19. Declan #2
I smiled from ear to ear. "You don't have to work too hard. Seeing all this sexiness and these muscles that go on for days, and not to mention that smile, is making my heart sigh. You can talk me into anything. But first thing first, I want to drop by Helen's today. I haven't seen her in a while."
"Sure. I'd like to go with you, unless you think Helen would mind."
"Mind? I don't think she would. She loves visitors. That's awesome. I can't wait to tell her I've signed the lease."
“Perfect.”
“What are we doing afterward?” I asked, truly and honestly excited.
“Let’s get out of the city.”
I had been burning the midnight oil for so long that the mere idea of a day off was giving me life.
"I don't want to go too far away," I told him. "And I need somewhere that will inspire me, because I want to come up with new recipes. I have a book full of them already, but you know, it never hurts to have inspiration."
He narrowed his eyes, looking out the window. "We could go to Milwaukee. They’ve got a few German bakeries."
"We could do that. It's not that far away."
"Then it's decided. I’ll text my assistant on the way to Helen’s to tell her I’m taking the day off.”
Guilt slammed into me. He really shouldn’t be away from work just for me.
"Declan, I don't want you to get behind on what you need to be doing."
“Babe, it’ll be completely worth it." Leaning in, he brushed his lips against mine.
My body was alive with excitement. He was making space for me in his life.
I felt a bit humbled, to be honest. It wasn't something I'd expected.
He pulled back, brushing his thumb over my lower lip before kissing my forehead.
"Are you ready to go now?" he asked.
"Sure, yeah!"
“We’ll have a great day.”
"Mr. Sexy, I’m putting all my trust in you."
He wiggled his eyebrows again, lowering his hand to my shoulder, then to my waist. "And I promise I'll deliver."
My body tingled yet again. The way this man could work me up was insane.
On the ride to the senior care home, I called their reception desk to let them know we were coming. When we got there, we found a parking spot a few feet away from the entrance.
"This place is nice, isn't it?" I asked as we headed through the front gate.
Declan nodded. It didn't seem like it was new to him; maybe he’d been here before or had driven by it a couple times. As we walked inside, I greeted some of Helen's friends. I couldn't remember their names, but I had memorized their faces. All of them waved back excitedly.
"Helen's waiting for you in the alley," Nadia, the receptionist, said. The alley was the main sidewalk where all the benches were.
"Thanks."
Once we were outside, the residents all looked at Declan with appreciation. I chuckled. Of course Helen's friends would be as feisty as she was.
Helen was in the same spot where we'd sat last time. The day was absolutely wonderful. The sun was shining, and it was pleasantly warm.
She beamed at me. "Darling, nice to see you. And you brought Declan?"
"I did."
"I see my tip about the truffles worked very well, didn't it?" Helen asked.
Declan smiled. "Yeah, it did. Thanks for the insider information."
I blinked, looking from one to the other. "What? Wait a second, what are you talking about? Oh my God, that'd slipped my mind. I wanted to ask you how you knew those were my favorites." I looked at Helen. "When did you tell him?"
"This charming young man paid me a visit. He had a question about the house. I don’t remember what it was, but I could tell it was totally made up. I knew he had an ulterior motive.” She winked with a twinkle in her eyes.
Declan laughed. “Helen, you’re very observant.”
"Yes, I am. Sit down, both of you," she said, pointing to the bench.
"How are you feeling, Helen?" I asked.
"We are not going to spend your visit talking about me. You'll never get an exciting answer, because nothing exciting happens, unless you count Nadia catching my neighbor smoking."
I burst out laughing. "What do you mean, catching them smoking? Everyone here is an adult."
"Oh yeah, with severe diet restrictions. I'm telling you, it's like being in a boarding school."
“I'm here to tell you that I have officially signed my lease for my bakery.”
"My girl, I'm so proud of you," Helen said. "Good for you. I knew you'd do it, and I hope you’re going to slow down with the other jobs."
"Yes. I've put in my two weeks’ notice everywhere, and I’m taking today and tomorrow off. In fact, this guy here is taking me to Milwaukee."
