Chapter Six Elliott
Chapter Six
Elliott
At eight o’clock that evening, Elliott walked up to The Patriarch, an old home that had been converted into a craft beer house. She smiled at the Victorian-style architecture, loving the idea of repurposing the building for something so fun. She hadn’t drunk much since the transplant, but it didn’t matter. As soon as she walked in, she knew this place was her style. It was low key and mellow, with a few long, heavy-looking wood tables and benches in the main room and leather couches and chairs dotting the smaller rooms that seemed to shoot off in every direction.
Yuka would love it, and Elliott could bring her dad when he came to visit. The man knew more about beer than anyone she’d ever met and would fit right in at a place like this.
The hum of conversation and a song by an indie rock band Elliott saw in concert a few years ago filled the air, and the planks of the hardwood floor creaked as she walked, searching faces for the only one she’d recognize. Just as she was about to pass another doorway, someone suddenly walked out, and she slammed into a hard chest.
“Oh my gosh, I’m so sor—” she started as she took a step back, but when she looked up, the words died in her throat.
Jamie stood in front of her, as tall and imposing as ever, staring down at her as if she were a ghost.
It sort of felt like she was. She hadn’t hit him that hard, but seeing him knocked the breath straight out of her. A stiff breeze would have carried her away, shifting and swirling like the curls of excitement building in her stomach.
A healthy layer of scruff covered his jaw, and his hair was a little longer and still insanely perfect. His eyes were the same hazel, still behind a pair of black-framed glasses, which looked way hotter on his masculine, angular face than was necessary.
“May?”
Oh.
That voice. She closed her eyes for the briefest second, savoring that deep rumble she remembered so well. She’d loved his laugh and the effortless conversation from that night, but this husky tone reminded her of the words he’d rasped against her ear, his hands wrapped around her waist and his large body pressing her back against the wall. Come home with me.
She’d almost forgotten she’d given him her middle name.
“Is it you?”
She was staring at him like a complete fool, but she couldn’t seem to grab ahold of a single thought racing around the track in her mind. She vaguely registered one questioning her choice of outfit this evening and wishing she’d gone with something a little sexier. Another had something to do with narwhals, but she didn’t trust herself to land a joke right now.
“Elliott!” A feminine voice came from somewhere. “You made it!”
It took physical effort to tear her gaze from Jamie’s face. Carly had come to stand next to Jamie, a smile on her face, and she wrapped her arm around his waist and pressed her body against his in a manner that spoke of more than familiarity.
It spoke of intimacy.
Elliott blinked. He can’t be.
As Elliott processed the couple before her, the room threatened to spin around her, and she took several deep breaths, willing her heart to slow down. She was no stranger to emotions that bordered on overwhelming and had gotten pretty decent at keeping them under control.
“Um, yeah, I just got here,” she managed to get out.
“Did you meet Jamie already?” Carly asked, casting a fond look at him.
Jamie glanced between them, confusion marring his features.
Elliott hesitated, unsure how to answer the question. He had to be Carly’s boyfriend, but for how long? Had they been together the night she met him? Unlikely, since he’d been waiting to meet someone from an app that night ... But in that case, surely it would be okay for Carly to know they’d met before. He hadn’t seemed like the kind of guy who’d get with women on the side if he was in a relationship, but how well did she really know him? She didn’t want to look at Jamie again right now, but she had to, hoping he’d give her some signal for how to handle this.
She slid her gaze to his face, gritting her teeth against the onslaught of sensations skating across her skin and gathering in one suspicious cluster inside her rib cage.
Tell her you know me.
“No, we didn’t officially meet. I just came around the corner and ran into her. Literally.” He frowned slightly when he added, “ Elliott , was it?”
Okay, so they both had some explaining to do.
Oblivious, Carly laughed and lifted a brow at Elliott. “You okay? He’s not a small person.”
“I’m fine.”
“Well, Jamie, this is Elliott, the one I told you about who got the bone marrow I donated. Elliott, this is my boyfriend, Jamie.”
Understanding drifted down his features, and he swallowed as he held out his hand. His voice came out softer, somehow. “It’s nice to meet you.”
She cleared her throat and shook his large hand, pulling away from the contact as quickly as possible. “Likewise.”
She looked up to find him unsmiling. It had been a year since she’d seen that dimple, and it didn’t appear that would change anytime soon. What must he think of her, knowing she’d lied to him?
