I started to protest, but Declan stepped around Saxon and farther into the house as she leveled her gaze on me. “He’s right. That sounds terribly boring. Stay down here with us. You can help me decide on a movie. If we let Saxon pick, it’ll give me nightmares or put me to sleep,” she said with a friendly smile that concerned me.

  There was no way she was suddenly open to me being here.

  “My movies aren’t that bad,” Saxon said defensively.

  Declan rolled her eyes and shot him a look over her shoulder. “Yes, they are.” Then, she turned back to me. “The last movie he picked out, I was asleep within the first twenty minutes.”

  Saxon closed the door and smirked at me from behind her back. I wanted to laugh, but I kept from doing so.

  “I don’t watch much television. I’m more of a reader,” I explained.

  Declan grimaced. “I can fix that,” she replied with a wave of her manicured hand, as if I were broken because I read books. “When is the pizza going to be here?” she asked, turning to Saxon as she placed a hand on his arm.

  “Uh, well, I thought you were the pizza, so any minute,” he replied.

  “Did you get a vegan on gluten-free crust?” she asked him.

  He shook his head. “No.”

  Declan sighed, and her shoulders dropped, like he had disappointed her. I hadn’t known they made vegan or gluten-free pizzas.

  “I’ll go ask Jo to make me a salad then,” she told him.

  “Jo left for the day,” Saxon informed her.

  Another long sigh. “Then, I will go make myself a salad.” She flashed a smile at me. “Come with? You can help me get the plates and flatware,” she told me, then began walking toward the kitchen.

  I looked from her retreating form to Saxon. I didn’t want to be alone with her since I was ninety-nine percent sure this was an act for Saxon. Once we were by ourselves, I feared her claws would come back out. However, I didn’t see a way to escape this, and Saxon said nothing. He just shrugged.

  I wanted to sigh this time, but I forced a smile and turned to follow Declan to the kitchen. I had dealt with my share of Declans in high school. I knew what to expect. I’d thought once I graduated, I was done with this kind of thing. Apparently, it was something that not everyone grew out of.

  The kitchen smelled clean and was spotless when we entered. I didn’t like the idea of messing it up. Didn’t seem fair to Mrs. Jolene. She’d left it pristine before leaving for the day.

  Declan opened up both of the doors to the massive fridge and stood in front of it with her hands on her hips. “I’ve never actually made my own salad. I don’t cook,” she said, then flashed a bright smile at me. “We have a chef for that.”

  I wasn’t surprised. I didn’t say anything because I had no polite response.

  Declan went back to studying the fridge while letting the cool escape, but reached for nothing. I knew that the Houstons could afford the electricity bill, but the longer she stood there, the more stressed I got. Why wasn’t she getting things out and closing the doors? There was no reason to leave them open like that. When she finally moved, it was to look at me again.

  “I don’t know where to start,” she said. “Do you know how to make a salad?”

  I didn’t want to make Declan anything, but if it would get her to stop standing there with the fridge doors open, then I would do it. I nodded and walked over to look inside the fridge. Quickly, I grabbed a head of lettuce, some vegetables, and a bottle of dressing.

  “Does that dressing have dairy? I’m vegan,” she said, causing me to pause.

  It was ranch dressing, so I nodded.

  She shook her head. “Can’t have it then.”

  I put it back. “There are a few other dressings,” I told her and moved back so she could look at them.

  She did a quick glance. “Are any vegan?” she asked me, as if I knew.

  “I’m not vegan. I don’t know what you’re looking for,” I explained, feeling more annoyed by the second.

  She frowned and reached in to pull out an oil and vinegar bottle. “Just use this,” she told me.

  Relieved, I took it and finally closed the doors.

  “Are you going to, like, wash and chop that stuff?” she asked me.

  Since it all needed to be washed and chopped, I nodded.

  She beamed then. “Great. I’ll be in the movie room with Saxon.” Then, she spun around and strutted out of the room without a thank you or a do you need help.

