For You (The Shore Book 2) (25 page)

When she opened the front door, she saw a man, the same height and size as Declan, swing his leg over a Harley and run his hand through his short blond hair. He had on a pair of dark jeans and a leather jacket, a pair of aviator sunglasses shielding his eyes from the sun.

“Is that your bike?” she asked, stunned by the sight of him.

He turned to look at her, pulling the glasses from his face. His instant smile reached his eyes and Madison could see it from where she stood. “It is.”

Madison started down the path as he walked toward her, meeting her in the middle.

“You’re just full of surprises today, aren’t you?”

Declan gave her a cocky grin and cupped her face to pull her to him. He pressed his lips to hers. “You have
no
idea.”

She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him in for another kiss, one that showed him her appreciation for being there, for how he looked on his bike, for everything he’d done the past couple days.

“You keep that up, we’re going to miss the BBQ,” he told her in a sexy, low voice.

She smiled, moving her hand to his face and rubbing the soft stubble on his cheeks. “I think Ryan would kill me.”

“You’re probably right.”

They smiled at each other for a long moment, looking into each other’s eyes.

Declan’s expression suddenly turned serious. “You ready to go in there together? Everyone’s going to know.” He had a hunch walking into a room, being on a man’s arm, wasn’t something Madison was used to. He was more than ready but would downplay their relationship,
for now
, and he wanted to give her that option. “I’m ready. Are you?”
 

In Madison’s past, she hadn’t played the girlfriend, not really since Jeremy. Between his death and her pregnancy, she had built her walls so high, with men in particular, having that sort of relationship just wasn’t possible for her. The situation with Declan was completely new for her, but she felt ready for it.

She put on a brave face and mustered up her confidence. ”Me, too.”

Smiling, Declan took her hand in his and led them to the front door. Once inside, he slid off his jacket and laid it on the back of the couch, leaving him in a tight, dark gray t-shirt.
 

He reached for her again. “One more thing before we go out there?”

“What’s that?”

He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her tight against him. Looking into her eyes, he wanted to tell her he missed her even though it had only been a handful of hours since he last saw her and tell her he was proud of the way she was dealing with all this news in her life, but he didn’t want to scare her. They were in a really good place, and he didn’t want to push it.

Madison looked in his warm eyes and felt her knees turn to mush. This man had a way of unraveling her she both loved and feared. He was very near a point where he could hurt her, do some real damage to her heart. But for the first time in a long time, she felt trust. She trusted he would handle her heart with care. “I missed you, too,” she whispered softly.

Declan moved his hands to cradle her face and brushed his lips against hers. When that wasn’t enough, he leaned into her and kissed her again and again and again.
 

Finally pulling back, Madison was breathless. “It’s going to be your fault if we never make it onto the deck.”

He grinned and placed a sweet kiss on the tip of her nose. “Come on then.”

Hand-in-hand, they walked through the house to the deck. Declan raised his free hand in a general hello to everyone but went over to Ryan, still holding Madison’s hand, to give her a one-armed hug and a kiss on the cheek. “Thanks for hosting tonight.”

“Glad you could make it,” she grinned.

“Yeh, about that. You have a plane?” Madison asked.

“And you know how to fly it?” Ryan added, tag-teaming the inquisition.

Declan laughed and looked to Cody. “Just what did she think you were doing when you were helping me in the hangar?”

“I dunno. I never got into specifics,” he shrugged and turned back to the grill.

“Yes,” Declan answered Madison, “I have a plane. And yes,” he said, turning to Ryan, “I know how to fly it.”

“You are just an onion, Declan Healy. So many layers!” Ryan exclaimed.

Declan laughed and made his way to an empty chair next to Abby and pulled Madison onto his lap. He wanted to be as close to her as possible.

“So you two are an item now, huh?” Abby asked, her eyebrows raised.

Declan looked at Madison and gave her a knowing smile. “Yup.”

“Good for you,” Abby finally smiled, giving his arm a squeeze. “It’s about time you found yourself a good woman, Declan.”

