“Suzy freaks everyone out,” Declan added.
Brant nodded his head in agreement. “That she does. Actually, she scared the shit out of me when I first met her. I like Claire, but I can’t figure out why she and Jason are always handing me their baby whenever I’m at their home.” Declan grimaced while Ella laughed.
“I think it’s a test or something. If you don’t break the baby or make her cry, then you move up a couple of levels in their estimation. Beth told me that she and Nick babysat for them one evening and it almost killed them. She said they ended up changing clothes like five times before they got out of there. I had to remind her that she wouldn’t be able to run from that before long.”
Declan sat back and listened to his unusually talkative brother joke with Ella over Nick’s impending fatherhood and he wondered where his plans for the day had gotten derailed. He had wanted nothing more than to ogle Ella in a bikini for a few hours and instead things had gotten rather domestic. He figured the blame landed squarely on his brother’s shoulders. What was up with him and this bit of socializing that he was doing? Apparently, he wasn’t the only one attempting to turn over a new leaf. Could his tight-ass brother finally be starting to loosen up a little? He had always known that Brant would explode one day from the pressure that was surely building up inside of him. He was relieved to see that he appeared to be more of a slow burn instead of an inferno.
A few moments later, he felt the urge to beat the hell out of Brant when he directed his nosiness at Ella. “So, Dec, are you two dating now?”
When two sets of eyes focused on him, he found himself fumbling for words. “We . . . um, have been out on dates, yes.” He wanted to murder his brother when he saw hurt start to flood Ella’s eyes. What the hell did she want him to say? That they had slept together? It was none of anyone’s goddamn business and the way he saw it, too many people already knew.
“You’re exclusive then? Not dating other people?” Brant asked.
Declan felt the hair on the nape of his neck start to stand up. Surely Brant wasn’t asking if Ella was available. “Just what the f**k are you getting at, Brant?” Declan demanded.
Ella looked at him in surprise and Brant had a look of supreme satisfaction on his face. He had a feeling he had just stepped neatly into a trap. After the initial shock at his tone, even Ella seemed pleased by his angry outburst. Maybe both of them needed some professional help.
Brant got to his feet and smiled down on them. “I was just making small talk, Dec, no harm intended. I’ll let you two get back to your . . . date.” He spent entirely too much time in Declan’s opinion telling Ella good-bye, but finally he was gone. Instantly he felt himself starting to relax without the stress of wondering what would come out of Brant’s mouth next.
“Your brother is really friendly,” Ella began.
He couldn’t contain the laugh that erupted from his chest. “You seem to bring that out in everyone, Ellie.” At her confused look, he continued, “Neither my brother nor I are known for being talkative people. Around you though, we can’t seem to stop talking. You have a way of drawing people out.”
She smiled and then stood up, grabbing his hand. “Come in with me.”
When he shook his head and tried to resist the allure of her smile, she taunted, “Well, okay, but I plan to go in a little deeper and I’m not a very good swimmer.”
As all of her recent accidents flashed through his head, he jumped swiftly to his feet. “Alright, baby, you win. If you drown me though, I’ll come back and haunt you for the rest of your life.” She squealed in excitement and Declan thought about how easy it was to get caught up in everything Ella. She was like the sun coming out after months of darkness.
No wonder Brant had acted so out of character around her. He knew firsthand that it was impossible not to. If you were within proximity, you would get caught in her orbit. He might only be thirty-five, but he had felt twice his age for longer than he cared to admit. She made him feel carefree and young again. It seemed her love of life was contagious and he was high on the happiness that sparkled in her eyes. Tomorrow he would look back on this day and wonder how his life could change so drastically in just twenty-four hours.
Chapter Eleven
Ella knew she had a ridiculous “I had sex this morning” smile on her face when she walked in the lobby at Danvers International, but she couldn’t seem to help it. She had spent another night with Declan and he had woken her in the most delicious way. Her body was still tingling from the thrill of that oh-so-heavenly tongue of his. She felt herself blush at the memory of her wanton response. She was pretty sure the neighbors must have heard her screams of pleasure. She’d never really imagined that she would be that . . . vocal, but she found it impossible to control herself and Declan loved it.
“It looks like someone finally got laid.”
Ella whirled around with a guilty look to see a smirking Suzy. “I . . . ugh . . . what?”
“Oh come on Snow White, you don’t have to hide it from me. There is only one thing that has a woman high-stepping that much before nine in the morning. Declan finally tapped it, huh?”
“Tapped?”
“Yeah, sorry. Gray says I’m picking up too much gangster lingo from watching reality shows. You and Declan slept together, no?”
There was no way she could lie to Suzy, who claimed to have a built-in bullshit detector—and Ella had seen it in action before. Besides, she wasn’t like her family. Instead of being horrified, she would be proud. She found herself literally bouncing on her heels as she nodded her head and said, “Yes, yes!”
Suzy threw her arm around her shoulder and pulled her into a hug. “Atta girl, way to go. Since you look so happy, I assume he took care of you?”
She could feel herself starting to turn a darker shade of crimson. “It was wonderful. I never knew . . . wow!”
Suzy laughed, “Wow is right. I’m happy for you kid, you deserve it. Just hang on and enjoy the ride.”
When Beth walked up to them, she took one look at Ella and tears started to fall. “You did it! Oh, I can’t believe this. I want to hear all about it.”
Shaking her head, Suzy handed her sister a tissue. “Oh, don’t start leaking all over the place again. Is there anything you don’t cry over now?”