Page 70 of The Bachelor

And then I wasn’t because I was so focused on Macon and Oaklyn.

Had I missed what they were all saying?

This wasn’t like me at all.

Shit.

I exhaled, my lungs so goddamn restricted that the air that moved through was as hot as lava.

“I thought so.” He fisted my shoulder. “I’m not going to tell Hannah. I’ll let you do that on your own when you think the time is right, and then she can tell you all the ways she’s going to neuter you.”

I shook my head. “Not going to happen.”

“No? You think you can fight it?” He smiled. “Let’s see how well that goes. Again, from personal experience, it only lasts for so long, and by the time you finally cave, you’re so fucking wrapped up in her that you don’t remember a moment before her.”

I remembered the moments all right.

But none of them compared to Oaklyn.

I drove my fingers into the sides of my hair and pulled the strands. “I don’t know.” When my gaze fell, I saw the drink in his hand and grabbed it, shooting back the remainder of the booze, even sucking it off the ice. I wiped my mouth and looked at Declan. “I don’t know what the fuck is happening to me.”

“I do.” He extended his arm, leaning back to really take in my face. “You’re falling hard for her.”

“No.”

“What, you think you’re so different from all of us, kid?” He nodded toward Dominick. “Different from what he went through with Kendall, his client’s sister, and how hard he fought against being with her? And different from Jenner and Jo and how he didn’t want to tap that because of her age and because she was his top client’s daughter? Jesus, those boys like to mix with their clients.” He chuckled. “And then there’s Ford and his goddamn nanny, who he swore he was never going to date. Now, they’re inseparable.”

“And you,” I gritted out through my teeth.

“And me, who was never going to settle down, never going to get tied up. I swore my life on it. Look at me now.” He pointed at his chest. “I’m straight up in love with that woman. I don’t care how much shit she gives me or how much hell she puts me through; she can do no wrong. I’ll treat her like a queen until the day she dies.”

“Jesus, Declan.” I sighed, avoiding Oaklyn’s table when I looked around the room. “I’m not saying I’m different from any of you guys. I’m just saying I’m not ready for all that.”

“You’re just not willing to admit you’re ready. But you’re fucking ready.” He cupped my shoulder a bit harder before he released me. “That’s all right. She’s not going anywhere. At least not this second, but I can’t promise she’s not going home with your boy tonight.”

A growl threatened to erupt in my chest as his words processed through me.

“You’re going to let that happen?” he goaded.

“I can’t stop it.”

“Like hell you can’t.” He pushed on my back until I was facing my sister, who was talking to Ford. “Hypothetically speaking, if they weren’t best friends and cousins and she wasn’t mine—which is a stretch at this point, I know—and I saw the two of them talking the way they are right at this moment, my hands would be balled into fists, and that motherfucker would be leaving this bar with blood dripping from every crevice, two black eyes, and no teeth.”

“Macon is my best friend.”

“Does Macon know how you feel about Oaklyn?”

“We’ve talked about her some.” I looked over my shoulder at Declan since he was positioned behind me. “But I haven’t told him. Shit, I haven’t even told you. You’re just full of assumptions.”

“Let’s not play that game again. But if I’m able to see it all over you, don’t you think Macon can too? And maybe he’s doing this on purpose. And maybe the reason he practically shouted the question across the whole fucking bar was to make sure you heard him ask her out.” He let those words simmer. “You know, to make you realize how you really feel about her. Because I’ll tell you one thing; the best way to challenge someone’s feelings is by taking away the one thing they want.” He leaned in closer, his face not far from the back of my ear. “And from where I’m standing, that looks exactly like what Macon is doing.”

Was Declan right?

That was something I hadn’t even considered—there was no reason for me to consider it.

Those feelings didn’t exist.

Do they?

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