  I would have been annoyed by that if I wasn’t being left alone. If getting rid of her was the outcome, then I would happily take my time making a salad for the princess. At least I was alone again. This would also give me the chance to clean things up. When Mrs. Jolene returned in the morning, the kitchen would be exactly like she had left it.

  It took me several minutes to find a colander, cutting board, salad bowl, vegetable peeler, and knife, but once I had all my supplies, I went to work on the salad, making extra for Saxon and myself. Lost in the process, I didn’t hear Saxon walk into the kitchen and jumped, startled, when he placed the pizzas on the counter.

  “Wow, you can really make a salad,” he said to me. “Declan said you insisted on making it, and now, I can see why. Hers wouldn’t have looked anything like that.”

  I’d insisted, huh?

  “I made enough for all of us,” I told him. “We could use some veggies with our pizza.”

  He held up a box. “This is veggie pizza.”

  I grinned. “That’s been cooked with cheese, and it’s full of grease, taking all its nutritional value out of the picture.”

  He smiled. “I don’t normally eat salads, but since you made it and pointed out my lack of proper vegetables, I’ll have some.”

  I started to reply when Declan came back into the kitchen.

  “Is it ready yet? I didn’t expect a simple salad to take so long. I would have stayed and helped you if I’d known you were going to struggle with it.” All the while, she kept her friendly smile in place.

  I imagined taking the salad bowl and tossing it in her face. The thought made me feel better.

  “It’s done now,” I replied. “Saxon, what dressing do you like?” I asked him, taking the attention off Declan.

  “He doesn’t eat salad,” Declan announced. “But I hope you do. That’s entirely too much for me, and I’d hate to waste any of their food. You should have been careful. Jo might need some of those things tomorrow.”

  So, she was worried about wasting their food, but not about wasting their electricity. How did Saxon deal with her? Did she not drive him nuts?

  My brother had always said, “Guys think with their dicks, Maddy. The hotter the piece, the more bullshit they will put up with.”

  I’d always rolled my eyes at that saying, but in this situation, that had to be the case.

  “Maddy made enough for all of us. She pointed out the lack of nutritional value in the pizza, so I agreed to eat salad too,” he explained to Declan, then looked back at me. “I like ranch.”

  I nodded and went to get the ranch from the fridge again. I liked it, too, so this would work for both of us. Closing the door, I went over to set it on the counter.

  “I’ll get the plates,” I said since I had found them while looking for a salad bowl earlier.

  “Are we eating in here? Wouldn’t the dining room be better?” Declan asked.

  “No need to mess up the dining room. It’s just us,” Saxon replied and walked over to me to take the plates.

  He handed one to Declan, and she took it as if it were a foreign object. Saxon didn’t seem to notice and began putting one of each of the pizzas on his plate, and then he took the tongs I’d put in the salad bowl and added a small portion of salad on the space left.

  I took my plate and followed his lead while Declan watched us, frowning before moving toward the salad bowl and putting an even smaller portion than Saxon had gotten onto her plate. Realizing I had indeed made too much salad, I went back and put a much larger portion of the salad on my plate. I didn’t want to waste the salad, and it was clear that Declan wasn’t going to eat more than a few bites.

  Once she had her food, Declan walked out of the kitchen with her plate and toward the dining room. Saxon watched her then looked at me and rolled his eyes before taking his plate to follow her. My new plan was to eat, then claim a headache and get back to the solitude of my room. There was no way I was staying down here and watching a movie with the two of them.

  Eight

  Saxon

  Declan was either trying to be friendly with Maddy or she was faking it. My bet was on the latter. I knew Declan was unhappy about Maddy living here. Once Declan had seen her today, that unhappiness had escalated. She hadn’t known that my mother’s orphaned best friend’s daughter was also gorgeous. Neither had I.

