My heart takes on a faster pace. Our lives have become so intertwined that we’re seriously considering making our marriage real. I think about Declan’s declaration that he loves me. I’m not sure I believe it. I think he’s just intoxicated by the thought of becoming a daddy. Having a child of his very own. It would make any man believe they were in love with the baby’s mama.
I leave the toilet cubicle and throw the pregnancy test in the trash after wrapping it in the brown paper it came in.
It will happen, I tell myself. It’s only been a month. Pregnancy doesn’t happen immediately for many women. I don’t know where that statistic comes from, but it’s comforting, and I stick with it.
Back at my desk, I work steadily until noon, when Zoe comes by. My heart leaps when I see her because it means that Declan will soon follow.
“Come on in,” I tell the blonde-haired girl, with an expensive camera hanging from her neck.
“Thanks,” she says and rubs her hands together.
“Are you nervous?” I ask her.
She sits down and tries to smile. “A little.”
“You shouldn’t be. My husband is awesome,” I tell her.
“Thank you,” a deep voice says behind the slightly open door, and then he walks in.
My heart skids to a stop. I want to pinch myself to believe that the heartthrob who just entered my office is my husband. He comes straight behind my desk to plant a kiss on my mouth.
I’m flushed when he goes back to the other side of the table.
“You must be Zoe,” Declan says and plops down on the extra visitor chair.
“Yes, sir,” Zoe says.
“Call me Declan,” he says, and when he smiles at her, I can tell that she’s instantly charmed. Declan is a people person. He has an aura about him that invites people to feel free with him.
He asks her a few questions about her work and then leans back in the chair. “I’ll be completely honest with you, Zoe. I know very little about social media and creating a buzz, and God knows what else,” Declan says.
Zoe giggles.
“This is my wife’s forte, and if she says that you’re the best person for the job, I’m happy.”
My brain stopped listening at ‘my wife.’ Those two words stake a claim in my memory as the sweetest words I’ve ever heard. Now I understand why newlyweds overuse those words. My husband. My wife.
I realize they are both looking at me. “Yeah,” I say rousing myself from my daydreams. “I think Zoe’s perfect.”
“Do you drive?” Declan asks her.
“Yes,” she says.
My mind wanders as Declan tells her what she’ll need to do the following day when she goes to the Santa Monica branch.
When they are done, Zoe leaves, and Declan and I are left alone in my office.
“Any time I’m left alone with you, the first thought that comes to my mind is how I would love to wrap my lips around your nipples. I imagine how hard they must be, aching to be licked and sucked,” Declan says, his voice a drawl.
The words go straight to my pussy. “Declan, stop.” My voice is husky. And I’m sure he can tell the effect his words have on me.
“Lunch?” he says.
“I’m buying today,” I say and stand up. “Let’s walk to the salad bar. It’s my favorite lunch spot.”
“I want to go everywhere you go,” Declan says and stands up.
I stare at him. “That sounds spooky.”
He laughs. “It was meant to be romantic.”
I shake my head. “Don’t be romantic then.”
I’m self-conscious when we leave the privacy of my office and Declan grabs my hand and refuses to let go. I’m sure my face is beet red as I feel the eyes of my employees on us.
I relax once we’re out on the street. I love the anonymity of it. Declan and I stroll hand in hand, blending in with the rest of the population. I think about what he said about us trying to make it as a couple, and suddenly, it doesn’t feel as frightening or confining. It’s not the same as what Leonard and I had.
He had become overly possessive, and by the time I took action, it was too late. Both of us had sort of accepted that it was normal for him to want to know where I was at any time of the day. If I did not respond to his text in two minutes, he came to find me.
Declan and I are a little early, and the lunchtime crowd has not come in.
“Grab a place to sit, and I’ll get our food. Chicken?” Declan says, and I nod.
I can’t peel my eyes off Declan. He gets our food and is walking toward me, and he can tell that I’m staring. I can’t seem to get enough of feasting my eyes on him.