Before she could do anything—other than stare at him like an idiot— he gave her another smile and was gone.
The rest of her day seemed to drag as she repeatedly thought of Declan’s parting words. By the time she got home that evening, she was counting the minutes until Declan showed up. When he did arrive, she tried not to look like she had been standing at the door for fifteen minutes, after changing into another short dress and her best new Victoria’s Secret underwear set, courtesy of Suzy, Beth, and Claire’s advice.
Chapter Eight
“I like your apartment. It’s so . . . clean.”
Declan chuckled and said, “That’s all you could come up with, huh? I rented it completely furnished. I’ve been meaning to buy a house, but haven’t had the time for the hassle yet. Since I barely do more than sleep here, it hasn’t mattered much to me.”
Ella blushed, wishing she had been a little more complimentary of his home. Everything in it was top of the line and the granite countertops in the kitchen gleamed against the dark wood of the cabinets. The stainless steel appliances were sleek and modern. It was obvious that Declan paid much more in rent than she did on her small apartment. And his was spacious with three bedrooms and two bathrooms. She was a little surprised that he had such a big place for just himself. When she had asked him about it, he simply said that he didn’t like tight spaces.
When she offered to help with dinner, he pointed to the refrigerator and put her in charge of the salad. She had to give him credit, he had only paused for a brief moment before he handed her the sharp knife to cut the vegetables up. She was determined not to draw blood and reward his faith in her. “I like the music you have on, who is the group?”
Declan looked at her in surprise. “It’s Norah Jones. Haven’t you heard of her?”
“No, not really. My parents didn’t believe in any popular music. I rarely ever listened to the radio. I still don’t much now unless I’m with Beth. She is doing everything she can to catch me up on the Bon Jovi years and even though she tries to blame it on her gym, she also likes Justin Timberbake.”
Declan started laughing. “I believe you, Ellie, because it’s actually Justin Timberlake.”
“Oh . . . whoops. Don’t tell Beth, she would be so disappointed in me.”
“Your secret’s safe with me.” As he walked back toward the balcony, he looked over his shoulder. “I picked up a movie for after dinner if you’re interested. My sister recommended it.”
“That sounds good. I brought one as well so we can see which one looks the best.” Ella knew why he had the slightly embarrassed look on his face when she pulled his DVD out. Sleepless in Seattle, really? When he walked back into the kitchen she was trying to hide hers. She was sure that after their movie choice last night, he would know her tastes a little better. Apparently, he was still under the mistaken impression that she was a quiet, chick-flick-watching, girlie girl. Maybe it was better to let him think that. Her movie did have some romance in it though; didn’t she get points for that?
Looking over her shoulder, Declan asked, “So what did you bring?”
“Uh, nothing interesting. Let’s just go with your choice. It looks great.”
“Aw, come on Ellie, no holding out on me.” When she still wouldn’t show him her movie, he suddenly started tickling her. As she shrieked and jumped out of the way, he grabbed the movie and waved it in the air in victory. His expression was almost comical when he finally brought it down to look at it more closely. “Lethal Weapon?”
As she did whenever she got nervous, she started rambling. “It’s okay; we can watch your movie. Lethal Weapon 3 was really the best one anyway. I just loved Rene Russo in it. But I wasn’t sure if you had seen the first two so I didn’t want you to be lost or anything. We can watch mine another time. Maybe we can have a whole Lethal Weapon marathon.” As he continued to look at her without saying anything, the rambling got worse. “How about Jason Statham? You remind me of him, well, without the British accent. I love the Transporter movies or we could do something military for you. There is Black Hawk Down or the Expendables movie.”
Finally, Declan started chuckling and pulled her against his chest. “Oh Ellie, if I could clone you, every man in this world would be in heaven. You and I might not agree on everything, but we damn sure won’t have a problem deciding which movie to watch.” As Ella started to return his embrace, he suddenly pulled back and muttered something about checking the steaks before leaving the kitchen.