Chapter 21
Nelly
A few days after the incident with Joe, I resume work at Hart Holdings’ L.A. office and try to put the entire ordeal behind me. There’s a board meeting to introduce me officially to the other members, and Ethan joins in the applause following the introduction.
“Welcome to Hart Holdings,” CFO Kenneth Hickins congratulates after getting on his feet, and I shake hands with every other board member around for the meeting, including Julia Brene, who’s taking over her grandfather’s seat in the wake of his retirement.
Julia gives me a smile, and I thank her before returning to my seat. Ethan’s watching me intently, and I can’t describe the look in his eyes or how it makes me feel.
We haven’t talked much since that night, and I find my pulse skipping faster than it ever has each time he’s close. I keep expecting him to say something, or try to talk about his confession again, but he’s been silent.
Does he regret it? I don’t know which will hurt more, realizing Ethan regrets confessing to me that night or finally accepting he might never love me.
“The order of business today is our first project with Sunny Aerospace,” Ethan says, and I drag my thoughts back to reality to focus on the meeting. “Nelly, please tell us about the project,” he adds, handing over the baton for me to brief the shareholders on our business plans.
After the meeting, Ethan’s the first to leave the conference room, and then a few others follow him, leaving me wondering why he’s in such a hurry. My phone rings a moment later, and it’s a call from Josie inviting me to lunch.
We meet at a nearby restaurant thirty minutes later, and I order a spicy chicken and veggie salad while she opts for some lobster pasta.
“I still can’t believe he did that,” Josie says to me before slurping from her iced tea. “Storms is all over the news and has been for the past week. His board voted him out of the CEO’s seat too, so he’s lost his company. If he goes to prison, I don’t think he’ll ever get it back.”
I twirl the ring on my finger slowly and try putting my thoughts together. Each time I recall the incident and the fear that engulfed me after waking up and realizing I was kidnapped, Ethan comes to mind, as well as the terrified look in his eyes when he came to save me.
A lump forms in my throat as the memory of his confession plays out in my mind. Did he really mean it? Does he love me?
“You okay?” Josie asks when she realizes I’ve barely eaten my salad. She points at my plate and says, “You’ve barely eaten and you’ve barely said a word to me.”
Josie reaches out and places a hand over mine. “If you’re traumatized because of Joe, then we can…”
“No, I’m fine,” I stop her with a sigh. “I’m good. Trust me, Joe isn’t on my mind.”
Josie’s brow shoots to her hairline and the questioning look on her face stays etched till I finally give in and confess. “Ethan,” I murmur. “That night, after what Joe did, he said he loved me.”
Josie squeals in response to my revelation, and her excitement ends with laughter. Her rosy cheeks gain a flush and her eyes dance as she looks at me again. “That’s a good thing, right? I mean, it’s what you want.”
“I guess so,” I answer, shrugging a little. “The thing is, I didn’t believe him. I mean, if he said those words to me five years ago, I would have bought it then, but now … I just … I just didn’t think he was being sincere to himself.”
I stare at my salad again and realize the reason why I haven’t had much appetite all day is because I keep pondering on those words.
Josie heaves out a deep breath too, then tries to cheer me up. “Well, if he was being sincere, then he’ll probably find a way to make you believe him in the end.”
“I doubt that… Ethan’s not the kind of guy who’d obsess over a thing like this.” A prick of disappointment settles in me, and I let it fester for a little bit before shrugging it off.
I try to enjoy the rest of lunch, and Josie has to leave first because she has to attend to a client waiting at her studio. Once she leaves, I give up on my half-eaten salad and signal for a waitress to bring my bill.
My office is only a few blocks from the restaurant, so I start the walk back.
As I’m crossing the street, suddenly, all the other pedestrians stop in the middle of the road, and they start forming a line while cops bring out traffic cones and start redirecting traffic away.
The crowd of pedestrians forms a circle, and a song starts playing out from speakers I can’t locate. A few other drivers get down from their cars too and join in the dance, while other drivers peek out of their windows and try videoing the moment.
I gasp when a stranger takes my hand and pulls me into the crowd so I can dance to the love song with him. Only then do I realize it’s a flash mob dance.
“Hey, Nelly,” a familiar voice calls and I turn to find Josie dancing by my side. Laughter spews from my cheeks as she takes my hand and swirls me in a circle too.
“What’s going on?” I ask her after a minute passes, and the dancers start walking across the street hurriedly. Josie pulls me away from the middle of the road and the cops take out the cones blocking the flow of traffic.
Once on the sidewalk, my heart’s still pounding, then Josie glances behind me. “You’ll find out soon enough,” she answers before waving me goodbye.
I spin around and Ethan’s standing behind me, a single red rose in one hand.
“Nelly,” he begins when my right hand moves to my chest. I flatten it there and hold my breath, shocked that he would go down on one knee in front of me in a street full of strangers.
Some are watching, while others have their phones out to capture every moment.
“What are you doing?” I ask, eyes searching his as he holds out the rose to me. “Ethan, there are people watching.”
“Exactly,” he answers with a smile. “I don’t care about them watching. I’m hoping the whole world hears what I’m about to say, Nelly, because it’s taken me this long to say it and I feel like a fool.”
Tears shimmer in his eyes, and it causes a tear to streak down my cheek, too.
“I love you,” Ethan confesses in the lightest tone ever, and my heart melts almost instantly.
“Ethan …”
“I know I might be a little too late. It’s taken me five years to figure it out, Nelly … Five years to figure out that you’re the one who makes me feel the most complete. I think about you every waking hour of the day. You were there in my loneliest moments years ago, and you’ve been there for the joyous moments too.”
“Almost losing you made me feel like I had no reason to live. Suddenly, the world felt empty and bleak. I can’t live like that, Nelly … Without you being mine? Really being mine? I don’t want to live like that.”
“I love you, Nelly Sinclair. I’ve been in love with you for like forever and I want you to know that no matter what you decide.”
He’s holding my right hand while my tears blur my vision. I sniff in hard to get rid of the tears, then gently tug him to his feet.
“No more running?” I ask in a shaky voice, needing to be certain that Ethan’s being real with me this time.
“I’ll never leave your side, Nelly … Never again,” he replies as he strokes my cheeks tenderly.
“I love you,” he mouths slowly, this time pacing out his words slowly.
“I’ve been in love with you for like forever, Everhart. How did it take you this long to figure it out?”
He frames my cheeks before leaning close to me. “I was scared … Scared of getting hurt again, scared of hurting you and screwing up the most important relationships in my life, but losing you is scarier, Nelly. I can’t do life without you.”
His lips inch over to mine for a kiss after that, and I put my hands on the back of his neck, parting my lips for him too. This is the moment I’ve dreamed of. A kiss with Ethan, who loves me just as much as I love him.
As we share our kiss, I hear scattered applause and cheers from the onlookers who witnessed Ethan's heartfelt confession.
When we pull apart, a smile breaks out on his lips and he slides a hand down to link our fingers. “Let’s go have lunch, Mrs. Everhart,” he says to me as we turn to walk down the street hand-in-hand.
“Already had lunch,” I reply.
“I know that, but this one’s something you’d really like,” he adds with a chuckle and a gleam in his eyes that makes me laugh.
“What? What have you planned?”
“Your favorite,” he answers just before a limo pulls to a halt by the side of the road. A man gets out, walks over to our side, and holds the door open for us.
“It’s our first official date,” Ethan says as he waits for me to get into the limo first. “I want it to be perfect.”