I’m not Nora’s favorite Gilroy. That honor belongs to my brother.

Patrick is a very close second.

These days, I think she might even like Henley more than she likes me.

Like every other shitty thing in my life, it’s my own fault.

Shit got fucked up a long time ago and even though I’ve spent the last eight years trying to make it right, I’m still paying for it.

And it’s nothing less than I deserve.

“Hey, Nora—is the booth open?” I say when I get to the hostess station. No one grumbles behind me. No one complains. Sometimes being the size of a Yeti has its advantages.

Unfortunately, Nora is not nearly as intimidated.

Nora flicks narrowed eyes at me before refocusing on her podium. “Audrey’s back there, workin’ her way through the menu.”

Audrey.

That’s what she calls Tess.

“She alone?” A month ago, the question wouldn’t have been worth asking. Tess was never alone. She and Conner were joined at the hip. The fact that they practically lived in each other’s back pockets made it easier to do the right thing. Keep my distance. Stay away from her. Then Henley came home and changed everything.

Her mouth tightens slightly when she looks at me, like she’s got something to say but doesn’t want to let it loose. “There’s room at the count—”

That means yes.

Before I even know what I’m doing, I’m halfway across the room, weaving my way between tables and chairs, Nora calling after me that I need to wait my turn. What she really means is that I need to stay away from Tess.

Too bad I can’t.

When I get to the table, Tess is alone—the table in front of her littered with plates—working her way through a stack of pancakes.

“If you came here to apologize again, be prepared to leave with a fork stuck in your neck,” she says, using said fork to spear a neatly cut square of pancake.

“I came here to eat.” I’m not sure what I meant to say, but I know that wasn’t it.

“I’m gonna be a while.” She cocks her head and looks up at me, one of her slim, dark brows cocked slightly higher than the other. “I ordered pie,” she informs me before shoving her perfectly cut piece of pancake into her mouth. “And a milkshake. You can wai—”

I slide into the booth across from her before signaling Tina for coffee. “I’m hungry now.”

Her mouth hangs open for a split second before snapping shut to continue to chew. When she’s finished, she sets her fork down carefully—a surefire sign she’s struggling not to make good on her threat to bury it in my neck—and pushes her plate away.

She’s leaving.

Shit.

“You’re not leaving because I’m here are you?”

Like I knew it would, the question stops her in her tracks. If there’s anything that gets Tess riled, it’s suggesting that’s she’s running from or avoiding something.

Mainly me.

Before she can tell me to fuck off, Tina pops up with a double slice of blueberry pie and a chocolate milkshake big enough to swim in.

“Girl, I don’t know where you put all this food,” she says, shaking her head at the litter of plates and bowls strewn across the table.

“I’m a hummingbird,” Tess says, stirring her milkshake, stopping mid-bob when she realizes what she just said.

It’s what her mom used to call her.

“I have a fast metabolism,” she clarifies, giving Tina a smile that looked forced.

“Well you’re lucky.” Tina says, seemingly oblivious to Tess’s struggle. “Wish I could eat milkshakes and pizza all day.” She laughs, shooting me a nervous glance before setting the rest of Tess’s order on the table in front of her. “What can I get you, Dec?” Like everyone else in this goddamned town, Tina is firmly Team Conner when it comes to Tess. That means, like Nora, she’s in the throes of a moral quandary right about now. The fact that my little brother isn’t already here, flipping over tables and calling me out is more than mildly surprising.

“I’m not sure—give me a few minutes,” I answer her, even though I’m still looking at Tess.

“Okay,” Tina says. I can catch her head bob from the corner of my eye before she flicks another nervous glance in Tess’s direction before she starts clearing empty dishes from the table between us. “You want a to-go box for your pie, Tess?” She sounds hopeful when she says it. Like she’s opening a window and urging Tess to jump through it.

“Nope.” Tess rescues her fork from one of her cleared plates before settling back into her seat. “I’m fine, right where I am.”

