Mason’s name kept flashing on Declan’s phone while Declan’s hand was still at my waist.
For one stupid second, I considered letting it ring until it stopped. Not because I wanted to hide forever. Because I wanted one more minute in a kitchen where my brother’s opinion had not yet entered the room.
Declan looked at me. His fingers loosened without disappearing completely.
“You decide,” he said.
The words mattered more than they should have. A week ago, he would have decided that answering was safer. Or not answering was safer. Or that I should go downstairs before Mason saw anything in my face. He would have arranged the scene and called it protection. Now he waited.
I slid my hands from his neck and picked up the phone.
“Answer it.”
Declan nodded once and accepted the video call. Ma
