The men shuffled off to the end of the counter while James asked Ian about the construction. That left Ellie alone with Juliet.
“You guys seem good,” Ellie said, gesturing toward Ian.
Juliet’s eyes glimmered with so much love, Ellie found herself thinking of cartoons and emojis. “I’ve never been better in all of my life. He satisfies needs in me I didn’t even know I had.”
“I’m happy for you two.” Ellie watched the brothers as they talked, enjoying the way James’ eyes lit up as he gave Ian hell over something.
Juliet followed her gaze. “You’ve done wonders for him.”
“For James?” Ellie could hear the shock in her voice.
“He was in such a dangerous spiral. Drinking, women…the fighting.”
Ellie leaned in and lowered her voice. “The drinking had gotten bad. We made a deal that he wouldn’t drink when we were out together. It was one of the conditions of our relationship.”
Ellie bit her lip.
She hated lying.
And while what she said was totally true—James not drinking was one of the conditions of their relationship—the relationship itself was a lie.
Juliet patted her hand. “I don’t think he’s drinking even when he’s alone. I think you put a stop to it completely.”
Ellie raised her eyebrows. “Really? Wow…” Her gaze returned to James almost of its own accord. She suspected he quit; but hadn’t wanted to bring it up and jinx it.
“And he just seems so happy,” Juliet continued, beaming. “I wouldn’t be surprised if the fighting goes the way of the drinking, if you guys keep this up.”
Ellie returned the smile. She liked making James happy. She liked knowing he might be healing, and she might have something to do with it. Regardless as to whether their relationship was real or not, she cared about him. Hell, he was the guy she had fawned over since eighth grade, for heaven’s sake.
“I’m glad. He deserves to be happy.” As if he could feel Ellie watching him, James turned and gave her a lift of his chin and one of the sultriest winks she had ever seen. She bit her lip and gave her focus back to Juliet, who was shaking her head and laughing.
“You two have it bad.”
James and Ian finished their conversation and rejoined the women. “Have what bad?” asked Ian.
Juliet leaned into her fiancé. “I was just telling Ellie how happy James has been over the last couple weeks.”
“It’s true.” Ian patted Ellie’s hand. “He’s had a rough month. And he seems to be coming out of it, thanks to you.”
Ellie’s gaze flicked to James, a blush flaring across her cheeks. The conversation was growing uncomfortable, and fast.
As much as she wanted to take the credit, she couldn’t be the cause of James’ happiness. Their relationship was all smoke and mirrors. His face echoed her discomfort, his already dark eyes darkening more.
Juliet threaded her arm through Ian’s elbow. “Falling in love will do that to a guy.”
Ellie’s heart fluttered. Was it nerves? Was it because Juliet used the ‘L’ word? Was it because she got to watch James’ face blanch in some awful duet of shock and…was that humiliation? Embarrassment?
Acknowledgement?
Or was that wishful thinking on her part? And if it was, why would she be wishing for James to acknowledge he was falling in love with her?
Juliet and Ian took their coffees and left, oblivious to the tangle of complicated emotions wreaking havoc on the other couple.
As soon as they were gone, James cleared his throat. “At least we have proof we’ve been convincing.” His tone said he was totally fine with convincing Ian and Juliet he was falling in love. His eyes? His eyes said he was scared to death and trying not to combust on the spot.
Ellie offered her hand up for a high five. “Well played, my friend.” Everything about her reaction was calculated. The high five instead of a touch on the shoulder. The word friend instead of his name. The wide smile on her face, custom designed to cover up the thunderstorm of emotions punishing her head and heart.
The fear dissipated from James’ face. Did he know he was so easy to read? Or had she just gotten good at reading him?
He hung around for a few more minutes, then said his goodbyes, sweeping Ellie into a warm hug that whipped the tornado of confusion inside her into a frenzy, decimating the careful barriers she’d built around her heart.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Ellie
Friday ended with another full cash register and a kitchen practically wiped clean of stock. Ellie left Good Beginnings in a hurry. It was the last day to pay the power bill before they disconnected her electricity. She spent the drive to the office avoiding thoughts of James and the swirl of emotion she’d ignored since he left the café a few hours before.
The woman behind the counter clucked reproachfully as Ellie swept into the building and explained why she was there. “You’re cutting it really close, aren’t you?”
“It’s not like I did it on purpose.” She swallowed back the rest of her words, which were decidedly less polite.
The woman frowned, pulling her mouth down in an angry line, deepening the wrinkles too many hard years had left on her face. “Uh-huh.”
If it’s possible to fit any more judgment into your reply, I’ll eat my hat, Ellie thought. She kept that to herself as well, choosing instead to smile and hand the woman her power bill and its corresponding payment. She waited patiently—polite smile plastered on her face—while the woman clacked her chipped fingernails over the filthy keyboard.
She squinted at the computer screen and shook her head. “They’ve already been out to disconnect,” she said without looking at Ellie.
“But the bill wasn’t due until today.” Ellie tried to keep the desperate whine out of her voice but failed. She was desperate and sounded exactly how she felt.
“True, but as I already mentioned. You’re cutting it really close. This building closes in five minutes.”
Ellie waited for the woman to offer a solution,
