“Hell yeah. I have work to do in Asher’s office, but I’m also avoiding my mother’s guests for the night, if that’s okay with you.”
“Definitely.”
“Avoiding your mother’s guests?” Lucy asks from behind me.
Declan notices her and stiffens.
“I didn’t know the shrew would be here tonight,” he mutters in a low voice so only I can hear.
“Be nice,” I warn.
“Only if she is.”
Declan looks at Lucy and nods a hello to Zahra. “My mother is throwing a little dinner party this evening, and too many of her guests have ‘available’ daughters they’d love for me to meet. I’m not exactly interested, so when that happens, I usually take refuge at Asher’s.”
Lucy arches a brow. “Asher isn’t here.”
“It’s fine, Lucy. Declan is more than welcome.”
Declan drapes an arm over my shoulder. “Yeah. The office hasn’t been the same without you there. I’ve missed you.”
“Me too, Dec.”
“I didn’t realize the two of you were so close,” Lucy says, her narrowed eyes still assessing Declan and me.
“We are,” Declan says without hesitation. “Ella is practically family now.”
“Practically family?” Zahra gasps, half choking on the words.
“Yep.”
I roll my eyes. “He’s exaggerating.”
“Pshaw. Am not. I know my brother. You’re going to be my little sister soon enough. You should hear my mother prattle on about it. Though maybe you shouldn’t because the woman can’t wait to be a grandmother, so she also prattles on about that, too.”
“Holy shit,” Zahra mutters. “Catherine Rothschild Langford is prattling on about Ella marrying Asher and having his babies?”
“She sure does. So does my father. Our family adores Ella.”
“What happened to this being an arrangement?” Lucy snaps.
Declan shrugs. “It still is, technically. But we know Asher, and we know he’s done for. The man can barely function without Ella now. I told him it’s become unhealthy; he told me to fuck off.”
“You are too much,” I tell him.
“This is moving quite fast,” Lucy says. “You don’t want to get in over your head, Ella.”
“It’s fine. Declan is just joking.”
“I’m really not.”
I pinch his arm.
“Asher and I are taking this one day at a time.”
“To the altar.”
“Declan!”
