Page 22 of The Ex Next Door (Charming, Texas #8)

W hen they split the tips later that night, Declan had the biggest loot for the third shift in a row.

The waitstaff were always happy when he had a good night.

And to be fair, tonight he’d worked it, smiling, chatting, lending customers a helpful ear.

Good people tended to understand that service workers weren’t earning a livable wage based on their hourly rate.

All they wanted was a friendly server who took their time.

“Declan wins it again.” Debbie slapped the bar. “Face it, he’s got a gift. We’re lucky he shares.”

“It must be so difficult for a six-foot-two former professional athlete to hustle for tips.” Amy winked at him.

“Yeah,” Debbie elbowed Amy. “Imagine the poor wretched woman who has to settle for this one.”

He cut the air with one hand. “Now, now, ladies. It isn’t just women. I listen to the men’s troubles. Which are usually troubles with the very women who are tipping me.”

“Did you give out your number again?” Debbie said.

Declan froze in the middle of pouring fountain soda into an iced glass for Amy. When he turned slightly to glance at her, she’d quickly averted her gaze.

“I haven’t taken anyone’s number in a while,” Declan said, correcting Debbie.

The last thing he wanted was to feed any insecurities in Amy.

She’d just come off a divorce with a man who presumably fell out of love with her.

It had to have crushed her, because he knew Amy, and how hard and intense she loved when she did.

Honestly, he didn’t know what she wanted from him if anything.

She’d been on board with some heavy-duty make-out sessions in which they’d relived their glory days.

Beyond that, he feared loving Amy again would be like harnessing the wind.

And as a pitcher, he’d learned early on the crosswind had a way of changing directions.

“I can see why Samantha might have been jealous,” Amy said. “Girls handing you their number?”

“Nope, sorry. She was almost certifiable,” Debbie said. “How a girl that beautiful can be so insecure baffles the mind.”

“Girls don’t always give me their phone number,” Declan protested.

“Nine times out of ten they do,” Debbie said. “Which isn’t bad for business.”

They ended the night with a new inspirational quote, all of which were mostly borrowed from his dad. This one Declan found on his own. Debbie always behaved like this was the first time she’d heard some of them, which couldn’t be true. She seemed equally blown away by tonight’s quote.

On the way home, Amy was quiet, her body turned to face her window, which set Declan’s teeth on edge. He did not want her to be jealous and after what he’d recently been through, he almost felt like he had to be proactive.

“You’re so quiet,” Declan said. “You do believe me when I say I don’t accept phone numbers anymore, don’t you?”

“Huh? Oh, sure. I believe you. Why would you lie?”

“Exactly. Why would I?” His tight grip on the column of the steering wheel loosened. “What’s got you so quiet?”

“Just thinking about the coaching talk today and what that quote means to me.”

He snorted. “Coaching talk?”

“You know. When we all sit down after our shift and talk about the night?”

“Yeah but I don’t think of it as coaching .”

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Amy turned her body to face him and smiled. “You’re a born coach. Everything you say just inspires us to keep going, to do better. Honestly, after your talk I leave work feeling less like a cocktail server and more like a facilitator of human connections.”

“I started out basically just trying to cheer y’all up after a rough night. But I never thought of it as coaching.”

“Because it’s not sports. But there’s a thing called a life coach, too.”

“Yeah, I know. But—”

“You’d be good at that, too. The quote tonight had me thinking about the rest of my life. ‘Your self-worth is determined by you . You don’t have to depend on someone telling you who you are.’ Who said that?”

“Actually, Beyoncé.” Bet his dad never thought to quote from a musical performer.

“Wow, she really is amazing.” Amy shook her head, smiling.

“After the divorce, my self-worth spiraled. I felt like everything I had become was tied up in my marriage. First and foremost, I was a wife and a mother. Everything else in life came second. When I started interviewing for a job, I saw that the outside world doesn’t value what I’ve been focused on for the past nine years.

I almost forgot who I was and that I had once hoped to be a teacher. I’d forgotten to get around to that.”

“I’m glad you remembered, Tinks. ” He spoke softly.

