Page 9 of Attached At Heart
“I told you my reasoning for moving to Boston,” I said with a sigh. “I wanted to be closer to my family.”
“You lived an hour away from your parents and two brothers in Minnesota,” she countered.
“Myotherfamily.”
Delaney flicked the corner of the menu, chewing her bottom lip in contemplation. “It just seemed so sudden. So…insincere, in a way.”
“Like your engagement?” I muttered, but she ignored me.
“Blake, don’t hate me for saying this, but you rarely evenvisitedNoah or Natalie before. And now you’re so compelled to be close to them that you abruptly changed your career plans and moved across the country?”
Shit, she hit the nail on the head. And it kinda hurt. “That’s exactly why I moved.” Well, not exactly. But it was exactly the reason I would be telling her. Because she knew all about the big, loving London family—of which I might have been the worst member in the last years—and it could be an excuse she believed. “I realized I’d been a shitty brother,” I explained when she furrowed her brows in confusion. “Okay,Ididn’t really realize it. Gemma might have called me on it.”
Delaney stilled. She was almost always in motion in some way, so when she stopped, it was like the whole world stopped, too. Her intense gaze wandered my face. “Gemma?”
“Noah’s girlfriend,” I reminded her.
“Oh.” Delaney perked up at that, sitting back in her chair with a contented look. “Now I’m feeling bad for misjudging her. She sounds exactly like the kind of sister-in-law you need.”
“She is,” I agreed. “Noah better get to proposing soon.”
“Why hasn’t he? I mean, considering they have a child together.”
“Delilah is not Noah’s biological daughter, but he’d hate I’m even mentioning that. He’s stepped up to be her dad in every way that counts, and I think they’re just focusing on being parents at the moment. But I know it’s only a matter of time before he pops the question.”
“Wow. That’s great.” She smiled, and it was soft. “I can tell you’re really happy for him.”
“I am,” I said honestly. “Now, if only I could find some of that happiness for Nat. I’ve actually seen her and Chloe more than Noah lately.”
As a recently divorced single parent with an incredibly busy work schedule, Natalie had relied on Noah a fair amount to help with her nine-year-old daughter, Chloe. I hadn’t realizedhowmuch until Noah bowed out of uncle duty for a bit to focus on dad duty, and I’d stepped in to take his place.
“That’s sweet that you were getting lunch with her today.”
I nodded, not really wanting to get into the thick of my conversation with Natalie and the reason we met up for lunch, which was to talk through a legal mess involving her shithead ex-husband.
“How’s your family?” I asked instead.
“Oh, you don’t want to hear about them.”
“Fine.” I chuckled and amended, “How’s Bry?”
Delaney’s whole face lit up at the mention of her brother, the one family member she adored with everything in her. Bryan was born with Down syndrome and consequently had experienced a myriad of heart trouble growing up. Now in his early adulthood, he was doing well health-wise, which was a relief. But regardless, he was the entire reason Delaney was a cardiologist.
“He’s great. I mean, my mom isn’t very happy with him at the moment because he tried to sneak out of the house this past weekend to go meet up with his girlfriend, but I told her that was actually the best news she’s told me in a long time.”
I watched her continue to talk animatedly about her brother and knew, without a doubt, that even though what I planned on doing would fuck me up from the inside out, it was the right thing to do, considering the circumstances.
And also considering the determination that fueled this woman from the moment she woke up until the moment she went to bed.
IfIdidn’t marry Delaney Delacroix so she could get her goddamn inheritance and chase her dreams of opening a specialty cardiac clinic, she’d find someone else to attach herself to for a year. Fake or not, I had no interest in going through that again. I’d have to find a new city to move to, and despite how much my fucking brothers liked to tease me for running away from my feelings, I was starting to like Boston.
The waiter interrupted Delaney before she could finish talking about Bryan, and Delaney sheepishly ordered a glass of chardonnay before falling silent.
I chuckled to myself. “What other mischief has Bryan been getting into?”
“Oh, nothing. You know, the usual. I don’t want to ramble too much about it.”
The waiter returned with the wine, and she immediately picked it up, all but downing the chardonnay.