  Tonight, I had hoped to get to know Maddy better and make her feel comfortable here. Mom wanted her to feel like this was her home. Truth was, my mother had always wanted a daughter, but after I was born, the doctors had warned her that her body couldn’t handle another pregnancy. She’d tried anyway a few years later and lost the baby at twenty weeks. I didn’t remember it, but I knew from things Dad had said, Mom had been heartbroken. The baby had been a girl.

  Maddy was exactly the kind of daughter my mother would have wanted. My mother loved beautiful things, and Maddy fit that category. When she’d gone to get Maddy in Texas, I had wondered if the girl would be what my mother wanted. Not to say Mom was shallow, but a part of me felt like if Maddy didn’t meet her expectations physically, Mom might not want to offer her a home. I never voiced that concern, and when Maddy had walked into the kitchen this morning, I understood my mother’s buoyant mood. She had gotten the perfect daughter.

  Dinner was exhausting. I did my best to control the conversation so that Declan wouldn’t say anything to make Maddy feel uncomfortable or unwanted. However, when Maddy stood up from the table with her empty plate, I could see the look on her face. She was going to bolt, and honestly, I didn’t blame her. Nothing about this meal was what I had planned. Declan had made sure that Maddy didn’t get a chance to say much. She’d managed to turn the topic to herself every chance she got.

  “I’ll clean up in the kitchen and put things away. I’ve got a headache that I hoped food would cure, but it’s not getting better. The two of you enjoy your movie. I’m going to head up to bed. I think the travel yesterday is just getting to me.”

  As much as I wanted to beg her to stay and watch the movie, I knew Declan would make it awkward. The weary look in Maddy’s eyes said she’d had all she could handle for one evening.

  I nodded and stood up, taking my plate. “We will help you clean up. No reason for you to do the cleaning on your own when we all ate dinner.”

  She shook her head. “Oh, no, that’s fine. I don’t mind. It won’t take me long.”

  I was torn now. It was clear she wanted to get away from us, but I hated the idea of her cleaning up. “Go to bed. You made the salad. We will clean up,” I told her.

  “We will?” Declan asked, and I ignored her.

  Maddy looked torn. She wanted to escape, but it was obvious she didn’t like leaving the cleaning to us. I picked up Declan’s plate and put it on top of mine.

  “I swear, I got this,” I told her again.

  After a brief pause, Maddy finally nodded. “Okay, if you’re sure.”

  I started to tell her I was positive when the door chime began to play. Who the fuck was that? With my parents gone, the only answer was that it was someone for me, and I hadn’t invited anyone.

  “That’s Trev!” Declan announced, springing up from her seat.

  “Trev?” I asked, confused, looking at her.

  “What? I invited him. I didn’t want Maddy to feel like a third wheel. But now that she has a headache and is going to bed, that ruins everything,” she said with a touch of a sour note in her voice.

  “You didn’t mention it to me,” I said, unable to keep the annoyance out of my voice.

  She shrugged and pushed her lips out into a pout that I’d once been affected by. Back before I got to know her and when I was getting hot sex from her in the locker room at school and blow jobs while I was driving. She was every teenage boy’s fantasy. But like I’d said, that was before I got to really know her. Declan was a lot to deal with. She had daddy issues, and I knew her home life was hard. Her mother ignored her and was rarely home. I felt bad for her, and because of that, I overlooked a lot.

  “I didn’t know I needed permission to invite your best friend over,” she said as if this conversation were ridiculous. “Besides, I thought it would be a better setting for Maddy to get to know us. Today wasn’t exactly a success. Blaise ruined everything.”

  The door chimed again.

  Declan raised her eyebrows. “One of us needs to go get it. Or are you planning on making Trev stand outside?”

  I looked back over at Maddy, who remained, still watching us.

  “You don’t have to stay down here,” I told her.

  She nodded and turned to leave the room. I wished I could do the same.

  “That was rude,” Declan said, glaring at the door Maddy had exited.

  “She has had a shitty week. Her head hurts,” I said to Declan through clenched teeth.

  “Whatever. I’m going to let Trev in,” she said to me.

