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"No." Declan grabbed a cloth and started wiping down the bar. "I wanted to get my mom off my back, and she needed a fiancé for work purposes."
"This is the woman who came in here that time because she locked herself out, and she needed a key from you?"
Declan nodded. He'd forgotten about the time Piper had tracked him down. She'd swept into his bar in her business suit, heels, and tight bun, in total control of herself. Cool. Collected. On a mission.
She was so much more than that. He'd had no idea at the time.
"She running you ragged? A control freak? Too much woman for you?"
"She's not a control freak," he shot back. "She's smart, determined, and kind as hell."
Aiden raised his brows, looking surprised. "Is she?"
"Yeah. And she's passionate about her job." Declan paused. "It's inspiring."
Aiden studied him. "Because you used to feel that way, and now you don't? I haven't seen that passion in a long time."
His friend wasn't wrong, but that didn't matter. Declan shrugged. "It's time. I can feel it."
"You feel it, eh?" Aiden hefted a tray of glasses from under the bar and set them on the counter. "Maybe you're just getting old, and you're feeling arthritis, not a siren call to go back to a job you don't actually want to do."
"I'm not old."
Aiden barked a laugh. "You're limping around here like an old man."
"My knee's getting better." But the minute Declan thought of it, the ache pulsed at him.Shit.
"If it's not the job that's getting to you, and I'm not convinced that it's not, then it's the woman," Aiden said. "Why is she driving you nuts? Because Ididnotice how quickly you jumped to her defense when I called her a control freak."
Declan glanced at Aiden, who was leaning against the bar as if he was settling in for a long girl talk. "Don't you have work to do?"
"I own the bar. I don't have to work. I just employ scrubs like you to amuse myself. What's going on with the future wife?"
Declan grimaced. "I like kissing her."
Aiden grinned. "That's fantastic. It's been a long time, eh?"
"Yeah." Declan tossed the towel down. "It wasn't supposed to be complicated, but it is."
"Because you like kissing her."
"Yeah."
Aiden paused, watching Declan too carefully. "And you likeher?"
Declan shot a look at Aiden and shrugged. He didn't want to put it into words, but understanding settled on Aiden's face. "If you're interested in her," Aiden said softly, "it means you're ready."
"I'm not interested in anything."
"Until you're ready."
"It's not a matter of being ready. I just don't want to go there."
Aiden folded his arms over his chest. "I've known you a long time, Declan. You can be a stubborn ass. But sometimes you're also stupid."
Declan said nothing as he began unloading the glasses from the tray Aiden had pulled out from under the counter.
"It sounds to me like she might be exactly what you need. Stop fighting it. Jump in. See what happens. What's the worst that can happen?"
