Chapter 10
Ethan
The next evening, I’m spending my time in my office, hoping I can finish taking a look at the merger documents before permitting my lawyers to send them to Nelly’s team.
After I explained in detail my plans to help Nelly, my grandfather agreed to release my trust fund, and now every plan is set in motion.
I take a sip of my lemon iced tea and comb my fingers through my hair. Even work doesn’t stop me from thinking about her, and I’m reluctant to go back home. Because it’s becoming harder to stay away from her.
She’ll be working too or relaxing after eating dinner. I can imagine her focused on work, or humming to herself in the kitchen while fixing a cup of coffee. The thing that I’m sure of is that my house feels less empty with her in it.
My life feels less empty, too. Before now, there'd be no reason to go home early, but even as reluctant as I feel, I keep glancing at the clock, anticipating when I’ll finally see her again.
I relax in my chair and rub a hand over my chin. Would she like to celebrate? We’ve achieved an important milestone, and soon our companies will merge. She should be feeling relieved and excited, right?
I consider asking her to dinner, and I spend the next few minutes pondering on that decision. “Would you like to go out with me?” I mutter, practicing what it would sound like.
A few minutes pass, and I’m still at it, trying to figure out why I feel so nervous about asking. I decide to head home and figure out the rest later. While driving, I consider picking up flowers but decide not to because it might send her the wrong message.
Gifting flowers and asking a woman to dinner is a romantic gesture. Nelly is supposed to be off-limits, and I can’t think of complicating things now.
The struggle in me continues until I arrive at my house. The scent of something crispy wafts through the air to reach my nostrils even before I enter the kitchen.
Nelly beams once I walk in, and once again she steals my breath away with those eyes and the smirk on her lips.
She’s holding a pan, her hair is a mess, and the stains on her apron prove that she’s been trying hard at dinner. She sets everything down when I enter the kitchen, then walks over to meet me.
“What are you doing?” I question in a light tone, smiling with ease as I lower my briefcase onto the table.
She looks too cute, and I wipe off the stain on the tip of her nose with my finger. It’s a reflexive act, and I don’t know why I did it, but the second my skin touches hers, that now familiar spark comes alive in me again.
“I uh … I made dinner.” She raises both her hands in the air before I can say anything. “I know what you’re going to say about me making dinner or breakfast or trying to be homely, but I just thought we need to celebrate tonight. You saved me, Ethan, and I can’t thank you enough. This is just a little something we could do to celebrate.”
My throat tightens with the vibrant rush of emotions. I realize it’s easy for her to melt my heart because she’s the most genuine woman I’ve ever met.
“I didn’t do it for you,” I whisper before she can say anything else. My hands move to the side of her face, and I stroke her cheeks. She whimpers once my skin touches hers and the impact also leaves me with shivers inside.
“Your parents were like parents to me too, Nelly,” I say in a voice thicker than expected. “The crash was an accident, and the company has suffered enough. You wanted help, and this is the best way to do it. Once we merge, we will rebuild the company together.”
Tears moisten her eyes and the reaction shocks me as she lays her hands on my arm and inches closer to me.
“Thank you,” she whispers again, her voice shaky. “I thought I was going to lose the company, and then you swooped in and saved the day. You’re my knight in shining armor, Ethan, so when I say thank you, just accept it. Okay?”
It takes some time for my heart to stop doing the crazy dance it’s doing before I nod. “You’re welcome.”
Nelly shocks me when she lifts herself on tiptoe and presses a kiss to my cheek. My throat tightens, and a lump forms. She pulls back, turns, and says. “Sit … We’re having dinner together tonight and celebrating.”
***
Hours later, Nelly and I are still at the dinner table talking about the company, and her laugh fills the air, making me enjoy every moment of our time together. She sips her drink and licks the droplets off her lips before propping both hands on her cheeks and pinning those eyes on me again.
“This casserole was amazing,” I compliment, loving how she beams. “Your mom’s recipe?”
She nods. “You know, she always teased me about not knowing how to whip up a decent meal, and we always laughed about it. But I put in a lot of effort into learning while she was alive, and now, whenever I miss her, I just make something I know she would love to eat.”
“That sounds really …” I trail off, and add when she tilts her head to one side. “… sweet.” I sniff and avert my eyes because looking at her leaves me with too many confusing sensations.
