Chapter 14

Declan stared at his beer for a minute and rubbed his thumb down the condensation on the side of the glass. In truth, he hadn't talked to anyone about his family or his dad since he and Ty had gone out for drinks when he first moved in with Renee. And it had been weighing on him.

Renee reached across the table and wrapped her fingers around his hand. "I'm sorry I asked. I'm not trying to pry."

"Yeah, you are. But it's okay. I was trying to figure out what to say." He inhaled deeply. Renee was removed from the entire situation, so maybe unburdening himself to her would help. "So here's the deal. I'm going to tell you some stuff, but you can't tell anyone, okay?"

Her eyebrows curled in and created a deep crease on her forehead. "Intriguing."

"We let everyone believe we just decided to declare Dad dead because it's been twenty years. The truth is, we got some confirmation that he's dead."

"From who?"

He took a drink of his beer, a local brew that went down smooth, and considered where to actually start. "My oldest brothers, Ronan and Brendan have each been trying to investigate what happened back then. Brendan works for the FBI and Ronan works for the same construction company my dad worked for. They were sure Alan Cahill, the owner, knew something about our dad. They'd been close, almost friends. Then they figured he had something to do with our dad disappearing."

"Wait a minute. You mean Alan Cahill the former mayor who just died?"

"Yep."

"No way."

"Way."

"What? Why?"

He shrugged again. "They're still searching for answers. They were on to something, and then the old man died."

"Then how did you find out your dad was dead?"

"The old fucker wrote us a letter that was delivered after his death. It basically said to stop looking for answers. Dad was dead, so we should move on."

"But no information about how he died or where he is? That's shitty."

"That's what convinced my brothers to keep digging."

The server delivered their food and they tasted everything. Declan waited for Renee to react to what he'd said, other than to offer sympathetic words.

"How do you feel about everything?"

He took another bite of his burger and thought while he chewed. "I've been trying to figure that out. I mean, he's dead. No amount of information is going to change that."

"Might give you some peace, though?"

"I don't know. In some ways, the information has given me less peace. I assumed all this time he took off. Like having all of us kids was too much. I was okay with that." He dragged a couple of fries through ketchup and popped them in his mouth.

Renee swallowed a bite of chicken wrap and stared at him suspiciously. "Are you sure about that?"

"Yeah."

"I'm just saying that for as long as I've known you, you don't take anything seriously. Your version of Daddy issues?"

He groaned. "Please don't say shit like that. It sounds really bad."

She laughed and it was loud enough to draw the attention of the few other customers. She covered her mouth, but her eyes were bright with humor. "Sorry," she mumbled as her laughter subsided.

"You sound real sorry." He finished off his last bite and thought about what she said. He'd heard it from his siblings before, but somehow having her say it made it a little more obvious. "Except for the way you phrased it, you're not totally wrong. I was telling Ty that Dad's death was making me re-evaluate my life. I've avoided a lot of things because of him and now I'm thinking it wasn't necessarily the best choice for me."

"Well, I'm here any time you want to talk or bounce ideas around." She wiped her hands on her napkin and waved the server over for the check. "We have to go get in line for the tour."

"We don't have to if you're not interested."

She smiled. "It might be fun."

They stood and he held out his arm. "Lead the way."

The brewery tour was short, but they enjoyed the samples of beer. Instead of going back to the car, they decided to wander through the downtown streets for a bit. Galena was a quaint little town. Renee was having so much fun with Declan that she didn't want to hurry to the bed and breakfast. Unfortunately, her bridesmaid duties called. Her phone pinged with a text from Mariah.

You haven't checked in. Are you close?

In town, just had lunch with Declan. Touring downtown. Hanging out.

I can't wait to meet him. Bring him to dinner tonight.

Renee stopped walking.

"Problem?" Declan asked.

"Uh. No. Mariah is inviting you to come to dinner tonight. The rehearsal dinner."

"Okay."

"I'll tell her no. You don't have to suffer through that."

He wrapped his fingers around her wrist. The calluses on his hand scraped deliciously along her sensitive skin. "If you prefer I don't go, that's cool. I can totally watch TV in the room. But don't tell her no because you think you're imposing. I'll go with you."

She bit her lower lip. "You sure?"

"Yeah. Tell her I can't wait."

She smiled and shook her head. He had no desire to meet her friends, but he was so good at playing along. He's in. Thanks for asking him. See you soon.

They walked back to the car so they could get settled in their room before Renee had to go to rehearsal. She parked in the lot and when she went to grab her bag, Declan already had both in his hand. She grabbed their garment bags.

At the front desk, she gave the clerk her name. She checked her in, handed her two keys, and said, "One King no smoking. Room six is right down the hall that way."

"Uh, no. It's supposed to be a double."

The woman squinted at the computer and said, "No. You're registered for a King."

Renee huffed. "I was registered for a King. Then I called and asked to switch. I spoke with a younger guy. I can't remember his name. He said I could switch no problem. In fact, he said he'd make the change in a jiffy."

The woman's face drooped. "I'm so sorry. That would be my nephew, Jeremy. He didn't make the change. And we're all booked. I don't have another room to offer you."

Declan stepped closer. "Don't worry about it. We'll be fine."

Renee spun to glare at him, but he took her by the arm and led her away. He'd shifted the bags, so he carried them in one hand, allowing him to pull her.