It occurred to her she could turn around and leave. Fake illness or text Yuka, asking her to call with an emergency. This was a lot to deal with all of a sudden—seeing Jamie again so unexpectedly, learning he was in a relationship with her donor, of all people ... and wondering if it was possible that on the best night of her life, she’d been the other woman.
There was also the fact that something in the vicinity of her pitiful heart ached with the realization Jamie hadn’t been pining for her this past year. He’d moved on and was happy with someone else.
She could go back to her apartment and process this information with a massive bag of chips and Yuka on speakerphone. Maybe do a little recon with Tiffany in a few days, because if she knew Carly, she definitely knew Jamie. She’d know how long they’d been together. Thank God Elliott hadn’t given Tiffany Jamie’s real name that day in the hospital.
But then she thought of Carly, the woman she’d spent an hour with this afternoon. More, the woman who had literally given up a part of her body to offer Elliott a new chance at a full, cancer-free life. They’d talked about silly things like where to shop and get pedicures, and the terrifying center lane on Dodge Street that switched directions depending on the time of day. Carly was sweet and kind and had just wanted to offer Elliott friendship. She’d seemed so excited when Elliott agreed to come, and Elliott hated to disappoint her. She owed her everything.
Literally.
This evening wasn’t just the three of them—there would be more people for her to talk to. Maybe even enough that she could avoid Jamie for the rest of the evening. Part of her worried he might try to get her alone to talk, which probably needed to happen at some point, but that was not something she’d do while Carly was around. For some reason he’d wanted to pretend they didn’t know each other, so that’s what she’d do.
For now, he was nobody.
Besides, hadn’t she been promised a hot guy with tattoos?
“Sorry this place is a little shabby. If it were up to me, we’d be somewhere with high-top tables and cosmopolitans, but it was Jamie’s turn to pick,” Carly said with a good-natured eye roll. She released Jamie and tugged on Elliott’s arm, completely unaware of the tension snapping between them. “Come meet everyone. They asked how I knew you, so I went ahead and told them, like you said I could.”
“That’s fine.”
Jamie didn’t follow them into the side room and instead continued to wherever he’d been headed when Elliott ran into him. Carly introduced Elliott to four additional people—two women and two men, one of whom was exactly as Carly had described him. She caught his name, Stephen, because she’d been expecting to meet him, but forgot the rest as soon as she heard them. Her brain struggled to focus after what had just happened.
“You don’t look like a cancer patient,” one of the women said after Elliott sat down.
“Tara. Fuck.” Stephen shot Elliott an apologetic look.
“What?”
“I’m not technically a cancer patient anymore,” Elliott said mildly. “Thanks to Carly, hopefully it will stay that way.”
Tara nodded thoughtfully. “I didn’t mean it in a bad way. I just meant you’re really pretty, and you look ... normal.”
“Not helping.” Stephen shook his head and regarded Elliott from beneath ridiculously long lashes. His eyes were warm and kind. “Sorry, she has zero filter.”
Elliott smiled. Cancer was an uncomfortable topic for some people—she’d seen every reaction in the book. “She called me pretty. I’ll allow it.”
He laughed and tilted his head. “She’s not wrong about that part.”
He had jet-black hair that was pulled up in a tight bun, tanned skin, and striking blue eyes that contrasted sharply against the rest of his features. He was slender, his body completely opposite of Jamie’s behemoth form, and had a full sleeve of tattoos along both arms. He wasn’t her usual type, but then again, she hadn’t dated all that much. Did she even have a type?
“Carly said you work at Starbucks? Which one?”
“The one off Seventy-Second Street.” One of the four streets she knew in Omaha.
Jamie returned to the table, a beer glass in each hand, and slid into a chair directly across from her. Carly immediately tucked herself close to his side and grabbed one of the beers.
They were an attractive couple.
Elliott forced herself to focus on Stephen, who gave her an easy smile. “Really? You can’t have been there long. I’m in there at least once a week, and I’d have noticed you.”
Why didn’t Stephen’s flirting hit the same way as when Jamie’d done it? It was damned inconvenient. “I haven’t—I’m still in training. Just started last week.”
He took a pull from his beer. “Maybe I’ll stop by twice this week.”
“I’ll probably be there,” was all she could think to say. Yuka would have had some fun, flirty response if she liked the guy, or a firm and effective deterrent if she didn’t. God, Elliott wished she was here. “And you’re a photographer, right?”
His blue gaze reminded her of a clear summer sky. “Yeah, that’s right. Officially I work at Enjoy Omaha magazine, doing headshots and stuff, but that’s only so I can afford to travel and build my portfolio in nature and wildlife photography. Nebraska doesn’t have the most diverse scenery, so I’ve gotta go elsewhere when I can.”
