Chapter 17

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

D eclan instantly stood taller, and waved Piper over.

Aiden nudged him on the shoulder. "Go on break. I got this covered."

"Yeah, great." Declan didn't hesitate for a second. He just stepped around the bar and met her halfway. "You okay?"

She looked at him with her gorgeous blue eyes. "Do you have a second to talk? I need advice."

"Yeah, you bet." He took her arm and guided her to a table in the corner. "You want something to drink?"

"No, I'm good." She sat down and faced him.

"What's up?"

She grimaced and leaned in. "I think Wendall made a pass at me today. But it was subtle. I'm not sure. I might be imagining it. I'm imagining it, right? You met him. What did you think?"

Oh, fuck. He owed her the truth. "I noticed he was staring at your body today," he said. "I didn't like his vibe."

"Dammit." She leaned back in her seat. "I've felt something was off for a while, but I figured it wasn't my job to interfere. But now with this whole Bride Protector craziness that's going on, I'm thinking differently. "

Declan leaned forward. "Because you're a good person. You care about people, not just making a deal. It's okay to be like that."

"Is it?" She drummed her fingers on the table. "I can't say anything to April. I don't have any concrete evidence. It's just a feeling. I can't say anything based on a feeling."

"No, you can't." He paused. "I have contacts who could trail him."

She rolled her eyes. "Oh, God. Can you imagine how that would go over? Hire me for your wedding, and I'll hire a private investigator to trail your fiancé to catch him cheating? I can't do that."

Declan chuckled. "Yeah, that's a whole new level of bride protector."

"Right?" She sat back. "So, what do I do?"

"Do nothing," he said.

"Nothing? Really?" She frowned. "That doesn't feel right."

"Has he actually done anything?"

"No, but?—"

"Then do nothing. Just keep moving forward, and keep an eye out. If something actually happens, then reevaluate. If not, then you can't interfere. April may know exactly what is going on and not care."

"And if she doesn't know?"

"You don't know anything for sure either."

She let out her breath. "So, I just do my job as usual?"

"Yeah. Until and unless you witness something concrete enough that you need to take it to her. Other than that, you have to stay out of it. If he's cheating on her, it'll come out."

"Before the wedding?"

He shrugged. "Let's take it one day at a time." He paused, thinking. "I could help. I'll bond with him as a guy and see what I can get out of him."

Her face brightened. "You will?"

"Yeah. I can interfere without it affecting my career. You can't. Find out where he'll be, and I'll show up. See what the male bond can uncover."

She beamed at him. "Thank you. You're amazing."

He felt like his whole soul lit up when she smiled at him like that. "No problem. It's what a good fiancé does, right?"

"I don't know. I've never had a good fiancé."

He wasn't sure he'd ever been one.

She touched his shoulder. "Thanks for your help. I'm going to head out."

He narrowed his eyes, studying her. She looked tired. Worn out. "You all right?"

Tears suddenly filled her eyes, startling him. "I'm great. Thanks. Just a long day."

Protectiveness surged through Declan, and he leaned forward. She might not want his protection, but that didn't mean he could turn it off. "Talk to me."

She raised her brows. "I'm fine."

He could feel the weight in her words. She wasn't fine. "I did mention to you that I'm a human lie detector, right? You know, ex-cop and stuff?"

The corner of her mouth curved up. "You're very irritating."

"I know." He paused, trying to think. He knew the stress she was under, and he also knew that mistakes happened when under stress. "All right. I'll make a deal."

She folded her arms over her chest. "What's that?"

"I'll stop asking about your emotional state if you play a game of darts with me."

"Darts?" Her gaze shot to the dart board near her, and interest flickered in her eyes. "I love darts."

Well, damn. How many wedding planners in his mom's circles know how to play darts? He wanted to ask why she was a darts girl, but he wasn't ready to push her away. "I'm excellent at darts. Better than you, I suspect."

Her brows went up. "You saw me with the can opener. You really want to challenge me to darts? "

Ah…she had a competitive streak. He loved that. "I do," he said. "I definitely want to challenge you. Throwing a dart is nothing like throwing a can opener. There's a lot more finesse involved."

Challenge flashed in her eyes. "I'll destroy your fragile male ego if we play."

"My ego isn't frail. It's rock solid."

"Is it?"

"Like a boulder." He turned toward the bar. "Aiden! You need me anymore tonight?"

