Page 37 of Broken Promises

“I thought you got mac and cheese duty.” I sit on the edge of the bed and tie my sneakers, trying to ignore the pull of my bed and my woman. I’d stay wrapped up in them all day if I could.

“I did. I never found any by the way. But Cal definitely has a back-up. He knows I burn empty pans.”

“I’m excited to finally meet them in person.”

Willa smiles, but it doesn’t reach her eyes. She gets out of bed and quickly dresses in jeans and a cream sweater.

Dammit. I wish I had turned the lights on so I could watch her dress. I couldn’t even tell what she was wearing until she got closer to me. That’s what I get for getting the expensive blackout curtains.

“I already packed my clothes. What’s your bed like? We can take mine. I can have someone move it this weekend.”

I turn to find her staring up at me with a strange expression on her face.

“What? I like my mattress, but I’m sure yours is fine too.”

She bites her lip, which would be sexy if her eyes weren’t starting to look a little panicked.

“I’m going to have a shitty practice if you don’t tell me what that’s all about,” I say, making a circle around her face with my hand.

She sighs and takes my hand, pulling me into the living room.

I have a feeling I’m not going to like this.

NINETEEN

willa

“We’re moving in togethertoday, right?” Declan asks. “We talked about it, and I thought we agreed.”

I bite the inside of my lip as I look into his playful green eyes. “I have something to confess.”

His eyes narrow. “You better not have a secret boyfriend living in your house. You promised Jo was a girl.”

I throw my head back and laugh. “Zero boyfriends, secret or otherwise. Jo is definitely a girl.” Jo and I haven’t spoken much since she confronted me in my hotel room a few weeks ago. The three of us living together might get awkward.

He reaches over and grabs my hand, intertwining our fingers. “What is it, Princess? You know you can tell me anything.”

I look at his sincere face and really hope I’m not about to hurt his feelings. “They don’t know about you,” I confess.

His forehead crinkles with his confusion. “You didn’t tell them we’re married?”

“I haven’t told them anything, Dec. They don’t know you exist at all. Well, they might know of you because of hockey, but they don’t know that we’re friends.”

Declan pulls back like I just slapped him. The hurt on his face is unmistakable. “What the fuck, Willa?” he shouts beforestanding and pacing in front of me. “Are you that embarrassed by me? I know I haven’t exactly been an angel, but I never guessed I was so horrible you had to hide me.”

“It’s not like that!” I swear, the burn of tears starting to sting my eyes.

“What is it like? Because it fucking hurts,” he says, anger flashing in his eyes.

“I didn’t want to share you! If they knew about you, if they met you, then you would be theirs too. You were the only thing I’ve been selfish with. I share my friends, I share Belle with Kai, I even share my damn house.”

Declan stays quiet and just watches me, his face impassive.

I jump up from my seat and grab his hand. He pulls it back immediately, causing the first tear to fall. “I just wanted to keep you,” I whisper. “You’ve always been the one thing that was only mine. I just wanted you to stay mine for as long as I could.”

Declan’s face softens, but the hurt is still in his eyes. He closes the distance between us, cupping my face in his large hands. The rough pads of his thumbs brush against my skin as he wipes away my tears. “I’ve always been only yours, Willa. I probably always will be.” He brushes a soft kiss on my temple before leaving and slamming the door behind him.

“What’s going on with you?”

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