Maid for Each Other(61)

I bit down on my lower lip, surprised this story still had the power to make me feel this sad. “Because Doug chose Gaia.”

Dex’s jaw moved back and forth, like he was grinding his teeth together. “What?”

“Apparently he’d just always wanted a husky since he was a little boy. He felt like he couldn’t give her away because it would be like giving away his child. Gaia was like a child to him, like his baby…，” I said, trailing off because I didn’t want to say the rest, that the man I’d wanted to call my father had chosen a puppy over me.

“I hate Doug.” Dex looked down at me and said with ferocity, “He would’ve been the shittiest father, Abi. You dodged a bullet. Doug was never going to be good enough for you, and Gaia is the best thing that ever could’ve happened to you.”

I blinked back tears and was surprised to feel myself smiling. “Gaia is the best thing that ever happened to me?”

Declan swallowed, bringing my eyes down to that strong neck, and then he said, “I’m sure of it.”

As someone who didn’t consider herself a hugger, it was shocking how natural it felt to wrap my arms around him and pull him into the tightest hug I had in me.

As if knowing another second of heartfelt emotion might break me, he murmured into my ear, “I cannot believe you’re hitting on me like this, Mariano.”

That made me laugh in spite of everything, so I pulled back and said, “You wish, Powell.”

When we finally got back to his apartment building, just after midnight, he turned on The Godfather because I’d never seen it and he thought that was criminal. I went into the bedroom and changed into pajamas, and when I came out, he’d changed into sweats.

He looked so good in casual wear that it was a little distracting.

But once we started watching the movie, I couldn’t stay awake. No matter how hard I tried, I kept falling asleep. I was exhausted from the day, and staying awake seemed nearly impossible.

But I refused to go to bed because too soon I’d wake up and it’d be time to go.

I didn’t fight him when he shifted my body so I was lying on the couch with my head resting on his shoulder. He seemed comfortable in the corner of the huge sectional, and I was too tired to deny myself the pillow that was his body.

Apparently I fell sound asleep, because the next thing I knew, Declan was quietly saying my name.

“Wake up, Abi,” he said, his deep voice soft and soothing. “Time to go to bed.”

“Shhhhh,” I said without opening my eyes, not wanting him to move because I was so damn comfortable.

He didn’t say anything so I thought he was going to stay, but then I felt myself being gently lifted.

“Dex,” I said, looking up at that face as he picked me up like I weighed nothing, like I was a sleeping toddler he was carrying off to bed. “What are you doing?”

“Shhhhh, sleepyhead,” he said, carrying me toward the guest room where I was staying. I felt absurdly relaxed in his arms as he went into the room and set me gently on the bed.

“Thank you,” I said, feeling sleepy and cozy as I nestled under the covers and pulled them up to my armpits.

“I kind of want those pajamas,” he said, teasing me. “They’ve grown on me.”

“I’m fairly certain they would never button over your chest,” I said.

“That’s probably true,” he said, looking down at his chest. “Was your ex a weenie?”

“I don’t know if I’d say ‘weenie,’ but definitely not as big as you.”

“So I win,” he said proudly.

“This is not a competition.”

“Isn’t it, though?” he asked.

“No, it’s not.” I laughed, mostly because we were only friends and we’d never even discussed the topic of my ex before.

Which was good because it was really a non-topic.

The last guy I dated was nice and we had a cordial time together and slept together twice before he said he was still in love with his ex, and I realized it didn’t even matter to me.

His eyes roamed over my face, and I knew he was about to leave me alone.

And I didn’t want to be alone.

“Can I just thank you again for this trip?” I said, because a hundred thank-yous weren’t enough. “I had the best day with you today.”

“It was a great day,” he agreed, and I felt like he was speaking carefully, like he was purposely holding back.

I bit my lip. I should’ve held back, too, but the words came out anyway. “Do you ever think about our first kiss?”

He looked surprised at first, but then his mouth slid into a slow smile. “Hell, yes, all the time.”

“You do?” I said around a laugh, shocked that he was being so honest.

“How could I not?” he said, stacking his hands on top of his head as he smiled down at me. “We both went in for this big Hollywood kiss but got completely lost in the realness of what a kiss is.”

“？‘Of what a kiss is’？” I asked, almost breathlessly, my toes curling underneath the blanket.

His green eyes were hot. “I got lost in the softness of your lips and the smell of your perfume and the breathy little sound you made when I dared to use my tongue—all the physical magic of a kiss. I forgot about reasons and purpose and just wanted to stay in there and keep going, y’know?”