all means, rub it in."
"You never listen, do you?"
She smiled. "No, I'm stubborn and hotheaded, and yeah, I get into trouble often because of it."
I ran a hand through my hair, drying my forehead with the sleeve of my shirt. I was sweaty and covered in dust.
“I might go see Helen later since I have time,” she added.
“You visit her?”
Liz nodded. “Her family doesn’t live nearby, so she gets a bit lonely.
I honestly think the only reason she rented out the guest house was because she wanted company.
I mean, the rent was dirt cheap, and this is the most expensive neighborhood in the city.
I miss her. She was always happy to chat, always seemed to be in a good mood. ”
She’d surprised me again. She spoke about Helen as if she was family.
“She was your polar opposite,” Liz said, making me laugh.
"How about I take a shower and make us both coffee, and you can tell me all about it?"
“Right, we need to clarify a few things. Is this a temporary truce?” She tilted her head, a smile inching up on her lips.
Fuck me. I wanted to claim that mouth.
“I guess you’ll find out.”
She held her hand up. "I don't want coffee, but I'll take you up on the company."
"I see. So you want to hang out with someone who, by your own description, always has a stick up his ass? Why?"
"You're offering company. And being on friendly terms with my landlord is not the worst thing in the world. Besides, I'm starving. So if you can throw in some cheese or something with that coffee—or water, in my case—that would be amazing. I’m usually not home at this time, so I don't have anything good to eat. I eat leftovers at Richard’s usually. I could order something, but it’ll take forever to be delivered. "
“I see. So you still think I have a stick up my ass. You just want to take advantage of me."
She grinned. "Exactly. Besides, I do have a degree in taking people's sticks out of their asses. Who knows, it might even work for you."
I laughed again. "I'm going to shower. I'm a mess. I'll be out in twenty minutes max. We can eat there." I pointed to the rattan seats and table at the back of the yard.
“I’ll wait right here."
Turning around, I jogged back to the house, glancing at her before entering the front door. She wasn't smiling anymore. She seemed downright worried, biting her lower lip and then her nails.
I suspected that her permanent smile and laugh were a way for her to lift her own mood. I felt strangely protective of her.
Inside the house, I headed straight to the master bedroom, taking off my clothes in the bathroom. Steeping under the shower, I turned the water lukewarm, cooling my body.
I didn't want to get involved with Liz, but I couldn’t get the image of her out of my mind, even though she was just sitting there in a simple white shirt and jeans.
She was still infuriating when she put her mind to going toe-to-toe with me. At least she hadn't turned up the music last night. That was an improvement. Why the hell did she have to be so sexy? Her legs seemed endless, her curves delicious. I grew hard thinking about her.
Fucking hell, it had been too long since I'd been with a woman. Grabbing my cock, I gave it one long, hard squeeze.
“Fuuuuuck. No.”
I wasn't going to jerk off thinking about my neighbor. There was no coming back from that.
After turning off the shower, I patted myself dry, put on jeans and a shirt, and went downstairs.
Since she wasn't going to have coffee, neither was I. I took out soda and bottled water and checked my fridge. I didn't have much food in it, only some leftovers. I put some apples, peanut butter, cheese, and crackers on a plate.
My phone buzzed in my back pocket several times. I took it out because it was starting to annoy me. I had several messages in the group I had with my siblings and cousins.
Reese: SOS. Gran is suspicious. I have to tell her ASAP. Can I drop by the office?
Luke: Sure. Travis and Sam are in my office too.
Declan: I’m home. You can all come here.
Reese: I’m bringing Kimberly too.
Luke: Good. We’ll brainstorm together. The more, the merrier.
Reese: Great.
Luke: What does O.G. stand for?
I frowned, not getting it. That was when I realized she’d made a separate WhatsApp group for herself, Luke, and me. She’d titled it “O.G.”
Reese: Operation Gran.
I shook my head, chuckling.
Declan: I’m home, so drop by whenever.
Reese: Great. I’ll fill in Travis and Sam on the way.
I took everything outside in the backyard. Liz was so focused on her Kindle that she didn't even see me.
