Page 20 of Maid For Each Other

His parents went in, but Declan stopped just short, taking me by the hand and pulling me over to the other side of the hallway.

“So before we go in,” he said, his eyes sweeping over my face.Damn, but the man smells good.Woodsy. His deep voice was low and quiet, like he was sharing a secret, when he lowered his head and said just beside my ear, “No more bullshit, okay?”

I couldn’t speak because his mouth was just too close to my neck.

And my ear.

“Now I know you don’t know anybody here,” he continued, assuming I’d agreed, “so I’ll stay by your side the whole time. Just let me lead the conversations, for the love of God, and this should be pretty easy for us to pull off. Okay?”

I nodded, still unable to speak as this ridiculously attractive stranger made me…unsettled.

While still holding my hand.

“Do you have any questions?” he asked, those seemingly all-seeing eyes trying to pierce my thoughts.

“What’s your middle name?” I asked.

His eyebrows screwed together. “That’s your question?”

I shrugged, needing to saysomethingto remind my hormones that he was six and a half feet of jerk. “I might need to know.”

“You won’t.” He stepped back, looked at his watch, and said, “Are we ready?”

“As soon as you tell me your middle name.”

His fingers tightened around mine, and as he pulled me with him into the cocktail party, he muttered, “Connor.”

We entered the dark, elegant room, only it felt different now;wefelt different. He was still holding my hand, but there was more of an intimacy to us, somehow. Maybe he was a step closer to me than before, or maybe his fingers were holding mine a little more tightly.

I wasn’t sure exactly what the “thing” was, but it felt like a switch had been flipped and he was now intentionally projecting our fake relationship.

The instant we walked in the room, we were noticed by everyone. I knew from googling that he came from a rich family and had an important title at Hathaway,Vice President of Something, but it felt like every eye in the room was on us.

And he didn’t wait or blend in like I would have, settling into the social situation before engaging. No, Declan moved like he was used to being treated this way. He immediately addressed the first person who looked like they were going to say hi, a guy in his thirties wearing a navy suit and red bow tie.

“Hey, Theo, how are they mixing the drinks tonight?” Declan asked, turning into what appeared to be a really nice guy.

“Not strong enough, if you ask me, but beggars and all that,” the man said, lifting his glass and not even hiding his curiosity as he glanced at me.

“This is Abi,” Declan said, his hand settling on my lower back. “I can’t remember—have you two met before?”

Nicely played, I thought, smiling at the man.

“No, I haven’t had the pleasure,” Theo replied, holding out his hand. “It’s nice to finally meet you.”

“You, too,” I replied, taking his hand and gripping it as hardas I could. I wasn’t going to do anything to ruin the evening for Declan, but since I didn’t know any of these people and wouldn’t be seeing them again, I was going to make sure everyone I met remembered just how firm my grip was.

Gotta find a way to make this fun.

“I’ve heard a lot about you, Theo,” I said, immediately regretting it because what if it was absolutely implausible that Declan would’ve mentioned this man to his girlfriend?

But he said, “Rightfully so. If he didn’t mention me after I’ve kicked his ass so many times on the golf course, I’d be wounded.”

“From what I hear, you woundhimfairly often,” I said, and then I felt like a wild success when he threw his head back and laughed. I quickly glanced at Declan, and he was watching me like a proud father.

Like he was pleasantly surprised I wasn’t burning the party to the ground.

And as ridiculous as it was, it felt a little…goodto have him look at me like that. I felt a bit like a kid who was amped to have made their parent proud. I didn’t know Declan Powell, and I was pretty sure I wouldn’t like him if I did, but in this moment, it felt good to please the big guy in the suit.

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