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In every way.
Because she was a woman on a mission, and she wasn't going to mess it up with romantic dreams of knights in shining armor.
She'd done that already, and the scars still burned.
Never, ever again.
Declan could still smell the flowers.
Piper was gone, and yet, he could still smell the flowers. Was it her shampoo? Her soap? Some sort of body lotion?
The thought of body lotion put a visual in his head that made him swear.
He set his sledgehammer down and stepped back, trying to focus on the carnage around him. Demolition was always satisfying.He knew damn well that he'd told Piper he was starting on Wednesday, but a few hours ago, he'd run into someone he used to know, and his past had been triggered.
He'd had to do something to distract himself. From the memories. From the pain in his gut. From the truth that wouldn't stop haunting him.
As soon as he'd gotten home, Declan had grabbed his tools and almost sprinted to the guest house, ignoring the instability in his knee. That first swing of the sledgehammer had reverberated through his body, jerking him back from the grips of the past and returning him to the present.
Now? He felt back in control again, locked down, focused…except for the fact he could still smell the scent of flowers that seemed to follow Piper wherever she went.
He fucking loved how she smelled.
He was going to have to find a way to get over it.
Because he wasn't ready for a woman, and he never would be.
That part of his life was over, and he was never going back.
At that moment, his phone rang. He pulled it out and looked at the caller. When he saw who it was, he had to take a breath before answering it. "Declan here."
He listened for a moment, his gut tightening the longer they spoke. "Yeah, I can come in on Friday at eleven. Thanks."
He hung up and let his hand fall to his side, stunned.
He'd passed the physical to return to police work.
Interview on Friday.
After three years on the sidelines, fighting to get his body to work again, he'd done it.
It was all he'd been focused on. The only thing that mattered.
But now that he was going back there on Friday…Fuck.
It was only for an interview, but the nightmares were going to start again. He could already feel it.
He took a breath. Nightmares were fine. He was fine. He had a bathroom to destroy and that would get him right.
But as he picked up the sledgehammer, he caught a whiff of flowers again.
This time, he closed his eyes, paused, and inhaled, using that light, delicate scent to steady himself.
Piper was freaking sunshine, and she had no idea how she grounded him every time he saw her.
And she never would know, because he was never going there with her.
But would he take a minute to breathe in the flowers and let it settle him?
