Page 12 of Ciaran

“No need,” she says a little too quickly. “I have some errands to run. I’ll see you the day after tomorrow.”

Without another word, and leaving me standing there, she hurries down the street and disappears around the first corner she comes to.

What. The. Actual. Fuck?

My radar is firing like goddamn shooting stars through the night sky. Something is seriously off, but if I ask her outright, I won’t get an answer—at least not a truthful one. Millie isn’t the girl I’d known at high school.

It doesn’t matter, though. I still fucking want her.

I drop a text to Declan, letting him know Millie accepted the job, and take a circuitous route back to the hotel, using the time to think. When I arrive, I poke my head into the main lounge area. Declan isn’t there. He often spends his evenings mingling with the guests—if he isn’t visiting one of his other properties that is. Not tonight, though.

After switching direction, I punch in the code on the keypad next to the door to our living quarters, and jog downstairs. Declan isn’t here. Nor is Callum. Shrugging out of my jacket I hang it in the closet, then grab a bottle of water from the fridge and flop onto the couch.

I blow out a heavy sigh and rub at my forehead while considering the best way to handle Millie. Her behavior tonight was so erratic. One minute, she was warm and friendly, the next paralyzed, like a deer caught in the headlights of an eighteen-wheeler thundering down the road. She deflected the simplest of questions and gave only sketchy details about her life in Chicago. When she’d asked me what she should eat, I almost choked on my drink. She covered her error well, though, and perhaps there’d been an inkling of truth in her comment about asking for a recommendation. Except I can spot bullshit a mile off.

There’s a hell of a lot more to her breakup with Tanner than she seemed willing to share. Still, I’m a patient man. I’ll wait, bide my time, and befriend her again, because from what I witnessed tonight, a friend is exactly what she needs.

The door to Declan’s bedroom opens, and my eldest brother strolls out with his girlfriend Indie in tow. She’s still fastening the buttons on her shirt as her gaze collides with mine, and her cheeks bloom with color. Amused, I take pity on her and look away, giving her time to get herself together. Good thing Callum isn’t here. He’d have made some inappropriate quip with the sole purpose of embarrassing her further. He still doesn’t like Indie, blaming her for what her brother did to Declan. My twin sure can hold a grudge.

“When did you get back?” Declan asks while casting a side-eye at Indie.

“Just now,” I say. “I take it you haven’t seen my text?”

Declan shakes his head. “I’ve been… busy.” He gives a goofy grin while Indie mutters something about helping Isa, our resident bartender, before jogging upstairs to the hotel.

“Sorry,” I say as soon as Indie is out of earshot. “If I’d known, I’d have had a drink in the bar before coming down.”

“No need. We all live here, and we’re all red-blooded males. Wait until you fall in love and want to move a girl in.” He theatrically clamps his hands over his ears. “We’ll need earplugs.”

An image pops into my mind of Millie lying in my bed, writhing beneath me. My groin twinges, and a burning sensation flames inside my chest. As if we’re ever going to happen.

“Yeah, yeah.”

Declan sits on the chair adjacent to the couch. “What did the text say?”

I drag my mind away from the arousing image of Millie in my bed. “Millie said yes. I told her she can start day after tomorrow.”

“Perfect. One more thing off my to-do list.”

“Just so you know, I haven’t told Callum yet.”

My twin chooses that moment to appear, with his arm slung over Laurella’s shoulders. “Haven’t told Callum what?”

I swallow a groan as he grabs a beer from the fridge and a juice for Laurella. “I’ve found Tanya’s replacement.”

Twisting the bottle top, he flicks it into the trash. “And? What’s that got to do with me?”

I take a breath. I could write the script for how he’ll receive this news, and, under normal circumstances, I’d give up what I want in an effort to keep the peace. But Millie needs a job—she needs it badly if her gushing relief was any indication—and Declan needs a front desk clerk. That’s all this is. Me helping out an old friend and solving my brother’s staffing issues at the same time.

“Nothing, per se.”

Callum latches on to the uneasiness in my tone because his eyes narrow. “Spit it out, Ciaran.”

I pin him with a stare that I use at work with a particularly belligerent arrestee. “I’ve given the job to Emilia Frayser.”

For a split second, Callum’s forehead wrinkles in confusion, then he catches up, and his jaw flexes. “As in the girl we went to school with?”

I nod. Laurella’s gaze volleys from Callum to me then back to Callum again; two deep lines scored between her eyebrows.

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