This was a side of Declan I hadn’t seen before. He opened every door for me. At the shop. At his truck. And at the restaurant. It was like being a gentleman was ingrained in his DNA. I couldn’t remember the last time anyone but my father held a door for me. It was strange and oddly nice, but I didn’t trust it. I didn’t trust him.

We sat down at a table near the back, and our waitress brought over a basket of bread. She took our drink orders and then left us to look over the menu. Declan and I kept glancing at each other in that awkward way people do on first dates. I hated myself for playing into it because this wasn’t a date. It was the furthest thing from a date. Wasn’t it?

“So, why this place?” I asked, unable to take the silence for another second.

Declan shrugged. “We bought the property two years ago. We just sold it to the new owners six months ago. It’s impressive that they’re already up and running. Plus, the food is incredible.”

I felt my face and my neck tighten. Of course, Gamble Realty bought and resold this building. Why else would Declan have picked it for our lunch? This wasn’t about saying thank you. He was just trying to convince me to sell the shop.

Anger bubbled up inside of me, but I shoved it down. Declan swore this lunch wasn’t about business. He hadn’t once mentioned buying Tanner Bikes. I didn’t want to be a bitch and attack him again. At least not until he deserved it.

“What exactly is it you do?” I asked, keeping my tone as light as possible.

“Well,” Declan said. “It’s pretty simple. We’re a realty company that specializes in buying, renovating, and selling different properties all over Virginia. We primarily work out of Virginia Beach, but my brother and I take trips all over the state in search of new and old properties.”

“That sounds,” I couldn’t find the right word at first. “Boring.”

“It is.” Declan laughed. “Most days, I hate it.”

“Then, why do you do it?” I asked.

“It’s a family business,” Declan said. “My father owned the company for years. He always wanted me to take over one day, but I refused. I enlisted in the Army when I was eighteen, but when my dad died, I decided to come back home and run the company.”

I wanted to ask a million more questions. Why did he decide to come back? Was it only because his father died, or was there more to it? And why did he join the military so young? Was he running away from his family, or did he feel a natural pull to the service?

I couldn’t believe how curious I was about this man. We’d only just met and already, I felt a need to know everything.

“I’m sure your father would be proud of you,” I said. My tone was polite and cordial. It didn’t give away anything I was thinking.

No matter how much I wanted to keep talking, I was afraid to pry. There was something about Declan that drew me in. I’d already spent so much time thinking about him. I was afraid if I found out more about him, my interest would only grow.

“How was the military?” I asked. It felt like the safest, least personal question.

“It was great,” Declan said. His eyes lit up in a way I’d never seen before. “I loved being in the Army. And I was good at it, which helped.”

“You joined at eighteen?” I asked

Declan nodded. “On my birthday,” he said.

“Wow.” I laughed. “You were eager.”

“You have no idea,” Declan said. “I knew that’s what I wanted to do. The Army was the only option for me. If things hadn’t changed, I probably would have stayed in until retirement.”

“But you wanted to honor your father,” I said.

“Something like that.”

Declan looked down at the table. Again, my desire to find out more was sparked. I could barely contain all the questions I had. His blue eyes were like steel when they finally looked back up. He’d put up a wall, and I hated it. I longed to reach over and rip it down brick by brick, but I couldn’t. My own defenses were too strong to let me get that close.

We ordered our food, and it was brought to us within minutes. The restaurant worked like a machine. Declan was right, the food was incredible. I had to stifle a moan after the first bite.

“Holy shit,” I said with a mouthful of chicken parmesan.

“Right?” Declan said with a laugh. “I told you. It’s insane.”

“You were right,” I said. “I could eat this for every meal.”

“I basically do,” Declan said. “I make Samson come here for lunch way too often.”

“Does Mila like it?” I asked.

That was all it took. Declan launched into stories about his daughter. His blue eyes were practically sparkling as he told me story after story. We talked about her Little League team and how excited she was for the season to start. He told me all about how much she loved the beach and how she’d learned to swim when she was only two years old.

“I’m sorry,” he said after almost half an hour. “I’m talking too much.”

“I don’t mind,” I said. “She seems really great.”

“She is,” Declan said. “She’s a total brat sometimes, though.”

I laughed. “I think all kids are.”

“You should have heard her this morning,” Declan said. “She told me she’s the only person on her team who could possibly play shortstop. Apparently, everyone else just sucks too much.”

“Well, yeah,” I said. “Obviously.”

“Obviously.”

