"My father was running the UK side of things. He collapsed last year. At first they thought it was a heart attack."
"Really? I didn't think he had a heart."
He ignored the comment and continued. He was quite aware there had been no love lost between his father and Jess. But then it had been a difficult time. His father had blamed himself for Declan's brother, Logan, being in prison and was determined the same wouldn't happen to his other son.
Jess listened but didn't speak again until he came to the part where they'd brought in the police. She obviously picked up some vibes.
"I can understand why your father doesn't like the police, but why you?"
He shrugged. "I grew up believing they weren't my friends. And they weren't. They were after my father and would have loved something on me. Even as a kid."
"You can't know that."
"They didn't make a secret of it. They harassed him, even coming to our home. My brother was put away when he was twenty-one on some trumped-up assault charge that anyone else would have walked away from with a warning."
"I didn't know you had a brother."
"Logan is my half brother. He came from my father's first marriage. But my dad had custody from when Logan was ten, so we're close."
"Then why did we never meet?"
"I told you, he was in prison when we had our … thing. But he's out now. You'll probably get to meet him if you stick around. He manages the nightclubs."
She stood up, picked up her coffee, and turned away to stare out of the window for a minute. When she turned back, her lips were pursed. "Is that why you were so upset the night I stole that car?"
"Partly. I'm also a law-abiding citizen, and I don't actually think stealing cars is something you do for kicks. But yeah. They would have thrown the book at me and smiled the whole time they were doing it."
She gave a small nod, came back, and sat down. "Okay, finish the story."
He told her everything he could think of, then sat back while she considered it.
"So," she said eventually, "you're a witness for the case?"
"Yes, though they have enough other witnesses to seal it without me."
"Then this is more in the way of retribution than saving their asses."
"Maybe. To be honest, I have no clue. This has never happened to me before."
"What? You mean no one's ever tried to kill you?" She frowned. "Hey, you're not married are you?"
He didn't like how she made the connection between someone wanting to kill him and his being married. "No."
"Fiancée?"
"No."
"Girlfriend?"
"No."
"Friendly neighborhood prostitute who pops over and relieves the pressure every now and then?"
"No." He'd been over here for just under a year now and hadn't been laid in all that time. Well until Jess. He hadn't even been on a date. And he hadn't noticed. Before that there had been Penny. "I was engaged. We broke up before I moved over here."
"Why? What was wrong with her? Didn't Rory like her?"
"Nothing was wrong with her. She was perfect, and my father loved her. She was my mother's best friend's daughter, and my mother loved her as well."
"Wow. So what went wrong between you and little Ms. Perfect?"
That was why he'd gone out with her. He'd tried the not so perfect and that had gotten him nothing but a whole load of grief. So why not try the opposite? Penny was beautiful, clever-she was a corporate lawyer-smart, sophisticated. The perfect wife. And he'd been bored out of his mind with her. The relationship had lacked any spark, but wasn't that what he'd wanted? No danger of falling for her, and no danger of crashing at the end of that fall.
"Nothing went wrong. It just didn't work out." Penny had actually ended the engagement. From the outset, she'd told him she was happy with a marriage that had more to do with convenience than with love, but in the end she had broken it off. She'd told him he wasn't the man she had first thought. That she didn't believe he would be happy with their loveless marriage. But he wasn't expecting "happy." In the end, breaking up with Penny hadn't bothered him and he supposed that proved her point. "We're still friends."
"How sweet."
"So why the interest in my love life?"
She grinned. "Or lack of it. Just considering options."
"You think you want the position?" Why the hell had he said that? "You want to be my girlfriend, Jess?"
She allowed her gaze to wander down over him. Her tongue poked out, small and pointed, swiping over her plump lower lip, and heat pooled in his belly.
"Bloody hell, no," she replied. "I have absolutely no aspirations to be your girlfriend, Declan. Been there. Done that. Have no wish to repeat the … mistake." She gave him a smile that didn't reach her midnight-blue eyes. "The sex is great, and I've no problem with a little extracurricular activity providing it doesn't interfere with the job. But be your girlfriend? I'd rather strip naked, roll myself in honey, and sit on an anthill."