Bang(24)

“Testing you.”

“You’re an insolent prick.”

“Then why did you kiss me back?” he questions. “Don’t lie to me either because I felt it.”

“You didn’t feel anything, and neither did I.” Walking back over to the table, I pull my chair back and sit down, saying as I keep my eyes forward, “Don’t ever do that again.”

Seconds later, Declan returns to his seat in front of me, and with perfect timing, Bennett comes back in. This situation is bordering on dangerous, so I’m relieved when Bennett says, “I apologize about that, but it seems I’m going to have to leave earlier than expected.”

“What?” I ask.

“I’m sorry, honey. The charter is ready to go. There was miscommunication about the reschedule, and we have to head out.”

“Now?”

He holds his hand out to me, and I take it as I stand up. “Declan,” he says when he turns to look at Declan who is now standing as well. “Sorry to run like this. It was good seeing you again.”

Declan doesn’t speak, but instead gives him a curt nod as they shake hands.

“If you’ll excuse us for a moment,” Bennett says as he wraps his arm around my shoulders and starts leading us out. Looking over my shoulder, I watch as Declan remains standing, keeping his eyes on us as we walk out of the room.

God, he’s so transparent.

I walk with Bennett to the lobby, and when he stops in front of the doors, I play the sad wife. Slipping my arms around his waist, I lay my head on his chest and hold on to him.

“I don’t want you to go.”

His lips fall on the top of my head, giving a kiss, and then he responds, “I know. I’ll get back here as soon as I can.”

I look up at him, and he takes my lips, the lips that Declan just had, and he kisses me. Long, slow, soft. He keeps the connection for a moment before pulling away and looking down at me. “You’re so beautiful.”

“Don’t.”

“Don’t what?” he questions.

“Say sweet things that’ll make me miss you even more.”

He smiles, and when I glance out the front, I see Baldwin pulling up. With a heavy sigh, I turn back to Bennett as he says, “I’ve gotta go.”

“Okay,” I respond with hesitation as I nod my head.

“I’ll call you as soon as I get there,” he tells me and then teases, “Use this time to buy me lots of Christmas gifts.”

“I’ll spoil you rotten,” I laugh.

“You already spoil me rotten.”

With one more kiss, we say goodbye, and I watch as the car pulls away, happy that he’s finally gone.





WITH MY HUSBAND on his way to the airport to spend the next two weeks on the other side of the world, I get my game face on and head back to Declan, who’s still in the dining room.

“What was that about?” he questions when I walk back in and sit down.

“Just saying goodbye.”

“Are you sad?”

Shifting in my seat, I say, “Can we not talk about this?”

Declan doesn’t push his questions anymore, staying quiet for the most part, aside from safe chitchat as we finish our meal. We discuss the catering and visit with Marco for a while, and after I hire him to cater the party, we open a bottle of wine while we spend a lengthy amount of time selecting the menu offerings. Once business is handled and the foods are selected, Marco excuses himself and I follow Declan to the lobby to have the valet pull my car around.

“Oh no,” I breathe as I look out front. “How long were we talking with Marco?” It’s a white out with snow falling hard and already piling high, making it impossible for me to leave.

“A few hours,” Declan responds. “You can’t drive in this, Nina.”

“No, I know,” I say and then shake my head, adding, “It’s just . . . I told Bennett I would leave before the storm hit.”

“We lost track of time. Nobody’s fault. You can stay here.”

“I don’t have anything with me,” I say and Declan lets out a quiet laugh. “What?”

“Nina, you’re standing in one of the most exclusive hotels in the city. I’ll get you whatever you need.”

“Anything?”

Smiling at me, he says, “Come on,” as he leads me back to his office. He then gets on the phone telling whoever is on the other end to prepare a penthouse suite with all amenities and to bring him the key.

When he hangs up, I tell him, “You didn’t have to do that. I don’t need the penthouse.”

“You’ll be next to me. This way you won’t be tempted to sneak out and play in the elevators,” he jokes as if I’m some teenager.

“Next to you?” I question.

“I occupy one of the penthouses.”

“You live here?”

“No,” he replies. “I have a loft in River North, but I house a room here as well for when I’m too tired to drive home, or in this case, get stuck in a blizzard.”

“River North? I would’ve thought you lived here in the loop.”

“Too pretentious for me. No offense.”

“Says the man who drives a pretentious car,” I tease with a smile, and suddenly, all the tension and frustration from earlier seems to let up as we lightly poke fun at each other.