We both laughed. Everything about being with Declan was easy. Laughing and talking. Hearing his stories about Mila. Even listening to him talk about Gamble Realty wasn’t as tough as I thought it would be. After the first few minutes, I realized he was telling the truth. This wasn’t a sales pitch. He really just wanted to have lunch, all business aside.

“Can I say something that might piss you off?” Declan asked after we were done eating.

“Go for it.”

“It’s impressive that you own a motorcycle repair shop,” he said. “Not many women could do what you do.”

I shrugged. “Sure they could,” I said. “Anyone can.”

“I’m not so sure about that.”

“It’s all about being taught,” I said. “I learned to repair bikes when I was just a kid. I’ve spent my entire life around motorcycles, figuring out how they tick. I could work on an engine before I knew how to add and subtract.”

“Damn.” Declan shook his head. “You’ve got me beat. I didn’t even pop a hood until the military.”

“Seriously?” I tried not to laugh, but a small snicker escaped my lips.

“Let’s just say I grew up privileged,” Declan said. “I hate to admit it because, honestly, rich kids suck, but that’s what I was. My family had money. We had people who did things for us. And, it turned me into a pretty shitty person there for a while.”

“At least you can recognize that,” I said. “Most people can’t.”

“The Army helped,” Declan said. “No one there cares how much money your family has. You pull your own weight, or you get left behind. It’s as simple as that.”

I nodded and watched him as his eyes fell to the table again. His guard was still up but less so. His face was softer, smoother. While I watched him, I noticed a thin layer of scruff covering his cheeks and chin. I swallowed hard and looked away, feeling my stomach tighten.

I’d been attracted to Declan the first time I saw him, but this was different. Deeper. The heat coursing through my body needed an outlet. My entire body longed to touch him. I didn’t know what had gotten into me, but I didn’t like it.

“I’ll be right back,” I said. I stood up quickly.

I practically ran to the bathroom and threw myself into the first empty stall I found. My head felt fuzzy. I sat down on the toilet and took a deep breath. My cheeks were flushed, and my skin felt alive with energy. I’d never felt like this before, but I knew immediately that it was because of Declan.

Having lunch with him was a mistake. My attraction to him was growing stronger every second. His soft side when he talked about Mila was enough to keep me wanting more. The way his eyes simultaneously darkened and lit up when he talked about the military made me want to know everything he went through. It was impossible that I already felt this way about a man I barely knew, a man who’d introduced himself to me under false pretenses.

Sitting in that bathroom stall, I suddenly remembered why I needed to keep my distance. Whatever else had happened, Declan was only in my life because he wanted to buy my father’s shop out from under me. That hadn’t changed.

I stood up and took a deep breath before I went back out to the table. Declan smiled when he saw me, but I kept my lips pressed together and my jaw tight. We were done eating, and I didn’t want to dawdle for another minute.

“We should probably go,” I said. “I have work to do at the shop.”

“Right,” Declan said. “Sure.”

He waved over the waitress and paid the bill, against my protestations, before we left. It was silent in the truck. I stared out the window and tried my best to remember who Declan really was. I’d let myself get distracted by his icy blue eyes and five o’clock shadow. I couldn’t let that happen again.

“Listen,” I said. We were almost to the shop, and there was something I wanted to say before we made it back. “I’m not selling the shop. There’s nothing that could ever make me change my mind about that. That shop is, well, it’s mine.”

Declan glanced at me with an unreadable expression. He nodded and turned his attention back to the road. We didn’t speak again until it was time to say goodbye.

“Thank you for lunch,” I said.

“Thanks for coming,” Declan said. “And thank you again for your help with the truck.”

“It was nothing.”

Declan looked like he wanted to say something else, but he stopped himself. Instead, he just smiled and nodded as I pushed open the door and got out of the truck. I didn’t turn around until I was inside, and by then, Declan was already pulling away.

I watched him go with a pit in my stomach.

“How was lunch?” Garret asked from behind me.

“It was nice,” I said without turning around.

It had been nice. Lunch was great until I ruined it on the ride back.

Garret looked at me suspiciously for the rest of the day. He didn’t press me for details, which I was grateful for because I wasn’t sure I could give them. My mind felt oddly blank as I tried to focus on work.

It was useless. The second Declan dropped me off, I regretted my decision to bring up the shop. He hadn’t once talked about buying the property. All through lunch, he’d kept his word. He wasn’t there for business, and yet, I made it about business. I let my own pride and insecurities ruin what was otherwise a perfectly nice afternoon.

I told myself it didn’t matter because that was the last time I would see Declan. Unless, by some random act of the universe, I came across his broken-down truck again.