For You (The Shore Book 2) (12 page)

“Yeh. I explained that I really like spending time with her and everything. I just didn’t want to ...”

“Rush things, get physical, do the horizontal mambo -”
 

“Erin…”

“And let me guess, she got pissed.”

“Well, she certainly wasn’t happy. She left the car and walked into the house without saying a word. I haven’t seen or talked to her since.”

“Bud, what is with you?”

“What?”

“You’re almost thirty-five.”

“So?”

“Are you playing the three date rule or something? Because you know that shit is old.” When it came to this particular topic, she had no patience for him. He was one of the kindest, nicest people she knew, but she could never understand why he wouldn’t sleep with the women he dated.

Doesn’t the man ever just get horny?

Erin shook her head at the thought. The last thing she wanted to think about was her brother having sex.

“No…”

“Then why not sleep with her?”

“I just didn’t want to rush anything.” Even as he said it, he realized how much like an ass he sounded.

“God, sometimes you are such a girl.”

“What, just because I’m a guy I’m supposed to want to get in the pants of every woman that walks by?”

“Well, sort of, yeh.”

“That’s not me, Erin. You know that.”

“I know,” she sighed. “Why not go to her place and talk to her? Force the issue?”

“Because I’m trying to not be a total ass.”

“You’re not going to break down her door, Declan. Just talk to her. She’ll come to her senses and see you’re worth the wait.”

 
“You make me sound like a sixteen-year old virgin.”

“Well, then quit acting like one.”

“Why do I bother talking to you?”

“Because you know I’m right, and you love me. You take control in every other facet of your life. You’re highly educated and smart. You own two very successful businesses. You’re financially secure. You have unique hobbies. People like you and like spending time with you.” Erin paused a moment then handed him the hammer. “Get over yourself and this damn need to shoot yourself in the foot every time you find someone you want to spend time with. Go. Talk. To. Her.”

“Fine…”

“You need to get laid, Declan. Seriously. Don’t forget to take a condom when you go.”

“Okay. Enough. I think I hear Mom calling you.”

“Very funny.” She calmed her tone, back to being the loving sister. “Let me know how it goes okay?”

“Thanks, sis.”

“You’re welcome.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Madison stood at the reception desk secretly hoping Declan was working. She felt silly and stupid for reacting the way she had to Declan, especially after Jessa made her wake up and realize she actually liked the guy. She was so used to not caring, not wanting relationships with men, she wasn’t sure how to act or what to do. For as ballsy as she was, she knew next to nothing about being in an actual, committed relationship. The last one she’d been in had ended a long, long time ago.

On a double mission, she got out of bed and decided to hit the gym. With some luck, she’d find Declan and they could patch things up – if she hadn’t ruined the relationship for good. She also wanted to beat the shit out of something. The last couple of days had been near torture and she was ready to wail on the bags.

Normally what people thought of her would roll right off her shoulders. She really didn’t give a shit. She had learned from a young age her personal happiness was up to her and what other people thought of her didn’t matter.
 

Thinking about it now, there was really only one person whose thoughts did matter – Ellie’s – although she gave Madison nothing but unconditional love. In fact, it was more that Madison strived to do her best so she wouldn’t let Ellie down.
 

For some reason though, Declan’s rejection hit her hard. And let’s face it: her ego had taken a beating. She had been more than ready to take him inside and let nature take its course.
 

“Hey, Madison,” Issy greeted her in what Madison was beginning to understand was her usual cheery nature. “You here for the eleven o’clock class?”

“Hi, Issy,” she smiled. “Yes, please.”

Issy punched a couple of keys on the keyboard. “You’re all set.”

“What do I owe you?”

“Nothing. This one is on the house.”

Knowing it was a directive Declan must have given, Madison didn’t feel right about it. If she was going to participate in classes at his gym, she wanted to pay her way. It was one thing to offer a free class when a person was looking to join, but it was entirely different to just zero out any payments because of the relationship she had with the owner, whether or not they were on speaking terms.

“I’d like to pay, please. How much is the class?”

Madison handed her cash, leaving Issy a little confused. No one had ever demanded to pay before.

