“Yeah.” I sigh with appreciation. “Who knew a bunch of carbs and grease could smell like heaven?” My belly makes another noise.
Declan laughs. “Your stomach, apparently.”
I giggle. “Sorry. I can’t make it shut up.”
“Sure you can. Just eat some of what’s in the box.”
I put his keys on the kitchen counter, and he grabs everything we need for our meal. Just as I sit down…another embarrassingly loud growl.
“How come yours is so quiet?” I eye his midsection suspiciously.
He puffs his chest out. “Because I’m a man. The strong, silent type.”
I laugh. “Strong, okay. I’ve seen you work out. Don’t know about silent. Did you eat something behind my back?”
“Nope.” He moves so that he’s directly, conspicuously opposite me and smiles. “I’ve been very careful to eat right in front of you.” He places a huge slice on my plate and passes it over, then gives himself one. “I’m an up-front kind of guy.”
“That’s true.” And it’s nice to be around a man whose motives I don’t have to guess at, like I do at times because of the money I have, the connections and network I can access and my family’s position in society. I take a bite of the pizza. Yum. It tastes amazing. “This is great.”
“You could be having a kale and brussels sprout salad and probably say the same.” He bites into his slice.
“No, my stomach’s never that desperate. It’s the pizza. They put some kind of magical crack on it.”
“It’s called not eating anything for almost half a day. Whets the appetite.” Declan sighs with contentment. “Something to drink?”
“In a minute. I don’t want to distract myself from this.”
He grunts in agreement.
After we polish off our first slices, Declan gives me the option of rosé or iced tea. I choose the wine, and we share half a bottle. The alcohol’s good, just enough to mellow me out some, especially combined with the carb rush I’m getting from the pizza.
“Those babies were really cute,” he says.
“Oh my God, they’re adorable. I’m so happy for her.” I sigh, half with longing and half with happiness myself. But then I decide I’m mostly content. Even if I don’t have what Ivy has right now, it’s enough that things are good for her and the twins are healthy.
“You like kids,” he says.
“Yeah, as long as they’re civilized.”
“Civilized?”
I laugh a little. “Of course. You can’t spoil out-of-control kids because they’re already spoiled rotten, and what they need is discipline. Anyway, I’m the awesomest aunt ever.”
A small smile curves his lips. “How many nephews and nieces do you have?”
“One in Korea and now two here. You just saw them tonight. I love buying gifts for them. It’s the best part of being an aunt. I want their rooms to be stuffed full of things I’ve bought for them.” Mentioning my nephew in Korea makes me wonder if Minho’s doing okay. His mom should’ve been discharged and everything should be back to normal by now. Still, something about Eugene’s tone during that call bugs me. He didn’t have to sound so unsympathetic. Hopefully he faked it better in front of his son and wife.
“What did you send your nephew in Korea?”
“Well, nothing on this trip, since my accounts are still frozen.” I sigh glumly. Damn Eugene. It’s all his fault Minho’s without a gift from his auntie. And how am I going to spoil Sebastian and Katherine? I want to go shopping and get them something as nice as what Ryder bought for them.
Declan looks bemused. “How can your brother have that much power over your finances? Isn’t your money under your control? You have your own bank accounts and stuff, right?”
I make a face. It’s embarrassing to have to admit how naïve I’ve been. “I was stupid enough not to ask for my own separate stuff. My family has a huge trust that we can draw money from. It’s never been a problem before, but I should’ve realized they could block it to force me to do something if they wanted. I just never expected that anything like that would happen.” Traitors.
Declan shrugs. “If you want, I can give you my card and you can put your nephew’s gifts on it. I don’t mind. Honest.”
I stare at him in surprise. I routinely offer to buy things for people, but that’s because I have the money, and I like doing it for people I love. But the idea of taking someone else’s money to spend just feels weird. Other than my family and really close friends, the people I know don’t offer to give me anything. They tend to want things—usually favors that involve hooking them up with business opportunities through my network.