Susan Mallery Page 0,90
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Sunshine had toyed with the idea of what it would be like to be in Declan’s bedroom. She avoided it, as a rule, only going in occasionally to put away linens the cleaning service had left in the dryer. Every now and then, when she was being especially foolish, she thought about them together in his room. No, not in his room, in his bed.
She knew better, of course. She wasn’t that girl/woman anymore. She was better and smarter and had a lot more self-control. Still, she had daydreamed, but none of her fantasies had been like this.
“What do you think?” Declan asked looking both hopeful and terrified.
She looked him up and down, taking in the freshly pressed button-down shirt, the dark wash jeans and loafers. He’d showered and shaved and he looked good.
“She’ll be dazzled,” Sunshine told him, injecting enthusiasm into her voice when what she really wanted to do was stomp her foot and tell him he couldn’t go.
“Dazzled seems strong.” He tugged at his collar. “This was a mistake. I should cancel.”
“You’re not going to cancel. You’re going to take Phoebe to dinner and you’re going to have a good time.”
Declan looked more miserable than confident. “I don’t think that’s a given. I barely know the woman. What are we going to talk about?”
“Ask about her work. Tell her about yours. You have lots of funny stories about the hotel clients.”
“Those aren’t funny, they’re disasters.”
She smiled. “To you. To the rest of us, they’re pretty humorous. If you get stuck, talk about Connor. Talk about his school, how the Rams are going to do next season, whether or not she likes ballet.”
“Don’t all women like ballet?”
“Of course not. That’s like saying all guys like basketball.”
“Do you like ballet?”
“I do, but that’s not the point. Get to know her. Don’t say anything about Iris except she got sick very suddenly and then she died.”
He sighed. “Even I know not to tell her about the affair.”
“You say that now, but in the heat of the moment, you could blurt out anything.” Sunshine told herself that however painful this was, sending Declan out with the kind of advice designed to make his date successful was just plain good karma. “Oh, and if I come up in conversation, be sure to tell her I’m in a committed relationship with a giant of a man who you find just a little intimidating.”
“What are you talking about?”
Sunshine shrugged. “She’s going to ask about me. I’m not saying I’m all that, I’m saying I know what other women think when they look at me. Boobs and butt. It’s not a good combination for a first date. If she asks, and she will, I’m in a relationship, and the guy scares you.”
Declan studied her and she had no idea what he was thinking. As long as it wasn’t pity, she didn’t care. Or so she told herself.
“Do I have to say he scares me?”
“No, but it will help.”
Connor ran into the bedroom and skittered to a stop beside Sunshine. She put her arm around him.
“Doesn’t your dad look good?”
Connor wrinkled his nose. “You do, Dad. Are you taking her flowers? Ladies like flowers.”
“Maybe next time.” Declan smiled at his son. “What are you and Sunshine doing for dinner?”
Connor started jumping up and down. “Pizza! Pizza! Pizza!” He wrapped his arms around Sunshine. “We have dough and sauce and cheese and pepperoni. I’ve never made pizza before. Did you know there’s a special stone for pizza? We’re gonna use that and watch it bake!”
“Sounds like you’ll be having a fun evening,” Declan said.
“It’s always fun with Sunshine.”
She laughed. “I’m the cool nanny. What can I say?”
“You are.” He glanced at his watch. “I should get going. We have reservations.”
Connor walked with his dad to the garage while Sunshine headed for the kitchen. Tonight, after pizza, they would watch a movie. Once Connor was in bed, she would retreat to her room and not come out until morning. She would distract herself with HGTV and not think about Declan out with another woman. Mostly because it wasn’t her business. And she didn’t care. Not in the least. Not even a little. Not her. Nope, she was completely and totally fine.
Chapter Nineteen
Declan walked into the kitchen a little after midnight. Sunshine had left on the under-counter lights, but otherwise the house was dark and quiet.
His son would have gone to bed hours ago. It was late so there was no reason to expect Sunshine to still