A few minutes after the class started, there was a lull at the desk and Issy walked to Declan’s office. “Hey Declan. You have a second?”

“Sure, Issy. What’s up?”

“The other day you told me to comp Madison Quinn’s classes.”

Declan nodded. “Right.”

“She, umm … she just insisted on paying.”

“She’s here?” he asked, rising from his seat. His heart began to beat faster.

“Yeh. She’s in Michael’s class right now.”

“Okay. Thanks for letting me know. I’ll take care of it.”

Issy nodded and returned to the reception desk.

For Declan, it was the longest hour of his life. He refused to go to the classroom and stalk her. He’d just wait until she came out from the locker room after class and talk to her then.

He was standing in the doorframe of his office when Madison finally made her way to the front of the gym. He was pretending to be enthralled with the papers in his hand, but even she knew he was waiting for her. Taking out her aggressions on the bag had once again helped her see more clearly.

“Hey,” she said quietly as she approached him.

“Hey.”

They looked at each other for a minute, neither really knowing what to say. Declan was feeling bad for the way things were left the other night, and Madison was feeling like an ass the way she let his rejection get to her. The fact that he wanted to wait to better solidify their relationship shouldn’t have been an issue. In so many ways, she should have seen it as a good thing.

“I’m sorry, Declan –“

“You wanna come in for a sec?” they said at the same time.

Both chuckled quietly.

“Yeh, of course,” Madison said with a soft smile.

Declan stood to the side so she could enter the office and closed the door behind them.

“I’m sorry about the other night,” Madison said, looking him in the eye.

“I’m sorry I was an ass.”

“But you weren’t, Declan. In fact, you were probably right. Waiting will only make it that much better when it does happen.”

He smiled, liking the sound that it would, indeed, eventually happen.

“It’ll happen when it’s supposed to?” he asked, taking her hands.

Madison nodded and gently kissed him.

They could have easily continued the kiss but there was a knock on the door.

Declan sighed as he pulled back and rested his forehead against hers. “Damn it. Ten bucks says that’s Aidan.”

“Sounds like you have insider information. I don’t think I’ll take that bet.”

Giving her a quick peck, Declan let go of her hands and opened the door. In a flash, two arms wound around one leg and a second set of arms wrapped around his waist.

“Uncle Declan!!” the kids cheered.

“It’s the J’s! You ready for the zoo?” He loved to call them by the nickname he gave them when the youngest was born.

“Yeh!!”

Declan laughed and looked to his brother who had a smirk on his face.
 

“Yeh, you guys have fun. Make sure they’re completely warn out before you bring them back,” Aidan commented.

“No problem. I’ve been looking forward to this all week.” He picked up the little boy who looked to be the younger of the two and ruffled his hair. “You ready to see the tigers?”

“Raaaaaaaaar!” he growled, making a mean face.

Madison laughed at just how cute the little boy was being which caused the older girl to look up at her. “Who are you?”

“Juliana,” Aidan reprimanded gently and her eyes quickly turned to her father. “Manners, please.”

“Sorry.” She turned back to Madison and extended her hand. “I’m Juliana. What’s your name?”

Madison was flabbergasted by the formality of the young girl. It was cute, and she was extremely impressed.

“I’m Madison. You must be Declan’s niece, Juliana,” she answered, shaking the girl’s hand lightly. She turned to the little boy. “And you must be Jack.”

Jack, becoming bashful, hid his face in Declan’s chest.

“How do you know my uncle?” Juliana inquired.

Madison looked to Declan for help.
 

How am I supposed to define our relationship to your niece and nephew … and your brother?

“Aidan, Juliana, Jack, this is Madison, my girlfriend,” he said confidently, never breaking eye contact with her.

Madison felt her cheeks go warm. She wasn’t one to be bashful or get embarrassed, but she hadn’t been called someone’s girlfriend in a very long time.

Aidan extended his hand to her. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m Aidan.”

“Madison. Nice to meet you as well,” she responded with a smile, accepting his hand.

