Page 75 of Broken Promises

THIRTY-FIVE

willa

My eyes flybetween the blonde bombshell in the tightest red dress I’ve ever seen sitting on the black leather couch in front of us, and my suddenly furious husband. His hand grips mine so tight that it verges on painful, but I don’t try to pull away. Declan is never angry, not like this.

And suddenly I know who this is.

“Don’t pretend you’re not happy to see me, Decky. I paid a lot of money to see you tonight.”

“How did you know I would be here? This is a meet and greet for my wife and her band. Not me. Do I need a restraining order?” I can feel the tension in Declan’s body. He’s on the edge of snapping.

“We’re in Boston, and you don’t have a game until tomorrow. It wasn’t that hard,” she says, standing and trying to saunter towards him, but I quickly step in front of her. She sneers down at me from her towering heels just as Declan tries to pull me back.

“Bethany I assume?” She doesn’t answer me, just continues to glare at me like she can make me disappear with her hateful thoughts. “I’m Willa. Declan’s wife.”

“Yeah, I heard all about your façade of a marriage,” she says to Declan. “Don’t worry, Daddy can get it annulled so we can be together.”

Belle grabs my arm and holds tight, probably knowing I’m about to launch myself at her. Harlow takes her lead and grabs the other one while Declan wraps an arm around my waist.

“She’s not worth it, Princess,” Declan says, pulling me against his chest. I instantly relax against him.

“Not worth it?” Bethany screeches, her face turning as red as a tomato.

“Nope,” Declan says. “One drunken night with you could’ve cost me everything and it wasn’t even memorable.”

“Uh, do I need to call security?” Jon asks because he’s terrible at reading the room.

“Yes,” I tell him without looking away from Bethany.

“What makes her so fucking special? Mediocre band whores are your thing?”

I watch Kai grab Belle before she can throw herself at Bethany. Cal has a solid grip on Harlow too. If the moment wasn’t so tense, I would be happy to have friends like them.

Declan holds me even tighter and takes a deep breath, trying to calm himself. I wrap my arms around his that are still around my waist and thread our fingers together. He squeezes them before speaking.

“Willa is and always has been everything to me. She’s always been the most important person in my life, and she will be until the day I die. I don’t have to justify my relationship to anyone, especially you. But since it seems you don’t understand, I’ll put this as simply as I can.” Declan turns me in his arms so I’m facing him. He looks at me as he speaks his next words. “Willa is the love of my life. I married her because I love her and want to spend the rest of my life showing her how much. She is my forever.” He looks up at Bethany as security sweeps in to removeher. “There is no ending where you and I are ever anything to each other.”

Bethany screams and fights as security removes her from the room. She shouts about her dad killing our careers, but I barely notice her.

“I know she forced our hand and made us get married faster than we would have naturally,” Declan says as he lifts his hands to cradle my cheek. “We’re inevitable, Princess. We would’ve always ended up here.”

I wrap my arms around his neck and pull myself up his body so I can be face to face with him. “I love you.” He kisses me like no one is watching.

“She’s the reason I didn’t get to be your maid of honor?” Belle asks. I break the kiss to look at her, thinking she’s going to be upset I didn’t tell her, but instead she’s looking out the empty doorway like she’s considering following Bethany out.

I nod, choosing not to explain everything.

Because what Declan said was right. We are inevitable. This love I feel for him isn’t new. It’s not a new sensation in my chest or a foreign feeling I got when I looked at him. It was always there, waiting for me to acknowledge it. The reason we got married no longer matters and it would just hurt feelings. The reason we’re married now and will hopefully stay that way is what matters.

“Damn,” Cal says, scratching his jaw and looking awkward. “Not your best decision there, Dec.”

“You had a baby with a stranger, Callahan. You don’t get to comment,” Harlow says, putting him in his place. I laugh because she has a point.

Declan laughs and claps Cal on the shoulder with me still in his arms. “You’re not wrong, man.”

“Alright, she’s gone,” Jon says. “I called Jo to give her a heads up. She’s getting in touch with the PR team to make them awarein case Bethany goes to the press. But you should probably call your PR team, Declan. Get them on it from your end too.”

“Thanks. I’ll call them,” Declan says to him.

---