Page 81 of Declan
But the teasing glances and casual brushes of the hand at work have been such a welcome change from the last few years. Hell, even from the last few weeks. The way his eyes warm when he looks at me has knocked down almost every layer of brick in that wall I had built to protect myself from him. Colton and Evie stayed in Vegas an extra week with Miss Mia, of course. So Declan and I have had plenty of time to really perfect our plan. Today, his first day back, we’re setting everything into motion.
“What the fuck?”
I have to bite my lip to stop from laughing as Colton’s voice rings out through the hallway. We’re starting small, with small annoyances. But clearly, Colton’s already had a rough morning.
“Tell me again what you did to his truck?”
Declan giggles and covers his mouth. “I fucked with his radio. It’s blaring Death Metal. Every time he turns it off, it comes back on. It’s been amazing. I can control it from my office.” It is amazing. Colt is all about the eighties. I mean, the man had a long-haired, leather-wearing Bon Jovi impersonator officiate his wedding, so the Death Metal would be making him ragey.
“Declan!” Colt yells as he gets closer. “What the fuck’s going on with the elevator?”
Dec wipes his smile off his face and tries for a concerned expression. He’s shit at this, but it’s adorable. Luckily, I’m great at deception and misdirection when I need to be.
“What do you mean?” I ask as he fills my doorway. “Is it still not working right? Declan, can you please get your guys to check on it?”
Colt’s glower fades as he studies me. “You had problems too? Every time I tried this morning, it dropped me off on the wrong fucking floor. I’ve been to the basement three fucking times!”
I pinch a tiny bit of skin on my thigh to keep myself under control. “Oh no. That’s so frustrating. Declan, what the hell’s going on in your department?”
He chokes and rubs his hand over his beard, trying to hide his smile, I’m sure. “I don’t know. I’ll get my guys on it.” He winks at me and slaps Colt on the shoulder as he squeezes past. Colt studies him suspiciously, brow furrowed, then turns back to me.
“Everything ok?”
“Everything’s fine. How was your mini honeymoon? Did you guys have fun?”
The suspicion clears, replaced by a post-honeymoon glow. “Fuck yeah, we had a blast. I had no idea there were so many things to do in Vegas with a kid.”
My smile’s real this time. Yeah, I’m still pissed at him, but I’m also so glad he’s happy. “You’ll have to take a kid-free honeymoon later. You know your brothers will babysit.”
“They’re desperate to. But I really like having her with us. She’s pretty amazing. You know?”
“Yeah, I do. Being a dad looks good on you.”
He puffs up, his already massive chest getting bigger. “She calls me daddy now,” he says proudly.
“I heard, big guy.” Now we’re both blinking back tears.
“Good talk,” he mumbles, turning on his heel and disappearing into his office.
Sappy fucker.
I spin around and slide into my desk, ready to lose myself in work. A couple of hours later, I stand and stretch, heading for Ransom’s office. I knock and poke my head in, waiting for his ‘enter.’
I plop into my chair and drop the blueprint on his desk. It’s the guest chair, but I use it the most, so it’s mine. “So, what exactly are you planning for that site?”
He leans back in his chair, studying me. “A commercial building. Like the plans say.”
“With a six story underground garage, and a whole floor for a daycare? Not to mention the twelve-bay custom garage at the back and the warehousing. You’re not building this for anyone else, are you?”
His lips quirk, and he shakes his head. “When I made the offer, it was going to be three twenty-story office buildings.”
“And now?”
He shrugs, suddenly looking tired. “I miss Micah. It’s time to bring him back into the fold. If I can get him excited about that garage, I can get him and Holly out of Knight Street. And the daycare...”
“Mia.”
“Mia and the new baby. And if things keep progressing the way they have been, there will be more kids. A daycare makes sense. And we don’t have the space for it right now.”
