Chapter 5: An Unwanted Blast From the Past

Declan

“So, do you still have that hot date tonight?” Trent set his briefcase down on the desk chair in the foyer when he came in as he loosened his tie, knowing I hated it.

“Go put your briefcase in your room before I throw it out.” I scoffed as I rose from the sofa and made myself another drink.

He chuckled. “I take that as a no.” He lifted his briefcase, headed toward the hallway, and lifted his chin toward me. “Fix me one of those, will you? I’ll be right out.”

“Yeah. For two cents, I’d put hot sauce in it.” I smirked, shaking my head as I fixed his drink. “Since when did I become your maid?”

“And since when did you get so grumpy?” Trent came out of his bedroom without his suit coat with the top buttons of his dress shirt open. “You need to get laid, man. Since the b*tch left, you’ve not been the same.”

“Hey, screw you!” I took a big swig of my drink and walked onto the terrace overlooking the well-manicured courtyard as he followed. “And for your information, Isabel didn’t leave until I asked her to. I was the one who broke up with her.”

Isabel Hill had been one of the most selfish women I’d ever met in my life and had been after me only for my title. But I hadn’t realized it until it was too late. Looking back now, it was pretty obvious.

“And don’t call her that.” I took another sip of my drink.

Trent nudged my shoulder. “What’s the matter with you, man? You’ve dated plenty women since her. What’s the problem now?”

I shrugged, letting out a deep breath. I hardly understood it myself. Why was I sitting in my castle sulking over not being able to see a woman I’d just met?

“Come on. We’re going out.” He set down his drink and pulled me toward the door.

“Where are we going? And don’t say the Club!” I growled, not in the mood for company.

A devilish gleam appeared in his eye as a grin spread across his face. “The Club.”

I stopped dead in my tracks. “No thanks.” Not that I was avoiding seeing Isabel, but her parents and my mother frequented the Estrea Country Club, the most prestigious country club in Estrea and I wasn’t in the mood to run into her.

Trent scoffed. “Either you agree to come with me, or I’m calling you a hooker. In fact, I’ll call a couple of them.”

I chuckled. “You wouldn’t dare!”

He shrugged, calling my bluff. “So, what’s it going to be? Are you going out with me or staying here and getting laid with a sure thing?”

“Ugg!” I stomped toward my room. “Let me get dressed before you call some escort service and have this place filled with hookers! I’ll be ready to go in a minute.” With Trent, I wouldn’t put it past him.

Even though he was as outrageous as they come, I loved him to death. We fought like cats and dogs half the time, but when the chips were down, I couldn’t ask for a better friend.

After I’d had enough of Isabel and we’d broken up, he moved in and kept me from going stir crazy. And it was probably a good thing that he was here tonight, too.

Even though I’d just met Henley and had asked her out casually for drinks, I was more disappointed than I thought I’d be when she texted me and said she couldn’t make it tonight. But at least she had texted. I laughed, knowing I would have been that guy, staring at the phone all night, waiting for her to call or text, although I would have never admitted it.

Lame, lame, lame! Declan, don’t fall for her! Treat her like any other girl!

After Isabel's tap dance on my heart, I locked it away and threw away the key. And there was no way I would open the vault for any woman again. No one. Not even Henley.

But I quickly pushed the thought aside, determined to get Henley off my mind. What is it they say? The quickest way to get over a girl is to get under another one. But I knew there was no way I was going to do that. Not before Henley and I even had a chance.

I slipped into a white dress shirt, leaving a few buttons open at the top, a new pair of jeans, and then slipped into a black blazer and a pair of my black boots. The doorman at the Club wouldn’t like me wearing jeans, but the blazer would make up for it. I never used my name and title, but tonight, it would at least get me in the door in a pair of jeans.

That was just about the only thing I used my title for, and I aimed to keep it that way. I had inherited the title from my father. But to tell you the truth, I would rather have my father back any day of the week than his title.