“Nature photography ... is that like National Geographic kind of stuff?”
“That’s the dream, yeah. Not that I expect to ever hit that level. Hell, I’d be happy for my shots to be on postcards at random truck stops across the US.”
She grinned. “Next to the personalized pocketknives and key chains?”
“I’d rather be between the novelty lighters and dream catchers, but I’ll take what I can get.”
Elliott laughed, and a tingling sensation shimmered down the back of her neck as she sensed Jamie’s attention on her. She did her best to ignore her body’s insistence that they not forget his close proximity. Why aren’t we closer to him?
“What’s the coolest place you’ve ever photographed?” she asked. “Your absolute favorite?”
Stephen put his elbow on the table to face her more fully. From his opposite side, Tara frowned at his back. “No one’s ever asked me that before.”
“I’ve barely stepped foot out of Nebraska. I’m hoping to live vicariously.”
“In that case ... Jackson Hole in Wyoming. Since the second I left, I’ve wanted to go back. The jagged peaks of the Tetons behind the forest were so beautiful I could barely take my eyes off them. I spent hours trying to capture an image that would do them justice.”
“Did you?”
“Every time I look at the photos, I want to go back. Which is sort of the whole point, isn’t it? If I see a picture of someplace I’ve never been, and I’m so moved by it that I know my life won’t be complete until I see it for myself? That’s a fucking great photo.”
Elliott couldn’t help her smile, nodding in agreement. His passion was infectious. “Now I’ve gotta see those Teton pictures.”
“I can’t believe I don’t have any on my phone to show you, but yeah—anytime.”
“You’re making me want to quit Starbucks already, you know.”
He raised a brow.
“We’re in the same boat with our day jobs funding what we really want to do.”
“Yeah? What else do you do?”
“Graphic design for small businesses. Sort of how you just said a photo can inspire someone to travel to that exact place? I want to use design and branding to help local businesses do that. When they find that perfect customer or client, everyone’s happy. But sometimes they just need a little help finding each other. A logo, brand identity, or website can make or break a business.”
Stephen nodded as she spoke. “One hundred percent agree. I randomly listened to a podcast the other day about the best logos of all time, and I’m convinced the hidden arrow in the FedEx logo is the whole reason they’re so successful.”
“Simple goes a long way. Target, Nike, McDonald’s—some of the simplest but biggest logos of all time.”
“Well, when I’m ready to get a website up and running, I’m coming your way.”
Before Elliott could respond, Carly spoke from across the table. “Wait, you do websites, too?” Elliott turned her head to look at Carly, and for a split second her eyes met Jamie’s. “Think you could help with a restaurant?”
She swallowed past the lump of discomfort suddenly lodged in her throat. “Sure. During my internship, I helped rebrand a pho place in Lincoln. We changed their logo, redid their menus, website, and signage—the whole deal.”
Carly elbowed Jamie, whose gaze had dropped to his beer. “Did you hear that? She could help Blythe with the bakery.” Carly turned back to Elliott. “Jamie’s sister has a bakery in Old Market, Melt My Tart. The food’s awesome, but the website and brochures could really use a facelift. Blythe was just talking about wanting to find someone to help her with it.”
The words slipped out without thought. “I know that place.”
“Really?” Carly asked. “Have you been?”
Jamie’s glass had been at his lips, and he quickly set it on the table, splashing some over the side.
“Sorry,” he muttered, not looking up as he reached across the table for several napkins. Carly leaned away to avoid the mess.
“I didn’t go in,” Elliott clarified, hiding trembling hands under the table. “I was checking out Old Market. I ... saw it when I was walking around, and the name kind of stuck with me.”
“Didn’t I tell you I’d find you some work around here? I’ll take you by and introduce you to Blythe. I bet she’d love to work with you. Don’t you think, Jamie?”
He kept wiping the table. “Yeah. Sure.”
Carly smiled at Elliott. “What do you think?”
Honestly, she should say no. Building on the connection with Carly and Jamie wasn’t a good idea. Both for her sanity and because Jamie clearly didn’t want Carly to know they’d met, which complicated things.
But this was her first business opportunity, and a successful business in one of the most popular locations in town would be a great place to start. Carly had a lot of friends and could bring Elliott numerous business opportunities just like this, and it wouldn’t look great if she declined her very first chance.
Plus, if Blythe hired her and was happy with Elliott’s work, she’d spread the word, too.
Elliott smiled at Carly. “Sure. I’d be happy to.”