Aiden shook his head. "The place is dead. I got it covered. Hey, Piper. Congrats on the engagement. Declan's a great guy."

She waved back. "Thanks," she said, before turning back to Declan. "He knows it's not real?"

"Yeah. He's a good friend. I trust him." He paused. "How could you tell?"

"Because he's a terrible actor." She raised her voice. "Aiden. Who would your money be on if Declan and I played a game of darts?"

"Declan," Aiden said without hesitation. "He's spent a lot of time in dive bars."

"And you assume that because I'm a woman I haven't?"

He grinned. "You don't look like someone who has spent a lot of time in dive bars playing darts, regardless of gender."

She stood up. "A free girls' night for me and my friends if I beat him? We get drinks and food."

Aiden grinned. "You're on. Declan, don't let me down."

"Never. I am not a gentleman when it comes to darts." He jogged over to the bar, grabbed a box of darts from under the counter, then came back. "You ready to lose?"

She snorted. "I might lose at being a wedding planner, but not darts. Never darts."

He set the darts in her hand. "Best two out of three?"

"One game, winner takes all, and then I have to go back to work."

Two hours later, Piper was laughing so hard she had to sit down on the floor. After five games of darts, Aiden had kicked them out, and they'd retired to Declan's house to play ping pong in his basement, which had been one of the best decisions she'd ever made.

She hadn't laughed that hard in a very long time. "You're the worst ping pong player I've ever seen."

Declan grinned, amusement dancing across his face as he dropped to his belly to fish a ball out from under his couch. "I'm definitely not the worst, because you're worse than I am."

She leaned against the wall, laughing as he wormed himself along the floor, trying to get the ball. "But I crushed you at darts."

"You did. That was impressive as hell. Unexpected. Aiden's going to put the girls' night on my tab."

She laughed. "Good. You deserve it for losing."

"I didn't lose. I was destroyed. I'm still bleeding from my soul…but not my ego. That's still intact." He wiggled back out, hopped to his feet, and held up the ping pong ball. "We both have won seven games in ping pong. Call it a tie or go for the title of grand champion?"

She looked around. "Are there any other games here? Maybe some air hockey?"

"Damn. I love air hockey. I'll get us a table for next time."

"Oh, heavens no. Don't buy an air hockey table for me. Who knows when we'll play again?"

He crouched in front of her, balancing on the balls of his feet. "You're scared of losing, aren't you? That I'll be the grand champion, and you'll be sad."

She pushed him off balance, and he fell over. "We can always do a tiebreaker of hurling can openers at posts."

"Hell, no. I concede defeat on that one. That's a special kind of talent." He rolled onto his side and propped himself on his elbow. "Where'd you learn to play darts like that? "

"Kindergarten. I was five. I owned recess."

He grinned. "The woman with no past."

Her smile faded. "What?"

"You have no past. I looked up Clark to see what he was about, and there's not a single hint of where you came from before you landed in the wedding planner arena. No hometown. No college. Nothing."

Okay, that was the end of the night. She faked a yawn. "I have a potential client meeting at eight tomorrow morning. I need to hit the hay. Tonight was fun. Thanks."

He rose to his feet at the same time she did. "Why do you hide your past?"

She raised her brows. "Because it's a thing."

He grinned. "A thing? What does that mean?"

"Exactly." She gave him a little wave, then patted Angel who had woken up from her couch nap and trotted over. "See you tomorrow at the country club. I'll meet you there at seven? I'll be coming from a meeting."

Declan followed her as she headed up the basement stairs. "You deserve not to hide."

She glanced over her shoulder. "I'm not hiding."

"When you carry secrets, they eat away at you," he said. "Whatever is in your past doesn't matter. It takes a lot of effort to hide things. I don't care what it is."

She turned to face him. "You're a cop."

"So?"

"What if I told you that I'd killed someone and there was a warrant out for my arrest? Still don't care?"

He grinned. "A fugitive on the run? That does complicate things."

"Right? So I can't tell you. One never knows what will trigger someone else."

"Try me."

"Can't. Not while I need you to be my adoring fiancé. And then, I can't tell you because you'll be bitter and heartbroken when we break up and you might use the information against me." She patted his chest as she reached the top basement stair. "You're just going to have to see me for who I am today and go with it. It's really the best way to be. People aren't their pasts unless they choose to be. And I choose not to be."

He whistled. "That's a great life lesson right there."

