“I know.” I nod and then shiver when I think of those shackles on the wall. “I wonder what happened there?”

“It’s probably best if you don’t think about it.”

“Right.” I pull up to his office and turn to face him. “Thanks for your time today, Pete.”

“Anytime. We’ve just started looking. We’ll find you something.”

“I know.”

“Can I take you to dinner sometime?”

The question is blurted out and I have to blink at him for several seconds, trying to catch up. “Dinner?”

“I’d really like to take you out, Callie.”

“Well, I—” All I can think is, you have three kids, and I’m so not ready to date a guy who comes as a boxed set.

“Just dinner.” He holds his hands up as if he’s surrendering. “We’ll just catch up a bit. No pressure.”

Well, it is nice to see an old friend, and really, what could a simple dinner hurt?

“Okay. Sure.”

“Great.” He grins and opens his door. “I’ll call you tonight and we’ll make plans.”

“Talk to you later.” I wave and smile, then pull away and shake my head. This has been the weirdest day I’ve had in a very long time.

Chapter Five

~Callie~

“He’s sure here a lot over the past few weeks,” Adam says as he pours a beer next to me. “Even on his days off.”

I simply shrug and finish cutting a lime, then grab another. It’s been two weeks since my night with Declan, and in that time, he’s shown up before closing to walk me to my car almost every night. We’ve slipped into an easy camaraderie with each other, and rather than wait outside to scare the shit out of me, he just comes inside to wait.

And the fact that my pulse speeds up and an army of butterflies takes up residence in my belly when I see him is irrelevant.

“He’s just walking me to my car,” I reply and lift my gaze to survey the bar., Sure enough, Declan just walked in and is sitting at a table on the other side of the room. He’s in his usual dark, plain T-shirt and jeans, showing off a bit of ink on his arm. He pushes his hair off his forehead, and I have to swallow hard. I know how it feels to have his fingers in my hair, and it feels damn good.

“Why?” Adam asks.

“Why what?”

“Well, two whys, actually. Why does he walk you to your car, and why are you looking at him like he’s a plate full of hot wings?”

“Awww, you remember my favorite food.” I pat Adam’s shoulder and move on to stocking napkins. The place is almost empty, and closing time is almost here.

Thank God.

I like my place, but I’m ready to get off my feet.

“Answer the questions.”

“Well, I’m assuming he’s walking me to my car because the Quarter is dangerous at night and you usually go home with some unsuspecting victim at closing time. And two, I wasn’t looking at him like he’s delicious, but now I want wings, thank you very much.”

“So you’re not seeing each other?”

“We’re friends,” I reply, making sure Adam knows that the subject is closed.

I didn’t lie. Declan has been nothing but a complete gentleman in the past few weeks, just chatting with me about our days as he walks me to my car.

The fact that I keep parking just a little farther away each day is something that I’ll deny until I take my last breath.

I walk around the bar to where Declan’s sitting.

“Hey, friend, can I get you anything?” I smile, but I’m cringing on the inside. Friend. Even though it’s true, why does it feel wrong?

“I’m fine.” He shakes his head and offers me a smile, but his eyes look tired. “I’ll just wait here.”

“I can bring you a water if you like,” I offer, but he simply shakes his head again, so I nudge his shoulder with mine playfully. “Hey, you okay?”

“Of course.” He nods again, so I return to the bar and help Adam with the last of the clean up and shoo out the few remaining patrons.

Finally, I slip into the back office to grab my handbag and check my hair in the mirror, then join Declan. “I’m ready.”

He waits for me to lock the door, and then we set off down the sidewalk.

“How was your day?” I ask, as I always do.

“I can’t complain,” he says, but doesn’t elaborate. Silence falls between us, and I frown up at him, confused. Something’s wrong.

“Well, my day was just dandy, thanks for asking.” He smirks, but still won’t look me in the eye. “I had to have a plumber come in to look at a toilet in the men’s room because some idiot tried to flush his pants last night. My wine order didn’t come in; it was routed to freaking Delaware for some reason that only God knows.”

“Sounds like a busy day,” Declan says. I don’t know what else to say, so we walk a couple blocks in silence. It’s getting cooler at night now, thankfully giving us a break from the blistering heat of summer. There’s a breeze blowing through the trees. Any other night, I would say that it was lovely.

If I said words like lovely.

But tonight I’m just irritated. Finally, I pull Declan to a stop, grip his arm, and turn him toward me so I can look him in the eye. “Fuck this. Spill it. What in the hell is eating at you?”

“I’m fine,” he repeats, but I shake my head vigorously no.