Decline (Declan Reede: The Untold Story #1) by Michelle Irwin Page B
Authors: Michelle Irwin
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twelve-hour leg would be the catalyst for purging the memories of Alyssa—even if the first half of the journey hadn’t been.
My gaze scanned the waiting passengers until they landed on the one person I wanted to see. Pretending not to notice that she was across from where I wanted to sit, I sauntered over to the row of chairs and took a seat. It was only after I was settled that I risked a glance up and acted as if I’d noticed her for the first time.
“Alyssa.” I nodded and couldn’t help the tiny smirk that twisted my lips as I considered that less than two hours earlier, I’d gotten myself off with thoughts of the first part of our trip. It was like a dirty little secret only I knew, and that was so fucking hot.
When she looked over to me, her eyes were red-rimmed and filled with sorrow. All thoughts of my happy ending were wiped away at the sight. It was clear she’d spent the better part of the time crying.
I frowned. Had she been crying over me? It just didn’t seem likely. I mean, I was a fucking catch, but I doubted she had any tears left to cry for what we’d shared. It was too many years ago to still affect her.
I moved from my position across from her to sit at her side. “Are you okay?”
She shook her head.
“What is it?”
“I just miss—” She risked a quick glance at me and then swallowed heavily. “Home.”
“Haven’t you only just left?”
She shook her head. “I’ve been in Sydney for a week already.”
Holy fuck ! She’d been in Sydney for a week and I hadn’t known. My chest burned at the thought. What would I have done if I had found out? I frowned. Really, the least she could have done was contact me to let me know she was close. We could have had dinner or some shit.
Why would she? It’s not like you have a fantastic track record for answering her calls .
I frowned and leaned back in the chair.
“There’s just so much going on,” she murmured. “I can’t deal with it.”
“You can talk to me if you want,” I offered.
“Don’t do this, Dec.”
“Don’t do what?”
“Don’t act like you care, when you’ve made it clear you don’t.” She stood and moved away from me.
I sat dumbfounded as I watched her walk away. Did I care? Scarily, the answer might almost have been yes. At very least, I cared much more than I should have.
Deciding that I didn’t really need to buy into her crap, or invade her life, any more than I already had, I stayed where I was and considered what the fuck I’d said which could have tipped her over the edge like that. And what the fuck she’d been crying about.
MORE THAN a little pissed at the way Alyssa had stormed off after I’d offered her my shoulder to cry on, I decided to wait to board. I didn’t want to be stuck sitting next to her for a minute longer than I had to be.
I gladly became the arsehole who waited until his name was called before boarding. Of course by the time I found my new seat, Alyssa was already seated. Her ears were already covered with headphones and she stared unblinkingly at the screen in front of her—even though the in-flight entertainment wasn’t on. The closer I got, the clearer I could see that she was still upset. Tears wet her lashes.
Without a thought, I yanked my bag up to push it into the overhead lockers but the movement was too rapid and sent a jolt of blinding agony through me. I dropped my bag and clutched at my chest. In an instant, Alyssa was standing in front of me with my bag in her hands.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
As if you care . I clenched my jaw and snatched the bag back from her without a word. Ignoring the renewed pain, I carefully lifted my carry-on and forced it between other bags in the overhead locker. Then, without a further word, I plonked myself down on the seat.
“God you’re such an arse,” she muttered before returning to her seat.
“Well, I wouldn’t want you to have to act like you care,” I retorted with a sneer.
A frustrated growl
My gaze scanned the waiting passengers until they landed on the one person I wanted to see. Pretending not to notice that she was across from where I wanted to sit, I sauntered over to the row of chairs and took a seat. It was only after I was settled that I risked a glance up and acted as if I’d noticed her for the first time.
“Alyssa.” I nodded and couldn’t help the tiny smirk that twisted my lips as I considered that less than two hours earlier, I’d gotten myself off with thoughts of the first part of our trip. It was like a dirty little secret only I knew, and that was so fucking hot.
When she looked over to me, her eyes were red-rimmed and filled with sorrow. All thoughts of my happy ending were wiped away at the sight. It was clear she’d spent the better part of the time crying.
I frowned. Had she been crying over me? It just didn’t seem likely. I mean, I was a fucking catch, but I doubted she had any tears left to cry for what we’d shared. It was too many years ago to still affect her.
I moved from my position across from her to sit at her side. “Are you okay?”
She shook her head.
“What is it?”
“I just miss—” She risked a quick glance at me and then swallowed heavily. “Home.”
“Haven’t you only just left?”
She shook her head. “I’ve been in Sydney for a week already.”
Holy fuck ! She’d been in Sydney for a week and I hadn’t known. My chest burned at the thought. What would I have done if I had found out? I frowned. Really, the least she could have done was contact me to let me know she was close. We could have had dinner or some shit.
Why would she? It’s not like you have a fantastic track record for answering her calls .
I frowned and leaned back in the chair.
“There’s just so much going on,” she murmured. “I can’t deal with it.”
“You can talk to me if you want,” I offered.
“Don’t do this, Dec.”
“Don’t do what?”
“Don’t act like you care, when you’ve made it clear you don’t.” She stood and moved away from me.
I sat dumbfounded as I watched her walk away. Did I care? Scarily, the answer might almost have been yes. At very least, I cared much more than I should have.
Deciding that I didn’t really need to buy into her crap, or invade her life, any more than I already had, I stayed where I was and considered what the fuck I’d said which could have tipped her over the edge like that. And what the fuck she’d been crying about.
MORE THAN a little pissed at the way Alyssa had stormed off after I’d offered her my shoulder to cry on, I decided to wait to board. I didn’t want to be stuck sitting next to her for a minute longer than I had to be.
I gladly became the arsehole who waited until his name was called before boarding. Of course by the time I found my new seat, Alyssa was already seated. Her ears were already covered with headphones and she stared unblinkingly at the screen in front of her—even though the in-flight entertainment wasn’t on. The closer I got, the clearer I could see that she was still upset. Tears wet her lashes.
Without a thought, I yanked my bag up to push it into the overhead lockers but the movement was too rapid and sent a jolt of blinding agony through me. I dropped my bag and clutched at my chest. In an instant, Alyssa was standing in front of me with my bag in her hands.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
As if you care . I clenched my jaw and snatched the bag back from her without a word. Ignoring the renewed pain, I carefully lifted my carry-on and forced it between other bags in the overhead locker. Then, without a further word, I plonked myself down on the seat.
“God you’re such an arse,” she muttered before returning to her seat.
“Well, I wouldn’t want you to have to act like you care,” I retorted with a sneer.
A frustrated growl
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