Fighting For You (Danvers #4)(19)
Chapter Eight
“I like your apartment. It’s so . . . clean.”
Declan chuckled and said, “That’s all you could come up with, huh? I rented it completely furnished. I’ve been meaning to buy a house, but haven’t had the time for the hassle yet. Since I barely do more than sleep here, it hasn’t mattered much to me.”
Ella blushed, wishing she had been a little more complimentary of his home. Everything in it was top of the line and the granite countertops in the kitchen gleamed against the dark wood of the cabinets. The stainless steel appliances were sleek and modern. It was obvious that Declan paid much more in rent than she did on her small apartment. And his was spacious with three bedrooms and two bathrooms. She was a little surprised that he had such a big place for just himself. When she had asked him about it, he simply said that he didn’t like tight spaces.
When she offered to help with dinner, he pointed to the refrigerator and put her in charge of the salad. She had to give him credit, he had only paused for a brief moment before he handed her the sharp knife to cut the vegetables up. She was determined not to draw blood and reward his faith in her. “I like the music you have on, who is the group?”
Declan looked at her in surprise. “It’s Norah Jones. Haven’t you heard of her?”
“No, not really. My parents didn’t believe in any popular music. I rarely ever listened to the radio. I still don’t much now unless I’m with Beth. She is doing everything she can to catch me up on the Bon Jovi years and even though she tries to blame it on her gym, she also likes Justin Timberbake.”
Declan started laughing. “I believe you, Ellie, because it’s actually Justin Timberlake.”
“Oh . . . whoops. Don’t tell Beth, she would be so disappointed in me.”
“Your secret’s safe with me.” As he walked back toward the balcony, he looked over his shoulder. “I picked up a movie for after dinner if you’re interested. My sister recommended it.”
“That sounds good. I brought one as well so we can see which one looks the best.” Ella knew why he had the slightly embarrassed look on his face when she pulled his DVD out. Sleepless in Seattle, really? When he walked back into the kitchen she was trying to hide hers. She was sure that after their movie choice last night, he would know her tastes a little better. Apparently, he was still under the mistaken impression that she was a quiet, chick-flick-watching, girlie girl. Maybe it was better to let him think that. Her movie did have some romance in it though; didn’t she get points for that?
Looking over her shoulder, Declan asked, “So what did you bring?”
“Uh, nothing interesting. Let’s just go with your choice. It looks great.”
“Aw, come on Ellie, no holding out on me.” When she still wouldn’t show him her movie, he suddenly started tickling her. As she shrieked and jumped out of the way, he grabbed the movie and waved it in the air in victory. His expression was almost comical when he finally brought it down to look at it more closely. “Lethal Weapon?”
As she did whenever she got nervous, she started rambling. “It’s okay; we can watch your movie. Lethal Weapon 3 was really the best one anyway. I just loved Rene Russo in it. But I wasn’t sure if you had seen the first two so I didn’t want you to be lost or anything. We can watch mine another time. Maybe we can have a whole Lethal Weapon marathon.” As he continued to look at her without saying anything, the rambling got worse. “How about Jason Statham? You remind me of him, well, without the British accent. I love the Transporter movies or we could do something military for you. There is Black Hawk Down or the Expendables movie.”
Finally, Declan started chuckling and pulled her against his chest. “Oh Ellie, if I could clone you, every man in this world would be in heaven. You and I might not agree on everything, but we damn sure won’t have a problem deciding which movie to watch.” As Ella started to return his embrace, he suddenly pulled back and muttered something about checking the steaks before leaving the kitchen.
What the heck was that? Surely, Declan wasn’t running from her now. Did he think that because she watched action movies, she was going to attack him? Of course, she was still holding a knife so he was probably trying to protect himself from another mauling. Later, she planned to test his resolve. She felt like she had been waiting for Declan, or at least the idea of Declan, for a long time and now that they were sort of together, she wanted it all . . . now.
He, however, seemed to be moving at the pace of a turtle. For years, her mother had been telling her that men only wanted one thing from her and that she should guard against that. Well, when exactly did they want that one thing—because other than some hot kisses where he pulled away before they became too intense, she had seen no sign of him wanting or trying to get in her pants? Maybe she needed to wear different pants.
Dinner was wonderful and Declan looked at her in approval when she ate almost every bite of the mouthwatering steak he had grilled for them. He hadn’t even cringed when she knocked over her full wine glass and drenched the table and the floor beneath it. They cleared the table and loaded the dishwasher like an old married couple. She couldn’t believe that she was so comfortable being alone with a man in his apartment. This was Declan though. They had spent so much time talking at the office that she was almost as comfortable around him as she was with Beth.