Page 74 of The Havenport Collection

Astrid

I didn’t know what to do. Declan kissed me. And it wasn’t just a kiss. He had owned me, body and soul, for a few sweet moments. A meteor could have hit the earth and I wouldn’t have noticed.

The feel of his body was imprinted on me, and I couldn’t shake the fluttering in my chest every time I thought about it.

I was in deep trouble.

First, he threw me over his shoulder and jogged up a steep hill like it was nothing.

I was impressed by his strength but also a bit surprised by how much I liked being manhandled.

I had never been with a big, dominant guy before, and it was a major turn-on.

Declan was a man, a big strong man who was radiating pure sex and lust. Just the memory made me shiver.

But what did this mean? Did I screw everything up? I needed to talk to someone, someone who could help me figure this out. I grabbed my phone and texted Emily.

Astrid: SOS

Emily: You ok? Do you need bail money? Help burying a body?

Astrid: No. Need advice re: romantic shit

Emily: Give me 5 min.

A few minutes later my phone rang. “What happened? Are you okay?”

I let out the breath I was holding in. “Yes. I’m fine. Declan kissed me after the festival.”

“And?”

“And it was amazing. It was intense and gentle and hot and rearranged some of my brain cells. Happy now?”

“Oooh.”

“And now I’m confused and horny.”

“Let me make sure I get it. You guys walked back to his truck.”

“Actually he carried me back to the truck.”

“Aw shit. That’s hot.”

“I know. It was incredible. And then he kissed me.”

She squealed. “Aww, this is so romantic. I love it. A sweet first kiss!”

“No, it was a full blown make-out session with some light over-the-clothes petting, if we’re getting technical.”

She got serious. “Lady, when it comes to sexy times, technical details are always required.”

“So what do I do?”

“What do you want to do?”

“I have no idea. I want to walk over to his house and rip his clothes off.”

“Attagirl.”

“But I also don’t want to compromise what we have. This is the first time in my life I’ve had a real friend. Someone loyal and kind who isn’t looking to stab me in the back or get ahead. You and Declan and Nora—you guys are all I have right now.”

“I get it. This goes against every instinct I have, but I think you should just take a breath. Don’t do anything. Just sit with this and you will figure it out.”

Not what I was expecting from Emily at all.

She continued, “I hate myself for saying this. Usually I am all in favor of hot sex. And you know it would be hot.” She had a point. I wasn’t imagining our chemistry—it was intense.

“It would be scorching.”

“So better to just take a breather. You’ve had a lot going on. Take some time for yourself and figure out what you want.”

“That’s really good advice.”

“Thanks. I think I’m having an out of body experience. I think Cece is rubbing off on me with her whole responsible, sensible deal.” She seemed confused by her own reasonableness. “Anyway, do you know what you need?”

I had no clue. “What?” I replied.

“A girls’ night.”

I was not one for socializing. Work was a convenient excuse but I just wasn’t a social butterfly. Usually after an hour I wanted to be home with a book. I swear I wasn’t a bitch. At least most of the time.

Sure, I had been called a bitch more times than I could count in my life.

Some days I actually wore my bitch status as a badge of honor.

But mostly I was just quiet and more introspective than the average person.

I liked to think things through, roll them around in my brain before speaking.

I also hated having to talk to dumb people.

So that made it difficult to interact with a significant portion of the population.

Luckily, in my law firm ivory tower, I mostly interacted with other lawyers.

That’s not to say some of them weren’t total idiots—there were plenty of those—but it did make things a bit easier in my day-to-day life.

But outside the cutthroat halls of Burns & Glenn, people behaved pretty differently.

It was perfectly acceptable to be rude at the firm.

We were busy and no one had enough time.

If you let an elevator door close in someone’s face or took a phone call in the middle of a conversation, it was fine, because we were busy and we were the best. And being the best meant focusing on work above all else.

But I was learning more and more that the “real world” was very different than the legal world.

And I liked it. I liked that people said hello to each other.

I liked that people held open doors and took time to chat and help out.

I was amazed when Declan described how friends and neighbors had jumped in to lend a hand after his father had a heart attack.

And, as for me, everyone here had embraced me openly.

Nora had instantly befriended me and welcomed me into their circle.

Emily had become a trusted confidante. And Declan…

there were no words for what was happening there.