  I didn’t watch her go, but picked up the dishes and glasses on the table, then went to the kitchen to load them in the dishwasher. Declan could entertain Trev. Not that he needed entertaining. He knew this house as well as he did his own.

  Maddy was washing her dish in the sink, along with the other things she’d used to make the salad. I placed the dishes down beside the sink, and she gave me a tight smile that didn’t meet her eyes.

  “Sorry about all this. Trust me, I didn’t know this was how the night was going to go. I’ll wash these up and get them put away. You can escape now.”

  The corner of her mouth lifted slightly. “It’s fine. The pizza was delicious. Thank you for ordering it. I’ve got the dishes. Y’all go watch your movie. Once I’m done here, I’ll go up.”

  “You shouldn’t have to clean up after us,” I argued. She’d made Declan a salad, which Declan had barely touched. Watching her clean up our dishes, too, bothered me. “We’ve got an excellent dishwasher,” I told her. “I can just load the dishes in there.”

  She shook her head. “That’s not fair to Mrs. Jolene. She left things spotless. The dishwasher is empty and ready for tomorrow.”

  I knew Jo well enough to know that she wouldn’t mind. She’d be glad I had eaten a salad. However, the determined look on Maddy’s face told me she wasn’t going to budge.

  “Then, I’ll help,” I replied.

  She sighed and stopped washing to look up at me. “I would really rather do it alone. If you stay in here, then …” She paused and glanced over her shoulder.

  She wanted to say Declan would come back and she didn’t want that. I could see it in her eyes.

  “Yeah, okay. I get it,” I replied.

  Her shoulders sagged in relief. “Thanks,” she said softly.

  I didn’t like her washing the dishes, but I couldn’t ignore her obvious desire to be alone. Declan would come bursting in here with all her energy any moment. I wanted to say more, but I gave her a nod, then walked away. If Mom knew I’d let her wash the dishes, she’d be pissed. Hopefully, she would never find out.

  Trev and Declan were headed toward the kitchen when I met them in the foyer. It was a good thing I had left when I did.

  “I brought the good stuff,” Trev said, holding up a bottle of his favorite rye whiskey.

  Unlike my father, who kept tabs on the contents of his liquor cabinet, Trev’s dad had an entire cellar and didn’t notice when a bottle went missing.

  “I’ll grab glasses from the bar and meet y’all in the theater,” I told him.

  He glanced over my shoulder toward the hallway leading to the kitchen. “Where’s Maddy?”

  “Not feeling good. She’s got a headache and going to bed,” I explained.

  He grinned and held up the bottle. “I got the medicine she needs,” he replied, then started to walk past me.

  “Wait. I doubt she wants that stuff,” I told him.

  He shot me a cocky smirk. “She might not know she wants it, but she will.”

  “Seriously, man, she’s had a long week. Let’s give her space,” I argued.

  Trev looked slightly concerned, but only for a moment. “I won’t bother her if she doesn’t want me to. But just because she is trying to escape you two doesn’t mean she won’t appreciate my charming company.”

  “Come on,” Declan said, running a hand up my chest and pressing a kiss to my neck. “Let him go check on her. She might want to see him. It’ll give us some alone time.”

  Trev pointed at Declan. “Listen to your woman,” he said, then walked off before I could say anything else.

  Damn, this night had gone to shit.

  Nine

  “Hey, gorgeous. I got your headache fix right here,” a familiar male voice said.

  I turned around to see Trev with a bottle of whiskey in his hand. He was flashing me that smile of his that said he knew he was attractive and he enjoyed using it to get his way. I liked Trev, and we had agreed to be friends, but not tonight. Dinner with Declan had been more than I could handle.

  “I don’t drink. Remember?” I replied.

  He set the bottle on the bar and walked around it to come stand beside me. “Well then, let me help you wash the dishes,” he said.

  I didn’t argue. I figured there was no point. He took the bowl I’d just washed from me and began to rinse it.