“I’m not sure I’m following your logic. “
“That’s okay. I’ve not been awake long enough to have much logic in me.” Tessa took a long drink of coffee and held the cup out for a refill. “Here’s the thing. You care about him, don’t you?” She waited for Ellie to nod before she continued. “And I think it’s clear he’s starting to care enough about you that it scares him.”
“So what do I do?”
“Is he worth it? Is he worth risking your own heart in order to heal his?”
Ellie didn’t even have to ponder the question. She was nodding before Tessa finished asking. “I really think he is.”
“Then tell his ass that the deal is most definitely not off.” Tess’ features softened. “Just be careful, okay? Whatever you do, don’t put his needs over yours. Don’t get hurt so he can be whole. You’ve outgrown the Parasite Steve phase.”
“Ain’t that the truth.” Ellie took a deep breath and pulled out her phone. “I’m gonna text him right now.” Tessa gave her an encouraging nod and watched as Ellie typed out her message.
Found your note. I respectfully decline your offer to dissolve our agreement. I’ll be waiting for you to pick me up Wednesday for a highly public date and will be buying a new dress for the evening. Please do not waste my time or money by pulling a no show.
She pressed send without pausing to think. Tessa stuck around, providing moral support while Ellie waited for a response that never came. Hours passed and customers came and went and still, her phone sat silent on the counter beside her.
Monday night rolled into Tuesday morning and Tuesday morning rolled into Tuesday evening and still, no response from James.
Ellie stayed true to her word. She went shopping after closing for the day and bought a new dress, cringing at the cost even though she bought it at Goodwill. After checking her phone for the millionth time that day, she sent James another text.
Dress purchased. Money spent. Stand me up and face my wrath. :)
She agonized over the smiley face. Typed it in and erased it only to type it in again and finally just said to hell with it and hit send, hoping a little humor would lighten his ass up. At that point, she didn’t think she’d ever hear from him again. More than likely, he’d gone off on some drunken binge and was just too broken for his own good. When her phone buzzed just five minutes after hitting send, her stomach did a back handspring and her palms got sweaty. The text was from James, though it was maddeningly simple.
c u wed @ 6 ur house
What was with the shorthand?
Was he drunk?
Was he trying to seem nonchalant? He’d always typed out his texts like a literate adult. And what was with making her wait two whole days before confirming? Was he trying to piss her off?
It didn’t matter. None of it did. Tessa was right. She needed to approach James like she would a wounded animal. Slowly. Cautiously. And regardless as to whether he lashed out or pulled away, she’d just keep moving forward.
Chapter Twenty-One
Ellie
James arrived at Ellie’s promptly at six o’clock Wednesday evening, sober. His somber face lit up when he saw her. “Damn, you look fantastic.”
“Why, thank you. You don’t look half bad yourself.” Ellie intended to keep the evening light and fun and to shy away from anything that might elicit feelings of any sort from either one of them.
“So,” he said as she closed and locked her door. “Listen, about the other night—”
Ellie pressed a finger to his mouth, squishing his lips closed. “Don’t say a word. There’s no need. We’re good. We’ll just play this light and easy and realize that sometimes one of us might trample on something that hurts and we need to ease off. In the meantime, we’ll put on a good show for everyone out there.”
She paused, trying not to fall headfirst into those mahogany eyes as she waited to see if he understood what she meant. When he nodded, she smiled and took off down the sidewalk, her heels clicking nicely on the concrete. Wind blew in off the ocean, carrying the first hint of fall with it and lifting the edges of her dress around her thighs.
She looked back over her shoulder at James who was still leaning against the brick, his hands shoved into the pockets of his dress pants, the tails of his button-down shirt hitched over his wrists. “You just gonna stand there, or are you coming with me?”
James pushed off the wall and shrugged. “Can’t help it if I like the view from back here.” He strode toward her, his gait strong and sure, muscular and controlled. She thought of things like tigers and wolves and great, powerful beasts that fought for what they wanted and instilled fear in those lesser creatures around them. It was the first time she’d seen him look like that and it sent a charge through her body. What was different? Was it because he was sober?
“Where are you taking me?” she asked, pushing away thoughts of what he looked like naked. This was a business partnership. Nothing more, nothing less.
“I thought that since you forced this date on me, you’d be taking me somewhere.”
Panic set Ellie’s stomach into a series of tumbling flip-flops. She couldn’t afford to take him anywhere. She’d gotten a disconnect notice from the power company that very morning. “James,” she said, coming to a stop and wrapping her arms around her stomach. “I can’t—”
“On my dime.” He touched her shoulder. “Our deal was quite specific. You
