Page 94 of Fireworks & Forehead Kisses

“Here, let me take Mr. Man while you eat.”

“Are you sure? You cooked.”

“Yes, I’m sure.” It was strange, but sometimes, when I cooked, the last thing I wanted to do was eat the food I’d just made.

Her shoulders sagged in relief. “Thanks.”

Skylar handed me my nephew, and I snuggled him close to me as I watched all the loved-up couples sitting around the table talking. Hank and my sister. His brother Billy and his wife Reagan, who had been a lawyer in New York before settling in Firefly Island. Jimmy and Isabella, and their little sister Cheyenne, who married Cash, Billy’s best friend. All of them had what I’d always wanted. They had their soulmate, lobster, once-in-a-lifetime, twin-flame, other half, ride-or-die, meant-to-be, in case of emergency, forever love.

The way the men looked at their partners was as if no other woman existed in the world. You could see that they would doanythingfor them. Their love was palpable; it was tangible. Maybe it wasn’t visible to the naked eye, but I could see it with my eyes, I could feel it in my heart, I could hear it in my heartbeat, and I could sense it in the air.

I wondered if I’d ever have that for myself—that intangible-tangible love.

My memory went back to Declan promising to be the Clyde to my Bonnie. I knew he’d only done it as a joke, a way to make the ceremony seem less clinical and more personal. The problem was that it felt too personal. Just like him buying me a new car had felt. Especially since he hadn’t bought me a new, new car, he got me a new used car.

I knew if he had his way, I would have the model that hadn’t even been released to the public yet. But he knew that I wouldn’t ever feel comfortable driving something that cost more than a house, more than most of the population made in a year. So, instead, he bought memydream car. And my dream car just so happened to be a used, new car.

Mason cooed up at me, and I snuggled my face into my nephew’s neck. I inhaled his new baby smell. There was nothing better. I couldn’t wait to become a mom. I felt like Luna had been my practice run. She confirmed for me that I wanted to have kids. Mason confirmed to me that I wanted kids sooner rather than later. Every time I held him, my ovaries ached.

It might sound crazy to some people, but I’d always been so sure that I’d be married and starting a family by my age. Technically, one of those things was happening, but not really. On the bright side, I had the career I’d always dreamed of having, and just like Luna had been a dry run, I did enjoy beinga wife, just like I always thought I would. Even in the limited capacity that I was.

Once this marriage was dissolved, I was seriously considering hiring a matchmaker. Clearly, I wasn’t having any luck on my own and needed professional help. And now I knew more than ever that I wanted to be married. I wanted to have a family and have my forever person. The Hank to my Skylar. The Jimmy to my Isabella. The Billy to my Reagan. The Cash to my Cheyenne.

The Clyde to my Bonnie, I repeated the vow that Declan had made to me in my head as my heart broke just a little bit more.

He would never be that to me. How could he? He didn’t believe in love, or at least not the kind of love that I did. And I didn’t believe in marriage without it. That was quite the crossroads to be at.

There was a knock at the door, and I stood cradling Mason in my arms. Everyone continued eating, not noticing the indication of guests arriving.

As I walked across the room, I leaned down and whispered to my nephew, “Let’s get the door. Do you wanna get the door?”

His only response was more cooing. I opened the door and lifted my head. When I did, my heart slammed against my chest. Stella, Dorothy, and Fred were on the porch, but they weren’t alone. My husband was with them. He was wearing a beige sweater and dark trousers with a long camel overcoat that looked like it was tailored to his body, which it probably was. He could have easily stepped right off the pages of GQ magazine or off a runway in Paris. His style and air were equal parts sexy, sophisticated, timeless, and trendy. I really didn’t understand how he pulled it off.

Without waiting for an invitation, he stepped into the house, kissing me on the forehead before leaning down and saying hi to Mason, who grabbed his finger. Seeing Mason’s tiny fingerswrapped around Declan’s thick forefinger made my already ticking biological clock explode.

As soon as he entered the house, the space felt different. Every room he occupied, he commanded attention by his mere presence. It was as unnerving as it was hot.

These past six weeks, I’d seen him over FaceTime, but there was something about him in person that was so much more formidable. His pheromone game was unmatched. All of the oxygen escaped my lungs. Our eyes met, and everyone else just disappeared. It transported me back to the first time I saw him in the bar. I forgot where I was, who I was, and that anything else even existed.

“Are we late?” Stella asked, her voice popping the bubble I’d been floating in.

“Oh, sorry. No, not at all. Come in, come in.”

I greeted Stella, Dorothy, and Fred, who all followed Declan inside and said hi to Mason. Once they all took off their coats and hung them up, I then ushered everyone to the dining room, where I did a full round of introductions.

Stella, Dorothy, and Fred all took seats at the opposite side of the table next to Billy, Jimmy, and Reagan. Declan pulled up a chair next to me. There hadn’t been a seat open, but he’d made one.

As we sat around the table, everyone was talking over everyone else. There had to be a minimum of four conversations going on at the same time. I was doing my level best to pay attention to at least one of them, but with Declan seated so close beside me, looking so good, smelling so good, it was really hard to concentrate on anything else.

He leaned over, pressing his hand to my lower back as he whispered against my ear, “Hello, wife. Sorry to just show up like this. I hope you like surprises.”

The heat of his breath warmed my neck as the raspiness of his voice sent a thrill down my spine. I looked up at him and wanted to speak but wasn’t sure I could over the arousal clogging my throat. Instead, I just grinned. Lucky for him, I loved surprises.

34

DECLAN

“You really don’t haveto do that,” Skylar insisted as she joined me in the kitchen, carrying Mason in her arms. About thirty minutes earlier, while everyone was enjoying dessert, she’d excused herself to feed the baby upstairs.

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