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Declan nodded. "I try not to. He forgave her. I love her, and I accept her, but sometimes, I see that same edge to her that drove him away." He waved his hand around the room. "This world haunts me."
Piper squeezed his hands. "We don't need to stay," she said softly. "I'll tell your mom I'm not feeling well?—"
"No." Declan cut her off. "My dad lost the woman he loved because he refused to accept part of who she was. This world is important to you. You need to be here. And I'm here for you."
Piper smiled softly and brushed her finger along his jaw. "We're not married, Declan. You don’t need to suffer for me."
"I think…" He paused to kiss the palm of her hand. "No. I believe that you are in my life because I need you to get out of my darkness, and that includes this. You give me reason to walk into this life again, the life my dad rejected, and I rejected as well. My mom and brother live here, and if I can't be in it, then I can't be with them."
Her gaze was kind as she looked at him. "But it's hard."
"It's easier with you." He grinned. "Don't get me wrong. I'm not going to start going to charity events every weekend, but a family dinner here and there? Might be worth it."
Piper smiled. "It might be. Kitty isn't that bad. I'd take her as my mom."
Declan was feeling so much clearer now. Sharing all that with Piper had lightened a weight that had been clamped down on his shoulders for years. He hadn't even understood what he'd just told her, until the words had come out of his mouth. "What about your mom? She good?"
Piper's smile flickered, just a little bit, but enough that he noticed. "Naughty boy. Trying to start another conversation so we never leave the bar? I see right through those manipulations."
What was she hiding? What was in Piper's story that she was so worried about keeping hidden, even from him?
Her gaze slipped past him, and she sat up. "There's a bride I'm meeting with tomorrow. Can we go dance next to her?"
"Yeah, sure." He couldn't hide his disappointment that she hadn't met him halfway, after he'd laid it out for her. He'd known he had emotional walls, but Piper's were even stronger than his.
But there was something there, deep beneath the surface with Piper, and he wanted to know what it was. He wanted her to trust him enough to tell him. He wanted her all the way.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
An hour later, Declan was restless.
Better than being in a high state of stress, but still antsy.
Piper was in deep conversation with a potential bride. His mom was off somewhere making the rounds. And he had no interest in wandering around chatting with strangers about things he didn't care about.
He knew the people at the fundraiser wouldn’t appreciate it if he walked up to them and started talking about crime scenes or how to cut tile so it fit perfectly even at an angle.
He'd tried tonight to play the game. And he'd managed to be here. But he still felt no fire, no purpose. The only time he'd felt alive tonight was when he was with Piper or watching her. She was electric here. This was her world, and he marveled at how she seemed to light up anyone she spoke to, no matter who it was. Peoplewantedto talk to her, and she wanted to talk to them.
And all he wanted was to lean on the bar and watch her until she needed him.
"Declan."
He turned his head at the familiar voice and saw Dylan Hart standing next to him. "Hey," he said, surprised. And relieved. TheHarts were wealthy as shit, but they were regular people, like him, and he liked them. "What are you doing here?"
Dylan was part of the Hart family from Oregon, nine siblings who had been homeless kids, and then come together as family when they were teenagers living under a bridge. They'd taken the last name Hart, and then made billions with the security technology they'd originally created to break into school and city systems to protect themselves from being dragged back into the foster system.
Although they were primarily ranchers, each Hart had their own business that they did because it moved them. Dylan had a detective agency, and he often worked with an attorney named Eliana Tiernan, who helped women and their kids escape abusive situations. She gave them a new identity, a life, and made sure that no one found them.
Dylan had recruited Declan's off-the-books assistance a couple times in the past when there had been a situation in the local area, but now that Lucas was engaged to Piper's friend, Maddie, the Harts were around more.
The Harts showed up at fundraisers from time to time. They had a ton of money, but they mostly created their own foundations.
"I'm working," Dylan said.
Declan's attention sharpened. "The kind of work I helped you with?"
"Yep."
