No Denying You (Danvers #5)(55)

They all howled with laughter. Emma spilled some of her drink on her shirt and did her best to wipe it off with her hand. Beside her, Beth had slumped from her chair and onto the floor, still giggling. “All right, I’ve got one for you,” Beth gasped out. “This is a pinkie-swear that you not tell anyone.” When everyone agreed, Beth confessed, “Nick dances for me sometimes. I bought him a pair of red thong underwear for Valentine’s Day and he likes to wear them and dance to the song ‘Sexy and I Know It.’ He thrusts his hips better than a Chippendale dancer.”

“No-o-o,” Ella sputtered.

“Oh yes.” Beth smirked. “I even put dollar bills in his underwear sometimes. He’s got this really dirty thing where he rubs his—” At that moment, the front door opened and they all jumped. Declan walked in with Nick not far behind him.

Ella bolted up from the couch looking flustered and guilty. “What are you doing home so early?” she stammered.

Declan walked over to his wife, curving an arm protectively around her waist. He gave her a hard kiss on the lips. “It’s not early, baby. I’m actually running a little late because Evan wanted me to come in and see his new science kit. Nick was pulling in behind me when I got here.”

“Oh,” Ella said, clearly at a loss as to what to say next.

Emma jumped up and then grabbed the back of a chair when she swayed on her feet. “Whew, I think I should have skipped that last one. I need to head home.”

“Oh no, you don’t,” Nick said. “We can’t let you drive yourself home. Beth and I will drop you.” Beth snuggled up against Nick, giving him a smacking kiss on his neck.

Great, Emma thought, now I have to watch them grope each other all the way home.

“I’ll run Emma home,” Declan offered. “I forgot Ellie’s orange juice, so I need to go back out anyway.”

“You’re my hero.” Emma beamed at him. When she saw Beth cup Nick’s butt on the way out the door, she knew she had been saved from some awkward moments. She hugged Ella and stumbled toward the door. Declan embraced Ella once again, causing a lump to form in Emma’s throat. You would have to be blind not to see how much he loved his wife. What would it feel like to have someone waiting for her at the end of the day?

Next Declan took Emma’s arm and led her toward his truck. Just as she settled into the passenger seat and Declan closed the door, her phone rang. She rummaged through her handbag with what seemed like five thumbs before finally pulling it out. “Yes?”

“Em?” Her heart skipped as she heard Brant’s voice on the other end.

“Hey! Where are you?”

“Er . . . Still in South Carolina. Greenville, actually. Mark needed to make a stop here before heading on to Boston. We’re staying at the Hyatt on Main Street.” He was quiet for a moment, then asked, “Where are you?”

“Oh, I’m with your brother. Did you want to talk to him?” Emma had just started to pass the phone to a surprised Declan when Brant said hurriedly, “No, but what are you doing with him? Is Ella with you?”

“Ella? No, she’s at home. It’s just Declan and me.”

Brant almost sounded angry as he demanded, “What are you doing with him? It’s midnight.”

Surprised, Emma said, “Really? Wow, that is late. It’s okay, though, because we’re going to my place now.”

“What the f*ck!” Brant exploded.

Declan, obviously hearing his brother’s loud curse, held his hand out for her phone.

Relieved, she handed it over. “Good luck, the stick’s back up his ass tonight.”

The corners of Declan’s mouth twitched and it looked like he was trying hard not to laugh. He put the phone up to his ear. “Hello, brother.” He listened for a moment before he said, “Will you chill out? She was with Ellie and Beth tonight at my house. I wasn’t even home. She had a few drinks, so I didn’t think she should be driving. I’m just dropping her off at home on the way to the store for Ellie.” Declan finally ended the call and handed her the phone back. “You’re supposed to call Daddy back when you get home.”

For some reason, that struck Emma as funny and she laughed until tears ran down her cheeks. “God,” she gasped out, “why couldn’t I have slept with the funny brother? Whoops, maybe that came out wrong. I’m not saying you specifically, just that I could use a man with a sense of humor, you know?”

“Er . . . yeah, I think so.” Instead of looking offended, he looked vastly amused. “I’ve been accused of having a stick up my ass a time or two, though. Most men lose their sense of humor when another man is driving their woman home in the middle of the night.”

“That might be true if the same man didn’t have his old girlfriend living with him. Isn’t that all brick houses and stones?”

Declan looked puzzled for a moment before saying, “Ah, I think you mean glass houses and stones. I’ll admit that’s a little fu . . . messed up, but there is one thing I can say with absolute certainty. If Brant’s with you, then he isn’t with her. I’m not just saying that because he’s my brother either. He just isn’t built that way. After Alexia took off, he stayed closed off for a long time. Brant is a stand-up guy. As messed up as it may be, if Alexia is having problems, then Brant will help her out, regardless of how she screwed him over in the past.”