Between Commitment and Betrayal (Hardy Billionaire Brothers, #1)(57)
He also was great about immediately yelling at others for doing the same thing. “Wes, you can quit looking at her ass too.”
“Fuck you, man. Evie and I have a different sort of relationship.”
“And exactly what type of relationship is that, Wes?” Declan hadn’t said a word all class though I’d felt his eyes on me. I was aware of the tension in his muscles, and I swear I was attuned to the blood in his veins boiling at this point.
“Aw, man. Can we get past our bullshit? You two are obviously friends, okay? I get it. She’s going to be my girl one of these days though.” He looked at me with puppy eyes. “Can we go out tonight? It’s been too long, babe. And after—”
“After staring at your ass this whole time like a damn creep, he feels deprived,” Noah threw out because he loved giving Wes hell.
No one responded to him though because our watches all buzzed at the same time. We didn’t brush off the alert because it could be a change in schedule or … big news. Big HEAT news that is. In this particular case, though, it was epic, devastating, catastrophic news.
“HEAT Heiress Everly Belafonte Married to Declan Hardy”
The HEAT PR team released the following statement this afternoon: “Declan Hardy is officially off-limits. He and Everly Belafonte were wed in a small ceremony at an undisclosed location shortly after Carl Milton passed. Sources claim they are committed to their marriage and request privacy as they enjoy their time as newlyweds.”
That explains why Everly has been driven to work by Declan and why they’ve been seen together so often. The biggest question on everyone’s minds, though, is how long have they been dating and how did Everly steal him right out from under all of us without anyone being the wiser? Details to come …
My eyes flew to Declan’s as each of the men in the room turned his way. Even Wes shrank back with the rest of them. It was as if the alpha dog came to the party and suddenly none of the betas wanted to challenge him.
Declan didn’t say anything. I wasn’t even sure he’d looked at his watch. Instead, he just crossed his arms and stood there bigger than life, like he ruled the studio, gym, and empire he presided over with utter confidence and power.
“Sorry about commenting on your wife’s ass,” Gianni grumbled as he literally backed up toward the door. “I respect you and your athleticism. You’ve done great things for every professional sports league in the country, and I want you to know I didn’t mean any disrespect.” Then, much like a dog with its tail between its legs, he rushed out.
Po and Noah were next, though they were more protective. I was suddenly their little sister. “You two seriously married?” Po inquired.
“You think we’d lie?” Declan finally responded. “What’s it matter to you anyway?”
“I mean, I don’t know.” Po continued, “Evie’s a damn knockout, and she trains us the best. If this was for something in Carl’s will… I just don’t want her hurt—”
“Everly is more than capable of making her own decisions.” He cut him off. “Our marriage is our business.”
He didn’t say more or less. He didn’t say he wanted to be married to me, that we were in any sort of relationship, that this wasn’t for show.
It shouldn’t have hurt. That was the plan. But my heart wasn’t listening. Be calm. Collected. You can’t show anything else.
Declan didn’t correct him but motioned toward the door instead. “I have a few things I’d like to discuss with Everly now that the news is out.”
Noah and Po immediately walked out of the studio but Wes murmured to me, “I’d like to still see you tonight. Text me, huh?” He didn’t wait for an answer and even as Declan opened his mouth, he was already out the door.
“You’re not seeing him tonight.”
“I should see him tonight because he needs some clarification on our relationship.”
“Don’t we all?” Declan threw up a hand before he started pacing back and forth. “I think it’s best for you to come to the meeting tonight with Piper and Anastasia.”
“Nope.” I halted him right there. “You know that’s not in my best interest. I hadn’t spoken a word to Anastasia since the funeral until this morning, and Piper is her best friend. I don’t belong in this circle—”
“If I do, you do.” He strode toward me.
I chuckled and shook my head. “As much as I’d like to make this easier for everyone and agree, Declan, we both know I can’t. I might even offend them by showing up.”
“I won’t have you feeling like you’re less—”
“You won’t,” I clarified, “but they will. And that’s fine. I won’t encroach on their territory longer than our contractual twelve months anyway, which is why you all should handle it as you see fit.”
He opened his mouth to say something more.
“Without me, Declan.”
“Without you,” he muttered and then he was toe-to-toe with me, looking down at me as I looked up at him. “You realize that for the past couple days, I haven’t had a thought without you in it. My mind doesn’t work without you in it. My dreams, my nightmares, my subconscious, my conscious … none of them operate lately without you.”