She tried to protest, but he wouldn’t have it. Seriously, what kind of guy did she think he was? Did she think he was the same as Ethan and Oliver? Neither of whom had any qualms using women for his own pleasure and discarding them when he got bored.
Except, wasn’t that exactly what he’d been doing since Erin left?
He’d left a line of one-night stands in his wake in a ridiculous attempt to make up for spending a decade faithful to a woman who’d taken everything he had to give, but never had the grace to be faithful in return.
James thought back over the weeks of blurry nights and headachy mornings. The booze and the women and the weekends at The Pit. He heard Ethan and Oliver egging him on, cheering when he was at his worst. Maybe Ellie did have a reason to misjudge him.
He scrubbed the floor while she did the dishes, dancing in place to the music streaming from her phone. With the two of them working together, it didn’t take long to put the kitchen back to rights. James’ head was a mess, his thoughts tangled and twisted, painful and confusing. Not wanting Ellie to notice and think they were because of her, he tried to smile around them.
“Thank you so much,” she said, her eyes glimmering with genuine gratitude. “I’d still have hours of work ahead of me if it wasn’t for you.”
“Least I could do.” He lifted a shoulder in a shrug. “What are you going to do about your missing cook?”
“Don’t worry about that. I’ll call someone in to help out while I look for a replacement. Tomorrow might suck, but this girl’s not afraid of hard work.”
As James watched Ellie yawn, he knew she spoke truth. “Might do you some good to be a little afraid. Every now and then. Take some time off. Breathe a little deeper. Smile a little more.”
“Easy for you to say, Captain Trust Fund.”
James offered his best smile and held out his hand. “Walk you to the door?”
She shook her head. “I still need to do a little paperwork—”
“Ellie,” he said, unable to keep the bossy tone out of his voice. “It’s late. And you’ve already explained how very early you wake up.” He paused while she nodded. “The paperwork will be here in the morning.”
“Yeah, but the cook won’t. And there’s no guarantee the guy I’m gonna call will be able to come in on such short notice. There’s a high probability that tomorrow will be jam-packed with too much to do. It's gonna suck.”
“That settles it, then. I hereby deem it un-suck-worthy. You have officially found your replacement cook.” The offer came as a complete surprise to him, but he tried not to let it show. The fact of the matter was he couldn’t stomach the thought of leaving Ellie in a lurch.
“And just how do you think you’re going to run a kitchen? I doubt you even know how to cook.”
“You must forget who I am. Moores can do anything. Plus, my mother and brother are fantastic in the kitchen and I picked up a thing or two along the way. I’m sure I’ll be able to keep up…with some creative censoring of the menu.”
It didn’t take long for James to convince her he was the best deal in town, at least on such short notice. He doubted Ellie had the first clue how she would find anyone to cover for that jerk who walked out. And, given what he was learning about her, he suspected she would’ve just put her nose to the grindstone and done it all herself. Probably would have managed to get everything done too, even if it meant she’d go home and fall into bed afterward.
Ellie told him what time she needed him to arrive the next day and he pulled her in for a long kiss. Never in his life had the prospect of an early morning excited him, but spending another day with Ellie was too good to pass up. With one hand low on her back and the other tangled in her hair, he drew her close and said his goodbyes. Watched as she climbed into her dinosaur of a car and followed her until she turned off toward her apartments.
As he drove himself home, his mood darkened.
What the hell did he think he was doing?
It was one thing to hang out with her in public places, another thing to lose control and fuck her brains out. She was hot after all, and he’d been attracted to her since the first night she brought him home and made out with him in his bed.
But, coming to her rescue?
Spending extra time with her because he wanted to and not because it would help make their relationship more believable? That was something else altogether.
Sure, there was a possibility that people coming to Good Beginnings in the morning would see him helping her out and believe he had real feelings for her, but the fact of the matter was that wasn’t why he made the offer.
He offered because he wanted to help.
And that right there was a slippery fucking slope.
That kind of stuff led to feelings and love. And that was not a place he wanted to be. When James was in love, he wanted to take care of his woman. He’d happily sacrifice his needs to ensure she had everything she ever wanted. What good did that do him? Ten years taking care of Erin left him with a broken home and a shattered heart. Letting himself feel anything even remotely like love was a dangerous game.
James ripped through the gears on his bike, edging the speedometer closer to one hundred. He fought images of Ellie clinging to his back that afternoon, her warm arms pressed tightly around him. Images of her smiling up at him as
