Ella nodded her head, “I’ve met her too. She’s great. And her housekeeper, Louise, who Claire calls her other mother, is hilarious. I thought I would pee myself when those two started cracking old age jokes the last time I was at Claire’s. Ugh, did I just tell Declan that I almost peed myself? Too much information, dingbat!

Declan chuckled, obviously amused at her story. “What about your parents? You said they were pretty strict on you growing up. Do they live locally?”

Groaning, Ella said, “They live in Florence, about an hour away and, trust me, it’s too close some days. I love them, I really do, but they can be nosy and overbearing. When I first moved out, my mom came to visit me every evening for the entire first month. My dad finally complained about the amount of gas she was burning on the trips and she slowed it down to once a week. By now it’s become just once a month. She still expects me to visit them on Sundays. I haven’t for the last few weeks and I’m starting to catch a lot of heat over it.”

“It sounds like they love you, Ellie. Are you an only child?”

“Oh no, I have an older sister who is quite perfect. Her name is Crystal. Her husband is a deacon from the church my parents attend. Her life’s work is to make me look bad.”

Declan lifted a brow, “I can’t imagine that being possible. I would think you would be every parent’s dream child. How can your sister make you look bad?”

“Oh, trust me. She has it down to a science. Since she lives close to our parents, she has the home field advantage and she knows how to use it. She visits them daily, takes them to appointments, and runs errands for them. She never misses a church service. She is so well liked in the community that our parents sit beside her and beam on Sunday mornings, as if they are related to Meryl Streep or something. I wouldn’t be surprised to hear they’ve started a fan club for her. How about you? Do your parents live close?”

Taking his time, Declan took a sip of his wine before answering. “My parents died when I was young. I was raised by my grandfather.”

Ella reached a hand out to clasp his. “I’m so sorry, Declan. I had no idea. What happened?”

He gave her hand a squeeze and said, “My father had his pilot’s license and he liked to show off for their friends. One weekend, they decided to fly down to the Florida Keys. They ran into bad weather on the trip and the plane went down in shallow water off the Florida coast. All six bodies were recovered, including my parents. My grandfather, who had been a widower for years, took all three of us kids in. He could be tough but fair, more on my brother and sister than me. He sat back and let me raise all the hell that I possibly could before I joined the military. It’s pretty funny looking back on it now. No matter how much I got into and, believe me, there was plenty, he just laughed when he found out. He told me once that having me around was like reliving his own wilder days. He groomed Brant and Ava to take over his company and—”

“He groomed you to be a younger version of himself,” Ella guessed.

“Yeah,” Declan answered, “I think that’s exactly what he did. He was disappointed when I re-upped for my second tour in the military. I think he expected me to come home then. I’d give anything if I had.”

“Why?”

Shaking his head, Declan said, “It was just bad the last year, Ellie. I wasn’t there when my grandfather died and I never got to know him like I wish I had. I was also stationed at the edge of hell. Shit like that you never get free of.”

“Declan—”

“It’s okay. Let’s just leave that alone. So, what’s next on this date thing?”

Ella let him change the subject because she could tell that he needed to. Maybe it was time to lighten the mood. “How do you feel about an ice cream cone on the boardwalk?” She could tell that he was surprised by her idea, but true to his word, he smiled in agreement, and soon they were on the boardwalk. She ordered chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream in a cone and he chose chocolate.

“You know, I don’t know if I’ve ever done this before,” he mused. At her questioning look he added, “The whole ice cream on the boardwalk thing. Most of my recreation when I was in town revolved around tequila in a bar.”

Surprised that he was being so open, she decided to try to keep it going. “So, you came home some while you were in the military?” She knew from their earlier conversations that he was actually from the Charleston area, just as Gray and Nick were.

“Not often, but sometimes. I ended up in Myrtle Beach a lot since my buddies were always interested in spending a little R and R here. I never went home for more than a few days. Brant and Ava had their own lives and, even though I think we learned to respect each other, my grandfather and I never really had much in common. I always felt like he was waiting for something from me that I couldn’t figure out. It was a hell of a shock when he died and left me such a large part of his estate. The only explanation in his will was a note that read, ‘Fulfill both of our dreams with this money.’ Cryptic, huh?”

Ella stopped and turned to face him. “No, it’s pretty clear actually. You said yourself he seemed to enjoy the trouble you got into. I think he spent his last few years living his life through you and he wanted you to live the life that he hadn’t.”

Declan looked at her in surprise. “That’s deep, Ellie.” Then giving her a sly smile, he added, “It’s a bit of a turn-on when you go all serious on me.”

As Ella blushed and sputtered, Declan stiffened at something he saw behind her. “Well, hey guys, I thought you two would be ripping each other’s clothes off somewhere by now.”

Ella whirled around to find a grinning Suzy and a sheepish Gray standing behind them.

“Um, yeah,” Gray murmured as he stepped forward. “Sorry about the rude interruption. Even though the boardwalk almost killed Suzy when she fell down the steps over there, she still drags me out here at least every few weeks to get a hot dog.”

“So what’s with the PG date?” Suzy asked.

“Suzy—” Gray began.

Declan surprised them all when he threw his head back and laughed. Giving Gray a sympathetic look he said, “Man, I bet you never know if you’re coming or going. Hell, I can’t even decide if I’m in love with your wife or if I want to push her off a tall cliff.”

Far from being offended, Gray laughed too. “I see you understand my life perfectly. It only gets harder to answer that question, believe me.”

Suzy put her hands on her hips and rolled her eyes. “Hellooo, I’m standing right here you know. If you guys are finished with your male bonding, I’d like to have my hot dog before I starve to death.”

Gray put his arm around Suzy, giving her a look that made Ella go weak in the knees. “Alright, baby, let’s go feed you.”

Suzy gave her a little shove into Declan’s side as she was walking off, whispering to her, “At least make it to second base tonight.” She could tell by the look Declan shot her that he had heard Suzy’s comment as well.

“Would you like to go to a movie or something, Ellie?”

Considering for a minute, she said, “We could go back to my place and watch something.” She would much rather curl up next to him on her couch than be packed into a theater with a bunch of strangers.

Declan shifted uncomfortably before saying, “I don’t know . . . I’m really not sure we should be alone at your place yet.”

Hurt, Ella asked, “Why not?”

“Because, at some point, I would have you on your back with my hand up your dress.”

Ella’s eyes widened and she whispered, “Ohhh. I’d um . . . like that.”

Declan groaned as if he were in pain. “Oh God, Ellie, don’t say stuff like that. I’m barely hanging on to the whole Mr. Nice Guy thing.”

She put her hands on his chest and gazed up into his eyes. “I don’t want you to be the nice guy. I’ve waited too long already. I want this Declan and I don’t want to wait any longer.”