He has no idea how rare this kind of behavior is with anyone other than me, but I decide not to tell him. He slowly reaches around to pet her with his free hand, and Ralph raises her head to meet him.

Declan raises his eyebrows at me. “See? I told you. Before you know it, me and Ralph are gonna be best buds.”

“Don’t hold your breath on that. She’s temperamental, just like every other cat. But she shouldn’t be up here anyway, especially not when you’re cooking. Come on, girl,” I say and lift her off the counter to gently set her on the floor. She glares at me like I’ve just committed a cardinal sin before she trots away into the living room.

“Well, I guess it’s good timing because I think your breakfast is done. Let me get out of your hair so you can eat and finish getting ready,” Declan says and rests the spatula on the counter to step aside and let me see his creation.

He made some sort of egg scramble with a bunch of veggies in it, and it looks and smells delicious. My stomach rumbles loudly at the sight and smell, and Declan laughs.

“Sounds like you worked up an appetite. Can’t imagine why,” he says and cups the back of my head to pull me in and kiss it before he starts to leave the kitchen. I still can’t quite believe how well he’s treating me, and I don’t really want him to leave, so I call after him.

“Declan, wait.”

He freezes and turns to look back at me, perfectly framed in the entryway like some sort of postcard. Maybe it’s silly, but some part of me thinks I’m going to remember him standing like this forever, as if the light from the sun is literally etching it into my brain.

“Yeah?” he asks.

“Don’t you want breakfast too?”

A heated look crosses his face as he steps back toward me, leaving so little space between us that he can probably hear my heart hammering in my chest. He pulls me into his arms and rests his forehead against mine, rocking us side to side slightly. And I know I shouldn’t linger because I have a class to get to, but there’s a part of me that would love nothing more than to stay in his arms like this forever.

“I already ate last night,” he says, his voice a low rumble against my skin. “A full course meal.”

My entire body flushes with heat at the memory of all the things he did to me last night, but my brain quickly swoops back into action. I look up at him, summoning the most serious expression I can.

His brows crease, but the smile he’s wearing doesn’t fade. “What’s wrong?”