With a deep breath, Declan claimed the chair Mike had just left, resisting the demanding urge to touch her. “Hello, Zoe.”
She turned toward him, shock registering in her expression. “Declan?” She blinked as if she thought he was an alcohol-induced illusion. “What are you doing here?”
“Giving us one last shot.” He waited a moment but she didn’t respond. “Unless you tell me it’s a worthless cause, in which case I will walk you home and you’ll never see me again.”
“I don’t need to be walked home.” She turned away and grabbed her purse. Next thing he knew she took off walking.
Shit! “Wait!” Declan tossed money on the bar not knowing if the tab was paid and took off after her.
She’d made it all the way to the street by the time he caught up. “I’m taking this as a get-lost. Your brother called me, you know.”
“I got that,” she said walking faster. “I’m not stupid. I put two and two together and figured out that’s the only way you knew I was at that bar. Why he called, I don’t know.”
“He cares, Zoe.”
“He feels guilty. There’s a difference.”
“I’ve seen a lot of people who don’t so much as blink at other people’s pain. Your brother called me because he cares about you.”
She gave him a sideways look. “So he called you.” It wasn’t a question. “Two guilty men trying to make up. Amazing how you can come together in your time of need.”
He grabbed her arm and turned her to face him. “I don’t deserve this. I didn’t know who you were. My career does not make me a jerk.” He paused. “I’m sorry I came. I really am. I thought…well, it doesn’t matter. I’ll walk you home and then that’s it. I’m gone.” Declan let his hands drop, feeling burned by her words and actions.
For several seconds, she stared at him and then, without a word, turned and started walking. Side by side they traveled toward her apartment, the tension and emotion between them so thick it could be cut with a knife. When they reached her building she turned to him. Her eyes were wide with vulnerability. “Will you come up?”
“This isn’t about sex, Zoe. You’ve been drinking and I wish like hell I had been. If I come up, we talk. Nothing more.”
She nodded. “I want to talk.”
* * * * *
Declan’s words back on the sidewalk had been like ice water in her face. She wanted to blame the alcohol for how she’d acted in the bar, but Mike had forced coffee down her and the fuzziness was fast fading. Food had made a huge difference. Drinking on an empty stomach never turned out well. She couldn’t remember the last meal she’d eaten.
Stress tended to either make her eat a lot or not at all. Besides, the alcohol wasn’t what had made her act so poorly. Fear had. She was scared of being hurt. And Declan could hurt her with the snap of his fingers. He’d managed to steal her heart. Deep down she’d known this from the moment she’d met him. Tonight, she had to admit it for the first time. If any man was the man, it was him. She didn’t want to lose him.
Zoe led Declan into the living room and sat down on one side of the couch. He joined her, leaving a huge space between them. Dressed much like her brother, tie loose, shirtsleeves rolled up, it should have reminded her of their similarities. The things she didn’t want in her life about their career and lives. Instead, she could only think of how much she wanted to touch Declan. To kiss him and tell him she was sorry. She wanted to believe in Declan, and even in Mike, for that matter.
Her chest tightened as she tried to draw in a breath. “I was wrong back there at the bar…and when we were walking. I shouldn’t have acted that way.” She paused. “Same goes for my office. I didn’t mean what I said…that it’s all been about sex.”
His eyes met hers. Blue, so very blue. And potent. It was hard to think when he looked at her like that. “Then why did you say it was?” he asked, his voice low. Challenging.
She closed her eyes a moment, terrified about what she was about to admit. Forcing her gaze back to his, she responded. “You scare the hell out of me, Declan. What you make me feel and think and want.”
She watched his chest rise and fall for several seconds, his expression indiscernible. “Because I’m an attorney and a part of a world you don’t want to be in.” It wasn’t a question.
“That’s what I told myself at first. And I won’t lie. To some degree, there is truth there. Only, it’s more than that. I feel things with you I have never felt and you have no idea how hard this is to admit.” She laughed, but not with humor. “There is probably just enough alcohol left in me to give me the courage to admit all this.” He stared at her, not saying anything. “Don’t just sit there. Say something!”