Chapter 2 #2
“Hey.” He returned her embrace, even pressing a kiss on top of her head—something that never failed to stun me.
When I’d first moved to Starlight Cove last year, I’d been gobsmacked to realize that Declan—perpetual dark cloud and persistent thorn in my side—was one of Holly’s four sons.
Holly, who was basically the physical embodiment of a warm hug.
With light brown hair streaked with gray and laugh lines softening her face, she had a smile that could make anyone feel at home.
She’d made me feel at home since my first day in this town and hadn’t stopped since.
“Is he giving you grief again, Pen?” she asked, eyeing her son with all the exasperated fondness of someone who’d raised a rule-breaking menace and lived to tell the tale.
Forcing a smile, I said, “Not at all.”
I shouldn’t look at him. I absolutely, one hundred percent, should not look at him.
I looked at him.
His gaze was already locked on me, his lips quirked in that insufferable smirk he loved to give me. “Penelope was just saying how much she loves when I stop by.”
A scowl replaced my fake smile, and that only made Declan’s smirk deepen. So much for not giving him the reaction he so desperately craved.
Holly stepped behind the counter again. Her expression was unreadable except for the glint in her eyes that said she’d seen—and noted—everything that had gone down between Declan and me. Great.
“Yes, I’m sure she just adores it when you return your books late and dog-eared.
” Holly grabbed a plastic container from the shelves beneath the desk and slid it toward her son.
“I shouldn’t encourage your careless book behavior by giving these to you, but I learned a long time ago not to fight a losing battle. ”
Declan reached for the container. “What’s this?”
“I made more of those protein bars you liked so much.”
He grunted and tucked them under his arm. “Thanks, Mom.”
Holly turned to me with a look that was pure fondness masquerading as exasperation. “He always forgets to eat while he’s at work. I have to sneak nutrition into his life like I used to sneak broccoli into Lincoln’s mac and cheese when he was little.”
At the mention of his younger brother, Declan rolled his eyes, as if resetting himself to his default state—all grit and growl and deliberate aggravation.
At least until his mom handed him something homemade, and then he turned into someone else, apparently.
Not soft exactly—god knew Declan Steele could never be soft—but something undiluted in a way that made it a little hard to breathe.
“Well, I need to make sure the rotunda is ready for the senior mixer tonight, or Mabel will throw a fit,” Holly said before turning her gaze to Declan. “Try not to get banned from the premises while I’m gone.”
“No promises.”
She gave us both an amused look before disappearing around the corner, heels clicking on the wood floor. Silence settled in her absence, thick and weighted.
He didn’t move. Neither did I.
The air between us crackled. Like whatever unspoken thing that fed off our antagonism was sitting dormant, just waiting to detonate.
I busied myself by straightening the stack of bookmarks in their holder, then shifted a display sign a quarter inch to the left. Anything to look like I had a reason to exist right here for something other than just feeling him.
Because I could. Undeniably.
Could feel his attention on me, heavy and unwavering. He was watching me without saying a word—taking up all this space like it belonged to him.
Finally, I couldn’t take the thick silence pressing between us any longer.
I straightened my shoulders and lifted my chin to meet Declan’s gaze. “Did Sheriff McKenzie give you a ticket?”
“Nope.” Not an ounce of remorse laced Declan’s tone, proving that he couldn’t possibly care less about continuing to break the rules.
I narrowed my eyes. “Don’t tell me he let you off with a warning again.”
“No warning.” Declan lifted one of those massive shoulders in a shrug. “Didn’t see it.”
I just blinked at him. “You hid your motorcycle?”
“I don’t hide, rebel. I just happened to grab something to eat when he came looking.”
“Uh-huh. And where did you park it when you came back?”
“Between the bench and that landscaping wall. Tucked out of the way, like always.”
“Like always,” I repeated, voice flat.
“You’re welcome.”
I scoffed. “For what exactly?”
“Your daily entertainment. I know how much you look forward to our little chats.”
He was taunting me. I knew he was taunting me. And yet, I couldn’t stop myself from being riled up by him. Every time.
“I fantasize about you getting towed,” I muttered.
“Really?” He leaned in, one elbow on the counter, his voice dropping just enough to make my pulse hiccup. “And here I spend my time fantasizing about what happens when prim little librarians start breaking the rules.”
My cheeks flushed and my breath caught in my throat but not from indignation.
No, this was something far more dangerous.
Without permission, my mind betrayed me, offering up an image of what it would look like if we broke the rules together. If he taught me how to break them…
Before allowing myself to get carried away, I shook off that ridiculous possibility and reminded myself I did break the rules. Every night.
Declan just didn’t know about it. No one did.
With his gaze locked on me, he knocked on the counter before palming his stack of books. “See you tomorrow, rebel.”
I watched him go, my mouth set in a firm line and my pulse annoyingly elevated.
And then—unbidden—a line floated through my mind for the first time in forever.
I grabbed a sticky note from the dispenser and scribbled it down before I lost it, then shoved the note into my cardigan pocket, glancing around to make sure no one noticed.
If only he knew how much of a rebel I really was.