Page 29 of See You Maybe

Declan didn’t know what to think. He should be worried about what it was his Uncle Iain wanted to speak to him about, or why, after just settling his debt, his brother Seamus was looking for him as well.

Today—with her—he hadn’t thought about it at all. He wasn’t Declan Bloom and all the pressures that came with his life. He was Declan Riordan. It had been wonderful. Wonderful and freeing to meet someone who accepted him as he was.

In the back of his mind, he heard the echoes of a warning. Be careful. She’s different. Special. You can’t keep her.

Declan knew he should listen, because after what was easily the best sexual experience of his life, his chest had swelled with emotions. Emotions that had no business being there. Rose was a tourist on vacation, and she was leaving in the morning.

The crushing feeling on his sternum meant nothing, he told himself. But it did. Declan had spent the last several hours exploring every inch of her body with his mouth and hands, but it wasn’t enough. And it wasn’t just the sex.

Being with Rose settled something deep inside him. Today, spending time with her, it had felt like all the pieces of his life that whirled with nonstop demand inside him had finally drifted into place. The constant need to stay on alert, to think five steps ahead of everyone, even his own father… had all quieted with her hand in his. He wasn’t ready to let her go.

The thoughts swirling in Declan’s head slowed to a stop, an audacious plan taking shape.

He frowned.

Will she think I’m a creep for even suggesting it? Am I a creep for suggesting it while letting her believe I’m someone else? If anyone in the family heard about it? If my father…

Declan scrubbed a hand over his face.

Fuck. This is a terrible idea.

One that would most likely blow up in his face. But he’d been living his life for his family since the day he was born. Was it wrong to want to take a step back from the world and be Declan for a while?

“I have an idea,” Declan said, handing her the cup of takeout coffee he’d gotten while she was asleep.

Rose pushed her mess of hair out of her face, revealing a deep crease on one cheek from where she had lain on the sheet, dead to the world. She rubbed at her eyes, and he smiled.

“Hear me out before you answer.”

She pushed to a sitting position, her back against the headboard, the sheet bunching at her waist, leaving her top free for him to ogle.

Rose took a large sip of her coffee and then another. “Give me a second,” she muttered, slurping at her cup.

“You really have the most beautiful breasts I’ve ever seen.” Declan grinned when she choked, and a bright flush covered her porcelain skin.

“As a wake-up call, that’s pretty good.” Rose’s fingers toyed with the sheet, like she was going to cover herself, but then they relaxed. “What’s your idea?”

Declan took her lack of self-consciousness as a positive sign. “I have a week off too.” Her brow furrowed, and he rushed to explain. “I’m starting a new job in a week. It’s a promotion, so this might be my last time off for a while.”

“You got a promotion at your cousin’s bar?” Lines appeared between her eyebrows.

“It’s a family business. We all have to work our way up.” It wasn’t a total lie. “What would you say to us spending our last week of freedom together?”

“What?” A cautious look crossed her face.

Declan traced a finger across her cheekbone and over the shell of her ear, back along her jaw and over her lips, before cupping her cheek. He just needed to touch her, and he’d stopped trying to figure out why.

“Yesterday was…” Despite his well thought out speech, words failed him, but Rose smiled, leaning her cheek into his caress.

“I know.”

“I don’t know what this is between us, and I know we both have lives we have to go back to… but… We don’t have to go yet. Stay with me in Ireland. I have a place in the south. We can rent a car. Go wherever you want.”

Rose licked her lips. She hadn’t said no right away. He felt the first bit of hope creeping in.

“Like a week in bed?” Her tone was a little too careful, and Declan lowered his hand.

“Not just that. Though a week-long sex fest with you sounds pretty damn good.”