That’s the woman he’d never forgotten, and he’d known even when he’d seen her in town with her family from time to time that she was still in there.

He saw it in the playful way she connected to her children.

Granted, he saw less joy on the day they’d moved in next door.

Then it seemed the weight of failure had colored everything about her.

Failure was something Declan knew a little something about.

But though failure was never anyone’s first choice, in the end it could be the final one.

He’d decided to continue failing at baseball because he’d made a decision.

Choose failure and move on to something new.

The something new had been teaching until he met an obstacle he couldn’t work around.

Until he realized there could be value in simply walking away.

That’s something his father never truly understood.

He didn’t call it failure so much as an opportunity to learn something.

But Amy was right. Whether or not he wanted to admit to it, coaching was in his blood. He was coaching the service workers without even realizing.

You’re a born coach, Declan.

She smiled, a world of warmth in her gaze. “Thank you for bringing Tinks back, by the way.”

“You’re welcome.” He pulled into his driveway, shut off the truck and reached for her. “Come inside with me for a while?”

Amy’s gaze switched from her house, to his, then back to hers.

“My mom is—”

“Probably asleep along with everyone else.”

“She was last time.” Amy stroked his cheek. “Why, what did you have in mind, Mr. Hot Bartender? You already have my phone number.”

“Just talking. Hanging out. I can’t go right to sleep after work, I need to unwind.”

“Damn, and I was thinking you wanted to move beyond one of our marathon make-out sessions. We are both adults now.”

This did surprise him because he was used to shy Amy. She’d been venturing out in more ways than one.

“I don’t think you’re ready for that. Isn’t it three months, if I recall?” He cocked his head, flashing her a wicked smile.

“You remembered, but it’s not like I had it marked on a calendar or anything.”

“No? It was on mine.”

She laughed. “Fine, just a few minutes but then I have to go home before they miss me.”

He led her to his home, hand low on her back.

They weren’t even halfway there before he lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it.

It felt so good to touch her. It felt necessary.

Natural. He’d never been accused of being affectionate, but Amy brought it out of him.

Maybe, in the same way he’d reminded her of who she used to be, she’d done the same for him.

But he wasn’t kidding himself. They were both a compilation of who they used to be, layered with the experiences and heartbreaks that had shaped and molded them from the minute they broke up and went their separate ways.

But the person he’d been when he loved Amy was someone he missed.

* * *

Amy had spent slices of time in Declan’s home, occasionally alone for a few minutes, but this was the first time she’d joined him after a late shift.

The darkness and quiet of the night brought with it a sense of intimacy she couldn’t shake.

Despite all that, and the fact she trusted Declan with her life, it didn’t mean this was time to lower her guard.

This “thing” with Declan, whatever it was, remained new.

She didn’t know if it could ever turn into anything like what they once had.

Most people would think it bananas to reconnect with their high school boyfriend but safe to say those old boyfriends weren’t anything like Declan Sheridan.

If Amy was on the hunt for husband number two, maybe she’d care that Declan didn’t seem to have any ambition beyond being a bartender.

Luckily, she wasn’t looking for husband number two.

She also wasn’t expecting someone to provide for her and her children.

Been there, done that. She was going to be sure, whomever she wound up with, that she’d never be financially dependent on anyone again.

However, yes, it would be nice to have a partner, someone to help and share the load the way Rob never had.

But Declan had expressly said he wanted children, and she doubted he’d just take hers and be done with it.

Most men would probably want to have their own.

Amy didn’t know if she could ever go through that again, either.

More children, more responsibilities. So much to think about in her new reality, and the possibility had presented itself far sooner than she’d expected.

She was supposed to be filling out app questionnaires, swiping and having dates with complete strangers with similar values and goals.

Maybe a single dad with kids of his own.

Yours, mine and ours. But she couldn’t very well ignore that an extremely handsome, athletic, hot guy who lived next door was interested in spending time with her.

Surely she wasn’t supposed to reject something that had fallen so easily into her life.

It wasn’t as if this would be easy. There would never again be simple in her life when it came to love and romance.