He didn’t respond, but thought Abby had nailed it right on the head. There was no doubt he was falling for Madison, or maybe he already had. As far as he knew, there were no more secrets, no more walls that needed to be busted down for them to be together. Sure, there was more he had to learn about her, and the thought of doing that excited him. He looked forward to learning the many different sides of Madison Quinn.

“Alright, who wants a burger?” Cody announced from the grill.

“See?” Declan turned to Madison with a big grin.

“What?”

“Told you I’d get here before the first batch was off the grill.”

Chapter 22

The sun had set, Jake was asleep in the hammock and the night was winding down.
 

Declan leaned down so his arms where on either side of Madison and resting on the picnic table as he whispered in her ear. “You ready to get outta here?” They had been making eyes at each other for the last hour and he was ready to get the hell out of Dodge.

“Yeh, just let me help Ryan clean up.”

Madison gave him a quick kiss then stood and started collecting dishes and containers to bring back to the kitchen.

She was putting things in the refrigerator when Ryan walked in. “You going to stay at Declan’s tonight?”

“Yeh, you don’t mind, do you?”

“Naw, the looks you two have been giving each other all night, I’m surprised you’re still here.”

“Well, I didn’t want to be rude,” Madison grinned. “It
was
my idea to have this thing, you know.”

“Oh, I know.” Ryan gave her a “and you’re going to pay me back someday” look.

Madison closed the refrigerator door and walked up to Ryan to give her a hug. “You okay? About the whole Jaxon thing, I mean.”

“Yeh, I’m fine.”

“You sure?”

She gave Madison a soft smile. “I’m sorry he got hurt, but I know he’s going to be alright.”

“Okay. You know how to find me.”

“I do,” Ryan nodded. “You want to get together for breakfast tomorrow?”

“I would love to but probably shouldn’t. I kind of went AWOL from the office and should head back early.”

“Yeh, they hate it when we do that,” she grinned. Madison was still working for the same firm Ryan had worked for. “Tell everyone I said hi, okay?”

“I will. You mind if I leave my car here tonight and pick it up in the morning?”

Ryan chuckled. “That’s not a problem. Just be careful on the bike.”

“Yes, mom,” she teased.

Ryan gave her another hug. “I’m going to want to meet this daughter of yours.”

Madison pulled away and looked at Ryan. She couldn’t help her smile. “I would love for you to meet her.”

“The next time I’m in town, maybe we could do lunch or something, the three of us.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

After saying their goodbyes, Madison and Declan stopped in the living room to grab his jacket.
 

“You wanna borrow Ryan’s helmet?” Declan knew Ryan wouldn’t mind. Besides, he wanted her to feel as safe as she could on the bike.

“No, I think I’ll be okay.”

“Alright, put this on.” He held his jacket out for her. “It can get chilly.”

She smiled at him and slid the leather on.
 

“Hmm,” he growled, liking what he saw. “Let’s get you home.”

She swung her leg over the bike and scooted back to give him room. Once Declan was in place, she wrapped her arms around him and laid her head on his back. He covered her hands for just a moment before he started the bike and took off.
 

Madison watched the lights go by as they drove up the Causeway. She had never been to his house and was curious as to what she’d find. She imagined it would be the epitome of a bachelor pad.

Declan turned down a side street and eventually into a driveway. He stopped, hit a button on his key ring and the garage door on the left started to open. He slowly brought the bike into the garage and turned it off.

Madison was in shock, although given what she had learned about him just that night – the fact that he owned a plane and knew how to fly it
and
had a Harley – the size of the house they just pulled into shouldn’t have surprised her.

“Come on,” he said with a grin as he extended a hand to her.
 

They walked to a door and as he opened it to let Madison go in front of him, hit a button on the wall and the large door they had just come through started to close.

Madison walked up the non-descript stairway to another door and opened it. A small light shined just enough to tell her she had entered the kitchen. She walked into the room and stood aside, letting Declan take the lead.

