Page 27 of The Complication
As soon as I realized Declan knew the guy, I tried to move away from him, but the hand Declan had on my shoulder tightened, keeping me pinned to him while he pivoted to face this stranger.
“I…um…wasn’t expecting to see you here,” Rome stammered.
“Same,” Declan replied in his usual hard and unyielding tone that drove me crazy each time he directed it at me. But since I wasn’t his current target, I kind of wanted to giggle.
Rome cleared his throat and took another step closer. “I was headed over to Sebastian’s. Byron texted me to pick up some special cheese for a thing he wants to make.”
And then, silence. Declan didn’t explain why we were there or even who I was? I could guess that the bigger concern for Rome, though, was the baby Declan was holding.
“Hey, I’m Parker Cain, a friend of Declan’s. This is my daughter, Joy.” I shifted against Declan so I could free my right arm from where it was wrapped around his waist and offer my hand to Rome.
In an instant, Rome lit up like a fucking firework. “A friend of Declan’s?No kidding! It’s so great to meet you. I had no idea Declan had friends outside of our circle.”
That was a weird comment.
I smiled tightly at this interloper, now realizing that maybe Declan had a good reason for not introducing me. “Oh, I’msure Declan has lots of friends. I happen to be one he doesn’t talk about much.”
Declan’s hand squeezed my shoulder. “He doesn’t mean to be insulting. Rome is just an idiot.”
A loud cackle erupted from the strange man. “He’s right. I’m an idiot. We’ve known each other since college, and Dec isn’t big on making friends, but I’m glad he has.” He didn’t pause for a breath when he turned his attention to Joy, who was watching all this with wide eyes. “This is your daughter? She’s freaking adorable. How old is she?”
“Six months.”
“No wonder she’s so tiny, but I bet she’s gonna be a powerhouse.” Rome reached out one finger to wiggle it at her without touching her. Joy squealed while Declan’s glare turned uncomfortably dark.
“You know, why don’t I put Joy in the cart? We’ll head on to the baby food aisle while you talk to your friend. Catch up with us later.” I broke free from Declan’s hold and snatched Joy away from him. “Rome, it was nice meeting you. I hope you find the cheese you’re searching for,” I called over my shoulder as I placed Joy in her carrier chair and zipped the cart straight for the produce section. I had no idea where the hell the baby supplies were in this store, but right now, all I wanted was to move out of firing range.
“Good meeting you, too, Parker. I’m sure I’ll see you around.”
After we were halfway through produce, I leaned in toward Joy and shook my head as I playfully said, “No, you won’t. There’s no way Declan is gonna let us near his rich friends. Uh-uh. No, he’s not.”
Rome looked like he had money. Even dressed casually in a polo shirt and shorts, what the man was wearing seemed to be worth at least a month of my usual salary. He was nice, though. Friendly. Definitely the nosy type. As soon as he was away from Declan, I had a feeling Rome would report to therest of their mutual friends that he’d seen Declan holding some strange guy and his baby in the grocery store.
“My apologies,” Declan stated on my left. I jumped. Joy and I had stopped at the end of the produce section, where I was attempting to figure out where the freaking baby stuff was located.
“No big deal. I hope I didn’t cause any problems for you.”
Declan grunted and shook his head. “No.”
“The…Sebastian he mentioned…is that…?”
“Yes, Sebastian Courtland, CEO of Courtland Enterprises. I’ve known him since high school. Rome attended the same university as us.”
“So, this Rome is going to report to Sebastian that he caught you with another guy and a baby, right?”
Declan made a noise, but this time it was in the affirmative.
“And you’re fine with your friends knowing that I’m yourfriend?” I pushed, putting extra emphasis on the last word.
Declan narrowed his gaze at me, looking as if he thought I’d lost my mind. “Of course. Who I choose to be with in my own time is my business. Not theirs.” He reached inside the cart, grabbed the handle on Joy’s carrier, and lifted it out of the cart so that he could hold her while I pushed the cart. “Do you have a list of things we need? I have no other plans today, so it’s fine if we need to make multiple stops prior to returning home.”
And like that, the matter was settled. I got the impression that Declan didn’t give Rome and the rest of his friends another thought as we collected the massive list of baby needs. We might have even stopped to grab some basic supplies for me so that I wasn’t relying on Declan’s toiletries. However, I didn’t miss the frown that grew on Declan’s face when he realized what I was doing. It was too much to hope that the grumpy man liked me using his shampoo and deodorant.
Despite the rocky start to the trip, Declan turned out to bea good shopping partner. He was happy to carry Joy and keep her entertained. Plus, it seemed as if he hadn’t been in a grocery store in a while, because he made multiple stops to inspect random things before tossing them into the cart. In the end, it was a fight to get him to allow me to pay.
I thought I’d won a battle with him…until we got to his house a few hours later.
10
