Page 22 of In this Moment

Declan nodded. “I did.” He looked to his youngest brother next. “And didn’t I help you with your romantic gesture with Milena?”

“Yes,” Cal agreed. “You were nothing but supportive.”

“Exactly.” He ran his hands through his hair, trying not to get angry. “Why can’t you guys do that for me? Why can’t you just unconditionally acceptthis?”

Declan didn’t wait for an answer. He stormed out of the front door, letting it slam behind him. It’s not that he had anywhere to go. He was staying at his brother’s house. But he needed the fresh air. At least for a few moments.

He walked to the edge of the drive and sat down on the big boulder that marked the house. Declan never lied. In fact, he couldn’t remember the last time he’d been dishonest, especially with his family. He hatedit.

It made his stomachsick.

He dropped his head into his hands and tried to slow his breathing. The ends would justify the means.

They hadto.

“Declan?”

He sat up at the sound of his mother’s voice. She’d sat quietly while his siblings had given him a hard time, but hadn’t said aword.

But he wasn’t surprised to see her. No doubt she had an opinion on things.

“Can Isit?”

He nodded and made room for her on the boulder.

“You stormed out of there pretty dramatically, Dec,” she said when she was settled. “You’re not usually the dramatic one. That’s more Cal’s department, don’t you think?”

That made him laugh, but only for a moment. “I was mad,” he said when the laughter died. “I stillam.”

“I don’t blameyou.”

That wasn’t what he’d expected her to say. His head whipped around so he could stare at his mom. “What?”

She nodded. “I mean it, Dec. I think if I were you, I’d be mad, too. Family should be supportive. No matter what your decisionis.”

“Exactly.”

“But I can appreciate how they might feel hurt, too. After all, you can imagine what a shock this is for them, right? I mean, marriage is a huge commitment, Declan. It’s not to be taken lightly or played aroundwith.”

He swallowed his guilt. “Iknow.”

“And you have to know that your brothers especially feel that way, too. So for you all of a sudden to be engaged when there was no mention of you and Evie even dating, it’s a little unusual, don’t you think?”

“Of course.” He couldn’t meet her eyes. “But don’t you think that’s why they should be even more supportive? I mean, they’re all in love. They understand how it feels when you just can’t wait to be with someone and you want to move quickly. At least they should.” He mumbled the last part under his breath.

She put her hand on his shoulder and squeezed. “They will. It’s just a shock. They’ll get over it and it’ll be fine. I think they’re just feeling a little bit left out because you didn’t include them in this the way they did withyou.”

Guilt stabbed at his stomach. If they were upset now, they were going to be really upset when they heard the truth. Declan pushed it from his mind. He’d deal with that when it was time. They would understand.

Hopefully.

“What about you?” It occurred to him that his mom hadn’t yet said anything about what she was feeling. Maybe that was a good thing and he shouldn’t rock the boat. But it was strange. He always had a very close relationship to his mother. For her not to say anything was unusual to say the least. “What do you think about all ofthis?”

She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, leaving a strange look on herface.

“I don’t know what to say, Declan,” she finally said. “All I’ve ever wanted is to see my boys happy and settled down with someone they love. A mother worries about her boys. Especially when they’ve lived through such a…well, such a defining moment in their own parents’ relationship. There’s always a concern that something like that will impact your children when it comes to relationships of their own.” Declan couldn’t remember his mother ever bringing up the situation before. After that night, they’d never really talked about it. She’d chosen instead to move forward.

“Of all the boys,” she continued, “I think I was the most concerned about you, Declan.”

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