“Got it. Why don’t you just tell him you need a little space to figure things out?”
“I did. He’s not very responsive to that.”
“Good point. If I were in his shoes, I probably wouldn’t be either. Especially if I knew I was close to getting you to crack. Maybe you need a distraction. Do you have any male friends you can hang out with?”
“Not really. I mean, there are a couple of guys from the college, but they’re either A, too young or B, interested. I don’t want to deal with that.”
“When does he want to take you out again?”
“Friday or Saturday.”
Ellis looked thoughtful for a moment. “Since I’m not interested in you, if you need an escape, we can go to the movies or something.”
Haven’s eyes sparkled. “Seriously? I’m not interested in you either! That would be perfect.” If she didn’t think all men were inherent cheaters, she might think Ellis was mildly attractive. But, since he was a man, and all men were in the dogs, Haven was in no danger of falling for him.
Ellis shrugged. “Two people not interested in each other spending time together. Should be uh . . . fun.” His sarcasm wasn’t lost on her.
Haven took another bite of her ice cream. “You know what?”
“What?”
“Forget all the crappy stuff I’ve ever thought about you.”
“Yeah, me too.”
She turned serious. “Thank you.”
Later, Ellis could only remember thinking . . . those eyes were dangerous. He’d just voluntarily put himself in the line of fire.
He’d have to be extra careful where Haven Shaw was concerned.
Chapter 13
Monday rolled around faster than Haven would have liked. She wanted to sleep in but couldn’t. However, sitting in the hot tub, or warm tub, because the temperature had to be adjusted for Ms. McKenna was almost as heavenly.
“How did your date go with Ellis . . . oops. A Freudian slip of the tongue. I meant Dylan.”
Haven laughed. “You are not very subtle. We haven’t actually gone out yet, but we’ve talked several times over the phone. I figure we should take it slow and at least be able to communicate without arguing before going out.”
“So, how is that coming along?”
“Our first few conversations were a little shaky, but lately, I’ve started to remember some good things about him. Dylan is charismatic and funny until he asks about my car.”
“What happens when he asks about it? What could possibly be the problem with that?”
“I think he might be a little jealous and have the wrong idea about Ellis and me.”
“What do you mean?”
“Dylan thinks Ellis might be interested. He isn’t of course.”
“It might not be such a bad idea to let Dylan believe that he’s not the only man who wants you.”
“True.”
“Do you think you two might get back together?”
Haven thought about her question before answering. “I don’t know. Considering we are still working our way up to a first date, I believe we might be a long way from reconciling. We still have some pretty big issues to work out. But, on most days, it was good to be able to talk and not want to shoot him between the eyes.”
Bertha had to think of something. She typically wouldn’t interfere with her loved one's lives, but if she didn’t do something, Haven might end up with Dylan and Ellis would end up with a bimbo. She started to cough. One or two turned into a full on coughing fit. Vanessa quickly got up from her chair and rushed to Ms. McKenna’s aid. Haven also helped get her out of the water. She was doing her best not to panic, but her voice rose. “Should I call someone?!”
Cough . . . cough . . . “Ellis.” Cough . . . cough. In between wheezing and coughing, she asked for her grandson. “Get Ellis.”
Vanessa turned to her. “Go get him and I’ll call Dr. Lawrence. I think he’s in the guesthouse.”
Haven nodded and grabbed a towel from off the table wrapping it around her waist. Barefoot, she ran outside into the cold to the guesthouse. She moved as fast as her feet could carry her across the snow. Once Haven arrived, she yelled and pounded on the door. “Ellis! Ellis!” She continued to bang on it. The seconds it took for him to open the door seemed like hours. Her heart was beating like crazy. He was shirtless, wearing only a pair of pajama bottoms.
“What’s wrong?”
Wide-eyed and panicked the words tumbled out in a jumbled mess. “It’s your grandmother! Something’s not right. Vanessa told me to come get you.”
“What happened?” Haven didn’t notice the blonde behind him until she spoke. She was wearing Ellis’ missing pajama shirt.
“I don’t know exactly.”
His voice was unintentionally gruff when he turned back to his guest. “Let yourself out. I’ll call you later.” He took Haven’s hand, and they ran out of the guest house back to the main house.
Haven continued to try and explain the situation. “We were in the hot tub, and she seemed fine. The next moment, she started to cough uncontrollably as if she couldn’t catch her breath.”
They burst through the doors of the pool area. Vanessa and his grandmother were not there. “Maybe she took her up to the bedroom.
“Grandmother!” Ellis’ booming voice rang through the entire house. Whatever room she was in, she should have heard him.
Vanessa responded. “We’re up here. We’re in her bedroom.”
Ellis took the stairs two at a time, and Haven was on his heels. They