"What are you doing?"

"Are you really going to cause a scene over this?"

"No."

"You look like you're ready to. It's not a big deal. A King bed is huge. You can make a pillow barrier if you don't trust yourself to sleep next to me."

She yanked away from him. "Very funny."

He led the way down the hall to their room. "We're adults. If we can't stay in the same bed without controlling ourselves, we have some issues."

Of course, he was right. But they hadn't done a good job of controlling themselves the other night in his bed. They had made out in a way she hadn't done in years. "I do not have issues."

She stepped in front of him and unlocked the door. Inside, she went to the closet and hung up their garment bags.

Declan set their duffels on the chair next to the TV. Then he spun and threw himself on the bed. Patting the spot next to him, he said, "Come on. Give it a spin."

"I'm fine."

He sat up. "If being in the same bed is that much of a problem, I can sleep on the floor. I'm not trying to make you uncomfortable."

"I'm fine. And it would be ridiculous for you to sleep on the floor. I'm irritated Jeremy didn't do his job. That's all." That and she couldn't help but wonder if Declan was going to wear those low-slung gray sweatpants to bed. The ones that allowed her to clearly see his hard-on.

"The upside is that we get to be cuddle buddies. Do you want to be the big spoon or the little spoon?"

"Stop it. There will be no spooning. Friends don't spoon."

"Some friends might."

She couldn't help but laugh again. This man was hard to resist. "I'm going to take a quick shower to get ready for rehearsal. You need to use the bathroom first?"

"I'm good." He wiggled his eyebrows. "Unless you want company."

"No thanks. We already talked about how that's not a good idea."

"Your loss." He picked up the remote and turned on the TV.

After the kiss the other night, she had no doubt it was her loss.

She took a quick shower and pulled her hair back up into a ponytail. Mariah had said the rehearsal was casual, and dinner was at a family-style restaurant, so she didn't need to fuss too much. But she didn't want to look like a schlub either, so she chose a shimmery black tank top to pair with her favorite jeans and killer heels.

She stepped from the bathroom and Declan was lying in bed, eyes closed, one arm under his head and the other across his abdomen. Totally relaxed. She rarely felt that kind of peace.

"Why are you staring at me?" he murmured.

"Trying to decide if I should let you nap or wake you up."

"How much time do we have?"

She checked her phone. "About thirty minutes."

"Then we've got fifteen for a power nap. Come join me." Again, he patted the mattress.

"I just got dressed."

He popped one eye open. "I promise not to wrinkle you."

She hesitated and he held up a hand reaching for her. Rather than take his hand, she climbed into the bed and laid down on her back. A power nap did sound pretty good, especially if she had to play nice with Graham tonight. She didn't know if he was going to be at the rehearsal, but since Mariah invited Declan, she assumed Graham had been invited too.

She set an alarm for fifteen minutes and closed her eyes. Thirty seconds later, Declan rolled to his side, wrapped an arm around her hip, and pulled her close.

"Relax."

So she did. Even though she shouldn't be relaxed in his arms. Even though she knew it was a mistake. Maybe for this weekend, she could enjoy herself. Live her life like Declan led his.

When her alarm went off, Renee startled awake and discovered they were in full spoon mode. Declan had his whole body curled around hers. And it felt far better than she wanted it to.

"Declan."

"I know." He shifted to sit up. He looked down at her with a flirty grin and said, "So you like to be the little spoon."

She shoved his chest. "I was asleep, so I don't think I got a vote." But he wasn't wrong. She thoroughly enjoyed being in his arms.

"I prefer to be the big spoon so we fit well."

She rolled her eyes. "Go get ready. We need to go in a few minutes."

"Do I need to dress up?"

"Nope. Casual all around. I don't know what they have planned other than rehearsal at the chapel and family-style dinner. Some of the bridal party are talking about going out after, but we can cut out."

"We can play it by ear." He disappeared into the bathroom and she climbed out of bed.

She slipped her heels on and touched up her makeup. When the bathroom door opened, she turned. Declan let out a long, low whistle and she blushed. He'd changed into a button-down, navy shirt, a shade darker than his eyes, but wore the same black jeans he'd had on before. She preferred him in a T-shirt because he had some damn fine arms.

"Maybe coming back here right after dinner is a good idea." His gaze traveled up and down her body.

"Why?" she asked.

"So I can see what you have under those sexy clothes."

Her heart rabbited in her chest. Was he seriously suggesting they sleep together? "That's not happening."

"Why not? It'll be a whole lot of fun."

"We talked about this the other night."

"You said you needed to avoid complications because of Sadie." He looked around exaggeratedly. "No Sadie here."

"I'm still her mom."

"Not this weekend. You're just Renee, hot bridesmaid, having a great time."

She opened her mouth to argue, but then his words sank in. Could they throw caution out the window for the weekend? No, it would definitely come back to bite her in the ass come Monday.

Declan raised his eyebrows. "Your silence tells me you're interested, and you're trying to talk yourself out of it."

Damn it. He was right. "No. I'm cataloging all the ways it would be a bad idea."

"And I bet I can counter all of them. But I don't want to make you late, so we can argue later."

He stepped close and put his arm around her shoulder. He even smelled good. It might not be much of an argument if he kept this up.

That thought should've worried her more.