Page 18 of Desired

“Do you think she’d tell you everything if you meant shit to her, Declan? And do you think that you’d stick around to listen, if you’d already gotten what you wanted out of her?”

I lick my lips and hang my head.

“It’s time you left that heartless wench alone, Declan. Settle the past, son. Move on to someone you know is more concerned about hurting you than taking your money.” He pauses for emphasis. “And, for the record, it sounds like she’s already ready to give you her heart, lad. You just have to ask yourself if you’re ready to take it, and give her yours, too.”

“It’s not that easy, da.”

“It never is, Declan. But anything worth having is worth fighting for, and as sure as the nose on my face, I think that deep down, you think that she is.”

“And if her trouble ends up on my doorstep?”

“Did trouble not end up on Maverick’s doorstep on account of Trudy, son? And what about Caleb and Laney, Ethan and Freya? My boy, I could sit here for days reminding you of all the problems we’ve encountered over the years, and it’ll never end, either, son. Not as long as we’ve got money. Not as long as the media has us under the microscope.” He changes the subject. “Did you see that they caught you and Moira on camera?”

My gaze whips up to his. “What the fuck? Who? When? Where?”

“You and she went to the shooting yesterday, didn’t you?”

I lower my head into my hands, grasping my hair. “Fuuuuuck!” I growl.

“Oh, relax, Declan. He got your brother, too, and everyone else, for that matter. Hell, he even caught a glimpse of the goddamn body. He was clearly hungry for a story, and he sure as hell got one.”

“Well, he’s going to be hungry for my fucking fist if I ever get a hold of him.”

“Get used to it, Declan. Ever since Caleb and Laney got married, you boys are all the talk of the town. See, it doesn’t matter that Moira’s da is in jail in Scotland, son. We are the talk of the town, hell, of the state.”

“That can’t be good for her, either, da. I mean, what if her da finds her that way? What if he sees her on the internet?”

He waves. “Don’t be a fool, Declan. He’s in jail, on the other side of the world, and there’s got to be thousands of MacTavish’s all over the place. She’s a smart girl and stays clear of the internet and off social media.”

“She’s got a large family, da. All her brothers are greedy for her money, too.”

“Declan, she’s been in the states for many years, and they haven’t found her, or they don’t care to anymore. I think you’re wasting your time worrying about this.”

I sit there, thinking it over. “I suppose you’re right. I paid security at her apartment to let me in. If they found her, they wouldn’t have any issues getting inside.”

“Exactly, son. If any of them were after her, they would have found her by now.”

“So, what do I do, da? She thinks she’ll fuck up my life.”

“I think you’re about to fuck up your own life by believing her, my boy. All you need to do is bury the past and stop giving her reasons to stay away.”

“But I don’t know how to do that, da.”

“I think you do, Declan. I think you’ve already done it. You just don’t realize it.”

“What do you mean?”

He tilts his head, eyes set, voice low. “How long has it been since you and I have talked about a lass that you had eyes for, huh?”

I hesitate for a moment, as I find just saying her name painful. “Since Krystal.”

“And you don’t have to worry about Moira taking your money, right?”

I shake my head no. “I don’t think, even if she were dirt poor, that she’d come after me for it. She lives quite modestly, da, and it’s her taste. Moira prefers to live life simply.”

He reaches out to me and punches me playfully in the shoulder. “She may surprise you, son. She might be one of those lasses that likes to spoil her man.” He grunts, lifting off the somewhat tattered bench. “Perhaps she can start with getting you a new one of these, so your old da doesn’t have to bust his ass sitting on this thing.”

“I do that so guests won’t stay too long.”

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