So I was determined to go out with my new friends, have a great time, and temporarily forget about all the weirdness with Declan.

Nora texted me ahead of time to “look hot.” I didn't know what that meant exactly, but I decided on a pair of the new jeans I got at her store and a green lacy camisole topped with a leather jacket.

I had never owned a leather jacket before.

It was not the sort of thing a Wentworth wore.

But when I saw this at Nora’s store, I had to have it.

It was buttery soft and a cognac-brown color.

I wanted it. I loved it. I wanted to be the woman who wore this jacket.

So I bought it. It was expensive, but it felt good.

It felt like another step forward in figuring out who the hell I was and what the hell I was doing with my life.

Liam was our designated driver for the night, so he picked me up in his SUV with Cece and Nora and dropped us off at the bar.

From the outside it looked like a dingy dive.

It had a giant neon sign of a whale holding a martini glass.

It was retro and kind of funny. Liam gave Cece a very enthusiastic kiss and promised to pick us back up whenever we wanted.

He looked a lot like Declan—tall, dark hair, and blue eyes—but his personality was completely different.

He was friendly and approachable and seemed to be head over heels in love with Cece. I felt a pang of jealousy.

As we entered, we were overwhelmed by the huge crowd.

It was loud and quite packed for a Thursday night.

I had never in my life gone to a bar during the week.

It seemed irresponsible. In college and law school I was too busy studying and obsessing about my grades.

The thought of being out late on a school night terrified my inner good girl.

And going out period was impossible at the firm.

I worked every night either at my desk or on my couch.

There were not many opportunities for weeknight cocktails.

Nora led us to a large banquet style table in the back corner where two ridiculously attractive men were canoodling and sipping trendy cocktails with a woman I recognized as Cece’s older sister, Maggie.

Nora shouted over the crowd, “Christian, Dante, meet my new friend, Astrid.”

They both smiled, and I was blinded by perfectly straight white teeth. Dante, the shorter of the two, jumped up. “Oh my God, I am so happy to finally meet you. You are the sneaky bitch who got that hottie Declan Quinn to settle down.”

He was Latino, in his early thirties, and wearing a very trendy tweed vest and several leather cuff bracelets. I liked his energy. “I would hardly call it settling down. We’re just dating.” I shrugged and took a seat as Cece scooted into the booth, air kissing both men.

“Wait, don’t sit down, I want to look at you.”

Dante appraised me head to toe. Normally this type of thing would make me uncomfortable, but he seemed kind. And if his skin, eyebrows, and clothes were any indication, he was probably in a position to give me some impeccable beauty tips.

“You. Are. Gorgeous!” He wrapped me into a huge hug. I was several inches taller than he was, so he was basically hugging my boobs. I gave him a halfhearted pat on the back. What was up with all the spontaneous hugging in this town?

“Christian, don’t you think so?”

Christian appeared to be in his late thirties and far more subdued than his husband. He looked up from his phone. “Oh yes. She’s a hottie. Love the jacket.”

“She got it at my store,” Nora piped in.

“It looks like it was custom made for you,” Christian remarked. “I’ve got a guy if you ever need another.” I nodded. Christian looked far too cosmopolitan for this small town. He seemed to be the type of person who “had a guy” for everything.

Dante, on the other hand, was positively manic. “Talk to me about your eyebrow strategy,” he asked, taking a long drag of a fancy looking martini.

I looked at Maggie and Cece who were chatting with Christian. “Um…I don’t have one.”

He patted my hand. “I can fix that. And what about this hair?” He grabbed at my hair, and I felt a bit defensive.

I scooted back. Truthfully, my hair was one of the last things on my mind most days. It was blonde and straight and hung a bit below my shoulders. Most days I had it up in a messy bun or a sleek ponytail for work. I never styled it, dyed it, or did anything fancy to it. It was just there.

“Don’t worry. I can make it savage. To match the rest of you.” He waved his hands around my body. “Fierce hair for a bad bitch.”

Nora and Cece were giggling as Dante grilled me and asked intrusive questions about my grooming routines. Under normal circumstances I would be offended, but he was so open and friendly, and clearly knew his shit, that I didn’t mind.

“Christian, sweetie, be a good big brother and go fetch us a round,” Nora pleaded.