Chapter Thirty-Four
Two suitcases lay open, propped against the wall. A pile of T-shirts sat neatly folded on the bed, organised by colour, with four pairs of jeans rolled up beside them. Dangling in an open suit bag on the back of the door were two Tom Ford suits and four shirts. Ethan stared at his choices with his hands on his hips.
‘Do I need four pairs of jeans?’ he asked Lena, who was perched on the edge of a chair, the only clear space in his bedroom.
‘Just put something in the suitcases, Ethan. Anything at this point would be good.’ She rolled her eyes. ‘In fact, leave it all. You can buy new clothes.’
‘I’m not going to have time to shop.’
‘Then we’ll organise a personal shopper.’
He nodded, considering it. ‘I guess I could do that. But it seems like a waste. I’ll just take all of this.’ He gathered up the pile of T-shirts and carefully put them in one suitcase. ‘There. Happy? I think I’ll also pack my motorcycle boots, a couple of pairs of sneakers and my—’
Lena held up her hand. ‘I don’t need a blow by blow. Do you want me to organise an assistant for you? I think you should have one. They can help with your day to day.’
‘I don’t need an assistant. I’m not that much of a big deal. Yet.’ He grinned, and she rolled her eyes again.
‘You might find you need one,’ she said. ‘I’ll start enquiring. Did you see the houses the brokers sent through?’
‘I told them I liked the Malibu one.’
‘The one that looks like a shack from some old surf movie?’
‘That’s the one.’
‘Ethan.’ The exasperation in her voice was so familiar to him, he nearly laughed.
‘I just want something small and comfortable by the ocean that isn’t going to bankrupt me, okay?’
‘Fine. I’ll set up a time for you to look at it. We’ve got brunch with the producers at 10.30 the morning we arrive, then drinks and dinner with Nancy at eight that night, so we’d better get some sleep on the plane.’
‘I intend to put on my Qantas pyjamas, noise-cancelling headphones and an eye mask and crash out,’ he said. ‘So if you want to talk to me, you’d better do it before we take off. How long are you staying in LA?’
‘Just until you’re settled and we’re happy with your schedule, then you’re on your own.’
He nodded and turned towards his wardrobe so she couldn’t see how much that shook him. He’d be on his own. It wouldn’t be the first time – in reality, he’d been on his own his entire adult life – but for whatever reason, being on his own felt lonely now.
‘You’ll be okay,’ Lena said, reading him like a book as usual. ‘I know moving to LA isn’t something you’ve ever wanted to do, but it’s perfect timing, and it doesn’t have to be forever. You’ll be so busy you won’t have time to miss home, and I’m only a phone call away if you need anything.’
‘Oh, yeah, I know,’ he said, breaking out a fake smile that he knew she’d see right through. ‘It’s going to be great. I’ve already teed up a couple of dinners with my old Throne buddies.’
Lena stood and straightened her skirt. ‘I’m going to make us both a coffee, you’re going to pack, and then I’m going home.’ As she headed for the hall, there was a knock on the front door. ‘Are you expecting someone?’ she asked.
He shook his head. It couldn’t be Sera; he’d already said goodbye to her that morning. To his surprise and relief, his heart had stayed in his chest instead of leaping into his throat. His heart had still swelled at the sight of her, but it was different now. He loved her and he was proud of her, but he wasn’t in love with her anymore.
‘I’ll get it,’ he said.
Lena put her hand to his chest. ‘No, I’ll get it. You keep doing what you’re doing.’
Ethan dumped half a dozen pairs of socks in a suitcase, then filled his arms with underwear.
‘Ethan.’ He turned to see Lena at the door, her face serious and her arms folded.
‘What?’
‘Someone’s here for you.’
He frowned, his eyebrows shooting up as Hazel stepped forward. She smiled, and his heart slammed so hard against his ribs he thought they might crack.
‘Hi,’ she said.
‘Hi,’ he answered.
Lena shot Ethan a ‘You’ve got to be kidding me’ death stare, pointed to her bag and briskly walked in front of him to grab it.
‘I’m going to go,’ she said. ‘Unless you want me to stay?’
He shook his head, slow and silent, his eyes on Hazel.
‘Okay. I’ll see you in the morning. The car will be here at 9.45. Please be ready.’
He nodded, still not speaking.
Lena sighed. ‘It’s nice to see you, Hazel,’ she said as she slid out the door, her heels click-clacking down the hall.
Hazel glanced around the room. ‘Your house is different to what I thought it would be. Smaller. More normal.’
‘It was my grandparents house. They didn’t need much room.’ He tensed as her gaze landed on his suitcase.
‘Packing huh?’ she said, then made a face. ‘Obviously you’re packing.’
‘I leave tomorrow.’
‘I know. I’m still on the production emails. I promise I haven’t been stalking your schedule.’ She laughed lightly, and Ethan could hear the nerves in her voice.
He remembered the pile of boxer briefs bunched in his arms and tossed them onto the bed behind him.
‘Let’s…’ He pointed to the hall. ‘Go outside where it’s less… this.’
Ethan followed Hazel towards the back deck, his pulse whooshing in his ears, his throat dry. He couldn’t believe she was there. Right there in front of him. Those long legs that had once wrapped around his waist were striding down his hallway, her lithe body in arm’s reach, looking so beautiful he was having trouble swallowing.
