Chapter 8
Ayla
Iwanted to dive in and ask so many questions, and it killed me to stay silent. Sadly, it felt like that was what Declan needed. We sat on the park bench in silence for about thirty minutes. Clearly, he didn’t know what to say, and I didn’t want to say the wrong thing.
“Hey, why don’t we head back to my place and watch the fireworks there?” I suggested.
Declan sighed, which sounded like he was relieved. He turned to me and smiled, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes.
“That sounds good,” he said as he stood and waited for me to lead the way.
The walk back to my house wasn’t awkward, but it was still quiet, to say the least. Declan’s tormentedlook indicated that the phone call had upset him. I just wish I knew how far I could go with asking him about it. I didn’t want to push him for answers, but I also wanted to get to know him and maybe be a friend he could confide in. Unfortunately, he wasn’t making it easy.
When we arrived at my house, I opened the front door into the main living room. Declan went straight to the fireplace mantel, where I had several framed pictures lined up in a row, all intermingled with my Fourth of July decorations. I had an addiction to decorating for every single holiday.
I watched Declan’s focus stop on a picture of Kat and me, arms wrapped around each other’s shoulders, sitting on the back porch of her parents’ cabin in North Carolina.
“Who is that?” he asked, nodding at the photo.
I stared at the picture and smiled. “That’s my best friend, Katherine, but I call her Kat. We graduated dental school together.” I shifted my focus to him. “She lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, so I don’t get to see her much. But I am planning on going out there sometime soon to visit. She doesn’t know that yet.”
Declan chuckled lightly. “I’m sure she’d love that.”
He moved on from that picture to the ones with my parents and grandparents, who were no longer with us. When he reached the end, his lips pursed curiously.
“What is it?” I asked.
He shrugged and placed a hand on the mantel. “I’m surprised there aren’t any pictures of you and a significant other up here.”
Turning on my heel, I headed into the kitchen and scoffed. “Oh, there was at one point,” I called out as I grabbed two hard apple ciders from the refrigerator.
I walked back into the living room and handed one to Declan.
He opened his up and took a swig. “What happened?”
“It didn’t work out,” I answered with a shrug. He lifted his brows, clearly wanting to know more. Hopefully, that meant he was going to open up to me. “Andrew and I were together for five years,” I continued, “He proposed and lived here for a while, but he didn’t like the small-town life. He wanted bigger and better things.”
Declan shook his head. “What a jackass. I’m sorry.”
I waved a hand dismissively in the air. “There’sno need to say sorry. His leaving was the best thing that could’ve happened to me. I just hate that I wasted five years of my life on him.”
“Yeah,” he said, turning back to the pictures, “that’s a lot of years to end up with nothing.”
Now was the time.
“What about you?” I asked, feeling my pulse race. “Anyone special in your life?”
He kept his focus on the pictures when he answered. “No.”
“Ever?” I added.
Declan chuckled, and there was a hint of regret in the sound. “Therehavebeen women in my life,” he admitted, “but nothing serious. It never got to that point.”
I had to keep pushing. “Why not?”
He glanced over at me, his eyes narrowed curiously. “Are you going to keep asking these types of questions?”
“Yes,” I said, not backing down. “It’d be much easier if you’d just answer them. It’s not fair that I answer all your questions and you give me nothing in return.”
