12. Declan
DECLAN
“I had a great time with Wilson. Thanks for letting me do that this morning.”
Astrid has just stepped into Perks and Rec to meet me for dinner. I debated wrapping an arm around her waist, dipping her back, and kissing her, but the flicker of annoyance I see on her face just now is maybe even better.
Proving to her that I’m not so easy to get rid of is going to be fun.
A moment later, she gives me a soft smile, however, and says, “Of course. Very happy to help you give your money away. Billionaires shouldn’t exist.”
I chuckle softly. “We’re not all bad.”
Her eyes narrow briefly. “I guess that depends on what we’re talking about.”
I lean in and lower my voice. “You’re right. I can be as bad as you want me to be.”
I’m not sure what possessed me to say that. I’ve been treating this woman with kid gloves since our wedding day. But she’s clearly poking at me, and I’m gratified to see a little flare of what I might even call interest when I say that.
“I’m going to meet with some people tomorrow morning too,” I tell her. “But you don’t need to worry about making breakfast.”
The corner of her mouth twitches, and now I know she knows I know she ruined the gravy on purpose. But she says, “If you keep giving out money all the time, people are just going to keep showing up with their hands out.”
I nod. “Wouldn’t it be cool if we could get to the point where no one in this town has any financial need?”
Her brows arch. “What if you run out of money? We wouldn’t want you to have to buy your suits at the Suit Stop.”
I nod as if this is a serious consideration. “Well, I guess we’ll just have to pull funding from the Portland Food Bank and that kid’s cancer charity.” I shrug. “But maybe I can get my ties from Ties-R-Us.”
She presses her lips together, and I swear to God, she’s about to really smile. Maybe even laugh. Still, she regains her composure after a moment and shakes her head, muttering something that sounds like ‘squirt bottle’. But that can’t be right.
“Be honest, you started giving away my money to annoy me, but then it turned into something like the house.”
She gives me a confused look. “What do you mean?”
“You started doing it as a rebellion against our marriage. You bought the house because it’s completely different from how we were living in Portland.
You started giving my money away because you were giving a middle finger to my wealth and lifestyle.
But you ended up loving the house and giving out the money to help this community. ”
She is staring at me with her lips parted.
No, I didn’t ease into this conversation. I never know where conversations with Astrid are going to go. I want her to know that I’m seeing all of this. And I don’t hate it.
I move in closer and drop my voice slightly.
“Because you’re like me, Astrid. You have lived in a very different world in something of a bubble, and now you’re rubbing up against the real world with regular people.
It’s a whole new experience, and you’re learning some stuff and finding it’s pretty great.
It’s not that hard to believe that I’ve found the same thing, is it? ”
I reach up and run the pad of my thumb over her cheek. I’ve decided to stop fighting my urges with this woman. She is perfectly capable of telling me where her boundaries are.
“You actually enjoyed what you did this morning with Wilson,” she finally says, studying my eyes.
“I did.”
“How is it happening so fast with you?” She looks legitimately confused.
“How is what happening so fast?”
“I’ve been here for ten months. You’ve been here for a day. And you’re already falling for these people?”
My heart does a weird thump in my chest. No way am I falling for anyone here but her. That’s absurd.
But that flip in my chest doesn’t feel like a that’s absurd reaction.
I shake my head. “It did not take you ten months.”
She takes a deep breath, then lets it out on a long sigh. “Dammit, Declan, I was expecting you to be the bad guy and tell everyone no rather than turning into the billionaire with a heart of gold.”
I shrug. “Maybe you don’t know me as well as you think you do.”
“It just means I need to try even harder to find ways to irritate you.” She meets my gaze directly. “Challenge accepted.”
I open my mouth to ask what that means, but just then the door flies open, the bell overhead almost crying for help as it is repeatedly bumped as people spill into the diner.
Correction. Not just people. Men. Men of varying sizes, but all between roughly twenty-two and forty-something, in good shape, and all seeming in very good moods.
They’re hockey players.
Specifically, hockey players from the two teams in Astrid’s bonkers hockey league. I’ve watched every game, so I recognize players from both the Rebel Revelers and the Bayou Otters coming through the door.
Of course, that includes my brother-in-law, Alex.
“Hey, Declan, good to see you. Welcome to Rebel,” he says with a big grin.
“Alex,” I greet.
He is extremely happy here, in no small part thanks to the woman he has tucked under his arm, who smiles at me as they pass.