“What's in Milwaukee?” she asked.
We both started laughing.
“Helen, don't be mean,” I said.
Next to me, Declan chuckled.
"It’s nearby," I explained. “And apparently they've got a ton of German bakeries.”
“I've been once. It's not too bad," Helen said, then turned to Declan. "Good for you though, convincing her to take a break. While I was at the house, I never could convince her even to come watch a movie with me.”
“We did bake together though," I said.
"That doesn't count,” she replied. “It was still work for you."
"So, you paid Helen a secret visit, huh?" I said to Declan, still stunned.
Helen looked particularly smug. It warmed my heart to see her so happy. Now that I was going to be my own boss, I planned to come visit her at least twice a week. Helen was like family to me. She basically adopted me when I first moved to Chicago.
“Now, tell me everything you’re going to put on the menu,” she said.
“I don't know about that yet, but I'm going to try out a lot of recipes over the next few weeks. And I promise I’ll stop by with them for you to taste. What do you think?”
“I think that's lovely.”
We chatted with Helen for about an hour. Then it was lunchtime for her, so we left.
We drove straight to Milwaukee from the care home. I made myself comfortable in the car, turning on the music and dancing a bit right before realizing Declan was unnaturally still. I looked at him out of the corner of my eyes and turned the volume down.
“I can practically see you turning into the statue I first met.”
"What are you talking about?"
"Why do you hate music?" I asked.
"I don't hate music."
"You have statue-like posture. You’re gripping the steering wheel tight and looking straight at the road."
Declan shrugged. “I like music, just not when it’s keeping me up. Though I do like seeing you move to it.”
I turned the music down but kept moving to the rhythm.
He laughed. "See, that's what I'm saying."
I liked making him laugh. He looked so carefree right now, not like the serious lawyer or the overprotective cousin.
"I'm super excited," I said, clapping enthusiastically before resuming my dancing.
We arrived an hour and a half later, and we had so much fun. I looked on TripAdvisor and made a list of stuff to do.
First we visited Lakefront Brewery and then headed to the Pabst mansion. It was a gorgeous relic from the gilded age. It was huge too, with sixty-six rooms. Unfortunately, it was closed today, so we couldn't go inside. We only looked at it from outside, but even so, it was quite a sight.
Then we headed to the Old World Third Street—one of the historic neighborhoods.
I immediately fell in love with it, such an eclectic mix of traditional and modern buildings.
Some had been built recently while others had clearly stood here for centuries.
I especially liked the ones made out of cream brick that had masonry here and there.
Some also had ornamental brickwork and cast iron. Others were in Victorian style.
"This is lovely," I murmured as we passed a shop selling fruit that had a red-and-white-striped awning.
Declan was looking at me with warm eyes.
"I like the way you look at me," I whispered.
"I'm happy to be here with you. By the way, there aren’t too many bakeries, or am I blind?" Declan asked, putting a hand on my back. I liked being nestled against him like this as we walked down the street.
"Yeah, I haven't seen any either. But who cares? I can feel myself relaxing.” There were a lot of cheese, sausage, and meat- based products in the shops lining in the street, and I decided to get a huge pretzel from a cart.
"Hey, this is good," I said, chewing on it as we further explored the neighborhood. When we reached a spice shop, I told Declan, "Oh, let's go inside here. I don't want to buy anything, just look around. This place used to be a bakery. I read that on Tripadvisor."
"Sure. Let's go in," he said.
This place was a dream come true for anyone who liked working with spices.
The baking process didn't use that many, but I still loved being in here.
It smelled like cardamom and vanilla and nutmeg.
But there were also stronger scents, and I suspected it came from a mix that was labeled "grill magic. "
"This is lovely," I whispered. I felt Declan move up behind me and kiss my temple.
"You're cute, all excited because you're in a spice shop,” he murmured in my ear. “You would think we were looking at jewelry.”
"Hey, spices are life. Don't discount them."
"I like this about you, that you enjoy experiences like this."
