“You’re still in your uniform. Was today your last day?”
“Yes, and it was crazy busy. My feet are killing me. Anyway, I still can’t believe you’re home alone watching a movie on a Saturday night.”
He laughed a little. “Even I need a little rest. I didn’t leave the house and ordered an intimate dinner for my grandmother and me.”
“I bet she loved that. She beams like a teenager when you dote on her.”
“Yep. It was all about her. I turned off my phones for a few hours and just enjoyed our time.”
“I’m sure your girlfriends weren’t happy about not being able to get in touch with you, Mr. you always answer your phone.” Haven shook her head. “I don’t know how you do it. How you juggle all of those women and get away with it too.”
Ellis raised an eyebrow genuinely perplexed. “With what?”
“The juggling. Seems like it would be exhausting.”
“I don’t know how many times I’ve got to tell you—I don’t do the girlfriend thing.”
“Right.”
“The thing about being single is you don’t owe anyone an explanation. This day was about my grandmother. There are a few of them that I make all about her—mostly holidays but especially Valentine’s Day, which is coming up soon. Today, I just wanted to make up for some of the holidays I missed last year. Anyway, if you ask someone out for dinner, on any holiday, they get the wrong idea. I pride myself in keeping confusion low.”
Haven burst out laughing. “You are too much Ellis McKenna and a commitment-phobe.” She peered over into his bowl. “Is there any more of that? I’d love some.”
He smirked. “You would come over on the night the staff isn’t here, making requests. Follow me. I guess I’m at your service, Princess.”
Haven did as he asked and walked with him into the kitchen. He pulled a bowl down from the cabinet and a spoon from the drawer. Then, Ellis took the ice cream out of the freezer. “What kind do you want chocolate or vanilla?”
“Vanilla.”
“Interesting. I’m starting to be partial to chocolate.” He winked at her.
Haven blushed. She was pretty sure he wasn’t talking about ice cream or was serious. That was a prime example of what she was talking about when it came to men. Ellis was flirting and didn’t even realize it.
He could turn the charm on and off so easily that it was impossible for Haven to take him seriously.
“So, what’s up? What’s the real reason you’re here?” He scooped ice cream into the bowl. “You sounded spooked over the phone.”
She leaned over, her elbows on the island. “Dylan came to my job today.”
Ellis set the bowl of ice cream down in front of her. She picked up the spoon and dug in. “We’ve talked a few times since the breakup but tonight was the first time I’ve actually seen him.”
He took a bite of his own. “Was it difficult?”
“Yeah.”
“I suppose that’s natural.”
“He had flowers, and of course, said all the right things. He asked me out to dinner on Friday or Saturday.”
“Hmm.”
Haven dropped her spoon into the bowl, and it made a loud clanking noise. “That ‘hmm’ was loaded. Go ahead. Say what you want to say. I’m an idiot for even thinking about it.”
His lips turned up. “I don’t have anything to say. I’ve never been in love, so I can’t relate to what you’re going through.” However, he knew that she deserved better than Dylan.
Her eyes went wide. “You’ve never been in love? Seriously? You’re like thirty-six right?”
“Damn. You say it like I’m a deadbeat and not as if I haven’t expanded the McKenna geothermal technological empire from a mid-sized American company to an International conglomerate.”
Haven picked up her spoon again and took another bite. “Wow. That’s a mouthful. Is that what you do?”
“Yes. I’m a big deal.”
At the mention of his words, Haven remembered what Ms. McKenna had to say about him. She laughed. “Your grandmother told me you were a big deal in your mind.”
Ellis’ spoon froze right before he took his next bite. “Man, that woman knows how to put a man in his place.”
“Yeah, I need to take lessons.”
“So, what are you going to do? Dinner or not?”
Her smile faded. “I’m leaning towards not, but Dylan has a way of making me do things I know are not good for me. Do you know that tonight, he stayed at the restaurant my entire shift? He said he was sorry, that he loved me, and wanted to build a life together. Dylan knows how important starting a family is to me, so he even dropped marriage hints and carried a little red box. It probably had diamond earrings made of glass.”
“Marriage? That’s some heavy shit. I can barely say it. You believe him?”
“I don’t know. He’s said it all before, and yet we seem to come back to this same place.”
“Is that why you sounded a little off when you called earlier?”
“Not exactly. Dylan walked me out to my car and was pressuring me about going to dinner. I got away before cracking, but I was close. I’m not in the right frame of mind for that yet. Then he called while I was in the car to say I’d left the flowers he brought and that he was going to drop them off at the apartment.
