“That’s a lot of truth.”
“I know!” I wail, picking through their fridge. Now that Shannon lives with Declan she eats paleo, and that means there are hardly any carbs here. How in the hell do you have an asshole boyfriend talk without carbs?
“He really found your dad?”
“Yeah.”
“But you already know where he is.”
“I know. Andrew didn’t know that.”
“He thought he was helping?”
I sigh, deflating like an emotional balloon. “I know. But he has this way of just barging in and taking over, then backing off. He’s really strange. I think—” No. I can’t say it. Once my suspicions are spoken, I can’t unspeak them. I just dumped them all out on Andrew and they feel even more illogical now.
“What do you think?”
“I think he doesn’t want to be seen in public with me.”
There. Said. Done.
A man’s deep sigh shatters Shannon’s stunned silence. We turn and find Declan standing there, gym bag in hand, a grim look on his face.
“That’s not what’s going on,” he says.
Let me halt here for a moment and attempt to explain how utterly incomprehensible his appearance at this moment really is. Declan does not—I repeat, does not—ever insert himself into any conversation Shannon and I have about relationships. He has been a silent sentry through the past two years and while I know he knows Andrew’s feelings on the subject, he has never uttered a word to me about it.
Until now.
“Huh?” Shannon grunts. She’s as shocked as I am. Spritzy tries to make love to Declan’s ankle. Shannon cocks an eyebrow and Declan nudges Spritzy away.
“I swore to myself I would never intervene,” Declan mumbles under his breath. “This kind of thing never ends well.”
“What’s he talking about?” I hiss to Shannon.
“I don’t know.” She throws her hands in the air. “He mutters nonsense like this all the time whenever Mom and I try to troubleshoot other people’s problems.”
“And we all know how well that turns out,” Declan says in a tight voice. “But I can tell you that the problem here is not that Andrew doesn’t want to be seen in public with you or that your father being in prison has anything to do with Andrew’s actions.”
“Then what?” I croak out.
“The problem is that my brother is a vampire.”
That really doesn’t help clear up anything.
“You mean, like Edward Cullen?”
“What does my vibrator have to do with this?” Shannon gasps.
Declan glares at her and mutters, “I still can’t believe you named that thing.” His frown deepens. “Or that you still own it.”
“Can we stick to the whole your brother is a bloodsucking creature part?”
“What does being a CEO have to do with this?” Shannon jokes.
We both give her a look.
Declan turns to me after a spectacular eye roll that even his helicopter pilot must have felt. “I mean that Andrew will never go outside in daylight.”
I whip to face Shannon. “I thought you were joking when you said that!” I think back to the time in the ER when Shannon swallowed her engagement ring and Andrew made a comment about not going outside. How everyone told stories.
How I didn’t believe it.
“He’s too afraid of being stung,” Declan adds, giving Shannon a nervous glance. We all know why Declan subconsciously does that, but it doesn’t stop my stomach from hurting.
“Never? He never goes out in daylight? What about winter?”
Declan nods. “He does then. He’s an avid skier. But from March to November, no way.”
“He’s crafted his entire life around this giant fear?” My mind races to piece this together. “Is this why he has a balcony but no plants? Why he always wants to meet for dinner but never lunch? Why he has drivers who take him from underground garage to—oh, my God.” I slump against the couch. “You two aren’t kidding.”
“I wouldn’t joke about this,” Declan says, his voice sincere and full of compassion. “He’s not rejecting you. He’s not embarrassed to be seen in public with you, Amanda. He’s terrified to be in any situation where there’s the smallest risk he might get stung.”
“That’s crazy!” I cry out, looking at Shannon, who now has fat tears filling her eyes. “He’s crazy! Shannon doesn’t live like that! You can’t live a life where there’s no risk.”
“Not no risk. Just no risk in this one, particular part of his life. He’s surprisingly bold when it comes to taking huge leaps in business. It’s one reason why Dad plucked him for the CEO spot. Whatever risks he doesn’t take in real life with his physical body he has no problem making on paper or in the boardroom.” Declan’s mouth twists with a smile that is equal parts admiration and contempt.
“How does he—I don’t understand—what does he...” But my voice fades out as I run through the possibility—the probability, that Declan is right.
Andrew lives a life driven entirely by fear.
“Why didn’t he just say that?” I beg, pleading with Declan to explain this to me so I can fix it. Make it better. Clear it all up and get everything back in order.
“He’ll never say it.”
Bzzzzz.
The intercom by the elevator crackles. “Mr. McCormick?” That’s Gerald’s voice.
Declan jogs over to the elevator. The doors are shutting. He sticks his foot in the opening and lodges the doors open again. “One second, Gerald.”