If he did, then Fawn had a feeling she wouldn’t ever know what that secret was. One thing she had learned in the past few days was that Declan was a very private man, and that he usually deflected any conversation that might impinge on that privacy with a deceptively easy and light Irish charm.
“I never thought to ask,” Declan interrupted her thoughts. “Do you have…someone at home that having you move in with me for a couple of weeks is going to piss off?”
Fawn felt what she hoped had remained an inner flinch. “For one thing, I’m not moving in with you,” she snapped. “With the agreement of the hospital, I have been employed to take care of you while you recuperate. After which, as I already told you, I will return to my nursing job there.”
“And for another?”
She frowned her irritation. “What?”
“You said ‘for one thing,’ which implies there must be a second reason,” Declan pointed out mildly.
“You’re smooth,” she admired dryly. “And no, my accepting the position of staying with you for the next two weeks while you recover is not inconveniencing anyone who may be in my life.”
Declan’s mouth quirked. “That told me precisely nothing.”
She grinned unrepentantly. “It wasn’t meant to.”
He snorted. “And you think I’m smooth.”
She shrugged. “Takes one to recognize another one.”
Fawn had no intention of discussing her home situation with Declan. It was absolutely none of his or anyone else’s business.
“Need any help carrying the bags?” Danny offered once they had driven down into and parked the SUV in the underground garage beneath an apartment building, where Fawn supposed Declan must live. It had looked to be a tall building, and it was in a very prestigious area of London.
“We’ll manage,” Declan refused gruffly as he stepped down from the back of the vehicle.
That his movements were slightly stiff was the only outward evidence that he had found the twenty-minute drive something of an ordeal and was now in some discomfort.
Men!
Why did they have to be so stubborn all the damn time?
Declan had beenshottwice. Would it really hurt him to admit that he was in pain?
The first thing Fawn intended to do once they reached his apartment was to administer some of his prescribed painkillers. The most common thing to hinder a macho man’s full recovery was allowing him to refuse to accept the medication that would alleviate any pain or discomfort he was in. And Declan was easily the most macho man Fawn had ever met.
“I’llmanage,” Fawn corrected as she took both her own bag and Declan’s rucksack from Danny before turning back to face Declan. “After you,” she invited with a grin.
“Could I have a quick word first, boss?” Danny made the request softly.
The two men’s gazes met, a silent conversation seeming to take place, before Declan gave an abrupt nod. “Excuse us,” he told Fawn distractedly.
In other words, she was temporarily dismissed.
Fawn wasn’t sure how she felt about the two men stepping far enough away that she couldn’t overhear any of their conversation. Maybe a little irritated.
Even more so when, whatever that conversation had been about, it resulted in a deep frown between Declan’s eyes when he rejoined her a few minutes later. Danny gave her a brief wave before he stepped back into the vehicle and drove away.
“Everything okay?” Fawn prompted.
“Fine,” Declan dismissed.
“Anything I need to know?”
“No.”
“O-kay,” she said slowly. “In case you missed it, that was an I-don’t-believe-you okay.”
