Page 28

Chapter 28

Hannah

I stretch languidly in my bed, blinking my eyes open as morning light floods the room. It takes me a few seconds to piece together where I am as consciousness slowly blooms in my brain, but when my head rolls on the pillow, I remember I’m at home. Declan and I fell asleep side by side, curled up together in an exhausted, sated haze, but I’m alone in bed now.

A soft laugh escapes me, because I can’t remember the last time I slept this deeply. I didn’t wake up once throughout the night, not even when Declan got up. Maybe that’s not a surprise after the full-body workout that he gave me last night, but as I start to stretch, extending my arms above my head, I wince as the delicious soreness pulses between my legs.

It’s the sweetest kind of ache. My muscles are tender, my body still humming from the leftover endorphins, and my limbs feel a bit like jelly. This is the perfect kind of lazy morning wake-up that I wish I could have every day.

But when I roll in the opposite direction and see the clock on my bedside table, my heart leaps into my throat and I sit bolt upright.

“Shit!” I hiss, scrambling for my phone like it’s going to show me a different time or something.

It doesn’t, so I toss my phone back on the nightstand and scramble out of bed to throw on some clothes, whatever I can find fastest.

I don’t have time to really care how put together I look, but I do at least stop in the bathroom to pull my disheveled hair into a ponytail and check myself in the mirror. Normally, I’d spend way more time in here making sure I look the part of a lawyer-to-be, but the jeans and ponytail look are just going to have to do.

But where’s Declan? Did he leave already?

The thought flashes through my mind as I splash my face with cold water to try to wash away the sleepiness from my eyes and pat them dry with the towel hanging by the shower. Back in the bedroom, I notice Declan’s clothes are gone too, so maybe he did head out before I woke up.

But as I step into the hall, the smell of something cooking hits my nose, and when I round the corner into the kitchen a few seconds later, a smile splits my face—because Declan is there, standing at the stove and cooking something I can’t see thanks to his broad shoulders. He glances over his shoulder when he hears me come in, and his face lights up with a smile that makes my pulse skip.

“Good morning,” he says and leaves his spatula behind to cross the kitchen and pull me in for a kiss that steals my breath.

As soon as he touches me, I feel myself coming alive inside again. His hands settle on my waist, warm and sure, and the feeling of his lips on mine makes my spine tingle and memories of the amazing night we shared race through my mind again.

“I hope you don’t mind. I poked around in your pantry a bit,” he says when we part, his eyes twinkling playfully.

Stunned and still trying to understand what he’s getting at, I shake my head. “I don’t mind at all. But wait a second, you made me breakfast?”

“Yup,” he says with a casual shrug, as if cooking for me is the most natural thing in the world. “It’s not gourmet or anything, but I did the best I could with what you had. It’s not just breakfast, though. I made you lunch too so you have something to eat between classes.”

I stare at him in disbelief, his words echoing in my ears but not really sinking in at first. I’ve never had a guy do anything like this for me before. I mean, cooking breakfast for me after a night together is one thing, but thinking so far ahead that he made me lunch too? That’s next level.

“Are you upset?” Declan asks, his brow furrowing as he studies my face.

“No, no. Not at all. It’s just…” I trail off, avoiding his eyes. “This isn’t the way I’m used to guys treating me,” I mumble out the rest, but Declan still hears it.

His expression turns serious as he thumbs my chin, tilting my eyes back up to his and holding my gaze. The glint I saw there before is still there, but it seems more intense now.

“You deserve so much better than you’ve gotten before,” he says and lets the words linger for a few moments.

They echo in my ears, and I feel my cheeks warming as my mind reels. It’s not that I think he’s wrong, it’s more that I’ve never had anyone say something like that to me before. Let alone someone as amazing as he is.

While I’m still standing there stunned, Declan presses another kiss on my cheek before he goes back to the stove and picks up the spatula to stir whatever it is he’s making. My cat meows at me as I follow him, and I look up and find Ralph perched on top of the fridge, watching Declan’s every move like some sort of gargoyle.

Declan spots me watching Ralph and chuckles.

“Yeah, I think I’m getting close to winning your cat over,” he says over his shoulder as he stirs the food on the stove. I laugh and walk over to scratch Ralph’s chin, and she tucks her head down to rub the top of it against my hand, purring.

“That’s unlikely, honestly. I love Ralph to death, but she’s a very fickle lady. Aren’t you, sweetheart?” Even as the question leaves my mouth, she uses her paw to push my hand down to her mouth so she can nibble on it. “See what I mean?”

He laughs. “I think you offended her. She’s not fickle, she just knows what she likes and doesn’t.”

“Trust me, she’s hard to offend. She’s just playful.”

“I guess I’ll have to take your word for it because I’m not trying to get my hand torn off. But wait a second… Ralph is a girl?”

“Oh, yeah. I know it’s kind of weird for a girl cat to have a name like that, but I didn’t know she was a girl when I got her. By the time I realized, she’d already gotten used to the name, so I just kept it.”

Declan chuckles. “I guess that makes sense. Don’t want to confuse her when she’s already responding to the name.”

“Yeah, I mean I’m sure she would’ve adjusted if I had tried to change it, but there’s something about the name that suits her anyway.”

“She definitely has big Ralph energy.”

“Right? I’m glad you see it too,” I say and scratch lovingly behind her big, perky ears. Her purring intensifies, but she jumps down from the top of the fridge to the counter. She trots over to Declan and tentatively sniffs his elbow.

