Page 84 of The Havenport Collection

Declan

A strid was nothing like I had ever experienced in my life. She was a supernova.

I couldn’t even remember what life was like before her because she made everything so much better.

She was insatiable. For everything. Food, sex, conversation.

She wanted to go for walks and listen to music and talk about literature.

She had this beautiful, childlike enthusiasm for the simple things.

And the simple things were so much more enjoyable with her.

She spent her time going to Krav Maga classes and hanging out with her girlfriends and was evolving right in front of my eyes.

Her face had filled out and was no longer gaunt.

Her body wasn’t skinny; she was lean and strong.

Everything about her was different, and I loved watching her transform into a better version of herself in front of my eyes.

Sometimes we talked, really talked, about our families and our lives and our choices. We talked about anything and everything. Childhood memories, dreams for the future. And sometimes we just enjoyed the silence together.

She asked me about my ideas and pushed me to talk to my father and make my case for the future of the business. She even pushed me to be more social, accepting invites from my brothers and her friends to hang out.

Liam and Cece had even come over one night for pizza and beer. I was not the dinner party hosting sort, but I could tell it meant a lot to Astrid, and we ended up having a great time.

I couldn’t help but think ahead. And I was never that guy. But I thought about the future and I could see her in it. I didn’t want a future without her.

She had shown me what a relationship could be. What true companionship and affection were. I felt like I had won the lottery. Like I should go out and tell everyone how awesome it is to have an incredible goddess for a girlfriend.

I didn’t even care that this was supposed to be fake. It was real now, and that’s all that mattered.

She owned me, body, mind, and soul, and there was nothing I wouldn’t do for her.

As the days became weeks and the weeks became a month, she talked less and less about her career and her law firm. I knew she loved being a lawyer, but it was clear she had discovered a lot of other things she liked to do too.

She insisted on learning everything she could about the fishing business and had offered to help us review contracts for the beer distribution company as well.

“I brought Astrid along so she could take a look at these contracts,” I said, walking into the brewery with my two favorite girls.

My brothers and I were up to our eyeballs in planning for the launch of our distribution company.

Turns out shipping and delivering beer was a lot more complicated than I had imagined.

“Thank God!” Callum exclaimed. “Our guy isn’t returning our calls, and we need to start making decisions.” He handed Astrid a stack of papers, and my eyes bulged out of my head. We couldn’t ask her to read that entire pile.

Before I could object, she grabbed the stack like it was nothing and began to flip through the pages. Her eyes focused, and she had the sexiest look of determination on her face.

After a few minutes, she looked up. “These are shit. Who is your lawyer?”

Callum seemed taken aback by her bluntness. “A guy I’ve worked with a few times from Boston.”

“Fire him,” she said coolly.

“That’s easier said than done. It’s hard to find a good lawyer who is affordable and has the bandwidth to take us on.”

“I agree with you. But this is rife with errors,” she said, scrolling through a few pages, “and is missing some key provisions to protect you guys on the back end. It looks like someone googled ‘contract’ and printed the first thing they saw.”

She gestured to me. “Declan, hand me my purse.”

I passed her enormous purse over to her and she pulled out a notebook, highlighter, and some pens. She spread out on the top of the bar and got to work, crossing things out and jotting down notes.

“I’ll have the master services agreement and the amendments worked out for you in an hour or so.

We can talk through some of the provisions, and you may want to move some things around.

” She took a hair band off her wrist and twisted up her hair, exposing her gorgeous long neck, and I was overcome with lust.

My brothers both looked at me, impressed and a little bit scared.

I shrugged. What could I say? My girl was brilliant and didn’t suffer any bullshit.

I felt a frisson of pride in my chest. This dynamic, savvy woman was with me.

She was my girlfriend. I mean, technically fake girlfriend, but things had not been fake in the bedroom.

To think that she would be with someone like me filled me with a deep sense of satisfaction.

“Liam, how about you grab us some beers while my lady works her magic.”

“That was fun,” Astrid said as we let ourselves back into my house. “You hang out with them every Tuesday night?”

I nodded. “It used to just be us three brothers, but the group has expanded a lot recently. They are a lot to take.”

“Nah. I liked it,” Astrid said. “I like getting to know your family. It helps me make sense of you.”

We walked in, and Ginger lifted her head up off her dog bed. “Hi, Ginger,” I said. She plopped back down, the dog equivalent of an eye roll.

“I actually think she might be a cat,” Astrid whispered. I laughed.

I wrapped my arms around her and took a deep breath, breathing in her delicious scent.

“Hey,” I said, cupping her face, “I don’t want you to think I’m dating you for free legal advice.”

“Awww. My legal advice is just one of the perks.” She gave me a peck on the cheek.

“But not the best one.” I squeezed her ass hard and she yelped.

“Seriously,” I continued, “you are so sexy when you are in smart lawyer mode.”

“You are lying. There is nothing sexy about me nerding out over a contract.”

“Nope, super sexy.” I pulled her in close and started kissing her neck.

“I’ve been thinking,” she started, as I made my way down to her collarbone. “I think I may call Lucas Kim.”

I paused, waiting for her to continue. “I have been thinking more and more about his idea for the Women’s Shelter and I think I could probably help him out.”

I exhaled. Did this mean she was thinking about staying? With me? Or in Havenport? I didn’t want to get my hopes up.

“I think that’s a great idea,” I murmured into her hair. Could Astrid really stay here? With me? I had been bracing myself for her to go back to Boston. But what if she stayed?

She sighed and arched into me. I was addicted to touching her, and this light petting wasn’t enough for me. She began to rub her ass up against me, and I felt my vision get blurry. Her need was as great as my own, and it made my heart soar.

I grabbed her by the waist and threw her over my shoulder.

“Declan, what are you doing?”

I smacked her once on the ass, hard. “I’m taking you to bed, beautiful, where I’m going to ravage you.”

There was a pause, and I could hear her heavy breathing. “Then please proceed,” she replied enthusiastically. I spanked her again for good measure and headed to my room.

I wanted her naked. All day every day. And I also wanted to talk to her.

Because she was smart, insightful, and passionate despite the frosty exterior.

We had fun together. And she brought out a side of me that was rarely seen.

With her I was goofy and sweet and playful.

All adjectives no one would ever use to describe me under pain of death.

I wasn’t a people person. But I was an Astrid person.

She was meant for me. That was all there was to it.

I never saw myself as the settling down type.

I never believed that there was someone out there who would be compatible with me.

But I was wrong. She was here—in my life and in my bed—and I was going to fight like hell to keep her.