Not Pretending Anymore, Ward, Penelope [books that read to you TXT] 📗

think I’m just a pretty face.” I paused. “Why don’t you go get some sleep? I think we could use a few days to think about everything.”

She nodded. “Yeah. That’s probably a good idea.”

Molly stood. For a few awkward seconds, she looked unsure how to say goodnight to me. Eventually, she walked over and gave me a hug. “Goodnight, Declan.”

God, she smelled so damn good. Where the hell was a caveman’s club when I needed it?

Molly walked toward her bedroom. When she got to the door, she stopped and spoke without looking back.

“Hey, Dec?”

“Yeah?”

“Maybe you should lock your door tonight. That margarita really went to my head.”

I smiled. “You too, babe. You too.”

CHAPTER 17

Molly

“So what’s going on in the adventures of Molly these days?” Emma twirled her fork in a container filled with spaghetti and shoveled it into her mouth.

“Not much. The usual. I’m supposed to go out with Will Friday night, and last night Declan and I admitted that if there were no Will for me or Julia for him, we’d be banging all over the apartment.”

Emma’s eyes bulged, and she started to cough. “Oh my God. You just made pasta go down the wrong pipe.” Her eyes watered as she reached for her bottle of water.

I chuckled. “Sorry, but you asked.”

Since we worked the same shift in different departments, we sometimes managed to schedule our dinner break together. If it hadn’t worked out for us tonight, I probably would’ve asked her to go for coffee after our shifts ended, because I needed to talk to someone.

“Last week you said you were attracted to him, but he had no idea how you felt.”

I sighed. “Yeah, I was wrong.”

Emma shook her head. “So the feeling is mutual?”

“Apparently…”

“And you guys talked about this, but nothing physical happened?”

I nodded. “We’re taking a few days to think about things.”

“What are you going to do?”

“I have no damn idea.”

“Well, you’ve been head over heels for Will for years.”

“I know I have. And honestly, if it weren’t for Declan, I’d probably be super excited about where things are going with Will and me. At first he said he wanted to keep things casual, but he’s since told me he could see things progressing with us, and that someday he wants a wife and kids and stuff.”

“Isn’t that exactly what you want? A guy you’re crazy about who’s looking to settle down with the right woman?”

“It is, but…” I shook my head. “I don’t know. I’m confused.”

“Well, let’s look at the pros and cons of each relationship. Tell me what you like about Will.”

“We have a lot in common. He’s an obstetrician, and I’m a labor and delivery nurse. He’s handsome and levelheaded. I love the way he’s always so good under pressure, and how much passion he has for his work. He’s smart, yet he never tries to show off, like a lot of other doctors do.”

“Okay. That all sounds awesome. Now tell me the cons.”

I couldn’t think of much. “If we were to go into a serious relationship and then split up, it might be awkward at work.”

“That’s fair. What about Declan? Tell me what you like about him.”

“I like how thoughtful he is. When I first found out about my dad’s illness, Declan had just moved in. Yet he always asked how Dad was and made sure he was around when he thought I might be upset and needed to talk. He just seems to know when I need support, and he makes himself available and never makes me feel like it’s a burden. He’s very funny and makes me laugh all the time, and…” I pointed to the eggplant rollatini I had in front of me. “He’s also a great cook. And, of course, let’s not forget that he’s ridiculously hot.”

“And what about the cons?”

Unlike Will, there were some glaring cons related to Declan. “Well, for starters, he lives two-thousand miles away in California. He also travels all the time for his job, and he travels with Julia—the woman he’s currently fooling around with that he’s been pining over for almost as long as I’ve been dreaming of a relationship with Will. We don’t have that much in common—he’s kind of a leave the clean dishes in the dishwasher because you’re just gonna use them anyway kind of person, whereas I like things put where they belong.”

Emma nodded. “Well, they both have a lot of pros, but Declan has a lot more cons. And one of them seems pretty major—he lives in California, Molly. How much longer is he even here?”

I frowned. “A little over four months.”

“Is that where his family lives? Where his job will be when his work here is done?”

I nodded. “He has four sisters and both his parents there, plus nieces and nephews. Chicago was just a temporary assignment. He’s hoping to get promoted once he goes back to the corporate office in California.”

“So, say you pick Declan. What happens when his time here is up? Does he uproot his life and move here? Or do you leave your mom and sister and your sick dad?”

I sighed. Neither sounded ideal. Not to mention, we hadn’t even kissed. So thinking about any of this was putting the cart long before the horse. “I know what you’re saying.” The choice should’ve been simple. Yet it wasn’t.

“Do you want to know what I think?”

I had a feeling I already did. But I nodded anyway.

“If you pick Declan, you’re going to wind up very hurt in four months. And you’re going to be kicking yourself in the ass over the one who got away.”

After dinner, Emma and I both went back to work, but I couldn’t stop thinking about our conversation. Making a list of pros and cons was right up my alley—a way of organizing my thoughts to make the right decision. So later, when things were quiet on the floor, I took out a notepad and again listed all the pluses and minuses for each man. Declan’s