I want to pull her close and kiss her. I also want to run away from her because I can’t handle the thought of what these feelings mean.
“Ethan …” The murmur of my name on her lips is enough to fill me with another shiver. Every other sound fades into the background, and it’s just me and her. The longing is enough to drive me insane, but I need to hold myself back for both our sakes.
Her phone rings and snaps us out of the intense moment. She sniffs, picks it up, and turns away from me before clearing her throat.
“Hi, Joe,” Nelly says. I instantly stiffen and my chest tightens.
Why is Joe Storms calling her at this time?
I glance down at my watch—it’s past 11:00 p.m.
“No, Joe … I told you I don’t need your help. I’ve got it covered, and the … Joe, just listen to me, I got it covered with Everhart, and the merger is in a few weeks … No, I’m not accepting your offer, Joe”
Nelly is pacing now, and my right hand tightens into a fist. I can’t bear listening to her argue with that jerk Storms, and the longer she argues with him, the harder it is for me to sit still.
She groans again and stomps a foot on the ground. I spring into action, marching over to her and snatching her phone.
“Back off, Storms. The lady told you to back off.”
Joe bursts into a laugh on the other end, and that riles me up even further. “Look Storms, she doesn’t need your help, so whatever it is that you want, just back off.”
“Oh, I will,” Joe answers. “I’ll back off, but you two are going to need my help come morning. This will be fun, Everhart, getting to see your grumpy face in every meeting.” He laughs, and I nearly slam her phone to the ground.
“Whatever it is you’re talking about, Storms, I don’t care, so get lost.”
Nelly snatches her phone from me when I end the call. “What was that? You don’t get to intrude on my calls, Ethan. That was rude.”
“I know, I’m sorry.” I draw in a breath before closing my eyes. My temples pound, and my vision blurs a little because talking with Storms always leaves me tense and full of pulsating anger.
“Joe was trying to help with the settlement before you agreed to step in. He offered a buy-out, but I really did not want to give up my company, no matter how much money he offered me. ”
“It’s never a good deal with Storms. You should stay away from him, Nelly. He’s manipulative, and lying is his second nature. We go way back, so trust me, I know all about him.”
“Seems like you have a grudge against Joe. Did something happen between the two of you?” Her question comes out softly. Her eyes penetrate mine, and it’s like she peels back every layer to get deep inside me. “Ethan …”
“It’s nothing,” I cut in, shaking my head. There’s no way I’ll tell Nelly about my history with Storms and let her into the deepest parts of my heart.
“You can tell me what the story is, Ethan,” she says in the softest tone, but I know opening up to her will only make it easier for me to forget why I should keep my distance.
It’s tempting to confide in her, and it takes an effort to pull my gaze away from hers. “Joe Storms is not someone I like to talk about, so we don’t need to get into that.”
Nelly doesn’t follow me out of the kitchen, and after taking a long, hot shower, which failed to ease my nerves, I lay wide awake in bed and stare at the ceiling for a long time.
Nelly’s smile during dinner comes to mind, and it helps me relax. I never talk about Storms and what he did with Julia, how they both betrayed me. I never think about it either.
Tom’s the only one who really knows how hard it was for me to get over Julia. After that experience, I’m determined to never fall in love again.
But it’s hard to relax with Joe sniffing around Nelly. Even though nothing is going on between Nelly and me, I still need to protect her from Joe.
I doze off after fussing over Joe Storms and what he wants. I can’t brush off the unsettling feeling his call sparks in me. Joe Storms has a reputation for using whatever means necessary, even if it means breaking some laws, to get what he wants.
Years ago, after discovering Julia’s lies and realizing she had been seeing Joe the entire time she was dating me, I realized Joe was never my friend.
I recall our heated conversation a day after I caught them at that restaurant.
You think you’re better than everyone else, Joe sneered at me. How does it feel to lose something you love? Sucks right? The world doesn’t revolve around you, Everhart. You can’t have it all.
His eyes raged with the smoldering embers of jealousy, and I realized then that I had been blind all along. Joe’s betrayal stung.
But it’s all in the past now.
Whatever Joe’s up to shouldn’t be my concern, but I have a feeling it can’t be good.