Page 78 of Fireworks & Forehead Kisses

That statement kept playing over and over in my head.

I watched as Declan got out of the SUV and walked around to the passenger side door, opened it, then held his hand out. My knees were wobbling as I stood and placed my hand in his large palm. He helped me stand, then put his hand on my lower back and guided me to the front door.

Each step we took increased the speed of my pulse. There might be some confusion surrounding what the man I justmarried represented in my life, but one thing was certain: it was undeniable. We had chemistry. There was an intangible palpability between us that was terrifying and exciting. It was something I wanted to explore further and was also worried that if we did, I might not survive.

He unlocked the door and held it open. I walked inside in front of him. There was a small kitchen to the right and a bathroom to the left. I continued down the hallway, and it opened to a living area with a brick fireplace in the center of the back wall and floor-to-ceiling glass doors on either side with a view overlooking the ocean. To the right, there was a bedroom with a king-sized bed complete with rose petals in the shape of a heart, a bottle of champagne, a Jacuzzi, and candles lit around the room. It was the classic honeymoon suite night.

“Wow, this is…you didn’t have to do this?” I shook my head in disbelief.

“Yes, I did.”

It was the same response he’d given about the ring and the ceremony.

“No, you really didn’t.” I was feeling very overwhelmed. This wasn’t real, and the more he did that made it feel real, the more difficult it was going to be for me to remember that it wasn’t.

“No matter what else this is or isn’t, it’s still your wedding night.”

“I know, but this isn’t…I mean…we’re not really married.” As I said the words, I twisted themassivediamond ring sitting on my finger.

“Yes, we are.” He lifted his hand to my face and tilted my chin up so my eyes met his. “We are married.”

The intensity of his stare caused my breath to catch in my throat. It was the same way he’d looked at me at the altar when he’d slid the ring on my finger.

I licked my lips nervously. “You know what I mean.”

“I wanted you to have this, but I don’t have to stay.” His hand dropped back to his side, and I missed his touch. “If you want to be alone.”

“It’s your wedding night, too.” I didn’t want to be alone, but Iwasnervous. I glanced at the floor and saw an overnight bag. “What’s that?”

“I packed some things for you.”

“For me.” I bent down and unzipped it and saw that it was filled with anything and everything a woman could possibly need. It had high-end toiletries, silk pajamas, a robe, and slippers. It looked like a swag bag from a luxury resort, which it could be since he owned several resorts. There were also clothes from the athleisure line that had just launched. And he’d even packed shoes from my house.

“Where did you get?—”

“I asked Hank to let me in to get them.”

Wow, he must have made a good impression on Hank because Hank was very protective of his family, and I was, by default, Hank’s family.

I looked up at him. “Hank let you into my house?”

His chin dipped in a nod. “I think he was impressed with the work I did on Suzie Q.”

“Oh, that’s right.”

I’d totally forgotten that Declan had fixed Suzie Q up. Wow. Me sending him the text saying that he could take the repairs out of my paycheck and him saying reimbursement would not be necessary felt like a lifetime ago.

“He brought it up several times today. Apparently, your tires had been bothering him for a while, but your sister wouldn’t let him do anything about it because, and I quote, ‘You Thompson girls are frustratingly independent.’”

That must have been how he’d won Hank over so quickly. Jimmy was friends with everyone, but Hank was not. Hankgetting won over so easily by Declan made so much more sense now. He wasn’t. He’d been won over months ago when he’d fixed my car.

“Are we?”

“That seems to be the general consensus.”

He smiled, and I nearly jumped on him and threw him to the bed. That smile was lethal. It stole all the breath from my lungs. I tried to breathe, but this dress was not letting me do that. I suddenly felt very constricted and very overdressed.

I bent down and grabbed the bag, then turned so my back was facing him. “I’m going to change. Can you unzip me?”

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