The shock in the room is palpable. Declan Reid does not do wing night. Declan Reid does not do crowds.
We approach the table.
We’re left standing at the edge of the group.
Adrian gestures to the open seat beside Clara. “Come on.”
But Declan doesn’t sit there.
He drops into the chair between me and the aisle, a natural barrier. Protective without announcing it.
My heart stutters.
Clara leans in, voice low. “Talia. This is a development.”
“It’s nothing,” I whisper.
Clara glances at Declan, then back. “It is absolutely something.”
Across the table, Adrian coughs, badly hiding a smirk.
Declan pretends not to hear any of it, but his jaw tics once like he definitely does.
A waitress appears a second later, dropping a basket of wings in front of Gio. “What can I get you two?” she asks, looking between me and Declan.
I hesitate. The menu is a blur of grease and options, and the noise level is spiking again.
“Water,” Declan says before I can speak. His voice is low, cutting through the din. “And the curly fries.”
I blink at him. “I didn’t say I wanted fries.”
He turns his head, meeting my gaze. His eyes are calm, steady. “You didn’t eat at break. I heard your stomach growl during the second hour.”
My face flames.
He noticed. He noticed I didn’t eat, he noticed what I usually order, and he ordered for me not to control me, but because he knew I was overwhelmed.
“Okay,” I murmur. “Thanks.”
“You got it,” the waitress says, eyeing him with a little too much interest before walking away.
Zoë leans across the table, propping her chin in her hand. “Curly fries? That’s love language right there.”
“Shut up, Zoë,” Declan says without heat.
“He knows her fry preference,” Zoë whispers loudly to Genny. “Write that down.”
We settle in. Noise rises and falls around us, but it feels far away—like there’s glass between me and the rest of the room. Not isolating. Just… buffered.
At one point, Declan pushes the ketchup toward me without looking.
At another, my knee brushes his.
We both freeze.
Neither of us moves away.
Clara sees it. Maya sees it. Adrian definitely sees it.