She looked back at him and smiled. ‘Out there?’
He nodded, stunned into silence, just as he’d been the first day they’d met.
‘Just, ah…’ He pointed to the outdoor setting on the deck, but she walked straight past it, alongside the pool towards the fence and the view that stretched out to the horizon.
‘Ethan, this is amazing. I think it puts the view from your mansion of concrete and glass to shame.’
He stood beside her, acutely aware of how close they were, and stared out at the ocean.
‘Why are you here, Hazel?’
She sighed, still looking at the expanse of blue. ‘I’m not sure, really. I just needed to see you before you left. I have a thousand things I want to say, and no text message was going to cover it. But now that I’m here, I think I might be intruding. Should I go?’
From the corner of his eye he saw her turning towards him, but he kept his eyes forward as he struggled with how to answer.
‘I think I’d like to hear the thousand things,’ he eventually said. ‘So, don’t go. But I’m going to need a beer. Do you want one?’
He finally turned to face her. Her eyes were wide, boring deep into him. Ethan had longed for this moment since he’d seen her on the footpath outside the bar. Then his gaze dipped to her lips and lingered there, and before his brain had registered what was happening, he had her in his arms and his mouth was pressed to hers.
Her hand instantly moved to his neck, caressing his skin and tangling in his hair. Shivers raced up and down his spine, and as their lips moved together, he couldn’t keep himself from groaning against her mouth. He pulled her close, holding her firmly against his chest so he could feel all of her along all of him. His heart crashed in his ears like the surf on the sand, and every part of him came to life, throbbing in the same rhythm.
‘I’ve missed you,’ he whispered against her lips. She pulled away and stared at him, and panic crawled up his scalp. Was that it? Was that all there was going to be? He didn’t think he could stand it if she walked away now. Then her hands went to his face, her palms warm on his cheeks. His eyes briefly shut; her soft touch was everything.
‘I’m sorry,’ she said. ‘I’m just so sorry. I should have been more honest with you Ethan, and I should have been more honest with myself. We weren’t on a different page; I was right there with you. There was an us, and for a minute we were everything.’
He took a step back, his eyes searching hers.
‘Hazel, I don’t know what this is. I leave tomorrow. I’ll be in LA and you’ll be here; that hasn’t changed. What are we doing?’
She touched his cheek again, dusting the backs of her fingers lightly over his skin.
‘We’re saying goodbye.’
Hazel breathed in deep, absorbing Ethan’s scent as he gently ran his feet up and down her calves. She pushed up and pressed her mouth to his, kissing him long and hard before sliding back down and resting her cheek against his chest so she could listen to the thrumming of his heartbeat, fast and strong. Her thumb rubbed back and forth across his nipple and he hissed in pleasure, his large hand stroking her back. She was liquid again. Boneless. Warm and wet and dizzy. She smiled with a contented purr.
‘Are you thirsty?’ he asked, his voice rough. She nodded, and he kissed her forehead, pulled back the sheets and padded naked across the room.
Hazel sighed at the magnificent view as he walked across the hall. He had one hell of an award-winning arse. She listened as he hummed to himself, banging around in the kitchen, and felt a rush of affection as she noticed he was humming the same song that they’d danced to in her lounge room after their first wet and messy kiss.
She reached to the floor, grabbed Ethan’s discarded T-shirt and pulled it over her head, then wiggled up and sat back against his bedhead. He strode back into the room with two glasses of water and not a hint of shyness.
‘Stay there for a sec,’ she said. ‘I want to commit this to memory, because unless you do a porno, I won’t ever see you like this again.’
‘You never know,’ he said. ‘My career might take a turn.’ He grinned, put the glasses on the bedside table and then took two steps back. ‘How’s this?’
‘Perfect.’ She sighed. ‘It’s all perfect.’ He smirked and flexed his biceps, and she laughed. ‘Oh my god. Come here.’
He dived onto the bed and shuffled in beside her and her eyes drifted all the way along his body.
‘You’re going to have to stop looking at me like that,’ he said. ‘I’m beginning to feel objectified.’ He grinned, making her heart ache.
She leaned in and kissed him. ‘Then get under the covers and stop showing off.’
‘Yes, Chef,’ he said with a salute.
‘How long before you have to go?’
His smile fell away as he grabbed his phone and checked the time. ‘The car will be here in three hours and twelve minutes.’
‘And you still have to pack.’
‘Maybe I’ll just buy new stuff.’
‘I should go.’
‘But I don’t want you to.’ He swept her hair behind her ear and she shivered under his touch.
Ethan slid his hands under the T-shirt she was wearing – his T-shirt – then tugged it over her head, his mouth instantly going to her breast.
She breathed out a long moan.
They shimmied down the bed, their long legs tangled again as they kissed deeply. His hands caressed her – gliding over her hip, along her waist, feathery touches across her belly, back up to her breast, his thumb brushing back and forth over her nipple until the sensation was almost too much to bear. His arousal pressed against her as he nibbled her shoulder and her entire body shivered as she pressed back.
He looked up at her with a smile so dazzling all the breath left his body.
‘What do you say, Chef,’ he said, his voice rough. ‘One more goodbye?’
She stared into his blue, blue eyes.
‘One more,’ she said.