Bennett notes Declan’s insinuation, and deflects, turning to me, asking, “Are you going to see Jacqueline tomorrow? I thought Richard mentioned something to me about it.”

“Mmm hmm.” I wipe my mouth, and add, “The girls want to make a day at Neiman’s, and I need to find a dress for the party.”

“I thought you couldn’t stand them,” Declan butts in, and I immediately heat in anger that not only is he being grossly inappropriate in exploiting something he thought I was revealing in confidence to a friend, but I also don’t need him raising any red flags with Bennett.

I widen my eyes, letting him know he crossed a line, when Bennett questions, confused, “You don’t like them?”

“Um, no. I mean . . . Declan just meant that . . .” fuck, “Well, I voiced to Declan that sometimes they can be a tad overbearing. That’s all.” Looking into his eyes, I have to wonder if he’s upset that I would reveal something like that to Declan. Something that has nothing to do with the business we are supposed to be conducting while we’re together, so I cover myself, adding, “I had run into one of Jacqueline’s friends at the florist when Declan and I were there. She was being a little snippy, so I loosely made that statement to him. I possibly spoke out of frustration. I like the girls, but you know how it can be when you get us all in one room.”

He buys it, saying, “I’ll never pretend to understand the mind of a woman,” with light laughter, and I smile with him.

“Me neither,” I tease. “And I’m one of them.” Taking my fork and stabbing a basil leaf, I mumble with a grin, “Snarky bitches,” before taking a bite.

Bennett laughs at my crudeness as I give Declan a disapproving glare.

We get halfway through the second course with building tension from Declan when Bennett gets a call from Richard that he has to take. He excuses himself and steps outside of the room, walking down the hall, and when he’s out of sight, I turn and snap, “Your games aren’t funny. I was under the assumption that the few pieces I gave you, pieces you asked for, would remain private and not for you to use when you felt someone was stepping on your dick.”

He leans to the side, grabs the arm of my chair, and abruptly yanks it towards him, quietly gritting, “Your smart mouth is unbecoming, Nina, so watch how you speak to me. And no one steps on my dick, especially your husband—the man you say you love but doesn’t seem to know shit about you.”

“You think you’re cute?”

“Do I look like a man who gives a shit about being cute?”

Narrowing my eyes, I tell him, “You look like a man who’s jealous, but you shouldn’t even be going there with me.”

“Why’s that?”

“Because I’m a married woman, and your juvenile accusations are insulting. You don’t know anything about my husband and what he does or doesn’t know about me.”

“You’re a liar,” he accuses.

“Excuse me?”

He leans in closer, mere inches away from my face, and says, “I think you like making me jealous. Am I right?”

In a soft voice that I make sure comes out shaky, I respond simply, “No.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“What do you want from me?”

“Bullshit aside?”

“Bullshit aside, Declan. What do you want?”

His eyes are near daggers when he answers, “You.”

Perfect answer, idiot.

I stand up, throwing my napkin on the table and turn to go find Bennett, although I have no intentions of leaving this room, and Declan doesn’t fail when he grabs my arm and jerks me around, pulling me flush against him. He looks down at me, and I shift my eyes away.

“Look at me,” he demands, and when I don’t he grabs my chin and pulls it around to face him. “I said look at me, Nina.”

“You’re an ass.”

“And you’ve got a filthy mouth,” he says before taking a taste, sealing his lips with mine. He isn’t gentle, and his stubble grazes roughly against me as he wraps his hand around the back of my neck. His grip on me is firm, and I make sure he feels me respond to him for a brief moment when I move my lips with his before forcefully pushing him away.

His grin is arrogant as he takes a step back, putting distance between us.

“What do you think you’re doing?” I bite harshly.

“Testing you.”

“You’re an insolent prick.”

“Then why did you kiss me back?” he questions. “Don’t lie to me either because I felt it.”

“You didn’t feel anything, and neither did I.” Walking back over to the table, I pull my chair back and sit down, saying as I keep my eyes forward, “Don’t ever do that again.”

Seconds later, Declan returns to his seat in front of me, and with perfect timing, Bennett comes back in. This situation is bordering on dangerous, so I’m relieved when Bennett says, “I apologize about that, but it seems I’m going to have to leave earlier than expected.”

“What?” I ask.

“I’m sorry, honey. The charter is ready to go. There was miscommunication about the reschedule, and we have to head out.”

“Now?”

He holds his hand out to me, and I take it as I stand up. “Declan,” he says when he turns to look at Declan who is now standing as well. “Sorry to run like this. It was good seeing you again.”

Declan doesn’t speak, but instead gives him a curt nod as they shake hands.

“If you’ll excuse us for a moment,” Bennett says as he wraps his arm around my shoulders and starts leading us out. Looking over my shoulder, I watch as Declan remains standing, keeping his eyes on us as we walk out of the room.

God, he’s so transparent.

I walk with Bennett to the lobby, and when he stops in front of the doors, I play the sad wife. Slipping my arms around his waist, I lay my head on his chest and hold on to him.

“I don’t want you to go.”

His lips fall on the top of my head, giving a kiss, and then he responds, “I know. I’ll get back here as soon as I can.”

I look up at him, and he takes my lips, the lips that Declan just had, and he kisses me. Long, slow, soft. He keeps the connection for a moment before pulling away and looking down at me. “You’re so beautiful.”

“Don’t.”

“Don’t what?” he questions.

“Say sweet things that’ll make me miss you even more.”

He smiles, and when I glance out the front, I see Baldwin pulling up. With a heavy sigh, I turn back to Bennett as he says, “I’ve gotta go.”

“Okay,” I respond with hesitation as I nod my head.

“I’ll call you as soon as I get there,” he tells me and then teases, “Use this time to buy me lots of Christmas gifts.”

“I’ll spoil you rotten,” I laugh.

“You already spoil me rotten.”

With one more kiss, we say goodbye, and I watch as the car pulls away, happy that he’s finally gone.

WITH MY HUSBAND on his way to the airport to spend the next two weeks on the other side of the world, I get my game face on and head back to Declan, who’s still in the dining room.

“What was that about?” he questions when I walk back in and sit down.

“Just saying goodbye.”

“Are you sad?”

Shifting in my seat, I say, “Can we not talk about this?”

Declan doesn’t push his questions anymore, staying quiet for the most part, aside from safe chitchat as we finish our meal. We discuss the catering and visit with Marco for a while, and after I hire him to cater the party, we open a bottle of wine while we spend a lengthy amount of time selecting the menu offerings. Once business is handled and the foods are selected, Marco excuses himself and I follow Declan to the lobby to have the valet pull my car around.

“Oh no,” I breathe as I look out front. “How long were we talking with Marco?” It’s a white out with snow falling hard and already piling high, making it impossible for me to leave.

“A few hours,” Declan responds. “You can’t drive in this, Nina.”