Page 114 of Between Commitment and Betrayal

“So, let’s start over.” He sounded like he’d take anything he could get. “I’ll ask you on dates, I’ll do whatever you need. I’ll court you for fucking years if you want to. Just say yes.”

“We should probably start from the beginning if we’re going to try,” I said quietly because I wanted to try too. I wanted to go on a date with him, I wanted to learn every single thing about him. I just wanted him.

I wanted to hope.

And hope was scary, but Declan was worth it.

We should always hope when there’s a happily ever after to dream for.

He walked up to me and kissed me senseless, then picked me up and carried me to his house.

He fucked me slow in his bed and told me it was where I belonged.

It’s all I wanted.

Except we still had a baby.

And I didn’t know how to tell him just then that our happily ever after was already in motion.

39

DECLAN

“Just getthem over here as fast as possible,” I told my brother early that morning. “I want that place down as fast as possible.”

It only took him an hour to get a demolition crew over to the property and another hour of Everly sleeping for her to wake up completely startled by the sound of banging outside. I watched her surprised reaction as she vaulted out of bed.

“Everything okay?” she stuttered and then whipped the covers off when I smiled and nodded as I read some bullshit article in the news about speculations regarding the Hardy empire. “Declan Hardy, what the actual fuck?”

“What?” I glanced up to see her eyes wide as saucers before I grabbed my coffee and took a sip, then went back to reading the article.

“They’re destroying my house!”

“This is your house,” I responded.

“Oh my God. I have stuff in there.”

“I had an assistant make sure it was cleared out before the demo started.” I pointed toward the front door. “Most everything of value is in suitcases out front.”

“Why are you tearing that down?” She looked stricken.

“You said it made sense for you to start there with me. Now it makes sense for you to start here.”

“You’ve completely lost it. I would be fine living over there and trying to make this work.” She shook her head at me, but I saw the small smile she had, like she might have been willing to plan everything out all the time but she loved that I acted without hesitation most of the time.

“I won’t. I won’t be fine being without you again, not now. Not ever.”

I saw how her eyes twinkled, how she wanted this as much as me. “I’m staying in the guest room, and you’re going to have to earn anything more, Declan Hardy.”

“I’ll earn whatever the hell you want me to as long as you’re here, as long as we’re in this together, as long as you know I love you.”

“You can’t start saying that all the time now.”

“I can and I will. I think I knew the night you danced with my niece. At least a part of me knew.” I took the ring I’d been holding in my back pocket since I’d gotten dressed that morning. “You want a different ring?”

“Declan, I’ll wear a ring once we discuss the bab—”

My phone rang and an unknown number popped up. When she motioned for me to answer, I picked it up fast to get rid of whoever was on the line. “I’m bus—”