Despite claiming I wouldn’t buy anything, I did buy a bag full of spices. Declan had found the address of a bakery that actually did serve German goodies, and we headed there afterward. I finally tasted strudel, and I couldn’t wait to try out a few recipes myself.
Perhaps I could also sell snacks, like real food snacks. But that was something I could always add later. Sweet Treats was going to have a lot to offer.
"Declan, thank you so much for this. I really enjoyed myself. Did you?”
“Babe, I love everything I do with you.”
“Me too,” I said as we headed to the crosswalk. “What are we doing now?" I asked as we stepped out. "I don’t have anything else on my list. Should we head back to Chicago?"
"No," he said. "Let's go check into a hotel."
My eyes widened. "You want to stay here overnight? We don't have any clothes." The adventure and spontaneity sounded like so much fun.
"We have the clothes we're wearing," he said, winking as we approached the car.
"We don't have spare, you know, underwear," I muttered. I knew that sounded silly, but I hated the thought of wearing my underwear another day.
He smiled wickedly, lifting the corner of his mouth, brushing his thumb over my lips. "You already know I like to go commando from time to time. You could try the same tomorrow."
"I wasn’t expecting this. I'm wearing a skirt. Aren’t you afraid that the wind might blow? I might get into a Marilyn Monroe situation, and someone could see my lady bits."
His eyes darkened instantly. Holy shit. I can turn him on that fast? I felt like I had discovered a superpower.
"Don't say that to me in public."
"Why not?" I teased.
"Because now all I can think about is burying my head between your thighs."
Now it was my turn to instantly get turned on. This had escalated quickly. Here we were shopping a few minutes earlier, and now all I wanted was to jump his bones.
"Right, you're doing that thing again," I murmured.
"What thing?"
"Where you're convincing me of doing something just by being in front of me."
His lips curled into a smile, but his eyes were still dark. "I'm starting to like that."
"You should. It gives you the upper hand.”
“Come on. Let's see if anything else catches your eye while I ask my assistant to look for a hotel."
We got into the car after placing all my purchases in the trunk.
"Hey, we can look ourselves."
"Nah. She’s always able to find the great places to stay. And I want to enjoy you. I don't want anything taking my focus off you."
Had he really said that, or had I imagined it? How could he be so romantic?
He immediately took out his phone. "Hey, Greta. I'm in Milwaukee for the night with Liz. Can you please book us a hotel? I want something with a great view. Thanks. Send me the details when it's done. Yeah. Have a great day. I'll catch up with everything tomorrow."
"I can't believe this is my life," I said before realizing I'd actually uttered the words out loud.
"What do you mean?"
"I'm opening my bakery soon, and today I'm here with you. And we're, you know, taking a day off and enjoying life. And it's amazing."
"I'm glad this makes you happy," he murmured.
Greta texted him all the information about the hotel. It wasn’t far away, and they told us we could check in at any time, so we headed right there.
Half an hour later, we were at our hotel.
"Oh my God. What did you do? Did you have her book us the presidential suite?
" I asked as we stepped inside the room.
It was enormous. And the view was absolutely breathtaking.
The window was huge, and it overlooked Lake Michigan.
It was called the Pfister Hotel, an older grand place that had charm and all the conveniences imaginable.
"I want the best for my woman," he said.
There he went again, being all romantic. When had that happened?
Closing the suite door, we walked toward the window. He was slightly behind me as I stopped, taking in the view: the twinkling lights, the skyscrapers, the cars milling below, and the quiet lake.
"That's one thing we’re missing at the house," he said. "We don't have a view of the lake."
"It's gorgeous," I said.
He put one hand on my hip and the other at the side of my waist, resting his head in the crook of my neck. He only stayed like that for a few seconds, and then he started raining kisses on it. My skin broke out in goose bumps.
"This was a terrific idea," I said. Turning around, I decided to taunt him a bit. "Even though I'll have to go commando tomorrow."
"You won't go commando," he growled.
I loved it when he got like this. Like he couldn't possibly share any part of me with the world. I loved that he wanted me so much. As much as I wanted him.
"You'll be there with me to save my honor, if need be."
"You bet I will," he insisted.