Juliana tugged gently on Declan’s shirt to get his attention. “Is Madison coming to the zoo with us?”

“Would you like her to?” he asked her and looked to Jack to gauge his response as well. Once Jack saw Juliana agree, they were both nodding their heads.

“Me, too,” he smiled at them then turned back to Madison. “What do you think? Want to join me and the J’s at the zoo today?”

“I, umm…” she looked down at her clothing and then at Aidan. Standing there in drenched workout clothes was definitely not how she would have liked to first meet Declan’s family. She looked back to Declan. “Are you sure? I don’t want to intrude on your time with the kids.”

“It’s not a problem. Plus, they want you to come,” Declan smiled and the kids nodded their heads again.
 

“Well, okay then. Yes, I would love to. Can I have about twenty minutes?”

“What do you guys think? Can you find something to play with around here while Madison gets changed?”

They both shook their heads excitedly.

“I have a spare set of clothes in my bag, just in case,” she grinned at Declan. “Let me go take a quick shower and change. I’ll be right back.”

Declan nodded.

Madison turned to Aidan on her way out of the office. “It was really nice to meet you, Aidan.”

“You, too. Have fun today,” he responded warmly.

“Thanks,” she smiled.

Once Madison was out of earshot, Declan pulled out a couple of toys he and Erin kept for the kids in the office, closing them inside while he and Aidan remained in the hallway.

“So … your girlfriend? When were you going to share that bit of information?” Aidan asked quietly with a grin.
 

“Cut me some slack. It’s pretty new.”

Aidan nodded. “Good for you. She box?”

Declan laughed. “Not sure she’s ever been in the ring before, but we partnered up the other day during a class and she’s got some fight in her punches.”

“Good to know,” Aidan grinned.

“Alright, get outta here. Go see your wife. We’ll drop the kids off some time after dinner. Will that work?”

“That would be perfect. Thank you.”

“No problem. Like I said, I’ve been looking forward to this all week.”

“That’s only because you get to be the fun, cool uncle instead of dealing with all the everyday bullshit.”

“Exactly!” Declan grinned. “Enjoy the day with Rebecca. Give her a kiss for me.”

“I will. Thanks again,” Aidan said as he gave Declan a hug. He opened the door to the office and gave the kids each a hug goodbye. “Behave for Uncle Declan, okay?”

The kids nodded and then he headed to the front door.

Chapter 10

Madison:
Looks like things are back on track with Declan. At the zoo with him and his niece and nephew.
 

Jessa:
How domesticated of you! Your own little insta-family.

Madison:
Shut it, Jess. It’s already weird enough. Don’t start freaking me out.

Jessa:
LOL. You’ll be fine. Just enjoy the day.

Madison smiled with a sigh of relief. She and Declan had talked things out, she’d met his brother, niece and nephew, and now they were enjoying the day at the zoo. So far the day had done a complete one-eighty.

Jack had insisted during the entire drive that they head straight to the tigers. However, to get there meant they had to walk past many other animals, and he seemed to get distracted by each and every one.

They started with the prairie dogs and it made both Madison and Declan smile to see Juliana take Jack’s hand and lead him to the small viewing areas that were big enough for a couple kids to pop their heads up from below and be just inches away from where the dogs lived and played. A popular place, the exhibit was swarming with kids, parents and strollers.

Declan let them have their fun for a few minutes and called them back. “We need to let the other kids take a peak, bud. And we have the tigers we need to go see,” he explained when Jack started to complain about having to leave the dogs.

“Oh, yeh. Tigers!” And just like that, the prairie dogs were easily forgotten.

They stopped to see several other animals before they encountered brown bears that looked like they were play fighting.

Declan picked Jack up so he could see better and Madison smiled. He was so good with the kids. In just the short time the four of them had been together, she could tell when the kids were with him, they were his first priority. And he did everything he could to make their time together special.

Not having a great deal of experience with kids, Madison started to worry when they came to a fork in the path. One direction led to Jack’s favorite, the tigers, and the other to Juliana’s, the polar bears. She had learned what both of their favorites were during the car ride and expected a big meltdown when they had to make a decision.