Page 66 of His to Protect

Chapter 14

Declan

Only seen you look at one woman like that before…this one deserves to be looked at like that.

Fuck. When David said that to me as I walked him out of the hotel room, those words had pierced my chest strong and true. He’d seen my relationship with Mara from the beginning. Aidan had, too. While Aidan had never said much about Mara when she was my girlfriend and then my fiancée and then my wife, David had quietly objected to our relationship from the start. When we got engaged, David made it completely clear that he thought it was a bad idea, that he didn’t think Mara was really willing to sacrifice everything she’d had to settle down with a guy whose dream was to own a bar, but then he shut his mouth, after I shut it for him—with my fist.

It wasn’t the first time we’d come to blows, but it had never happened over a woman before.

Fortunately, David never mentioned it again, and even stood up as a groomsman at my wedding. That one night, that one argument, hadn’t changed our friendship in the least.

When my marriage ended, and I was shaken by the fallout, David had been there for me as much as possible, and never threw my decision in my face. He never mentioned that he’d been right.

The fact that Trina gained his approval in such a minuscule amount of time made me even more confident in my decision to be with her than I already was.

The way her body felt in my hands that morning cemented that decision further. Her body was made for my hands to touch. She fit me perfectly.

Even when we were arguing.

My hands wrapped around the steering wheel of her new SUV. I smirked.Betsy.

I shook my head and looked around the interior.

Gray Ford Explorer. Boring. Safe enough. She had called the rust stains over the rear tire well and back bumper “character.”

I wanted her to get the Tahoe. Bigger. Safer. Cleaner.

She’d smiled at me, even while looking like she wanted to stomp her foot on the pavement.

I eventually yielded because a quick Internet search on my phone proved there were more Explorers on the road, and her goal was to blend in as much as possible. She didn’t want flashy, and no way would Morgenson expect his wife to be driving around in a rust-speckled Ford.

I yielded because I was quickly learning that when Trina smiled it made me want to give her whatever I could, so that I’d keep seeing those smiles shot in my direction.

I yielded because I knew, without her even saying it, that she hadn’t gotten to make a lot of decisions over the last few years, and what in the fuck did I care what kind of car she drove? When it broke down, which this piece of metal was certain to do, frequently, it meant she would be in my house or my garage while I worked on fixing it back up.

I was learning that I not only wanted to see her smile and to hear those laughs of hers that hit me in the gut every time she let one loose, I wanted her close.

All the time.

Now she was thinking of not leaving for Canada.

Worked for me.

“I’ve been thinking,” I said, and reached for the volume knob to turn down the shrieking noise. She’d been quietly humming along with the radio for the last…too damn long.

“Sounds like it might have hurt you.”

I flashed her a grin. She was teasing me more often, becoming more comfortable around me. The fact she was teasing anyone at all told me she was shedding her fear—one laugh, one sarcastic comment at a time. It fucking thrilled me that I was the one bringing it out of her.

“Shush.” I reached over, placed my hand on her knee, and gave her a firm squeeze. She covered my hand with hers and laced our fingers together. “I’m thinking that you shouldn’t work whenever I need you at Fireside anymore.”

When I glanced at her again, taking my eyes off the road for only a few seconds, a line furrowed her brow.

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“You had some great ideas with the marketing and promo, shit I don’t know anything about, plus you’ve saved me hours by working in the office. I want to bring you on part-time. You can fill in on the floor when we need extra hands, but when we don’t, you can figure out how to save my restaurant.”

“That’s a lot of responsibility,” she said, her voice a bit softer than normal. When I glanced at her again, though, I didn’t see fear. I saw hope. She was already thinking of ways to prove herself.

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