I checked myself once more in the mirror. Satisfied, I headed into the living room, and Trent was already waiting on me, dressed similarly to me, except he wore a nice pair of trousers instead of jeans.

“You’re wearing that?” He scoffed, pointing toward my jeans.

I shrugged, picking up my car keys from the porcelain bowl on the desk near the door. “Yeah. So what?”

“So, Fred isn’t going to let you in the door dressed like that!”

I chuckled. “Then I’ll come home, and you can walk home or call a cab. It makes no difference to me.” I motioned with my head toward the door. “I have no intention of sticking around to see if you really called the hookers or not.”

He laughed. “Not yet. But if you’d rather stay home, I can order some—” He said it as if he was thinking of ordering take out.

I skipped down the stairs and waved off Jackson, my driver, holding up my keys.

He bowed slightly. “Very well, Your Grace.”

“Jackson, take the rest of the night off.” I fired up the Jag and slid inside.

A smile lit his lips. “Thank you, Your Grace. Have a night evening.”

“Jackson, please call me Declan.” I smiled, shaking my head.

“Yes, Your... er... Declan.”

I chuckled as I slid into the driver’s seat, shaking my head.

Jackson was old school, a man of old habits. And old habits were hard to change.

“Well, come on, slowpoke!” I yelled out the window at Trent.

As soon as he hopped into the car, I threw it into reverse and pulled out onto the main road right away.

“Hey, keep your shirt on!” He laughed. “The babes will wait for us!”

“Oh, yeah?” I arched an eyebrow, feeling a little more like my old self.

“Yeah, because we’re worth waiting for.” He wiggled his eyebrows mischievously.

I chuckled, shaking my head as I turned my attention toward the road. “Smart*ss.”

We laughed as I drove toward the Estrea Country Club as the sun began to set in the distance, wanting to go anywhere else than here. “Let’s go somewhere else.”

“Why? It’s been a while since you’ve been there.” Trent chuckled, arching an eyebrow as he looked over at me. “You’re not afraid you’ll run into her. Are you?”

My head snapped up. “Who? Isabel?”

He nodded once.

“Oh, h*ll no!” I laughed, shaking my head. “No, she had her chance. She and I just wanted different things.”

“Oh? And what was that?”

I looked over at him and grinned. “Me.”

There was no way that I was going to tell him that she was only after me for my title. I would say that she had been after me for my money, too, but she had plenty of that. No, what she wanted was a title.

Long ago, she had set her sights on Prince Xavier until she found out he was gay, and then she switched to Grayson until he married Ari. Then she came after me. I should have known better.

But now, she was ancient history.

When we pulled up in the front of the Country Club, the valet jumped right over to me, jumping out of the way when I opened the door myself, threw him the keys, and slid him a folded up fifty. “Take good care of my baby, man.”

“Yes, sir!” He hopped behind the driver’s seat and gingerly pulled toward the valet parking lot, taking my words to heart.

We walked in, and Fred looked down at my jeans and rolled his eyes.

But Trent gave him a manly slap on the shoulder, capturing his attention. “Hey, Fred! How’re they hangin’?”

I bit my lower lip to keep from laughing. “Fred, we’re just going to the bar tonight.”

“So, you’ll not require a table?” he asked, looking down his nose at us.

I smiled. “No, thank you. If we decide we’re hungry, we’ll eat at the bar.”

He nodded. “Very well, then. if you require further assistance, just let me know.”

“We shall.” I took Trent’s arm and pulled him toward the bar. “Let’s go before you get us thrown out for good.”

He chuckled, wiggling his fingers at Fred over his shoulder. “I thought you didn’t care.”

“Well, my mother might.” I laughed, releasing him. “She’s been a member here since the turn of the century... and not this one, I’m afraid.”

We both looked at each other and burst out laughing.

“Well, hello, Declan,” a sultry voice announced. My heart froze, for that voice shouldn’t be so familiar. And when I turned around, I was right. Isabel was standing right in front of us, giving me her best sexy smile. “It’s been a long time.”