Still holding her hand, he led her further into the house, hitting light switches as he went. They stopped in a great room with a huge sectional couch facing a fireplace and the TV that hung above it. Large windows she suspected provided spectacular views of the ocean during the day offered their reflection.

“Holy shit, Declan,” her mouth hanging open.

“What?” he asked with a grin.

“This is your house?” She turned her head to take it all in.

“Home sweet home,” he answered with a shrug.

Madison eyed another staircase leading both up and down stairs. “How many bedrooms does this thing have?”

“Seven.”

Madison turned to him and just stared, not at all sure what to say.

He stepped closer to her and wrapped his arms around her waist. “I’ve always wanted a place where my family could be together,” he shrugged. “I had the money to do it, so I invested here. There’s enough room for all of us to get together and enough for everyone to have space so we’re not always in each other’s hair.”

“No shit,” Madison replied in disbelief. “And you live here all alone?”

“I do,” he nodded with a smirk. “Although I spend a lot of time in Charlotte and Columbia, too.”

“You have places there, too, don’t you?”

“Yeh. I hated staying in hotels so I got condos. They’re places to call home when I’m there.”

“Your gyms must be kicking
ass
,” she mumbled.

“They’re doing okay,” he grinned and leaned down to kiss her.

“You are so full of shit, you know that?”

He shrugged and winked at her. “I haven’t been here for a while since I was managing for Erin, but I think I have a few beers in the fridge. Want one?”

“A beer would be great.”

Declan released her with a kiss and walked to the kitchen for the beers. Opening them both, he walked back to the great room and handed one to Madison.

“You want a tour?”

“Sure,” she smiled.

“It’s better during the day, but I can show you a few things tonight.”

He took her down the staircase and showed her the game room that held a pool table, a long couch and extra-stuffed chairs, and a large screen TV with every conceivable gaming station attached to it. He flipped another switch and light shined over the outdoor pool that took up most of the backyard. Another room held gym equipment and a couple of punching bags hanging from the ceiling.

He led her back upstairs, past the great room where he turned off the lights he’d turned on when they arrived and up another flight.
 

“All the bedrooms are up here,” he mentioned. As they walked past each door, he pointed out who they belonged to. “Mom and Dad … Aidan and Rebecca … Juliana and Jack … Erin and Chris … Ike … this is an empty guest room … and this one is mine.”

Each of the rooms had their own distinct design Madison imagined reflected some part of their personalities. There were bunk beds in the room for Juliana and Jack, but it was the crib in Ike’s room that impressed her the most. He had made it so everything was ready when they came to visit.

The walls in Declan’s room were painted a dark charcoal gray, almost black, and had dark red curtains covering the windows. A king-sized bed dressed in light gray with matching red accents took up the space along one wall. Directly across from the bed was a sitting area with a couch and coffee table that held a TV. Along the long wall were two large windows on both sides of a sliding glass door.

“This way,” he said with a smile.

He pulled on her hand as they entered his room and walked between the bed and sitting area to the door. He unlocked it and pulled it open, and their ears were immediately filled with the sounds of the ocean they couldn’t see.

The deck ran the majority of the length of the room and was easily ten feet deep. A hammock was on one end and a set of Adirondack chairs with a table between them on the other. Between the two groupings was a wooden bed with an elevated head and a small table on either side.

“Hang on one second.” He set his beer on a table then disappeared into his room again. A moment later he reappeared carrying a large mattress Madison guessed fit the wooden bed perfectly.

He laid the mattress down, fabric-side up, and laid down. “Care to join me?”

Madison sat her beer on the table and kicked off her shoes. She climbed onto the bed, snuggled into his arms and looked up to the sky. Without any clouds or lights to distract them, she could see millions of stars above her.

“Wow. Look at all those stars. I think I would sleep out here every night,” she whispered, her eyes on the sky above.

“It is beautiful, but it can get pretty damp in the morning with the humidity.”

“I think I could muster through,” she grinned, turning her face toward his.