Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 86364 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 432(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 288(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86364 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 432(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 288(@300wpm)
“Of course, sir.”
“I’ll be putting Parker and Joy in the first guest bedroom.”
“Of course, sir. I’ll alert Chef Donovan that there will be another person for dinner this evening.”
“Thank you,” Declan murmured and gave me a nudge to get me moving toward the front door with him.
Franks must have been the person Declan had referred to as the housekeeper, but I had a feeling that he was more of Declan’s personal assistant, keeping up with the house, his clothes, cars, and his other personal needs. He didn’t need to deal with Joy and me as well.
Blessed coolness washed over us as we stepped into the house. Soft classical music drifted from hidden speakers, just barely breaking the overwhelming silence. But more than the quiet, the white walls took me aback. As I followed Declan through the large two-story house filled with large windows to let in the bright sunlight, everywhere I looked were white walls and dark wood floors. Almost no color broke up the monochromatic decor. The furnishings were simple and very expensive in appearance, but sparse. There were no knickknacks or family photos—a couple of landscape paintings and that was it.
I’d almost asked if he’d recently moved in but swallowed the question. If he hadn’t and this was how he preferred to live, then to ask would be insulting.
At the beginning of the second-floor hallway, Declan pushed open a door and led the way into a large bedroom that had to be at least twice the size of my old one with a simple but beautiful king-sized bed with a gray comforter and matching pillows. He turned on one of the bedside lamps and set the two bags down at the foot of the bed while I put Joy’s chair on the end of the bed and worked on getting her out of it. Thankfully, she’d fallen asleep during the drive to Declan’s and was still zonked out after the day’s excitement.
Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Declan’s frown as I set Joy in the center of the bed and created a pillow barrier around her. She was just starting to get good at rolling over, but the pillows were more than big enough to stop her from falling off the bed.
“We should get her a new bed,” Declan whispered.
My head snapped to him, and my mouth hung open at his pronouncement. The man was ready to step in and spend whatever money was necessary to make Joy comfortable. I’d witnessed his eagerness to splurge on Joy a week ago in the office, but it still rocked me to my core. It wasn’t that I’d ever thought Declan to be a stingy man. Just detached. I’d never expected him to notice something like Joy’s comfort or happiness.
“No!” I hissed in a low voice. “We won’t be staying long. Besides, you bought a bunch of stuff for her last week. You can’t keep spending money on her like that.”
“Why not?”
Why not? Wasn’t it obvious? Normal people didn’t do that.
“Besides, all the stuff was likely lost in the fire, correct? It will need to be replaced.”
I reached for Declan to shake him, but I curled my fingers into fists and marched to the other side of the room so I could throw myself into one of the two overstuffed chairs.
Yes, the room was large enough to have a sitting area.
Declan followed me, but he didn’t sit. He hovered, his frown deepening, but it wasn’t a look of displeasure. Those usually amused me because it meant my teasing had annoyed him, and he always let his annoyance out as very excellent sex. No, this frown was a mark of confusion.
“I don’t understand why you’re determined to help me. You hate me,” I argued, being careful not to speak too loudly and wake Joy from her nap.
The tall, brooding blond rocked back a step. “I don’t hate you. Why do you keep saying that? I couldn’t fuck someone I hated.”
That was a pretty good point. “Well, you don’t actually like me.”
“Why do you believe that? I find you annoying at times, but we both know you do that on purpose. When you’re not being intentionally annoying, you’re…interesting. You have a refreshing take on things, and I enjoy listening to you.”
His words stole my breath away. There was nothing in my brain. The poor, overtaxed thing had stopped working by the time Declan had found me outside my apartment complex and every attempt to reboot had been met with one new shock after another. But his thoughts on me didn’t match how I’d believed he felt about me.
Those first few months together, he’d come to my place for sex and then be out the door before either of our heart rates had returned to normal. However, more recently, he’d lingered afterward longer and longer. Sometimes we’d go another round, but mostly, we’d lounge in bed together with my head on his chest while I talked a bunch of nonsense. I hadn’t even thought he’d been listening to me.