Lou looked like she was ready to pass out on her feet. From what Trick had told me, she’d been bonding him and the phoenix on her off time, wanting to connect him to the bird quickly. A fast visual assessment told me that Lou was overextending herself. She looked pale, the skin under her eyes bruised. For a second, I debated skipping the food so I could pick her up and tuck her into bed instead. She needed sleep.

Of course, if I tried to tuck her into bed, she’d rightfully freak out and tell me to fuck off. Especially because, for a split second in my mind, I considered what it would be like to crawl into bed after her.

Curl around her warm body.

Smooth my hand up her hip and…

Let’s just say I’d been considering a lot lately, and right now it was as bad of an idea as it usually was. Fuck, it was worse, because I was standing here holding Juliet’s kid while serving dinner.

There were times when a public boner wasn’t a big deal but now wasn’t one of them.

Food first. Deal with everything else later. At this point I’d back-burnered so many issues, my internal stove was going to catch fire and burn the place down.

I got up and practically shoved Lou into a waiting chair.

Trick took one sniff and settled in happily across from her. “Oh, good. I was hoping you still liked to cook.”

I brought them some food, making sure Lou’s serving was on the hearty side. She needed the calories. She ate half of it before she seemed to come back to herself, frowning at the plate. “This is really good. Thanks, Declan. You don’t have to feed us.”

I returned to my bowl at the table. Eating with one hand, rubbing Savannah’s back between bites. “It’s not a big deal.”

Lou eyed me, her face grave, and my heart gave a little skip. Probably from fear. That was a thing, right? Or some other unspecified sort of arrhythmia. I could google it later.

“It is a big deal,” Lou said, jabbing her fork at me. “You know how I feel about people feeding me.” She took another bite and sighed in contentment.

I really wanted to hear that sigh in another context.

I really needed to stop considering.

“Is this going to be an all the time thing?” Trick asked. “Please let it be an all the time thing.”

Juliet stared at her empty plate. “I think I’m going to cry because the food is gone. I need more sleep.”

“Declan, don’t let him bully you into cooking for us all the time.” Lou shoveled another bite into her mouth. “When I make pasta, it’s never this good.” Her eyes narrowed. “Why is this so good?”

“It’s fresh pasta,” I said, taking a bite of salad. “Store bought, though. I usually make my own, but I didn’t have time.” I frowned at my plate. I should have made time—