Page 38 of See You Maybe

Now sitting amidst the couples, the divide in his family was obvious. His siblings had moved on. They’d made new lives… happy lives, far from the lives their father had planned for them.

Part of Declan wanted to rebel too. Walk away and start over, maybe even… With ruthless will, he shut down that train of thought before it could fully form.

It was his responsibility to take care of his family, to get justice for their father, to regain the Bloom fortune stolen from them, and reclaim the business that was his birthright.

After a minute, the conversations started again, as his siblings discussed their Christmas plans. A few bites of dry chicken later, Declan could feel Chris’s eyes burning into him from a seat at the nearby table, but Declan wouldn’t give Chris the satisfaction of looking at him. He turned to answer Cara’s question, mentally noting Olivia’s location. She was smiling at her coworker… Stuart. He said something to her, and Olivia tipped her head back with a sparkling laugh.

Declan’s jaw tightened, the happy sound hitting him in the gut. He wanted to be the one who made her laugh, to have her smile like that at him again.

“You can’t play that card.”

“I can.” He smirked, laying the card down on the pile between them.

“You’re cheating!” she accused, her cheeks rosy from the bottle of wine sitting on the floor next to their cards. She rose up and leaned forward on her crossed legs, and snatched up the card he’d just played.

His T-shirt rode up to expose the creamy skin of her inner thighs.

“I asked if you had any eights, and you said no. Cheaters forfeit. I win!” she crowed.

“I don’t remember that,” he said, trying to keep a straight face. He pretended to peer closely at her. “Are you drunk again?”

“No. You dirty cheater,” she laughed. “I win.” She tossed her hand of cards on the floor and shimmied where she sat, waving her hands in the air. “I win. I win. You lose,” she sang.

“Oh yeah?” He dove toward her, toppling her to the rug in front of the fire, his hand cupping the back of her head before she hit the floor. His other slipped under the shirt to find the sensitive spot on her ribs that made her squeal with laughter.

“Cry mercy,” he said, tickling her soft skin.

“Never!” Her face was lit with laughter.

“Darling? Did you hear me?” Fiona’s manicured hand, nails painted black to match the form-fitting mermaid gown she wore, patted his lapel in a proprietary way, pulling him from the memory.

Declan looked down into her brown eyes. Fiona was a gorgeous woman, with all the right connections to help him reclaim his position. A marriage to Fiona would ensure her father’s support, virtually guaranteeing his reinstatement as CEO.

“Declan.” Her voice held a warning note, and he realized he had been staring at Olivia’s profile. “You’re taking me to the ballet this week, right?”

“No. I need to get back to Atlanta.”

Fiona's red lips puffed out. “I’d hoped we would get to spend some time together.”

Declan picked up his fork, forcing her to remove her hand. Fiona’s pout became real, and her eyes narrowed. Declan was all too aware of his siblings watching their interaction with interest.

“You have to go already? Christmas is next week.” Her lip curled. “Why on earth would you want to go to Atlanta?”

“I can think of a few reasons,” Cara drawled, her eyes shooting daggers at Fiona.

Fiona’s eyes flicked dismissively to Cara. “I know it’s more your speed now, Cara. That’s understandable.” Her eyes devoured Wes, Cara’s husband, and Declan thought he heard his sister growl. “You all have your own little lives now. It’s sweet that you are so attached to your brother.” Her hand came down on his forearm, and Declan had to remind himself not to push her away. “Isn’t it past time for you to move on… separately?”

James shifted in his seat, and Luke glared at his plate. But Cara wasn’t interested in being discreet. Even as her husband’s hand stroked over her bare shoulder, red blotches that matched her dress appeared on her cheekbones.

“No matter how our family changes, we,” she said, as she pointed around the table at each of her siblings, “spend the holidays together.”

Fiona's smile was knife-sharp. “I know that’s how you’ve done it in the past, but you aren’t children anymore, Cara. At some point, you have to grow up.”

Cara bristled, but before his baby sister could go nuclear, Declan interjected in a soft but deadly voice. “My family will always be my priority.”

“You son of a bitch!” Courtney suddenly shouted and jumped to her feet, her chair flying backward at the table next to them. She shook off Chris’s hand as he reached to catch her.

Declan’s eyes narrowed. It looked like the reports he’d been receiving were true. After her sons' deaths, Courtney was falling apart.