"Right? I've practiced it a lot. Glad I got the chance to use it." She headed for the back door, but just as she reached for the handle, she turned back to him. "If you call upon one of the private investigators you mentioned earlier tonight, and you send him after my secrets, I'm going to tell your mom that you lied to her to get her off your back. Trust will be broken, and she'll pay thousands of women to stalk you."

He raised his brows. "The idea terrifies me." He held up his pinkie. "Pinkie promise to leave your past where it is unless you choose to tell me."

She locked pinkies with him. "Good boy. He knows when he is beaten."

"Do I?" He grinned wickedly. "Or am I just very clever and I have you exactly where I want you? All my nefarious goals are within reach."

"Nefarious is fun. Go for them and don't let anyone stop you." She pulled her hand free, despite the temptation to tug Declan right over to her. Seeing his fun, goofy side tonight had added to his charm, and she needed to be a smart girl and not play in his sandbox anymore tonight. "See ya."

He leaned on the doorframe, his athletic, muscular body like pure temptation as he watched her go. "Have a good night."

"Thanks. You, too." She took a breath, having to steel herself from throwing herself at his chest and letting things play out as they would. "You need to put yourself back in your dark, isolated corner."

His smile became more wicked. "Do I?"

"Yes." She waved her hand up and down his body. "This muscley-thing combined with that smile and wit is just too much for anyone's good."

"I'll take that into account as I ponder my life tonight."

She couldn't help but laugh. "You're dangerous. Go away."

"Can't. We're engaged. You're stuck with me. Wait until you see me at a country club event. You won't find me so attractive. It sucks my soul dry, and I'll be a shriveled corpse of my former self by the end of the evening."

She paused, sensing an element of truth to his words. "Really?"

"Yeah. But I'll do it for love. And remember, I have nothing against sleepovers with my fiancée, so anytime you want to start those, you just invite yourself right in."

She burst out laughing. "And now you're a flirt? Seriously? You need to stop being so freaking adorable."

He grinned. "You bring out this witty, playful side of me I've never had before. I might keep it. It's fun."

"It is fun," she agreed, "but disconcerting. I like things to be predictable and orderly."

"I always did as well. Maybe this new attitude is temporary for me."

"I hope so." She stepped back, somewhat appalled by how big she was smiling and how much laughter was bubbling through her. "See you tomorrow."

"You got it, my darling." He waved her off. "I'm just going to stand here and admire your ass as you walk back to your place."

Heat radiated through her cheeks. "Go inside."

"Can't. I just noticed your ass tonight. Two years you've been living there, and I never noticed. I need to make up for lost time. It's my duty as your fiancé to help you feel gorgeous and secure all the time. So, great ass. I love it."

She stood there, staring at him, all sorts of emotions simmering inside her. She knew he was being silly, but she loved this side of him. And she absolutely loved the fact he liked her butt. She wanted him to check her out, which made her equally determined not to let it happen. "You're my fiancé only when we're around other people."

"Doesn't work like that. Any great actor knows that you need to become the part to make it real. Just doing my best for you."

She put her hand on her hips and glared at him.

He grinned. "I can literally hear you giggling right now."

"Oh, shut up." She threw up her hands in mock despair. "Good night, Declan. See you tomorrow." She turned and headed back to her cottage.

As she walked, she could feel the heat from his gaze on her. For a moment, she was tempted to tie her sweatshirt around her waist to block his view, but the minute she thought it, she dismissed the idea.

Instead, she threw back her shoulders and walked like she was the siren put on this earth to awaken the man who'd been hiding in darkness for so long.

The night was quiet as she walked, no sound but her sneakers on the stones.

When she reached her door, she turned and looked over her shoulder as she opened her door, which he had fixed for her at some point during the day.

He hadn't moved from the door, but his smile was gone. On his face was an expression of pure wanting, of desire, of heat.

Answering heat flooded her right back. Oh, Lordy.

Declan met her gaze, and for a moment, they just looked at each other.

She realized he wasn't going to go inside.

He was going to wait in his open doorway until she decided which door she was going to walk through. His offer was real. He wanted her, and he would welcome her if she invited herself into his house.

The realization struck heat in her belly, and suddenly, she couldn't breathe.

Declan, the man who had held himself in the shadows for years, wanted her . He'd come out of his darkness because of her . Tonight, he'd laughed with her.

Wow.

Just…

She turned and bolted inside before she could make a choice she'd regret.

But the minute she shut the door behind her, she wondered if she'd already made that choice…the one she would always regret.