Page 51 of Wicked Devotions

He pulls me tighter against his chest as he laughs. “I can’t say that surprises me.”

A shiver rolls through me as the cold ocean water climbs higher up my legs. He stands and helps me off of the rock.

“It’s getting cold out here, let’s go to bed.”

I lead him through the dark house up to my bedroom. No light filters from beneath Declan’s door, so I assume he’s sleeping. Banks puts his pajama pants on while I get ready for bed in the bathroom. He pulls the covers back for me, and I get in beside him. It doesn’t take long forus to find a comfortable position and fall asleep.

At one point in the night, I wake up with the feeling of being watched, but when I look around the room, no one is there. It’s an uncomfortable enough sensation that I snuggle closer to Banks, seeking security and safety in his presence even though I want to go see if maybe it was just Declan. It takes me an hour to fall back into a fitful sleep.

I still can’t shakethe feeling of being watched the following morning, but when I go to look for Declan, he’s nowhere to be found. I find Cillian in the kitchen making coffee. He’s barefoot and wearing athletic shorts and a t-shirt. It’s jarring to see him so casually dressed when I’m used to seeing him in suits or the occasional golf attire.

“Good morning,” he tells me as he turns with a steaming mug in his hand.

“Morning.” I walk to the fridge and grab one of the green juices my mom keeps on hand. “Where’s Declan?”

He glances at the clock. “Mass.”

My eyes widen. “He goes to church?”

“Yes, nearly every Sunday. Even at Trinity, I believe.”

“I didn’t know he was religious.”

“I wouldn’t say that he is. He goes more for comfort, I think. His mom was a devout Catholic.”

I can’t think of anything less comforting than walking back into my father’s church. The man who replaced him is just as vile. Mom and I used to actively avoid him whenever he came to our house to meet with Dad. He always stared and made us uncomfortable. Not to mention his ideas on gender roles was archaic, even by the standards of our very conservative church. If we weren’t doing something domestic when he was around, he’d follow us with his eyes, sneering at our supposed dereliction of duties.

“Was he close to his mom?” I ask to free myself of my thoughts.

“Yes. They were two sides of the same coin. She loved taking him along on her adventures.” He looks melancholic as he takes a sip of coffee. “I’d better get to work. Your mom will be down soon.” He pats my arm as he passes by me, and I surprise myself by not flinching.

About ten minutes later my mom joins me out on the patio. She has a tray of pastries, a cup ofcoffee, and her own bottle of green juice. I grab a cherry and cream cheese danish and take a bite.

“Do you want to do any shopping before you go home today?” she asks.

“I don’t need anything.”

“Okay.” She takes a bite of her croissant. “Cillian said you’ve gotten a job working at the stables where Annie is being boarded.”

“Yes. I feel like it’s important to have my own savings in case something goes wrong.”

“That’s smart. I wish I had thought of that.”

“Then you wouldn’t have had to marry Cillian.” I don’t mean the statement as if there was something wrong with what she did.

“I think it might have happened regardless of how I met him.” She smiles wistfully. “We actually make a good team.”

“I’m glad to hear that. You deserve it after everything.”

“So do you.” She reaches over and grabs my hand. “You deserve to be happy.”

“I know.” I give her a reassuring smile.

“I hope so.” She looks off into the distance for a few moments. “I was worried about sending you to Trinity. I tried to convince Cillian to let you go withBanks. He’s the only person I’ve never worried would hurt you.”

“He would never.”

“Exactly. I’m not sure I could say the same for Declan.”

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