Page 37 of Declan

But I stay back.

Declan hasn’t said a word. Hasn’t moved. But he’s watching me like I’m the only thing in the room, like I’ve cracked him wide open just by standing here.

His gaze moves over me, slow and deliberate.

It makes my skin burn.

Then he leans in, just enough that no one else notices. His voice is low, rough, intimate.

“Call an Uber. Have it take you to my place.”

And just like that, he walks away.

No glance back. No hesitation.

He just leaves.

I stand there, stunned, heart hammering in my chest. He didn’t ask. Didn’t beg. Didn’t try to convince me.

He just told me.

And I hate that it works.

Hate that I’m curious enough to pull my phone out with trembling fingers and order the ride.

Before I go, I find Wesley, tugging on his arm gently until he turns to me.

“I’m gonna head home,” I say, careful to keep my voice even. “Don’t worry, I called an Uber. Can you make sure Jeanne gets one too?”

He smiles, pulling me into a hug, warm and solid. “Don’t worry, Lee Lee. I’ll make sure she’s taken care of. Thanks for coming tonight. Let’s do dinner tomorrow, okay?”

“Sounds good.”

And with that, I’m walking away, heels clicking against the floor, heart thudding so loudly it’s all I can hear.

I have no idea what I’m walking into.

But I know exactly who I’m walking toward.

Chapter 12

Declan

I’m pacing the floor in my living room, wearing a groove into the hardwood beneath my boots.

I told Lena to leave the club and meet me here.

What the hell was I thinking?

I’ve lost my fucking mind.

But even now, with my hands clenched into fists at my sides and my pulse pounding like a war drum, I can’t bring myself to regret it.

Because the second I saw her in that club tonight, it was over for me.

I tried to keep my distance. Sat back at the bar, surrounded by my brothers, a drink in my hand and a hundred distractionsto pull me away from her. But none of it worked. Not a single fucking thing. Because she was there.

Moving like she didn’t know she was the most captivating thing in the room. Laughing like the world hadn’t broken her heart a hundred times over. Eyes scanning the crowd and somehow always finding mine.

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