“Hi, Declan.”
“Hi, Nora.”
I also recognize Beckett Moore, the young player who called out to me at the park last night. I looked up the roster last night, lying in bed, memorizing the faces and names. I expected to run into more of the players. Just not so soon. And all at once.
“Mr. O’Grady,” he says, giving me a big grin and a salute. “Great to have you here.”
I’m similarly greeted as the rest of them file past on their way to tables in the bar section of the establishment.
At the back of the group are two women, both blondes. I’ve seen them with Astrid before, from afar.
“Declan, this is Sutton Moore. She’s Beckett's sister and works with Nora in the Parks and Rec department. She’s also the team choreographer,” Astrid introduces as the women stop.
Sutton is a petite blonde with her hair pulled back into a ponytail.
She’s wearing a simple sundress, sandals, and very little makeup.
She’s got a slight sunburn on her nose, and it looks like glitter in her hair.
I’ve gotten to know Nora a little, and I’m guessing the glitter is from something with the Parks and Rec department and is not intentionally dusting Sutton’s hair… and shoulders, and arms, and hands.
“And this is Anderson Fleury,” Astrid says. “Andi is an artist and does a lot of graphics and artwork for Parks and Rec along with all of her own amazing stuff.”
In contrast to Sutton, Andi is a tall, willowy blonde wearing black jeans, black boots, and a silky pink sleeveless shirt under a lightweight black top. Her hair is down, and she’s got her makeup done, the bold eye makeup and pink lipstick obvious.
The smiles Astrid gives them are warm and genuine and make my chest feel warmer.
“They’re also both very good friends,” she adds. “Sutton, Andi, this is, of course, Declan.”
“Nice to officially meet you,” Sutton says. “We’ve heard a lot about you.” Then she winces as if she maybe shouldn’t have that.
Anderson nudges her further into the room. “Don’t worry. A lot of what we’ve heard has been from the internet, not Astrid.”
The smile she gives me is sly, and I realize that she knows that won’t make me feel better. So Andi is a little sassy. Noted.
“Are they Team Miles?” I ask Astrid.
“Oh, for sure. Especially Andi. She was on our team for World Otter Day, so she got to know him well and see his heroics up close.”
His heroics. Right.
How could I forget that Miles had put out a fire in the town park on World Otter Day,
their highest holiday. Not Christmas. Not even the day the town was founded. Oh, no, Rebel celebrates World Otter Day as if nothing else significant has ever happened to anyone in this town.
Of course, Miles was here for it this year.
And, according to the very dramatic website write-up, he saved a woman’s life and kept the park from burning down.
That’s what had really kicked the Team Miles bullshit into high gear.
I turn to face her more fully and pin Astrid with a look. “I know what you’re doing.”
She blinks up at me. “What do you mean?” She is not good at faking innocence.
“You told all these people to come tonight, so you didn’t have to be alone with me.”
“You thought we were going to have the restaurant to ourselves?”
“Eating dinner here, just the two of us at a table, would’ve been a little different than being surrounded by your entire hockey team and all your friends.”
She widens her eyes. “First of all, this isn’t every player from the teams. They all have other jobs, and some of them work night shifts. Some have wives and kids and couldn’t come tonight. And, secondly, I have lots more friends than this.”
Then she brushes past me and heads toward the tables full of boisterous hockey players and Perks and Rec workers.
I notice she didn’t deny that she invited them all here tonight, however.
But this is fine. It’s not like she can avoid being alone with me forever.
Probably.
She only has to make it the rest of today and five days after this.
And I’m certain she has that countdown firmly in mind.
Everyone is talking at once, and people take turns going up to the counter to place orders, so for the first few minutes it’s simply chaos, and I sit back and just observe.
I notice Astrid seems to be mostly doing the same. She just listens and watches. But I do love the small smile that tips her lips as she takes it all in. It’s clear she has true affection for all of these people.
But damn, they are loud. And it’s clear they get along well and have known each other for some time. They all talk at once, have no hesitation giving each other a hard time, and will even easily say things like, “That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard,” to one another.
Things start to settle down when Alex finally asks the group, “Where should we start?”
Before anyone can answer, a man from another table pauses next to Andi’s tall stool.
“Jesus Christ, Andi, he didn’t die. He just divorced you.”
Andi stiffens, and everyone at the table immediately quiets.