“Alright then.” Another head bob and now the nervous look gets divided equally between the two of us. “I’ll be back with some coffee.”

“No rush,” I tell her, the corner of my mouth lifting just a bit. “I’m not going anywhere.”

As soon as Tina is gone, Tess focuses on the plate in front of her, turning it this way and that, like she’s looking for the perfect place to start. Finally, she finds a spot of crust that’s perfectly baked and stabs it with her fork.

“You’re imagining that’s my neck, aren’t you?”

She flips her gaze up to my face before refocusing on her plate. “Don’t you have a job?”

I don’t have a job. I have a multi-million dollar construction business to run. That’s where I should be. Instead, I’m here. The plan was to grab a quick bite before letting Jessica drag me around town for the afternoon. That changed when I realized Tess was here without her usual guard dogs.

“Beauty of being your own boss.” I settle back in my seat, giving Tina room to fill my empty mug with coffee when she pops back up with a fresh pot. “Thanks, Tina.” I shoot her a quick smile. “I’ll need a few more minutes to decide.”

“Decide?” She looks confused. “You don’t want an omelet?”

“Not today.”

Neither of us says another word until Tina leaves.

“What do you want, Declan?” She says it to the pie in front of her, lips pressed together so tight, she can barely get the words out.

What do I want?

A second chance to get it right.

To be happy.

You.

All the things I can’t have.

Everything I don’t deserve.

I look down at the paper placemat in front of me, printed with the daily specials and pretend to study it. “Well, I always get the Denver omelet with extra peppers, but I’m thinking maybe—”

“That’s not what I mean and you know it.”

When I glance up, she’s looking right at me, her hazel eyes, a little more green than brown, wide and wounded. I hate that I did that to her. That I hurt her. That I keep hurting her but I can’t seem to stop.

Because I can’t stay away from her.

Because what I want and what I can have are two completely different things.

“I want to be able to talk to you without feeling like I’m committing a fucking crime, for starters.” I say it louder than I have to, considering she’s only three feet away from me. People look up from their plates and away from each other, they’re gazes landing squarely on me before looking away again. When something as big as me gets loud, it’s human nature to look away. To not draw attention to yourself. To make yourself as small and as invisible as possible.

Tess stares straight at me, her eyes narrowing slightly while she leans in, closing the gap between us. “The crime isn’t in talking to me, Declan.” She jabs her fork at me. “It’s that other thing you like to do with your mouth when I’m around that gets you punched in the face.”

“Careful now.” I say it quietly, lowering my voice to barely more than a whisper. “We both know what happens when you poke at me.”

Her cheeks instantly flush. Her fingers go slack around the fork she’s wielding like a weapon. She’s remembering what happened when she showed up at my place a few months ago. The way I pinned her to the wall. How good it felt when I cock-stroked her through her jeans. How close I was to carrying her inside and—

“Hey, mind if I join you guys?”

Goddamnit.

Tilting my head to the side just enough to look up, I skewer my cousin with an icy glare. “Yes,” I say, letting my gaze slide past him. Nora is standing at her podium, pointing her bony finger at some poor slob in a suit. He must’ve pissed her off because he looks like his nuts are shriveled to the size of raisins and he’s on the verge of tears. She’s not paying us any attention but I’d bet my life she’s the one who called Patrick.

Ignoring me, Patrick gives Tess an easy-going grin. That grin is a lie. He’s not the even-keel nice guy he used to be. Not by a long shot. The only thing keeping him from starting shit with me is the fact that Benny’s is fucking Switzerland where the Gilroys are concerned. “Hen, Cari and Grace are on their way to the garage to kidnap you,” he says, taking a step back to give her room to slide her way out of the booth. “Try to act surprised when they get there.”

Shooting me one last look, Tess sets down her fork and stands. “Thanks for the reminder,” she tells him. Standing on the toes of her boots to close the distance between them, she plants a kiss on his cheek. “You can have my milkshake.”

Then she leaves without a backward glance.