He holds perfectly still for it like he’s afraid if he moves even a little bit he’ll scare Ralph away, but she seems totally unbothered. In fact, she rubs the top of her head against his elbow, purring so loudly I can hear it from where I’m standing. She really does seem like she’s starting to warm up to him.

He has no idea how rare this kind of behavior is with anyone other than me, but I decide not to tell him. He slowly reaches around to pet her with his free hand, and Ralph raises her head to meet him.

Declan raises his eyebrows at me. “See? I told you. Before you know it, me and Ralph are gonna be best buds.”

“Don’t hold your breath on that. She’s temperamental, just like every other cat. But she shouldn’t be up here anyway, especially not when you’re cooking. Come on, girl,” I say and lift her off the counter to gently set her on the floor. She glares at me like I’ve just committed a cardinal sin before she trots away into the living room.

“Well, I guess it’s good timing because I think your breakfast is done. Let me get out of your hair so you can eat and finish getting ready,” Declan says and rests the spatula on the counter to step aside and let me see his creation.

He made some sort of egg scramble with a bunch of veggies in it, and it looks and smells delicious. My stomach rumbles loudly at the sight and smell, and Declan laughs.

“Sounds like you worked up an appetite. Can’t imagine why,” he says and cups the back of my head to pull me in and kiss it before he starts to leave the kitchen. I still can’t quite believe how well he’s treating me, and I don’t really want him to leave, so I call after him.

“Declan, wait.”

He freezes and turns to look back at me, perfectly framed in the entryway like some sort of postcard. Maybe it’s silly, but some part of me thinks I’m going to remember him standing like this forever, as if the light from the sun is literally etching it into my brain.

“Yeah?” he asks.

“Don’t you want breakfast too?”

A heated look crosses his face as he steps back toward me, leaving so little space between us that he can probably hear my heart hammering in my chest. He pulls me into his arms and rests his forehead against mine, rocking us side to side slightly. And I know I shouldn’t linger because I have a class to get to, but there’s a part of me that would love nothing more than to stay in his arms like this forever.

“I already ate last night,” he says, his voice a low rumble against my skin. “A full course meal.”

My entire body flushes with heat at the memory of all the things he did to me last night, but my brain quickly swoops back into action. I look up at him, summoning the most serious expression I can.

His brows crease, but the smile he’s wearing doesn’t fade. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, it’s just… listen, I’m not sure I can handle a relationship right now. I’m really busy with school and the yoga studio, and dating wasn’t really in my plans for this year.”

Declan doesn’t seem fazed by this at all. His smile actually deepens for a second before he plants another kiss on my forehead. “That’s okay. I’ll respect your boundaries.”

My heart flutters again at that and at the intense way he’s staring into my eyes—because I believe him. Most other guys would’ve tried to be all smooth about it and convince me that they could be the exception. But not Declan.

“I know you’re busy and that you have a lot on your plate right now. I respect the hell out of you for that, so I won’t push you. But that doesn’t mean I don’t want you. And it doesn’t mean I won’t keep wanting more.”

Now my heart is beating so hard and fast that it feels like it could burst out of my chest at any moment. And a blush creeps up my cheeks as I realize that, while I wasn’t trying to scare him off or anything by sharing that, part of me was hoping he’d say exactly what he did. Because we can’t really be together, at least not in the typical sense, but that doesn’t mean we couldn’t find some way to keep what we have right now going without any strings attached.

Declan must think I’m freaking out because his expression softens. “I mean, that’s all assuming I still have the green light from you. As long as I do, I’m not going to stop pursuing you. So do I have the green light?”

My heart is thumping against my ribs, making it difficult to speak. I want to tell him yes so badly, to scream it out just like I’ve screamed his name in bed, but I can’t seem to get the words out. So I just nod at him instead because it’s all I can manage—and I don’t trust myself not to say something more. Something I can’t take back.

Declan grins, satisfaction evident in his eyes, and presses his lips against mine one more time before he finally lets me go and moves over to the counter where his cell phone is plugged in and charging.

“I borrowed your charger,” he tells me. “I hope you don’t mind.”

“Not at all. Sorry I accidentally stole your phone.”

“I’m not.” He grins, winking at me as he unplugs it. “Anyway, eat up, and don’t forget to take something with you for lunch. What I made is in the fridge, all ready to go.”

He tucks his phone into his pocket before heading for the door again, and I give a little wave.

“Have a good practice. And don’t tell my dad where you were. I don’t want you to die,” I tell him as he opens the door.

He chuckles. “I won’t—for now.”

With that, he slips out the door, closing it carefully behind him before Ralph can catch up. She jumps up into the windowsill to watch him go, and I can’t stop myself from following her. My hand instinctively reaches out to pet the top of her head, but she bats it away, so I stare down at her, affronted.

“What’s gotten into you?” I ask. She just stares back blankly, her bright yellow-green eyes unblinking in the sunlight, and I click my tongue against my teeth. “Oh, don’t give me that look. I know exactly what you’re thinking, but it’s not like that at all.”

I leave her on the windowsill and walk back to the kitchen to make myself a plate of the scramble Declan made, but Ralph bounds after me and leaps up onto the counter beside me.

“Um, excuse me, you little diva. What do you think you’re doing? He’s making a monster out of you.”

Ralph meows and stares at me from the counter but doesn’t act for a second like she’s going to move. Maybe it’s silly, but I swear she’s silently judging me and chasing me around the house just to let me know that she sees what’s really going on here.

With my hands on my hips, I glare back at her.

“Don’t give me that. You’re obviously softening up for him too,” I tell her, and when she meows back what I’m sure is a very loud yes , I pat her head. “Yeah, that’s what I thought.”