“Liz, I'm here with snacks."
"Oh, sexy words. Thank you for feeding me. I promise not to take advantage of you so often."
“You never know. I might like it. I'll tell you later." I winked as we sat down in the armchairs around the table.
“This is nice. Look at us, sitting down and having a civil conversation. Both of us are dressed. Never thought we'd reach that point."
I barely bit back a groan. Fucking hell. The image that just popped up in my mind had nothing to do with my semi-naked trips to her door in the middle of the night and everything with both of us naked in bed.
She immediately reached for the plate. Thankfully she didn’t give me a hard time about the menu. “This is all I have right now.”
"Hmmm, all good. So you just won a case? What was it?" she asked between bites.
“A divorce. The husband cheated on her and bought a house in his name with their savings behind her back. He didn’t even want to pay alimony. She got a very fair settlement.”
She grinned. "Oh, I like you."
"Thanks."
"But if you had a victory, and I didn't piss you off with my music, why do you look angry?"
"What?"
"You have that devilish look in your eyes, and you seem very focused on something."
"Just got some troubling news about something else after I finished the case, that's all."
"Sharing might help you get it off your chest. You can tell me. I mean, it's not like I'll give your secrets to anyone. What you say is safe with me."
"Right. Safe," I said in a teasing tone.
She raised a brow. "Until you show up seminaked at my door, trying to convince me to turn down the music again. Then all bets are off. But right now, we're on friendly terms."
I sighed. “My cousin Reese was engaged. Her ex cheated on her and then wanted the family to still go into business with him. I handled that, but I found out that he lawyered up with a guy who’s known for playing dirty. I don’t know if it’s got anything to do with us, but I don't like it."
I glanced up at her. She was looking at me with wide eyes.
"You, Declan Maxwell, have hidden depths."
“You know I'm a lawyer, right?"
"I know, but this goes far beyond that."
"Because it’s personal."
"The way you said you handled it sounded so self-assured, and I hope this won't go to your head, but it was sexy."
I burst out laughing for a second. "I never know what will come out of your mouth."
"Is that a bad thing?" she asked.
"Not at all. It's very hard to predict you, Liz." But I was enjoying this time together more than I could have imagined.
She grinned. "That's good. But back to your issue. You admitted that you don't know why that guy lawyered up, so why not worry about it when shit hits the fan? In my experience, some shit will eventually hit anyway, so there's no use worrying beforehand."
I took a sip of soda. "That's not my MO. I like to predict where things can go. That way, I can stop them before they escalate."
"And does that work for you usually?"
"Yes."
"There it goes, that sexy, self-assured one-word answer again."
She sighed, leaning down in her chair. "It never works out for me, so I stopped doing it. I take things as life throws them at me."
"Like this burn on your forearm." I grasped her wrist, looking at the bandage.
Her breath caught. "Yes."
"It was predictable yesterday that it would be worse today if you keep working. You chose to ignore it." I looked at it closely, noticing it was still a bit swollen.
"It didn’t seem so bad," she whispered. Her voice was uneven because I was touching her wrist. Fucking hell, this woman was going to be the death of me.
I looked up at her. She swallowed hard.
"When the body's under attack, it needs rest."
"Please don't say 'I told you so.' We're in no-man's-land here, right? Peaceful territory?"
"Yes, we are. You looked worried before when I went into the house."
Clearing her throat, she pulled her hand back. She seemed vulnerable looking at me. "What do you mean? You picked up on that?"
"Yeah. You were smiling one moment, but when I went up to the house, you weren't. So why don't you tell me what you were worried about?"
She pointed at me. “You have that look in your eyes again.”
“What look?”
“Where you think I’m gonna do whatever you're asking just because.”
“You did admit I have hidden depths. And that you like me.”
“Damn, I should have kept quiet. I have a feeling you’ll use that against me.”
I grinned. “That’s absolutely correct. And I promise it’s going to be a lot of fun.”
“Ha! I’m sorry, fun is not a word that comes to mind when I think about you.”
“And I’m going to change that.”