She knits her brows.
He laughs again. “Come on, you’re not deaf, are you? I’m trying to tell you you’re beautiful.”
She drops her book and stiffens, using her hands to sign. The term is “hearing impaired,” asshole, she snaps.
It’s then that Declan pales whiter than my ass. Before his mouth pops open and his face turns a serious shade of red. “Miss, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean—”
The woman rummages through her purse and throws down a twenty. “Save it for someone who’ll actually swallow your bullshit, loser.”
She doesn’t bother signing this time—her hands are too busy snagging her book, purse, and coat. She stomps past me, fire practically shooting out of her heels.
Contrary to popular belief, I’m a sensitive and classy guy. So I wait for her to storm out of the bistro and cross the street, and for Declan to plop down in front of me, before laughing my ass off—at him.
“That’s not funny,” he growls.
“Holy shit, you went down in flames.”
“Shut up, Curran.”
“I mean like a fighter plane doused in gasoline, shot with a bazooka, into a burning field.”
“Are you done?” he asks.
I wipe my tears with the back of my hand. “No, dickless. Did it ever occur to you that she might actually be deaf? I mean, come on, Declan. Didn’t you learn anything from all those sensitivity classes you were forced to take? People have special needs—”
“No kidding—I know that. Fuck, I’m going to hell for this one.” He leans in close. “Look, I thought she was, you know, playing me. I’d never insult anyone like that, especially someone who has issues like her—”
“Issues?” I repeat, no longer laughing.
His face tightens. “Someone like her must have struggled. It can’t be easy being a non-hearing person in a hearing world.”
I throw out a hand. “Maybe if you would have started off with something more like that, you would’ve actually stood a chance at getting those legs wrapped around you.”
“I was going for charming,” he says, rubbing his face.
“No. You were going for someone you thought could hear that charm. Maybe you should have gone for sensitive. Then you would’ve had your ass spanked like you wanted to, instead of having it handed back to you.”
“Do you mind? I already feel like a big prick.”
“Well, you should.” I start to laugh again, but then back off when I see just how bad he feels. “Look. The important thing is you didn’t mean it.”
“Of course I didn’t mean it. I would never intentionally mistreat someone—especially a woman.” He curses again and glances in the direction she disappeared. “I should try to find her and apologize.”
“Nah. If it looks like you’re stalking her, it’ll only take you from asshole to creep and you’ll end up on some list. Trust me, if you want that promotion into Homicide, you’re better off just letting it go.”
“I don’t know,” he says, keeping his focus outside. “That was a total shit move, Curran.”
“Declan, relax. Say a few Hail Marys, donate your next paycheck to the church, and thank God that you’ll never see her again.”
He goes quiet. Real quiet, likely thinking things through. “Maybe you’re right,” he finally says. “Some things are better off left alone….”
Chapter 18
Tess
Curran flips on his right turn signal as I finish texting Declan with regard to the case file I was working on. As he makes the turn, I remind Declan to sign the documents I’d emailed earlier.
“Everything okay?” Curran asks.
“Yes. Just wrapping a few things up.” I try to keep my tone light, not wanting to give away exactly how much work I had to do in order to go out with him tonight. And I still have a few chapters to read in Administrative Law before I go to bed later.
I put my phone away and pull down the visor, fiddling with my hair in the mirror.